5
EZTHE
WASHINGTON
POST
.
FRIDAY,APRIL
1, 2022
My D.C. Dream Day
No pigeons or ping-pong, but some music
In Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us how they
would spend a perfect day in the District (or, in this case, Baltimore).
When Jeremy Schon was in college at the University of Maryland in the
late aughts, the then-aspiring musician would often hop on Metro’s Green
Line to attend jam band shows at 9:30 Club, or head home to Baltimore to
catch a concert at the 8x10. It wasn’t long after graduating in 2010 that he was
playing those same stages with his own band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
“This is my life,” the 33-year-old guitarist says. “I live for live music. It’s my
outlet, whether I’m playing a show or seeing a show.”
The high-energy jam band was born in College Park when Schon and singer
Greg Ormont met in their freshman year dorm. “We instantly connected over
our love of music and having a good time,” says Schon, who interned with D.C.
promoter IMP during college. A psychology 101 textbook entry on B.F.
Skinner’s successful experiment to train pigeons to play table tennis inspired
the band’s name; they found their first drummer through a history of rock
class, and their bassist joined because he lived in the house where they
practiced.
Now the Baltimore band — an improv-heavy blend of the jam bands Schonwould see in college, mixed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and classic rock
touchpoints — hosts its own annual camping festival, Domefest in Ohio, and
on April 8 will release its latest album, “Perspective,” which was recorded at
Wright Way Studios in Charm City. (Keeping things local, they filmed a video
for the single “Elephante” at the site of Ellicott City’s Enchanted Forest.)
“The whole album is a big perspective on who we are as a band,” Schon says.
“It gives a whole overarching view, in a way. We want people to listen to the
album and think of all the positives in life. That’s our goal as a band: to have
people see the brighter side of things and pull people into the moment.”
During the pandemic, Schon has constantly looked on the bright side:
Pigeons was one of the first bands to live-stream crowdless shows in 2020,
and they quickly pivoted to drive-in and socially distanced gigs. Schon also
got married with a scaled-down celebration in August 2020, and he and his
wife, Kathleen, had a baby girl named Lily a year later.
For his Baltimore-centric dream day, Schon and his wife will do some of
their favorite things: hiking, exploring museums, eating sushi and visiting
some of his college concert haunts.
— as told to Rudi GreenbergI’
d start the day off with a
home-cooked breakfast
and a RUNA energy tea.
I’ve been hooked on their
teas for years. My wife, the whole
band — it is our pre-show ritual.
It’s how we survive day six in a
row on tour. We’re making a bowl
of cheese grits with some sausage
or bacon. That sounds good.
This is a nice late-spring day,
not too hot, but a warm morning.
If it rains, it’ll be a nice mist. We’ll
head to Harpers Ferry and hit
the Maryland Heights Trail for a
nice hike with my wife and my
dog, Bowie. The grandparents are
watching the baby. There would
be no one on the trail, we would
have the whole place to ourselves.
It’s a challenging hike, but it’s not
going to leave you exhausted for
the day. It’s a good workout, and
there’s beautiful views at the top.
You get a great view of the river at
the end. The key is soaking in
nature. I love running into wild-
life on trails. Hiking helps center
me. Bowie’s got endless energy.
He’s my hiking buddy. He got
hundreds of miles’ worth during
the pandemic. After that we go to
unwind with some kayaking in
Harpers Ferry on the Shenando-
ah and the Potomac.
We’ll get back to Baltimore and
go to Clavel mezcaleria. That’s a
favorite spot of ours. I don’t even
know if they’re open for lunch,
but on a dream day, they’re open.
I’d get some tacos for sure: co-
chinita, huitlacoche and barba-
coa. They’re the best tacos. I’d
probably get a Topo Chico to
drink.
Next we’ll go to the American
Visionary Art Museum in Balti-
more. It’s one of my favorite mu-
seums because it’s full of super
eccentric, modern art. The impor-
tant thing, though, is that we abso-
lutely have to stop at the gift shop,
because it’s one of the most fun gift
shops anywhere. I’ve got so many
goofy, weird things from there that
end up becoming stage props. My KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POSTMARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST
ABOVE: Guitarist Jeremy Schon says he’d stop by the American
Visionary Art Museum — and its eclectic gift shop — d uring his
dream day. RIGHT: He’d also enjoy the Maryland Heights Trail.wife loves museums, so we defi-
nitely go to museums when we’re
traveling.
We’ll do happy hour at Union
Craft Brewing in Baltimore. I’ve
played there a few times with
other bands. I’d be drinking a
Blackwing black lager. That’s my
favorite beer of theirs and one of
my favorite beers in general. It’s
light and it’s low in alcohol but
huge in flavor. It doesn’t have too
smoky of a taste for being a black
lager. Union is a great local brew-
ery. They love live music, they
have shows indoors and out-
doors, and good people work
there. My wife and I go there a lot.
For dinner we’d go to Chiyo
Sushi. It’s right by my house in
Mount Washington, and I’m ob-
sessed. They have the best special
rolls. I would get the Orioles roll,
a fancy roll, a tunasabi, seaweed
salad and miso soup. They make
really good tempura fish, and
everything is extremely fresh. It’s
our special-occasion place.
After dinner, we’re obviously
going to see live music — without
any question. My two favoritevenues in the area are the 8x10 in
Baltimore and 9:30 Club in D.C.
We’re going to an early show at
8x10 to see the Bridge. That’s kind
of the Baltimore family band.
That’s basically their venue.
When I would go to see shows all
the time, I would go see the
Bridge at 8x10 — I’ve seen them
more than 100 times since high
school. All of our favorite people
and friends would be there. I
would jump up for a song; I’ve
played with the Bridge a lot. Every
time I’m at a show, I always want
to play a little bit.
My dream show at 9:30 Club
would have to be Phish. When I
got into Phish, it brought me into
the jam band world. I always
loved jazz, but Phish has been one
of my favorite bands since high
school. 9:30 Club has got such an
intimate vibe. It was a dream to
play there with my band for the
first time in 2013. Then we got to
headline in 2014 for an album
release show, and that was sur-
real. I never even thought it
would be possible for a band I was
in to headline the 9:30.