During last year’s DAM!fest, I had some time to kill between shows one night and headed over to DC9 to catch some of the ridiculous bill that had bands like De Novo Dahl, Bound Stems and Bishop Allen all playing the same night. I got there right as the first band, Pela, were starting their set. I had read the name on a few different music blogs but wasn’t familiar with their music at all. I grabbed a beer and settled in for what turned out to be a fantastic set, easily the best I saw during the festival. Part Old 97’s, part War-era U2 and all energy, I knew I was witnessing something special. I bought their EP on iTunes soon after and it became regular listening for me during my morning commute. So when we started brainstorming the line up for Thursday’s Unbuckled, they were at the top of my list. Luckily for all of us, they said yes. Lead guitarist Nate Martinez answered some questions for us in advance of the gig.

1) You’re the first non-D.C. band we’ve invited to play Unbuckled. Do you feel any pressure? What should people unfamiliar with your band expect when seeing you live?

We appreciate the invitation to be part of this. I would say we are more excited than anything else. We played D.C. once before back in the fall and had a great time. Unfortunately we had to leave right after playing, so this time we look forward to shaking some hands meeting some new people and having a good time. And for anyone who hasn’t seen us, we’ll be putting on a high energy show. We have a lot of fun and try and make it a great experience for everyone, but you have to like rock and roll.

2) You just signed a record deal with something called Great Society Records. Congrats! Why did you decide to sign with a relatively new/untested label? Were there any majors sniffing around?

Thanks. We went with Great Society because we’ve got to know them over time and they’ve got a very talented team of people. They actually have a great track record. This label was started by World’s Fair which manages labels in the U.S like Rough Trade, Bella Union, Def Jux, to name a few. They started this label up recently with the help of Warner Brothers, and it seemed like the perfect match for us. It meant that our music wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. Everyone here is as devoted as we are. it’s a good feeling. And yes majors labels have sniffed around. They did for a while. Honestly they just complicate things. They have these enthusiastic people who don’t realize that they are on a sinking ship, it’s a bit tragic. They just want to spend, spend, spend and they loose focus on the music.