Rick Maguire has been releasing music – both solo and with a band – under the name Pile for over 10 years. Pile has toured hard since day one, gaining a cult following for their thoughtful lyrics and a sound that’s ever-evolving but uniquely theirs.

In this episode, Rick shares what makes their upcoming album, Green and Gray (out 5/3/19), different, his experience quitting and drinking and how it’s impacted his work, working on music full-time, being grateful for the journey and weird experiences along the way, the value of growing slowly, lessons in leading a band, and more.

Listen above or on iTunes or Spotify.

Show notes

In this episode, we talk about:

• Nashville’s music scene and what it was like moving from Boston
• forever learning how to navigate the music industry as he goes
• being confident in his decisions and how he’s chosen to create things 
• looking retrospectively at his touring and musical history as Pile 
• learning to not have expectations as a band playing in a new place 
• being happy with his slower path to where he’s gotten and the wild experiences along the way 
• his experience quitting drinking and smoking 
• Pile’s new double LP Green and Gray out May 3rd and how it’s different from their past albums 
• why he feels better about this record now that it’s done compared to previous albums 
• what drives him to be constantly writing 
• being committed to music as his sole career and the difference that’s made in creating work
• stepping up to the plate as band leader with two new members
• the role nervousness plays in his lyrics 
• what drives him to make music despite the personal sacrifices he’s made
• finding bandmates who want to live his art with him 
• his respect for Randy Newman’s lyrics and subject matter

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Pile’s music
• Pile tour dates
• Rick/Pile on Instagram
• DRKMTTR Collective
• Calyx
• Soul Glo
• Bib
• Daughters
• Deerhoof
• Aneurysm 
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

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