the pink snowflakes

THE TURN ONS, THE PINK SNOWFLAKES, GO FEVER, NOIR CITY
(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) There's no denying that Portland has become a real hotbed of psychedelia in the last couple of years. There isn't a cookie cutter archetype for all these budding new artists but most can be divided into two distinct sub groups. "Trippers" and "Rockers." The Pink Snowflakes are rockers through and through. While their tripper brethren are content to sit cross legged and weave precious cocoons of sound, Pink Snowflakes would much rather plug in and punch a hole in the universe than become one with it. And when the band is at their best, with searing guitars swirling in and out of reality's reach, you almost believe they could do it. JB
Saturday, 1/6 - Portland Mercury

Press from Metro Santa Cruz Jan 2008 issue vol. 14

SUNDAY 13th
PINK SNOWFLAKES

Indie kids have been psych rocking like its 1969 for the better part of a decade now, so the
breathless hype surrounding head-trippy Portland youngsters the Pink Snowflakes is a bit
facile. But unlike many of their indulgent brethren, the Pink Snowflakes conjure the visceral
rock punch and the melodicism of the original psychedelic movement in a way that bellies their
age. As with neopsychedelia, the prevailing attitude is far more inspired by bad acid trips than
the summer of love, but the band's work stands alone for its originality and spirit, instead of
seeming like some precocious hipster pastiche. They're definitely a band to watch this year.
Blue Lagoon; $5; 9 pm. (PD)
- Metro Santa Cruz

Synthesis Band Of The Day Band You’ve Never Heard Of: The Pink Snowflakes
Author: jacob

28 Mar

pink-snowflakes.jpg

You know when you see a band where each member reps an 80-pound pedal board, and then they don’t use any of em? Stupid, huh? In the case of Portland’s The Pink Snowflakes, these fellas use their 80-pounds every which way but loose.

With influences that scream psychedelic, The Pink Snowflakes craft music that careens down a sound scape both divine and dreamy. In a recent performance at Portland’s Ash Street Saloon, I watched this quartet blow the room down with full-stacks and a big old fucking kick drum. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the heavy Syd Barret element that runs throughout the Snowflakes veins, not to mention the tasteful helping of Butthole Surfers. If you’re going to be up north at all in the next couple months, check these guys out.
- Synthesis Online Magazine

Well, we're off with a bang! Right now, The Pink Snowflakes are finishing up their set of mind-bendingly loud reverb-soaked college rock. In addition to the rousing tunes, they had this dreadlocked dude there giving away free ice cream! Now, how can you complain about that? - the Willamette Week

The standout set of the evening, however, was delivered by the Pink Snowflakes. The Portland-based foursome started its performance with frontman Andrew Rossi—who looks uncannily like Will Ferrell—earnestly proclaiming: "This is supposed to be a psychedelic show!" Visually aided by a plastic bundle of wood fakely glowing in the background, a machine pouring streams of bubbles and several songs featuring "La, la, la" choruses, the Snowflakes made good on Rossi's promise—and not just from a trippy eye-candy standpoint.
Often accused of early-Flaming Lips worship, the Snowflakes gave the grooving crowd of happy hipsters an entertaining set of fun, psychedelic rock fueled by distorted, melodic guitar solos and Rossi's yearning, eager voice. Clad in a sparkled net shirt and donning a pink polka-dotted guitar strap, Rossi and his band evoked the days of free love and cheap acid with every meandering psych-pop soundscape. The highlight of the set came near the end, when the band mellowed out for a moment and transitioned into a slow, almost love-ballad titled "After School Choir Practice," on which Rossi's melancholy voice and a chorus of guitars harkened back to the carefree days of youth. - the Portland Mercury

ALAN SINGLEY & PANTS MACHINE, THE PINK SNOWFLAKES, AAN, HEAVY LIDS

(Berbati's, 10 SW 3rd) There was a time when the Flaming Lips weren't so... well... tight. I love the Flaming Lips, but I really loved them during their Telepathic Surgery era when it seemed they were always on the verge of coming apart at the seams. That's exactly what the Pink Snowflakes sound like. Forgive the comparison, but in this instance, I provide it in the most loving way possible. It's all there: the wavering but pure voice (like your own inner voice breaking through to you during a rough trip), the squalls of fearful feedback leading into sunshiny halls. Doors slamming into acoustically strummed big beats and butterflies sliding down a rainbow into groove-sticky organs. Put it all in tasty wad of bubblegum and just chew. Can you dig it? LC - Portland Mercury November issue

JB: So, if you guys are barely into your 20s how did you discover psychedelia. That stuff's dead, isn't it?
TC: I think that it isn't really prevalent in a lot of popular music today but it is definitely not dead. Bands like The Mars Volta, The Flaming Lips, and The Pink Snowflakes are proof of that. We have a wide array of influences, but definitely a lot come from the '60s/'70s era. We try to make music in the same creative vein; we stay away from the homogeneity of the popular music scene today. Psychedelia is as timeless as the psychedelic experience itself. - ?

Local Psyche Spotlight
The Pink Snowflakes: Melting Hearts, Melting Brains
BY LANCE CHESS

IN THE YEARS SINCE the precipitous brainstorm that brought them into existence, the Pink Snowflakes have evolved into a union of creative effects wizards led by conductor/songwriter Andrew Rossi (AKA Claude Dragonfly). Surviving the fickle torments of keeping a visionary experiment lashed together personnel-wise (drummer problems, mostly), the Pink Snowflakes now stand ready to unleash their sugary horror show on those who would receive their communion of "strange."
In the widely defined neighborhood of psychedelic music, the Pink Snowflakes live on the pop side of the tracks, across the street from Brian Wilson and next door to the Flaming Lips. In fact, Claude Dragonfly's reedy vocals along with multiple effects-sodden slide guitars make their resemblance to the Transmissions-era Flaming Lips scary at times, until you realize what a good pop-psyche song they're capable of churning out, and that there can never be too many well-crafted nuggets in that vein.
They also depart from familiar ground and give dirge its due, visiting the homes of John Cale and Moe Tucker. Expansive chaos theory interludes produce faint scents of My Bloody Valentine, Butthole Surfers, and even hint at the misplaced aggression of the Cows. Ultimately, the Snowflakes play quasi-radio-friendly '90s-style non-traditional pop-psyche. (Music that taxes the shit out of my hyphenated word quota.)
While live performances have been few and far between compared to some other local bar-band workhorses, tales of squalling feedback, extended noise adventuring (amid bubble machines and an eye-liquefying projection show) hint well at the good (and weird) times awaiting showgoers.
See the Pink Snow Flakes March 30 at the Fez Ballroom. - Portland Mercury

PINK SNOWFLAKES
(Fez, 316 SW 11th) Having discovered why not to eat the yellow snow at an early age, I'm wary to imagine what mystery liquid pink snow might contain. Thankfully the only fluid likely to be found in the Pink Snowflakes is a few drops of liquid LSD. The group's day-glo psych rock doesn't lean on trip-tastic '60s flavors—choosing instead to pay homage to some of the genre's other notable touchstones like the Dead, the Pink Fairies, and the Flaming Lips. While the band's wigged out, flanged guitar excursions feel like they want to take their listeners as high as a kite, the songs are often kept grounded by a fondness for middling '90s college rock.JB - Willamet Week

Why We Love… The Pink Snowflakes… by Katie

Any and all contact with this band has ended with the relentless proclamation that their set is going to be insanely LOUD—and that, my friends, is a guarantee. They’re schlepping their psychedelia-drenched, Flaming Lips-influenced, acid-trippy sound all the way from Portland (or possibly the 1960s?) and they plan to make this excursion worth their while. And what better way to do so than with an ear-splittingly good time? Check ’em out at www.myspace.com/thepinksnowflakes. They don’t have an actual website. No, they’re too fucking badass for that. Just another reason to love them… People, get ready for a Velvet Underground-meets-Warlocks experimentation that will rock the socks right off your little feet.
- The WIG presents/Seattle Weekly