In their press release, the men of In the Year of the Pig make it all sounds so simple: “Aaron Smithers plays bass. Robert Biggers plays drums. Lincoln Sward plays bass. Dave Cantwell plays drums. David Harper plays guitar. Zeke Graves plays synthesizers.” Six names, a double up on the rhythm section, a side of synthesizer and that’s it. One listen to the band’s latest record, 2010’s Jamón, you know it’s not. This music isn’t simple, so much as heavy, distorted, meditative, impulsive, noisy, syncopated. It’s a barrage of words clamoring to define a band that throws in equal parts cerebral focus and improvisational wit to make music that defies genre, but leans on the dynamic local scene. And you can catch them in full celebration of that and all things In the Year of the Pig at the Hopscotch Fest this Saturday night at The Berkeley Cafe.
Now just the five hardest questions in faux business:
1. If your band were a pork product, which would it be?
– I don’t know what kind of pork product we would be, but we do take great pleasure in investigating the full range of culinary possibilities available with the noble beast.
Recently we have been exploring regional hot dog styles.  We made our first trip to Paul’s Place in Rocky Point, NC a couple months ago.  Very enjoyable.  Perfecting home preparations of both the Sonoran Dog and Carolina Slaw Dog styles has been a fantastic journey as well.
Tip of the hat to Skeenie’s Hot Dogs in West Virginia too.
We profess no allegiance to either Eastern or Lexington style barbecue, choosing instead to keep our hearts open and our minds clear of distraction.
We also stand by Diana Kennedy’s technique of preparing carnitas at home, however, the confit method recently proposed by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt certainly merits some investigation.
2. When did the idea to form In the Year of the Pig come up? (aka How’d you guys get started playing together?)
–  There is an origin story comic book, illustrated by Chicago silkscreen artist Keith G. Herzik, that is available at our shows.  Email if you want one but don’t want to see a show.  The name came from an infatuation with a 1968 documentary film about the Vietnam War by Emile de Antonio, highly recommended.  We started in 2005 because we had a good name that needed using, a very nice landlord, and upstairs neighbors who were friendly folklorists.  Essentially we had a place to practice, a very, very supportive local music community, and Nightlight.  It seemed silly not to take advantage of it and play some music.  It’s grown over the years from the original duo of Bear and Fox to the current six-piece of Aaron Smithers, David Harper, Dave Cantwell, Lincoln Sward, Robert Biggers, and Zeke Graves.
3. Describe your typical band practice.
7:30 PM: arrive early and head over to Tienda Don Jose for a Topo Chico and a 32 oz. Carta Blanca.
7:45 PM: sit in alley and discuss world events as other folks arrive.
8:00 PM: get stuff inside and see what equipment is broken this week.
8:15 PM: Cantwell leads a brief service.
8:20 PM: break.
8:27 PM: tuning.
8:30 PM: jams.
9:00 PM: more jams.
9:30 PM: even more jams.
10:00 PM: maybe even more jams.
10:15 PM: discussion that maybe we really are just a jam band.
10:30 PM: David Harper distributes theory worksheet for homework with a firm hand and serious countenance.
4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that would really surprise people?
– the sword of the lictor
– quality ingredients
– Karp<
– 1970’s American cinema (the New Wave)
– Charles Portis
– Sanford & Son
– Robb Walsh
– Karp
– common courtesy
– James P. Johnson
– The Allegheny Jubilee
– good vegetables
– good meat
– good fish
– Guy Klucevsek (particularly “Boeves Psalm,” originally composed by his friend and colleague Lars Hollmer
– Sound poetry
– Lady Muleskinner Press
РLos Vampiros de Lalo Trevi̱o (conjunto and musica norte̱a in general)
– Mingo SaldÃvar
– Esteban “Steve” Jordan. El Parche. [RIP]
5. What did you want to be when you grew up? (How did that work out?)
– A folklorist. Â Isn’t that what every kid wants to be?
– When I was in High School we had to go once a week to a home room class. The program that required this was called PATHS. It had something to do with trying to get students to think about their future and higher education. My PATHS teacher was the ROTC instructor. He had all the typical military mannerisms that you would expect from a High School ROTC instructor. One day we were going around the class talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. When the ROTC instructor came up to me and asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told him that I wanted to be a garbage man in NYC. This was obviously the wrong answer, because he proceeded to give a verbal beat down using my last name alot and ultimately saying that I was going to end up working at the 7-11 serving him coffee. Sometimes I like to think about where that ROTC instructor ended up. I bet he is wearing a diaper.
– A champion. Â Yes, seems to have worked out great.
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Rush out to hear In the Year of the Pig at Hopscotch this Saturday night at the Berkeley Cafe. And, by all means, give the boys a high five when you see them!