Windsor band juggling life and school during busiest year to date

After releasing a debut EP, producing its first music video and playing several opening gigs for bigger Canadian acts, Windsor-based alternative rock band Pulp City Inn has had its busiest year yet.

Band members—lead singer Justin Zuccato, guitar player Darryl Festa, bass player Brandon Zuccato and drummer Brandon Lefrancois—have been struggling to juggle their academic and musical careers.

“It’s not easy. We try to put as much time and effort into the band as much as possible while keeping busy with school,” said Lefrancois, who is pursuing a double major in music and communications, media and film.

Brandon Zuccato, a criminology and psychology student, said the January release of their EP, seems further off than a year: “It feels like forever ago.”

The EP, Welcome to Pulp City Inn, is a compilation of four songs, including “My Surrender,” which has had airplay on Windsor’s 100.7 The Rock radio station, and is in the postproduction stage of being made into a music video.

The video is currently being edited by LadyMeta Movement, which is owned by University of Windsor grads Catrina Franzoi and Daniella Bumbacco. Festa said it was a cool experience working with LadyMeta Movement.

“It was nice not to have to worry about the planning and the logistics of shooting a video and instead having other people do it for you,” he said.

The band brainstormed with Franzoi to get the idea for the video, which follows the band’s lead singer on a “crazy adventure” as he runs into some unusual characters. Franzoi said that it is rare for a band to want to have a say in a video’s plot.

“The guys have a strong opinion of who they are as a band and definitely had a lot of ideas towards their video,” she said. “They understood the video would reflect on them and it’s nice to see a band care that much.”

Band members said they appreciated opportunities to open for bigger Canadian acts.

“It gives us a good opportunity to expose our music to fans of these bigger Canadian acts,” said Lefrancois.

The band will opening for Faber Drive on November 25 at The Room nightclub in downtown Windsor. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. To find out more about Pulp City Inn’s music, check out the group’s Facebook page.

— article and photo by Jessica Hoffman