By Joseph Chretien
Traveling musician, singer and songwriter Preston Pugmire put on an intimate performance at MSU Thursday night.
The concert was held in the Clark Student Center.
The event was hosted by the University Programming Board.
Although there was an audience of about 35 students, he gave an excellent performance.
As lights dimmed and the small crowd gathered closer to the stage, the one man show put on a live presentation worth attending.
Within an hour long set, Preston utilized his audio gear to manipulate his voice and pitch of his guitar.
He danced with his audience and even crooned love songs through a megaphone as he stood on chairs.
He did all of this to make his event not only a concert but also to build a connection with those who came to see him.
After the show we chopped it up about his performance, his travels, music, love and more.
Q: You covered artist like Janet Jackson and Justin Bieber, who are some of your biggest influences?
A: Fiest, Phoenix, One Republic, Radiohead, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, its all about the melody for me man.
Q: On stage you said you were from Idaho, how’d you end up performing here at Midwestern?
A: Right now I’m on a college tour which is great since my demographic is college students.
I’m doing about 70 shows a semester, my next stop is S.F.A. in Nacogdoches.
Q: A lot of songs you covered and those from your self titled album were about love. Why would you say you emit so much love in your music?
A: The majority of this album was recorded during a time in my life that was full of love.
I like to write from a lot of different angles, everyone is either in love or wants to be in love. So in that sense it’s a relatable subject across the board.
Or you could just say it makes the song writing process easy. (laughs)
Q: You spoke about your wife during an interlude in your performance, would you say your music helped you out in your love life?
A: (laughs)Definitely man.I was in love with her and didn’t know how to tell her.
She came to a show in Idaho where I performed a song called “Soundtrack” which she figured out was written for her.
Three years later we got married.
So that’s the formula if you want to get married. Just write a song for the girl you love three years before you want to get married and you’re good. Its foolproof.
Q: Just listening to your music, subject matter and delivery I’m assuming [Lauryn Hill’s album] “Miseducation” is an inspiration as well?
A: Yeah it is, and I’m glad you mentioned that.
That album covers so many different types of love.
There are few albums that I think are perfect from beginning to end but that album is absolutely perfect.
Q: I agree. The imagery in your songs was reminiscent of some other great love songs. How long have you been writing for yourself?
A: Since I can remember.
I’ve always had a hand in music, I’ve been in 5 or 6 different bands since I was 15, including an adult contemporary band with my dad.
The first time I saw Radiohead’s video for the song “Just” in ’95 I thought if I could make people feel the way I did when I heard that or just make that one instant connection with someone through song its all worth it.
Q: Part of the reason your live performance was so entertaining was because you created loops and incorporated studio voice effects on the spot. How long did it take you to master this unique live performance?
A: I’ve been experimenting with loops for many years now but to tell the truth I just got this style of live performance down last year.
I use the Boss50 to route everything through and my foot pedals have different effects that allow me to do things like record patterns, drop the pitch an octave and add reverb all while I’m on stage.
Q: How can people hear more about and your music?
A: Check out prestonpugmire.com which leads to my band camp, you can listen to the album there before you buy it. Other than that I try to reply to fans, so feel free add me as a friend on Facebook.