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Josh Farrell Interview
Doctor Pocket
"Doctor Pocket" have made quite a name for themselves since
forming in 1995.
They've released two CD's, "Live At The Legendary hungry Charley's" in
1998, and "With Great Speed" in 1999.
They've opened shows for Foghat, Loverboy, and The Derek Trucks Band.
Lead singer ... Josh Farrell ... spoke with us about Doctor Pocket.
Q - Josh, who named the band "Doctor Pocket" and
why?
A - Well, we were in the studio when we first got out of college, making
a 4-song demo. We needed a name, as all bands. We were called The Funky
Lemons in college. It was just a college band. We just put it together for
fun. We were never happy with it (the name). By the time we got to Syracuse,
we thought hopefully we'll do it as a career, and we need a name we'll like.
It doesn't mean anything.
Q - Did you come up with it?
A - No. It was a collaboration. We just threw around words, and names,
and wrote stuff on a list. It just came together like that. I wanted a name
that when people thought of it, they thought of the band, that didn’t
relate to anything else.
Q - Did all the members of this band attend Potsdam College? Is that how
you met?
A - Four of us went, and we've always had a bass player. We've gone through
a few bass players. My drummer has a Masters in Neurobiology. It's tough
to get people. This is what we do. We've sacrificed everything else
in our lives to do what we're trying to do.
Q - Why, when you had your choice of upstate cities to move to, did you
decide to move to Syracuse?
A - We didn't decide to move here. We didn't all graduate at the same
time, so, two of us were still in school, while two of the band members
were out of school, and we were still playing. They didn't want to live
in Potsdam. (Laughs). It's not a thriving metropolis. Not that Syracuse
is. I grew up in Liverpool and we got a bass player that lived in Syracuse.
So, that's when we started playing, like at Hungry Charley's and in the
area. It was two and a half hours, but it was close enough to Potsdam where
we could play on the weekends.
Q - That weekly gig at Hungry Charley's could not have paid the rent for
every guy in the band. Did you have day jobs?
A - Yes. Nothing that anyone's proud of, you know. (Laughs).
Q - Does this band travel a lot?
A - Yes and no. We haven't gotten to the level where we'd like to be,
where we're playing 4 or 5 nights a week. We haven't been able to figure
out how to do that yet, like hooking up with a booking agent or someone
who can get us full-time work. We play in Rochester, Buffalo, all the surrounding
cities.
Q - Where did you open for Foghat and Loverboy?
A - Oh. that was at Vernon Downs, this summer. That was a good bill. There
was a good amount of people there. It was good exposure.
Q - Was it expensive to put these 2 CD's out?
A - Well, I was an intern at Todd Hobin Studios, so I engineered
the CD's while I was still an intern. So, we didn't have to pay the full
studio time price. The 'Live' CD was the first thing I did there. It wasn't
overly expensive, but, we haven't made our money back, so, it's an acceptable
loss. (Laughs),
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