Philly's Remote lslands to Play Main Street

Warren Johnston, Valley News, 8 November, 2007, c-1.

Colin Pate, front man, songwriter and voice of Philadelphia indie band Remote Islands, wanted to get away from the mainstream.

He has the talent, which copms through loud and clear on the band's first album, Smother Party, to produce something less original, more pop and perhaps commercially viable—something that would allow him to quit his other job.

But instead, the 27-year-old is writing, singing and playing music that's creative and experimental — music that he's proud of. Maybe that's why he's still wroking as an office manager at a family counseling service and walking a few blocks to have lunch at an inexpensive taco stand.

"The tacos aren't really great here, but they're cheap," Pate said during a cell phone interview during a lunch break last week.

Pate and Remote Islands will be playing at the Main Street Museum on Bridge Street in White River Junction Sunday night along with Miller Carr and the Shalants from San Francisco.

"I'm trying to do something that is different" from mainstream music, Pate said.

Like most musicians, he draws on songs by other artists as part of the creative process. "When I hear a song that I really like, I'll listen to it about 30 times and try to figure out what makes me feel good about it. I find myself trying to capture that and put into songs I write. But I have a little bit of a problem settling on one thing.

"For example, I might really like a song by John Cale, and that might be what I like and try to get into my songs as I record them, but midway through recording I might decide that I like the Zombies and I'll get some of that into the song, too." Perhaps, he said, that accounts for a certain lack of cohesion, he said.

Smother Party is layered and interesting. Critics have called Pate's efforts experimental, which seems obvious, but its' also what makes the album fun to listen to. And the more I listened, the more the music grew on meand the more I liked it.

"I think that any musician who's being honest wouldn't say that money is not his goal. It hasn't been a goal for us," Pate said, adding that the upcoming tour that—which includes the TicTic in Burlington, the Main Street Museum and five other New England veneus—probably will be a breakeven experience.

Pate has been thinking about White River Junction for a while.

"When I was in high school, I bought an album by The Orb (Orbus Terranum, 1995), and there was a song called White River Junction. I didn't even know that it was a real place, but when we were playing in Burlington I saw the sign, and I had to stop," he said. Later, he was telling someone in Burlington about walking around in White River Junction. "They all said that the Main Street Museum was a great place to play. I've never played a Museum before."

Miller Carr and the Shalants' music is mellower than Remote Islands, so they seem a good fit for the show. The two bands are on the same record label, Isota Records, and Pate and Miller Carr have become friends, Pate said.

The show will begin about 6 Sunday night. A hat will be passed for the musicians...