Tune in on Monday, June 24th at 8:30pm to hear Fizz in conversation with Chicago based trio, Pixel Grip, ahead of their 1015 Folsom show on June 30th in SF.
Pixel grip is resolute yet variable. The Chicago-based trio takes inspiration from the dimly-lit stages they dominate and the deepest realms of the human experience.
Over the last four years, the band has traversed the depths of the North American underground scene, selling out clubs and winning over fans with their indelible live performances.
The group’s sophomore album ARENA is a 10 track exploring avant pop, EBM, and minimal wave released via Feeltrip Records. The album’s pounding dance rhythms were inspired by the group’s shows supporting their 2019 debut Heavy Handed: “being in an audience of freaks, queers, fetish people, all in the same room sweating together, and we all knew our purpose, and we were manic and arrogant,” vocalist Rita Lukea says.
Lukea and bandmates Jonathan Freund and Tyler Ommen used crowded clubs as inspiration for refining ARENA during the pandemic that cut off safe socializing. The group conceived of nightlife as a respite from the titular arena, the combative conditions of everyday life. “My head is also an arena,” Lukea says. “Swinging from mania to depression, struggling with my body image and eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, and gender confusion. When you are different, you don’t have a seat at anyone’s table. The ARENA album is me saying f*#k your table.”
Photo: Alexus McLane
