Listening to Baltimore noise rockers Ponytail feels a bit like drinking a No Doz-Pop Rocks-Red Bull cocktail: think colorful sonic swirls mixed with pure adrenaline. Their album Ice Cream Spiritual (We Are Free) is for sale June 17 and they’re touring the East Coast with Joan of Arc this summer; New Yorkers, check ‘em out at the After the Jump Fest on June 21. In the fall, they’re making plans to invade Europe.

Bryan caught up with Jeremy Hyman, Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong via email. We’re assuming vocalist Molly Siegel was too wired to sit still at the keyboard.

Bands are often described as ‘having a lot of energy’ or ‘being very energetic’ - you seem to take this even further. You’re like a pure force of energy shooting off in a million directions at once. How do you keep your show under control?

Jeremy: Maybe it seems crazy because we’re all doing very different things on stage. Each of us channels something different. So maybe individually we are fairly focused but altogether it looks like a mess.

Ken: Sometimes it’s really difficult to keep everything together live. We get carried away! The ideal situation is this moment where we feel like we are channeling something and the song plays itself.

Dustin: A million directions, that’s a lot of directions! It’s more like directions coming from four points, from each member, creating a pyramid-like energy tent.

Of the eight tracks on your upcoming record, the only discernible lyrics appear toward the end of “Late For School.” What were some of the things that you did in the mornings that would make you late for school?

Jeremy: I think it was more like the things I didn’t do, like wake up or homework.

Dustin: I’ve been late to school for such stupid reasons, like taking Benadryl or just YouTubing for hours late at night. Now that we are all out of school it’s more like, “Oh no, I’m late for jury duty!” (Which actually happened not too long ago.)

So, are there any songs that have been ruined for you?

Dustin: I can’t listen to “Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes any more. I was living in this apartment in Oakland, California when I was 19 or 20. My roommates had a party and this
freshman girl was dancing so dirty to that song, she made me completely hate it. That was a tragic incident.

As far as you know, have you ever ruined a song for someone else? Maybe there’s an ex or a former friend who might hate a certain song because of you?

Ken: Growing up I definitely ruined “So What’cha Want” by the Beastie Boys for my brother by repeating “What’cha what’cha what’cha want (what’cha want!)” in his face over and over, just like the music video.

Dustin: When I was on tour with Matt Papich in Ecstatic Sunshine I played a live version of the Beach Boys song “Darlin.” It’s a really cheesy song that has some throat rumbles. I liked it because it has such a stereotypical seventies bridge and horns, but Matt was just not having it. That also happened when I was trying to listen to some happy hardcore.

Random Cat Question!

Do you have a cat? If not, have you met any cats on the road? Felines just love it when there are strange bands sharing the living room floor with them at night.

Jeremy: I have a cat named Meesh Meesh.

Dustin: I don’t have a cat, unfortunately, but yes, we meet a lot of nice cats on the road. I slept next to one in Richmond, Virginia. It was so fluffy.