Pernikoff Brothers

Pernikoff Brothers - Another native St. Louis band, these guys filled in the opening spot for G. Love and Special Sauce when Belle Brigade had to cancel due to transportation issues. Their pop/rock tunes are well crafted, full of lush harmonies and bombastic rock star power. The sound and energy coming off the stage from this power trio rivaled bands twice their size and goes to show what good musicians can do when they're living their dream. - KDHX St. Louis

Fresh out of the recording studio, the Pernikoff Brothers will bring their acoustic, alternative rock to St. Louis’ LouFest on Sunday, August 26.

Complete with brotherly harmonies and warm drum arrangements, the Pernikoff Brothers’ first record, “On My Way,” garnered praise in the Americana and rock world and netted the band gigs opening for Willie Nelson, G. Love and Tim Reynolds. I recently interviewed the trio, brothers Rick and Tom and drummer Dan Germain, about their musical evolution, upcoming record, touring and future plans.

Will Kyle: What have you been pursuing lately?

Tom Pernikoff: We just got out of the studio a couple weeks ago. We recorded an album with producer Brian Deck. He’s produced Iron and Wine, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Gomez and a host of others.

Dan Germain: July 19th was the last day.

How’d that go?

Tom: Awesome. We were there about a month. Now he’s mixing the record.

Is Brian Deck responsible for those crisp handclaps on [Iron and Wine's] “Boy With a Coin?”

Tom: That’s him doing the claps.

Sounds like you’re in good hands, so to speak. So you cut the whole record with Brian?

Dan: Yeah, 14 tracks.

Tom: We’re gonna have people listen to some before we release it. We are not sure about the release point yet, though. We may release it independently or may go with an indie label. We’re going to take our time.

Compared to your previous record, “On My Way,” where is the sound of the new record sitting emotionally?

Dan: There is more of a personal aspect to this record, especially lyrically. I think the stories are truly compelling and honest. This comes out in the instrumentation as well, sounding more like a reflection of our work as a trio. Overall, it has a little bit more of a raw characteristic.

Tom: I’d say our first record is more singer-songwriter rock, whereas this is more straight up rock. There are some psychedelic elements, some hard rock elements, but overall, anything that compositionally should have rocked harder on the previous record, now rocks harder.

How has the evolution of your sound and style been organic?

Tom: I think it’s all been organic. When we recorded the first record, Rick and I were in San Francisco, performing as an acoustic duo. After we got Dan onboard, we recorded before ever even touring. It was the first thing we really did together. I feel like we became a band after we made that record, so we didn’t entirely know ourselves while recording it. What we just recently recorded is more honest. We sound like a band, whereas before it felt like a trio of musicians playing a collection of songs. The evolution came from being on the road together and writing the songs with each other.

Dan: Yeah, like three musicians coming together.

Tom: You’ll hear it. We sound much more like a band.

Rick Pernikoff: We also grew into more of a rock sound, which is what we were originally trying to find on “On My Way,” using organ over dubs and percussion.


You still sneak in the odd, subdued acoustic number, right?

Tom: We like to bring it down with acoustic stuff. Dan will play some accordion, maybe add banjo.

Dan: Everyone in the band is a multi-instrumentalist. As Rick said, after the first record, we found different instruments essential to fill the live space of the show.

Are you working the new tunes into your live show yet?

Tom: It depends on how long the gigs are. At LouFest, we’ll probably play everything from the new record, but if we are playing a two or three hour gig, like in Key West, we tend to play everything we know.

What is it like going down to Key West?

Dan: A blast! We’ve been down twice. When we went last November right before Thanksgiving, it had a bit of a quiet vibe for Key West, but it was still awesome. Charlie, the owner of the bar we played, the Smoking Tuna, is all about original music.

Tom: He started the Key West Songwriters Festival, which is what we played. It typically runs three or four days. It was fun being in Key West, riding bikes, playing music and hanging out.

Have you found any other spots outside of St. Louis that fit you well?

Dan: Nashville has been great to us. We also played a gig in Lexington, Ky. It was set up like a listening showcase or a storytellers-type show. Everyone was there to hear our original music and expected us to talk about it, too.

So you had to explain the songs before you played them?

Rick: It was the first time we ever tried to explain our songs. It was tough at first, but we got the hang of it.

Tom: I felt like I was telling the same story over and over again.

Who have you enjoyed opening for most?

Tom: We did three shows with Tim Reynolds. When I was young, he helped define what guitar playing should sound like. It was cool to play multiple shows and hang out with him backstage.

Rick: He’s super nice and inviting.

Tom: They are a trio too and ridiculously t - KDHX St. Louis Blog

It's hard not to be swept up in The Pernikoff Brothers' excitement. With a string of praise-worthy opening gigs on local stages last year (including a opening slot for Willie Nelson), and a renowned producer working on its new album, the band seems on the brink of much bigger stages.

Comprised of brothers Tom and Rick Pernikoff and Dan Germain, the St. Louis-based band released their self-produced debut album, On My Way, in 2011. With their new album, though, they opted for a different approach.

"We recorded a demo in our basement. Then we started sending it out...unsolicited to a bunch of producers," Tom Pernikoff explains.

Through this scattershot method, the band came into contact with Brian Deck. The producer—best known for work he's done with Iron and Wine, Modest Mouse and the Counting Crows—"just seemed like a match" to the group.

"He's kind of a fourth member of the band," Pernikoff says. "He works on a lot of elements of the songs with us...from lyrics to form to overdubs, instrumentation, everything. You know he's...in the music, he's not just recording it."

Talking about the band's sound is almost moot at this point—Pernikoff says that with Deck's additions, the music is a far cry from what they released on their own.

"I used to tell people we were folk rock...kind of a mix between Dave Matthews and the Avett Brothers," says Pernikoff. "But I don't know if I can say that anymore."

Pernikoff explains that their classic rock influences—Zeppelin, the Beatles—are more obvious in their songs now.

"The rock stuff rocks harder...the singer-songwriter stuff is more interesting.......more textures, more sounds. Things like that."

The band, born and raised in Wildwood, Missouri, is planning on revealing their new sound to fans at LouFest. Pernikoff says that most of their set will consist of music from their new album.

"We were just kind of throwing the idea around of giving out a few of the tracks to everybody who's in the audience," discloses Pernikoff.

Whether or not the band goes through with these plans, they're determined to make their LouFest appearance one to be remembered.

"We just want to do something special around LouFest...it's a hometown thing."
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