Pterodactyl Sleepover Talks About Their First Times & Jon Secada

Cinco De Mayo, the holiday that everyone THINKS is Mexico’s Independence Day (check the wiki, who knew?), just happens to be one of the best party nights of the year. It doesn’t matter that the majority of Mexico doesn’t even recognize the holiday; we’ll do the celebrating for them and we’ll do it with live bands, booze, and borderline politically incorrect fake moustaches. One of the bands on our weekend lineup is Pterodactyl Sleepover, a newly formed foursome comprised of members of the now defunct Attention Radio. This Saturday night is the band’s debut performance, so we asked guitarist Mike Locke a few questions regarding his first times….

First things first, describe Pterodactyl Sleepover’s sound? How did you guys form? 

Pterodactyl Sleepover is a project that spawned almost overnight, with the only guidelines being that we wanted to play hooky, up-tempo rock music that’s fun to sing along with. If you had to put a label on it, I would describe it as “pop-punk with balls,” but if you listen carefully, there are nuances of 80’s rock and synth pop, and garage rock as well.

The band began a few months back when I was in a “career transition,” (read: unemployed). I got the call from our bass player, Noah, who told me, Joe, our drummer, was itching to do a new project. Since I had a great deal of free time, I was able to write the framework for a full-length album at home, and the three of us spent many nights and weekends refining the material at our studio. After two months, our album was musically complete, but we hadn’t yet found the right frontman for our band. After two weeks of grueling tryouts, we found the right singer, Kenny, and our lineup was made complete. (For those doing the math, he joined two weeks prior to our debut show!)

As an avid dinosaur enthusiast, I love the band name. Tell me about the first time the band name Pterodactyl Sleepover came up in conversation? What were the other options?

We as a band have made a habit of putting pressure on ourselves to work quickly, so we literally spent the bulk of three days making band name lists, sharing our ideas, and subsequently crossing out almost every idea because we couldn’t agree on one. I wish we could take full credit for the band name, but a friend of ours was trying to think of a name for his band, and jokingly said “Pterodactyl Sleepover”. The general consensus was that it was too fun and ridiculous, but clearly that ended up being okay. The second runner up was “1.21 Gigawatts”, a Back to the Future reference. I may still use it, so don’t be thinking of any thievery!

Tell us about your first band EVER. How about your first live performance? Please give all the awkward details.

Yikes. My first real band was in 9^th grade, and our first show was the school talent show. Just before I discovered indie and punk music, downtuned “nu” metal was at its peak. Picture this: brand new seven string Ibanez guitar (tuned up, a la Wes Borland), Adidas jumpsuit, dyed black hair, parted in the middle. Need I say more? The songs were like Three Dollar Bill, Y’All$ era Limp Bizkit, without the DJ. At my school, most kids were into hip hop, so since it was the end of the show, almost all of them walked out. However, our group of twenty or so friends stayed and came up to the front and cheered us on.

What was the first album you ever purchased?

Tough to say, but probably Metallica’s Black Album…on cassette.

Full disclosure, my first concert ever was The Village People w/ Kool & The Gang as openers (don’t judge). What was the first concert you ever attended? (crossing my fingers it’s more embarrassing than mine)

Haha, nice. My first real concert was probably Zetafest. I believe Cracker and Candlebox were headlining that year.

We’re running a special PBR + Jose Cuervo special on Saturday night ($7). Describe the first time you drank tequila…if you can? 

First of all, shout out to Pabst Brewing Company. The thing is, tequila and memories don’t usually go hand in hand. I don’t remember my first time having it, but I usually start thinking certain foods are a good idea after a fair amount of tequila. For example, a Steak and Shake mint chocolate chip milkshake…or Halloween candy. All of those nights were not pleasant, as you could imagine. Remember, kids: liquor before beer…and no milkshakes after tequila.

Rumor has it, you’re a big Jon Secada fan. Tell us about the first time you listened to “If You Go” and can I make a cover song request?

Haha! Well, as you know, I make a habit of scouring the Billboard charts’ Hot Latin Tracks, for the latest and greatest. When that came out, I recall crying with joy for two days straight and then starting what became the largest worldwide Jon Secada fan club. We’re called the Secada Armada. Cover song requests? Sure. We know his entire catalog.

Pterodactyl Sleepover performs in between Raggy Monster and Eyes Lips Eyes this Saturday at Green Room, 109 SW 2nd Ave, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33312. No cover, 21+, PB&J (PBR+Jose) $7, doors at 9pm. Mention ‘Jon Secada’ at the door for a free draft before midnight.