The Pinz

The 90's punk scene has finally returned with a stronger indie, alt, rock vibe. - Sonicbids

The Pinz produced an energetic, characteristic Warp Tour sound reminiscent of Wavves-meets-Green Day. - Greenpointers

The head booker of the (CBGB) festival, Louise Parnassa-Staley mentioned...The Pinz...as several new bands that had impressed her. - The Local East Village

One of the most exciting bands I had the pleasure of seeing (twice) at SXSW - Ryan's Smashing Life

"Catchy and fun to dance along to" - Booked Promotions

The song Most of All is the result of a text between Walter Jerk and a former girlfriend, whose parents were less than supportive of the relationship. It was written at a time when The Jerk was going through the typical teenage angst and anarchy stage. One night he texted, "I hate everything" to his girlfriend, but followed up with, "But most of all I love you." - Round Magazine

Immediately we have a sound similar, if not equal, to the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Blink 182 and sometimes you can hear in Walter Jerk’s vocals a little bit of Good Charlotte’s frontman Joel Madden. - Vents Magazine

Q: Who, in your opinion, was the best opening band for The 'Rots on tour? A: Ahhhh... good one.... let me flip through some memories. I really loved playing with The Pinz. There have been a LOT but I'll go with that. We played together in NY at The Knitting Factory Brooklyn.
- Kelly Ogden, The Dollyrots

They are destined for greatness! - Indie Florida

Their style is a little like Green Day with some hints of All-American Rejects and Sum 41/The Offspring-style strumming - Void Magazine

Supporting act The Pinz were an Alt-Punk trio with a well calibrated blend of punk elements, from Greenday-esque power chord riffs to Blink-182 inspired vocal harmonies. Guitarist/vocalist Walter Clough, when he wasn’t attempting to climb something, has just enough self-aware rock guitarist bravado to shake things up beyond his groups tightly constructed arrangements, taking swaggering solos and prodding the crowd to move. The band acknowledged the late CBGB, and despite bearing more similarities to late 1990s alt-pop than classic OMFUG punk, displayed some major influences from Hilly Kristal’s legendary club. The Pinz payed homage to the spirit of CBGB by playing a rousing “Blitzkrieg Bop” as well as The Who’s “My Generation,” which they may or may not have heard through Green Day in the first. - Bowery Boogie

Bright and spot on. A force to be reckoned with. Wake up America for The Pinz! - John Roecker

Don’t let the serious expressions fool you—this band is filled with animation and energy. With Alana Anderson on drums, Walter Jerk on lead vocals and guitar, and Johnny Wyatt on bass guitar and backing vocals, Jacksonville pop-punk band the Pinz is impossible to ignore.

Influenced heavily by legends such as Green Day and the Rolling Stones, the Pinz’s melodies are attention-grabbing and compliment the catchy lyrics perfectly. I have had the opportunity to watch the Pinz perform live, and the amount of raw energy eminating from the stage was enough to energize the entire crowd. “What’s With That” and “No Way” are the kinds of songs you want to blast at maximum volume and jam along to on the air guitar. The lyrics, “You never return my stupid calls, let it rot, I wander these empty halls, and you always accuse me of the worst” are teeming with teen angst, and are easy for listeners to connect to.

The Pinz have toured with bands such as the Dead Kennedys and have opened for bands such as the Dollyrots and the Fleshtones. They have also shown their support for music programs in schools by performing on the “I Heart Music Tour”.

- Bands to Watch

The Pinz Are Poised for Stardom (headline in front page masthead) - The Ponte Vedra Recorder

The Pinz agile pop-punk isn't about to spark any musical revolutions, but it can be delightfully hooky. Lyrically, the Ponte Vedra Beach based trio deals with typical teenage male concerns - girls, striking back against authority, having a lousy car, etc - which makes perfect sense, considering it's a band made up of three teenage males....The outfit formed in early 2009, but they're gaining momentum, and that pace only accelerates as they do a shortrun within Florida as tour openers for the Dead Kennedys. - Folio Weekly

To be a rock star
is sometimes considered
one of the
ultimate dream jobs.
For local band The
Pinz, it may soon be
a reality. Just after
fi nishing high school,
they’ve recorded two
studio albums and are
ranked number 1 on
the Alternative Charts
for Jacksonville.
Punk Rock Trio.
The Pinz is made
up of Walt Clough
(age 18, lead guitar
and lead vocals)
Clayton Block (age 18, drums and
vocals) and Wyatt Clough (age 15,
bass and vocals). Block and Clough
originally formed the band, naming
it the Pinz after Russian slang
for knives. This wording is found
in the book A Clockwork Orange,
a favorite of Clough’s. After going
through a lot of members, they
decided to bring in Clough’s little
brother, Wyatt, to play bass. This
was a perfect fi t for the band and
they were able to start
progressing.
Just as the band
and the sound were
developing, Block
was hit with bad
news: His family
was moving away to
California. He was
forced to make a
choice then. He could
cross the country and
stay with his family
or he could help
continue the band.
Together, they made
a decision—they
would enter in the
Nease High School Battle of the
Bands. Winning meant they would
continue playing as a band. Losing
meant Block would leave for good
and the band might not be able to
continue without him.
The night of Battle of the
Bands, they were a premier event.
Many came just to see them. At
the end of the night, they held
applause for over a minute, making
them the winners. They received
some free time in a recording studio
which they used to record their
fi rst album, Short On Time. The
name was inspired by their increasing
deadline to get the album done
before Block’s family moved to
California. This album is available
at www.thepinzrock.com and their
next album, Lucky, will be released
in spring of 2011.
In addition to this list of
accomplishments, according to
reverbnation.com, they are leading
the charts for Alternative Music
in Jacksonville. Guitarist Clough
thanks all of his fans for this.
“We owe it all to our fans. We
have fans that have been with us
since the beginning. We would be
nothing without our supporters!” - The Creekline

1. How did you get your band name?
Russian slang for knives from the book A Clockwork Orange.

2. How did this band get started?
Walt & Clayton started a couple of bands and kept kicking people out. Walt finally decided to teach little bro, Wyatt, to play guitar.

3. What bands are you influenced by?
Green Day, Anti-Flag, The Adicts

4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would it be and why?
Green Day, because they'd be fun to hang out with back stage.

5. If you were a furry, what animal would you be? Why that animal?
Walt-squirrel-they're crazy and scamper and hyper like punk rockers; Clayton-bear-they walk around on hind legs and can do whatever they want; Wyatt-mountain lion-because everyone is afraid of them

6. Why should people listen to your band?
We don't sound like every other band on the radio, but people can still relate to us.

7. If you were chosen to be in Guitar Hero/Rock Band, what song would you want in the game? How hard do you think it would be to five-star on expert?
Taxes - extremely easy

8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
God and Mom, the manager

9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
You would actually have to be talented to be famous.

10. Memorable tour experience?
We haven't toured yet, but our best show experience was our CD release party.

11. What does AP.net mean to you?
Punk's not dead yet!

12. What is your favorite song to play?
Walt-Most of All; Clayton & Wyatt-No Way

13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
Walt-New York; Clayton-Alaska; Wyatt-Michigan

14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
Walt-rock n roll; Clayton-Barney; Wyatt-the theme to Rocket Power

15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
Walt-fly-get places faster; Clayton-shooting lightning bullets out of my hand-to make it strike in the same place more than once Wyatt-invisibility-sneaky

16. Do you feel that your band has "made it"?
Not yet, but our fan base is increasing faster than we ever expected. Signing autographs took us by surprise.

17. What is something that most fans don't know about you? Walt-I kissed Billie Joe on stage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrJo7924lk. Clayton-I'm not Mexican; Wyatt-I catch snakes and spent 4 days in the hospital from rattle snake bite.

18. What's your favorite holiday?
Walt-Christmas Clayton & Wyatt-Halloween

19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Urban exploring.

20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
Walt-I can ride the hell out of a dirt bike; Clayton-animal noises; Wyatt-video production. - Absolute Punk

Walt Clough sings and plays guitar in The Pinz, a young pop-punk trio based in Ponte Vedra Beach. Last month, the band released an EP, "Short on Time." They open for The Fleshtones tonight at Brewster's Pit, 14003 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach; doors open at 7. On Wednesday, they play at Nobby's, 10 Anastasia Blvd. in St. Augustine.

5 punk bands I'd like to collaborate with:

1. Green Day: I look up to Billie Joe as a musician and performer. Green Day is the biggest influence on The Pinz, and we owe a lot to them for what they have done for punk. I got a feel for their stage presence when they let me on stage to sing.

2. The Adicts: They're the longest-running punk band with their original lineup, and still actively tour and record. They were also the first band to use "Clockwork Orange" imagery, which is the book where The Pinz got its name.

3. Minor Threat: Ian MacKaye started the straight-edge movement, and his sober life inspires me. Plus, who doesn't love screaming at a wall or seeing red?

4. The Ramones: This would have to be at CBGB in New York City. Without their influence, there would be no Pinz. As a matter of fact, there would be no punk rock.

5. Anti-Flag: They were the first punk show I went to. I really experienced what it meant to be at a punk show when they let me sing half the set with them on stage. It was all downhill from there.

- The Florida Times Union