Diandra Interviews Palberta: Living On 5000!

Why do you love music? Does it challenge you? Does it push you to dream or see the world through a compassionate lens? Does it make you release your wild, goofy side for all eccentric glory? For Palberta, the answer is all of the above, and their newest record, Palberta5000, was about turning that vibe up to 5000. Now, of course, 2020 and 2021, may not seem like periods to “turn up,” but Ani Ivry-Block, Lily Konigsberg, from the  mutli-instrumental/ singing trio, discuss how this year was a lot, in every way: from everything to nothing.

Diandra: What are the biggest themes of Palberta5000?

Ani: Shredding

Singing

Harmony

Friendship

Food

Diandra: If Palberta5000 was a future earth, what would it look like and what would be its laws?

Ani: No more presidents. 

Nina: Abundant free food for everyone.

Diandra: If you could throw confetti on any situation in your life or in the world to either celebrate it or make it better, which would it be and why?

Ani: Mutual Aid. Mutual Aid is the future of communities coming together on a local level to help each other. It is very demanding work and needs all the support and encouragement it can get. I’d throw money all over that because as ugly as money is, these orgs do need money to get the materials for the people.

Nina:This!!! And to add, I would throw confetti on the general work & thought people have been putting into themselves, to better themselves, and to constantly learn and grow. Everyone in my life has been doing this extra since the pandemic, and I think it’s a necessary step in creating positive change.

Diandra: What is a movie or tv show you would turn in a concept album? Why and from what character’s perspective?

Ani: Friday Night Lights. Teamwork makes the dream work. Tami Taylor. This show is so much about community and supporting one another. I can’t attest to every aspect of this show but, generally speaking, this show promotes love more so than people being shitty and conniving. 

Nina: X-Files. The plight of Skully’s denial of extra-terrestrial life, despite her constant encounters with the third kind, and Mulder’s battle as a tireless, unapologetic believer. From the perspective of Mulder’s little sister who was abducted by aliens when she was a kid.

What is an album you would turn into a movie? What would be the premise and who would you cast as leads?

Ani: Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea by PJ Harvey. This is an album with movie narratives threaded throughout. All about the dark grimy city nights in NYC . PJ herself would be the lead and Palberta would be the cast of characters scattered throughout NYC.

Nina: Wow, yes!  Also, Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott-Heron. I’m surprised this album hasn’t already been adapted into a movie. Gil Scott-Heron is a poet; the lyrics are so vivid and poignant. Moreover, the narratives of each song feel very cinematic. There are emotional arcs of both pain and optimism. 

Diandra: What are 3 things you always buy from your corner store?

Ani: Chips

Chocolate

Seltzer

Nina: Same. Also sometimes gummy worms, milk, discounted cereal, and dog food.

Diandra: What would you say is the emotional and mental difference between your early twenties and late ones?

Ani: I am better at listening. 

Nina: I feel more comfortable and confident in myself.

Diandra: How has music challenged you to think differently about yourself? What is your biggest, self-image change?

Ani: Music is constantly challenging me just in my very attempts to define what music even is. The definition changes shape and because of that, it could be anything. I am always discovering something new about myself through music: whether it’s a new style of singing or just a new way of listening.

Nina: I find that music always challenges me in constructive ways. Performing live makes me confront my struggles with self-image and self-consciousness. So when I perform live I am challenged to channel my energy more outward to connect more with the audience, and break the habit of going into a very internalized, self-isolated zone. Writing in Palberta constantly sharpens and improves my skills in playing drums, bass and guitar. Because that shit is not easy!

Diandra: What is your favorite childhood memory with music?

Ani: I loved listening to the z100 and q104 countdowns in the car with my brother; even when the number one song would always to be stairway to heaven or some shit. The radio was my jam.

Nina: When I discovered The Beatles, when I was 8 years old, my world exploded. I was one of those girls with Beatles’ Mania. I was completely in love with Paul and sobbed over the fact that I couldn’t have him.

Diandra: What are 4 random facts about yourself and one about how you spent 2020?

Ani: I have a cow blanket.

I like coffee more than water

I prefer no pillow when I sleep.

My goal in fashion is to extend the life of each article of clothing until it is beyond repair. I have clothing from middle school that is still kicking!

I spent 2020 trying to do it all.

Nina: I have had several psychic dreams of things/events that have occurred later in real life.

I had melanoma when I was 18.

While I respect and conceptually get down with mushrooms, I don’t like eating them and think they taste gross.

I fall asleep to audiobooks pretty much every night.

I spent 2020 cooking a lot, watching a lot of TV, going on adventures around Philly, and playing a lot of music.

Diandra: Your album is about positive change. Describe a moment when you felt a positive change in your life and what did it teach you?

Ani: Positive change has usually come from hard conversations with friends. Those conversations taught me to think outside myself and listen to others.

Nina: fully agree with this.

Diandra: What are things you most love in a partner versus what you want them to most love about you?

Ani: I love when a partner is following their dream/ vision. I think I’d like them to love that about me!

Nina: I love a partner who is self-motivated to pursue/explore their hobbies/interests and passions. I want a partner to encourage & love that about me too. Another thing I love in a partner is their ability to make dumb jokes and their ability to love my dumb jokes.

Diandra: If you had a comic-book origin story, how would it begin and what super-power would you give each other?

Ani: Palberta climbed out of a food waste facility. I was floating down the sludge when I saw Lily on a cheese log trying to stay a float. We linked up and carried onwards until we saw Nina on an orange peel mountain. We climbed on top and the three of us caught a waft of the smoggy cloud of food fumes. We never got food poisoning.

Nina: Once we landed on the smoggy cloud of food fumes, we floated up higher and higher into the sky until we spotted a giant burrito planet. We hopped our way across the food-fume clouds until we finally dove into the burrito planet. Lily got her head stuck in a bean, Ani’s feet got trapped in a river of sour cream, and Nina belly flopped into a salsa volcano. Lily ate her way through the bean, Ani stomped her foot outa that sour cream river, and Nina did a belly-slide down the salsa volcano. They all reunited; thankful for their survival.

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