The Grand Tour: Seven Car Pileup

Welcome back to our continuing series The Grand Tour, a feature where PHXmusic.com takes you inside practice spaces, tour vans and seedy apartments occupied by Phoenix-area bands. This week we give you a look inside Seven Car Pileup’s rehearsal space. If you’d like your band featured, tweet @PHXmusicdotcom or leave a comment below with contact info.

Smells Like: Upon arriving, the kindly dudes in Seven Car Pileup were kind to offer me some pizza and a beer, which, though I had to turn it down, was appreciated and informed the smell of the practice space. 

Most cherished piece of gear: Jess Pruitt was especially proud of his bass guitar, which was custom-made for his hands. Drummer Mike Vigil noted that his drum kit was pretty cherished, as well. “It cost more than my car altogether,” he said. Guitarist Mark Mason was also eager to point out that he just purchased a nifty new Strat. A bunch of gearheads, these fellas.

Odds ‘n’ ends: The band practices in Jess’ house, which actually belongs to his grandmother. Though she doesn’t reside there, much of her belongs do, giving the house a strange “old lady” feel juxtaposed against the piles of rock ‘n’ roll-related stuff stashed everywhere.

Light source: Nothing awesome to report here. The guys have a pretty standard dining room setup, but soft bulbs make sure the room isn’t glaringly bright. 

On their MySpace page, Seven Car Pileup describe themselves as “Elliott Smith fronting The Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Thankfully, they don’t sound like — however that would sound.  The pop-rockers recall a less metro-sexualized Killers or a less operatic version of Muse. The boys played me a new tune in progress, a bluesy number that reminded me of John Mayer’s stabs at Stevie Ray Vaughan-style profundity. The group’s next show is February 19 at Mardi Gras Bar in Scottsdale.