Ceramic Animal is promoting sophomore album ‘The Horse’ on first nationwide headlining tour
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
There are a lot of aspects about Ceramic Animal that its members didn’t really intend. But they just work oh so well.
Take, for example, the band’s now iconic fashion statement of crisp, matching suits. Though the staple image is reminiscent of The Beatles during their early career Ed Sullivan days, the Doylestown-based quartet isn’t attempting to replicate The Fab Four by any means.
“We just wanted to look nice for a New Year’s show one year,” said drummer Erik Regan of the decision to coordinate. “But then we realized we wouldn’t need to pick out clothes for every performance. The suits were so much easier.”
Like its wardrobe, Ceramic Animal also didn’t foresee the adjective fans would use to describe it — “nasty.” Now as far as we know, these guys aren’t reckless rockers who trash hotel rooms. Nor is their music vulgar or inappropriate by any means. But somehow, someway, “nasty” is what caught on, and “nasty” is what Ceramic Animal is sticking with.
In just a few short weeks, the band will hit the road for its first national headlining tour, the Nasty U.S. Tour of Truth, which will encompass nearly 30 dates across the country and end with a special home show on Sept. 22 at The Foundry in Philadelphia. The tour will promote Ceramic Animal’s sophomore album The Horse, which will be released on Aug. 3.
Ahead of their jam-packed six weeks, The Times caught up with Erik and his brother Warren Regan, the band’s guitarist, lead writer and producer, to learn about the creative process behind album №2 and what fans can look forward to on Ceramic Animal’s largest tour to date. Spoiler alert — there will be knee slides.
Along with Erik and Warren, the band is comprised of a third Regan brother, Elliott, on keys, and longtime friend Dallas Hosey on bass, all of whom boast extensive musical backgrounds.
Like any up-and-coming band, Ceramic Animal grew from modest roots, playing small-scale gigs around Bucks County and Philadelphia in an attempt to create a name for itself and its “psychedelic rock” sound. But it wasn’t until the release of its debut album The Cart in 2016 that Ceramic Animal’s career truly launched.
In an unprecedentedly short time frame, The Cart, an eight-track masterpiece featuring songs such as “Dreams Via Memories,” reached both local and international ears when it was included on major Spotify playlists Modern Psychedelia and Llegando a Casa. To date, The Cart has amassed more than 2.5 million streams on Spotify.
Since the album’s release, Erik explained how Ceramic Animal’s journey has been something of a whirlwind. This year alone, the band has taken on two regional tours in February and May, which featured a show at Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live, numerous festival appearances including the Virginia Ave Music Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana, and two showcases at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
A particularly thrilling highlight of 2018 occurred most recently while the guys were casually listening to longtime favorite radio host Cheryl Waters on Seattle’s KEXP. As she announced the next song to be aired, Ceramic Animal sat in awe — Waters was premiering “Tino,” a track off The Horse. For the band, it was truly a “wow, we made it” kind of moment.
Clearly, Waters liked what she heard of Ceramic Animal’s new stuff, and the band is sure fans will, too. Since the release of The Cart, Warren explained how Ceramic Animal’s creative and musical abilities have expanded, leading to a more evolved sound while holding fast to what early listeners came to know them for.
“The Cart was a culmination of a couple years of writing and recording while The Horse was written and recorded in a much shorter amount of time,” he said. “The Horse should feel more cohesive both sonically and aesthetically while still maintaining the sonic tropes that originally began on The Cart. I always like the idea of art being a documentation, so seeing the natural dichotomy between the two albums is interesting to me.”
In just 36 minutes, The Horse takes listeners on a trip through time. While tracks such as “Tino” and “XXXpectation” have old-timey western undertones, others like the single “So Familiar” are a nod to the rock music of decades past. The song is classic and comforting, leaving listeners to feel as though they’ve been dropped in the middle of a ’60s school dance.
As the Nasty U.S. Tour of Truth draws nearer, Ceramic Animal is eager to bring its slew of new music to fans across the country, with a few tracks already anticipated to be crowd favorites.
“‘Patiently 4 U’ feels like it will be a good one live, good energy to it,” said Erik.
“‘Tino’ and ‘Better Off’ will also be two big boys to look out for,” added Warren.
Though the product of Ceramic Animal’s time in the studio is somewhat mellow, concert-goers can rest assured this won’t be the case at a live show.
“Fans can expect a lot of knee slides, high-footed jump kicks and really big chords at a Ceramic Animal show,” Warren said. “We insert more energy into the live show than what is on our recorded material. We try to make it its own experience.” ••
For more on the “nasty boys” of Ceramic Animal, The Horse and tour information, visit CeramicAnimalMusic.com.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
