Just so that you’re not picturing a horse the size of a Chihuahua, know that Five Pound Horse does not refer to the weight of the equine.
“It's an old law from the Irish penal colonial days,” says Karl Mullen, “where an Irish Catholic was not allowed to own a horse worth more than five [British] pounds. It was a way for the colonialists to steal a good horse.”
It’s also another good band name from Mullen, the ex-Pittsburgher and punk/folk frontman who gave us the groundbreaking late ‘70s/early ‘80s punk band Carsickness and its acoustic ‘90s spinoff Ploughman’s Lunch.
Five Pound Horse, which comes to Pittsburgh from Williamstown, Mass. for a two-night stand this weekend at James Simon Studios, is the first project where Mullen is sharing the frontman duties equally.
“It’s nice. The pressure’s off me,” he says.
Five Pound Horse is a partnership with Benjii and Christopher Simmersbach of the folk/roots band The Durgas. Born in Bavaria, Germany and raised in various places across the globe, The Simmersbachs previously played — with a third brother, Patrick — in A Subtle Plague, an ‘80s punk band whose first demo was recorded by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.
“It's kind of roots, but we're kind of all over the place,” Mullen says of Five Pound Horse. “The Durgas were originally a punk band, to some extent, and their background is somewhat similar to my background. So we speak the same language a little bit. I met Benjii and we started out as a collective, but we've kind of morphed into this band and it's really nice because we've got two different voices, two slightly different songwriting styles, and we just hit it off as soon as we met.”
They are joined by Los Angeles resident Christopher, jazz pedal steel player Josh Kleederman and fiddler Beth Daunis. Drummer Stan Parese won’t be with them on this trip to Pittsburgh.
Mullen has new material written for Five Pound Horse, which he’s anxious to record.
“We're talking to a couple of different studios,” he says. “We need something to send out to everybody because all the promoters are like, ‘Well, we know what The Durgas are like. What's this Five Pound Horse all about?’ ”
Already on the schedule is a European tour in June that will combine the music and members of The Durgas and Five Pound Horse.
Zinnia’s Garden party
The family connections at these shows extend to the other act on the bill, Zinnia’s Garden.
Mullen’s daughter, Maura Moon, plays bass in the young band, which will open with a stripped down/acoustic set on Friday and then headline on Saturday with the full electric band to celebrate the release of the new EP, “Paragon.”
It’s been advanced by three singles — “Purple Portal Dream,” “I Want To Believe” and “Break Free Siren” — all released with music videos.
Zinnia’s Garden began in New Mexico as a duo with guitarist Evan Smith (who is also a world-class professional skateboarder and nephew of Mr. Smalls co-owner Mike Speranzo) and singer-drummer Mary Grace, who dropped their debut album, “Death By Design,” in 2022. With a move back to Pittsburgh, they became a foursome with Moon and singer-keyboardist Kiah Rihana that debuted in the spring of 2023.
Zinnia’s Garden is an alternative rock band with soaring vocals that will remind listeners of The Cranberries.
The shows are Friday and Saturday at the James Simon Studios, 305 Gist St., Uptown, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $20; simonsculpture.com.
First Published: April 17, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: April 18, 2024, 2:12 a.m.