Lyle: For those out there who are unfamiliar with Painted Highways, can you give us a brief synopsis?
Mike Pooley: Painted Highways is something we started while I was in a musical limbo. I called up some of my favorite local musicians and luckily they were all up for something new. Jack Tawil (Hell Caminos, At Sea, Malcognitas) plays drums, Mark Howard (CTRL ALT DEL) plays guitars and sings, and Kai Salus (Temporary Lovers) plays bass. It’s a mix of ‘90s indie rock stuff like Dinosaur Jr. and Modest Mouse. We are also influenced by bands like Broken Social Scene, Radiohead and of course “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen. Everyone in the band writes songs.

What is a Painted Highway?
A Painted Highway is an artsy way of describing a scenic drive. I’m a sucker for listening to music during road trips. It makes sense in my head. It also reminds Jack of touring, which he has done quite a bit of. The open road. Freedom.

What are some of the good and bad things about Hawai‘i’s music community?
It’s hard to not play it safe with this question. Good things are that it’s very tight knit. We are all friends here. We try to help each other out with shows and what not. We also get a very unique opportunity to play with bands that if we were in a different city, we wouldn’t have the chance to. It seems much easier to grow a fan base here since it’s slim pickings as far as alternative music and indie rock goes. This is only my perception for the bad things, but I want to be honest. The bad thing is that even when a band isn’t very good, no matter what, everyone still says, “Dude, that was sick!” Even if they don’t mean it. It’s a lack of constructive criticism that gives bands a false sense of reality. It’s hard for bands to improve, because in their head it’s like, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If everyone is telling you that you are amazing, then you assume you are, and that there is no need to progress. I don’t think I’ve seen a band “bomb” in Honolulu, crowd wise. I mean I’ve seen bands “bomb,” but you wouldn’t know it. People are still clapping and cheering, and then leaning over to their friend and saying, “Damn that sucked.” I’m guilty of doing this too, but it’s still a bummer. We need a buddyhead style blog or someone who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. I’m not brave enough to do it, but I am also afraid of being horrible and everyone letting us go up there and be horrible. A good example would be the album reviews you read out here. They are generally positive, which is great for self-esteem, but they are never critical. I’m not talking about trashing bands, but being constructive so that the levels of creativity and musicianship are pushed. I want Hawai‘i to kill it.