The Panderers are a new band with a great story. Scott Wynn, the singer/songwriter for the band, grew up with deep east Kentucky coal mining family roots. Scott told me that one day his father walked out of the mountains, hitchhiked to Cincinnati, and the family shifted from coal mining to farming. The music he writes reflects his hard-working Appalachian roots mixed with a sound from our generation. When you throw into the mix the skills from Dave Wilder on percussion and bass, Andrew Livingston on bass, and Pete McNeal on drums and percussion, you get a sound like no other. A few other artists jumped in on the album, too, which Scott mentions below.

Scott was able to make some time to participate in our 20 Questions interview before hitting the road on the heels of their debut album release, "Songs that Bang", which can be purchased from their MySpace page. These are hand-numbered limited edition CD's that won't be available once they are picked up by a record label. It is one of those CD's that you want to leave playing in the car for weeks as the rhythm invades your soul. My copy is burning up my player right now.

Quirkee.com and The Panderers are giving away a copy of their new CD to a lucky registered member of the Quirkee Community! The random drawing contest starts next week so register with Quirkee for your chance to win!

Here is what Scott Wynn had to say for our 20 Questions:

Q: Andrew Livingston, Pete McNeal, Dave Wilder, and you, Scott Wynn, are a great mix of talent. How did The Panderers get together?

• Once upon a time, from my Indiana home, I posted 16 homemade original demos to the Internet that I wrote and recorded using Cool Edit Pro. I cyberly ran into one Pete McNeal (former Cake drummer) and he was smitten by and recognized the fine aura of these demos and floated me his cell number over on a MySpace message. We talked a bit and Dave Wilder (Macy Gray/Liz Phair) got involved and then Andrew Livingston (Mike Doughty's Band) was invited out of Brooklyn to just infuse the music with his man butter. We pretty much nestled into Wilderstyle Studio with some high-end gear and re-recorded the early demos with a well-rounded team of producer's and musicians that cared enough to keep it ghetto and imperfect, stripped down and bare...rootsy. By the end of the album we had Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers/Foo Fighters) and John Kirby (Mike Doughty's Band), Chris Joyner (Wallflowers, Semisonic, Sheryl Crow, Soul Asylum, Citizen Cope), Davey Chegwidden (Breakestra, Rhythm Roots All Stars), and Marshall Thompson (Mother Jones, The Mars Hall) all lending talent to it.

Q: What one word would you use to describe each of your band mates?

• Pete McNeal = stimulated, Andrew Livingston = collected, Scott Wynn = scattered, Dave Wilder = constant

Q: If you had to pick your favorite song of all time, what would it be and why?

• "Peace Dog" by the Cult. Because after many years of making softer Duran-Duran-ish albums, they came to the states from the UK and it changed everything around for them. A total rebirth. The whole "Electric" album for The Cult is those guys just killing it because they finally got the right formula. The right formula is everything. Some bands are born with it, some fall into it eventually. The bands that land on it later appreciate it more. Astbury had such enthusiasm on that track, like he had rediscovered a mic after 8 or 10 years. I'm a fan of the Cult's early stuff too, but "Electric" is immense in nature. The right formula rules. I feel that we are working hard on a formula. So, I want to shout out some Peace Dog right now.

Q: At what point in life did you discover your songwriting and musical talents and decided that is what you wanted to do?

• My much older neighbor guy was a former USO entertainer during the Korean War (He was also the brother of the Flying V guitar legend Lonnie Mack). His name was Alvin McIntosh. I credit him as the one that taught me how to play. I still play the guitar that he sold me and taught me on when I was 12 or so. It is a 1970's Epiphone acoustic worth maybe $185.00. Ugly, but has mad tone. It was crushed flat by a friend of mine who borrowed it one weekend. The repair was extensive. I think all the glue in it makes it sound good. You can hear it all over our CD "Songs that Bang". Anyway, Alvin was not well to do, but he was very real, impressive and talented. could nail old trucker country and bluegrass and do it with a lot of true grit.

• Progressing though the years, I played a lot of cover music in regional rock bands, but I really started pursuing songwriting in college. I rode to school with a best friend named Clint Walston who was just incredible with music period. We dueled with songs that we'd write and 4 track and such. So, he had a sizable stack of songs, I had fewer. He passed away at a young age. Clint wrote the track "Prison Song" which is on our "Songs that Bang" CD. I think right after losing a best friend like that took my songwriting and focus to the next level. I got real serious about writing.

Q: What instruments do you not know how to play but wish you did?

• Definitely a Chamberlain organ, a kalimba (a box bass you see in the islands) and an accordion.

Q: Who inspires you?

• I am inspired by WWII vets. The dudes with the high-riding hats that have battleship names and pins on them. They are walking history representing the gravest timeframe of the last century. These guys were part of some defining moments in time and space. Not every generation gets to witness the entire civilized world destroyed and be rebuilt. We get to say, "they tore a wall down in some country." It's just not comparable.

• Yesterday. We talk a lot. You would like her. I call her "mom".

Q: What words of wisdom did your father share with you? Was it good advice?

• I think it was "if you buy twist tops, you don't need a bottle opener." It was not great advice. He was overly prone to the sauce.

Q: What is the meaning of life?

• Work hard, encourage others toward their goals, and donate any surplus.

Q: Best cure for a hangover?

• V8 juice, Aleve, Zantac

Q: Philosophy to live by?

• Always take the hard/long path when pursuing one's goals. Nothing that comes easy has permanence.

Q: Where do you go to find new music?

• Random player encounters on MySpace. So much good stuff out there. If I were to start a label today, I know the roster I would build right now.

Q: If you could be reincarnated, what would you like to come back as?

• A human. The opposable thumb item rules. Other creatures would be frustrating to live as. Sure, a bird would be great to fly, but you got no hands, or the ever-useful opposable thumb. Plus you would have mites and stuff. Yeah, definitely a human.

Q: Do you think the Internet is the new frontier for bands and musicians?

• Entirely! If an artist can sell enough products to fund touring and radio promotion efforts, they no longer need a label. The distribution element is wide open now. That used to be a closed loop. I think artists are about to enjoy 3-5 years of an unbridled chance at profiteering until someone can devise a way to mess it all it all up.

• One thing I am not hip on is the recent surge of "pay to submit your demo" practice that is coming out of it. That stuff sounds kind of seedy to me. I am already seeing labels and promoters springing up with no real artists under their belt taking money to just to ACCEPT demos. That's selling false hope and cashing in on broken dreams.

Q: Who is the smartest person you've ever met?

• A guy that I did an internship under when was finishing up my degree. He worked for a municipal electric company. You have to order your electric from the power plants, if you order too much then you have to spread the unused portion cost over all the consumers in the region. If you did order not enough, the city goes black when you use it up. This man maintained a balance month to month for decades. A reliably brilliant man.

• I'm a sucker for the mundane bits of life that many of us take for granted. I admire balance above all. A fine line between well done and overdone.

Q: When you are not writing, recording, or performing, what do you enjoy doing?

• Camping and primitive stuff. Jumping off of stuff into water.

Q: Are you a spiritual person?

• Yes. I think being spiritual is recognizing that our actions live longer than the enactment of them. Our actions are like stones dropped into a pool and the ripples bounce off of distant unseen shores, impacting and changing hidden pieces of life. That's an old and common way of saying it, but accurate in my eyes. Everything they tried to express in movies like "Pay it Forward" or "Crash." Never underestimate the fallout of your actions, or likewise the enhancements born from them. I am both spiritual and superstitious. Being superstitious means that you know you were involved in sending out a dark ripple and have to wait it out to see what the repercussions will be. You generally feel "cursed" during such a timeframe.

Q: If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three things would you need to survive?

• Fishing nets, water desalinization plant, and a kite (for killing time)

Q: What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

• I remember that I am an evening person.

Q: If your life were turned into a movie, which actor(s) would play you?

• Probably that kid from "Deliverance" for the childhood scenes, then a young Dwight Yoakum for the adult parts. Dwight Yoakum is surprisingly great in all his acting endeavors that I have seen. That guy is not an actor but he really is a great actor. So natural. I think that would fit me maybe. I'm no actor, but I might be. Dunno.

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