Sceneazine.com
Psycho Spoon
by John Smithson
W
ith the release of their debut album “Incognito”, which was produced by Karl Sanders,
mixed by Neil Kernon, and mastered by Alan Douches’,
Psycho Spoon plan to tour as much as possible and unleash their high energy live show upon fans worldwide.
Psycho Spoon began in 2010 with the dream of two
friends and bandmates – Rick Ballenger on vocals and
Pete Hammoura on drums. They sought out like minded musicians to join the band so they could take the
show on the road and promote Incognito. Joining the
band is Decha Tangitkietikul on rhythm and lead guitar, C.c. Murphree on rhythm guitar, and Mark Dye on
bass.
At what point in your life did you decide you wanted to be in a band?
Pete: When I about 12 I saw my cousin playing with
his band and that kind of got my blood flowing for music. Then a couple years later he bought a new set and
gave his old kit that I first saw him playing along the first
Black Sabbath album. I played to that record everyday
after school and learned it inside out. I knew then that
I want to play music for life.
Who in the band came up with your name? What, if
any, reason did you guys choose your name?
Pete: Rick Ballenger (vocals) named the band. The
reason was, in the past, Rick would book a gig, and then
throw together 4 or 5 guys on the fly and go play a show.
It was cover songs, standard stuff that everyone should
know. He did that for a long time, basically juggling gigs
and musicians. One day he walked into the local music
store to pick up a cable and the owner, who knew Rick
and the way he was, said to him, “You know Rick, you’re
the Psycho Spoon that stirs the crazy gumbo. When it
came time to name the band, Rick remembered that.
What are the band members names and what instrument do they play?
Rick Ballenger - Vocals & Piano
Pete Hammoura - Drums
Decha Tangkitkietikul - Rhythm & Lead Guitar
C.C. Murphree - Rhythm Guitar
Mark Dye - Bass
Is there one person who writes all the songs? Or do
you guys write them as a band?
Pete: This album we just put out called Incognito was a total collaboration. It was Rick, myself, and
our old guitar player. We would get together and just
jam while recording it all on an mp3 recorder. Then
we would take the files home and listen to them in our
spare time and pick out snippets that sounded good to
us. Then we would come together at the next rehearsal
and discuss and work on the snippets and built songs
from there. It wasn’t easy but we stuck with it.
Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Pete: For the music we just each bring our influences into the band. If you like something it stays with you
then it comes out in your playing down the line somewhere. Rick wrote the lyrics. It sounds cliché but he
writes about his life experiences and it translates nicely
in the music we write.
So how long have you guys been together as a band?
Share with us a brief history.
Pete: Rick and I started the band in 2010 along with
our old guitar player. In 2012 we brought in Decha T. )