The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are Kip, Peggy, Alex, Kurt and Christoph, and they hope you're not disappointed in their music...

...don't worry, you won't be!

Almost one year after the release of their self titled debut album, and numerous EPs later, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are about to kick of a massive 6 date tour of Japan, playing shows in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and Nagoya... now that's a real Japan tour!

ModernFuss spoke to lead singer, Kip Berman, ahead of their tour. Find out what he has to say about perfect festivals, Japanese candy, his beloved Brooklyn, and much, much more!

1- Please come-up with a new word or phrase to describe your sound.

Emotional Softcore.

2- You're named after a book about friendship and having great times with friends when you're young. Is this reflected in your music? How should we feel after listening to your records?

It's definitely reflected in who we are as a band. The best bands aren't the ones that meet in the classified pages, but instead should be a reflection of your life. I'm glad that the people I liked spending time with the most are also the people that I get to make music with. As for how you should feel after listening to our records, I don't know. Hopefully "not disappointed".

3- If you were to write a book about your last visit to Japan, what would the opening paragraph be?

I don't know how to write books. Can I write a song instead?

4- Tell us about your neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Kurt (drums), Christoph (guitar) and I all live in a part of Brooklyn called Greenpoint. It is heavily Polish, and has lots of newspapers and magazines in Polish, as well as good foods that are very Polish and/or Eastern European. Aside from that, lots of bands live here, as it's pretty nice and not too expensive. I don't think any famous rappers are from this part of Brooklyn, though. Peggy lives in the Lower East Side/East Village which is pretty cool, as she can walk to Cake Shop and Bowery Ballroom (two of the best venues for music). Alex lives in Williamsburg- I go to his house a lot to watch Baseball and (American) Football. Its only one stop away from me on the subway.

5- Other than your shows in Japan, what else do you hope to do when you're here?

I think we want to do everything! We'd never have gotten a chance to come to Japan were it not for music, so we want to take advantage and try to see and do as many things as possible. Record stores are obviously a favorite thing to do, but we're also interested in trying all sorts of Japanese candy and snack food, as well as clothes, video games and instrument shops (Japanese Fender guitars are really good, and they came in awesome colors that never appeared, or are very rare, in America).

6- Let's imagine you are throwing a festival in a forest in upstate New York this summer. Who would your 3 headliners be (old or new)?

The Strokes, Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins-- the caveat being that each band would only play one of their albums in their entirety. The Strokes would play 'Is this It', Weezer would play 'The Blue Album' and Smashing Pumpkins would play 'Siamese Dream'. Imagine how fun that would be to see!

7- Your song 'Come Saturday' has been playing a lot here at ModernFuss, we can't get enough of it! Who or what is it about?

It is about loving someone who is very far away, but then you get to see them and it is awesome.

8- You tend to release quite a few EPs. Why do you do this instead of focusing solely on another full album? It's great for us fans that you release these EPs, and I wish more bands would do it!

EPs are a cool format that I always loved. There's something exciting about getting new music more often, or letting a band express ideas without all the baggage of "is this right for the album?". Sometimes it allows a band to be more free with the songs they release- not that they aren't good, but they can be different from what people expect from an album.

9- As a way of giving up-and-coming bands a bit of publicity here in Japan, we always ask our featured bands and artists to recommend a few to our readers. Who are your picks?

Well, first and foremost The Depreciation Guild (myspace), who are going to be touring with us. They have a new album coming out in the spring and it's going to be really good. They use a Famicom as part of their sound, especially for the synth and bass parts, and combine it with a lot of melodic guitar and pretty vocals. Plus, two of the members are half Japanese.
I also really recommend Zaza (myspace)... which sounds a bit like a darker, more romantic Radiohead, The Drums (myspace)... another New York band who play really fun, catchy indie-pop, and German Measles (myspace), who play songs about wild weekends and cool guys that dress like my dad.

Manhattan or Brooklyn:

Brooklyn.

Pizza or Sushi:

Sushi!

Shoes or Sneakers:

Sneakers.

Japanese Candy or American Candy:

Japanese Candy!!!

Vintage clothing or High-end new clothing:

Simple new clothes

Finally, what is the one thing that you never leave your house without?

My keys and my dreams. x

Thanks so much Kip, and have a great time in Japan! Mike MF x

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart Japan (supported by The Depreciation Guild) tour schedule. Click on the venues for details.

2/06 – Tokyo - Fever  (extra support from Scott Goes For) Sold Out 

2/07 – Osaka - Sunsui (extra support from Monocism and Turntable Films)

2/09 – Kobe - Blueport (extra support from Lemon's Chair) 

2/11 – Fukuoka - Rooms (extra support from Autumnleaf)

2/12 – Nagoya - Japon (extra support from One Day Diary) 

2/14 – Tokyo - Fever (extra support from Cruyff in the Bedroom) 

Follow The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart on myspace and their homepage. Purchase music and merchandise here.

Thanks to Fastcut Records for the Japan tour.