Central Plains are an indie rock band from NYC who have released 4 studio albums, 3 EP’s and a couple of singles since starting back in 2005.
I caught up with the group to talk about their early musical experiences, how they got together and the making of their latest E.P. “Bitter Pineapple”.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artists or bands did you all enjoy the most?
Sean Wiggins( bass): The New Jersey basement and third-wave ska scene of the late 90’s, Catch-22, Worthless United, Folly, Woody Guthrie & Wilco a little later in life.
Chris Weaber (drums) : my mom grew up in Detroit at the height of Motown and would play that stuff a lot in the house. I remember hearing the Big Chill soundtrack when I was like 6 or 7 and being blown away. Marvin Gaye, the temptations,Aretha, Smokey, and Procol Harum’s Deeper shade of Pale. Man it was like pure emotion. Pure energy. I listened to it so much I think my mom had to hide the cassette from me.
Nik Westman (singer/song writer/ guitar/vocals): Nirvana, Dire Straits, Bob Marley, The Cure, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and then came bands like built to spill, the shins, modest mouse etc. and Classic Rock! Steely Dan.
CMM-How did the band form and start writing songs and developing your own sound?
Nik-Basically I started writing songs back in 2001 with acoustic guitar and have since had a revolving door of talented musicians turn these songs into what they’ve become through getting together and jamming. The Band has pretty much always grooved as a trio, Electric guitar, bass and drums to get the structure and then we have our friends join if they are available to blast leads and atmosphere on there.
I’ve been playing with Chris Weaber off and on for almost 20 years. We met in Pittsburgh and Sean Wiggins has been the Bass man since 2015 as our Brooklyn incarnation. The Band has kept its name for 20 years and has had a lot of collaborators/ musicians over the years.
Notably Ryan O’toole (drums, harmonies) , Paul Orbell (lead guitar) and Sean were a big part of the early Brooklyn days until Present. ( except Ryan, he moved to Korea) (These guys were all on our Albums “Commuter” (2018) “Sink into this one” (2021) and “ It’s amusing, it’s confusing” (2023) (Note Ryan had moved so we had Mike Bambino on drums on that one).
Colin Bronnenkant (drums) Kraig decker (bass) Tom Demagall (lead guitar) were the OG formation back in Pittsburgh. We recorded ( Nik & the central plains 2010) (Walk on beaches 2011)
I did an Ep called “Nimble minds” Postal service style with my friend Matt Kramer in Sacramento, CA in 2020.
In short, my songs are usually pretty simple with a few twists that often have space for lots of Collaboration. As they say, “trust the process”
CMM-The group recently released an E.P. called “Bitter Pineapple”. What was the writing and recording process like for those?
I’m also particularly curious about the song “Pick A Side” and what your inspiration for that track was? It’s probably my favorite song from the E.P. Also who came up with the cover art and how did the name “Bitter Pineapple” come about?
Nik-Yea! This was exciting. We had no reason to rush anything. We recorded at the studio/ space where we rehearse in Williamsburg, BK. At Newtown Recordings with Sound Engineer Chris Butler. We did the songs live in one day to get the sound consistent and then spent a few months off and on adding acoustic guitar, some textural guitars by both Chris Butler and me. He plays on all songs except “Westy’s Bossanova” I did the Vocals again and asked Michael Bellar, to play organ on “Westy’s Bossa” Then we spent some months off and on mixing and tweaking stuff and finally got It mastered by Dan Millice. It was a stress free fun session.
You like “pick a side” a? Thanks! That’s a fun jam! I wrote that while hanging out with my then 2 year old daughter, joking around basically. She was laughing a lot and really got a kick out of the semi spazzy “pick a side” bits. I just rolled with it and thought if little kids like it there’s gotta be something there? I did a demo and played all the instruments, even drums.. I don’t play drums. Ha. But it was a good guide for the band to get an idea. Like so many Indie rock musicians that song was probably inspired by early modest mouse without trying too hard. So.. I’m a father of 2 young girls so I do silly things. The pineapple was me and my daughter drawing together while we were visiting Brazil back October of 2025. Then the name came “bitter pineapple” thought it made sense because the songs aren’t exactly super optimistic but they are sort of sweet. Hence “bitter pineapple”.
CMM-If the band could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Nik: I would like to do a score for a Wes Anderson or Spike Jonze movie that was about younger artists making ends meet in NYC while navigating parenting and working full time jobs at the same time and still keeping the dream of pursuing/creating Art or Music.
There would be a happy ending.
Chris: When I was 11 years old I saw the movie The Commitments and was absolutely floored. That movie laid out all the rules for being in a band and working as a unit. Not to mention incredible performances of Otis Redding, Wilson picket et al. That’s when I knew I wanted to play music. I started learning to play the drums. Then I heard Jane’s addiction and the chili peppers and it was all over.
Not so specifically writer/director David Robert Mitchell but his film Under the Silver Lake I think has a Central Plains vibe. A disenchanted neo-noir with lots of style twists and surprises. I think Nik’s voice and writing style would lend itself really well to a journey of self-discovery and inner dialogue. And the depth and versatility of the 3 of us could create a pretty cool sonic landscape to backdrop a kind of wandering and visually stunning film like that.
Sean: Although I know it may sound cliché, I think our sound mixes with the vibes over plot mélange of Paul Thomas Anderson movies like Inherent Vice (Johnny Greenwood did that whole soundtrack.)
CMM-Anything coming up?
Nik-We’ll do a handful of shows in NYC this year. Planning to get back in the studio in a month or two for a new EP. I’ll be selling my peasant loaf bread as a side hustle locally a few times a month starting this Friday. Thanks for Taking the time to have us featured!
