What started as a cheesy idea has evolved into a full-blown extravaganza as Turners Falls musician Sam Mulligan prepares to release “Pizza Forever,” an album of electronic music centered on exactly what its title suggests.
The self-produced, eight-track project — releasing on streaming platforms this Friday for National Pizza Party Day — will be celebrated with a listening party at Two Ghosts Vinyl Café, a pizza dinner at The Upper Bend and a live show at The Brick House Community Resource Center. The community event is Mulligan’s way of “going all in” to “contribute something to the arts scene here.”
Mulligan, who has been writing and performing “weird and absurd” music for nearly three decades, has been creating comedic “chiptune” music using a Nintendo Game Boy since 2012.
While his output has been somewhat prolific over the years, he said “Pizza Forever” is “the most cohesive, well-thought-out album [he has] ever released.” The project’s inception can be traced back to “a recent tragedy — scoring a tasty slice of pizza after a concert, only to drop it face-down on the sidewalk before taking that sweet first bite,” he wrote in an announcement.
“We’re tackling big themes here — financial responsibility, inflation, dreams of a better future, consequences and living with regret,” Mulligan elaborated. “That plays out across ‘Pizza Forever,’” he continued, “as a kaleidoscopic spectrum of beats n’ treats provide the backdrop to wholly-relatable themes like having the freedom to eat pizza everyday, the financial repercussions of making that decision to eat pizza every day, finding the patience to know when the time is right to order that pizza, experiencing life without pizza, the highs of discovering a pizza box only to feel the lows of finding it empty and even a love song about saving the last slice for your special someone.”
Building around the album’s theme for a proper rollout has been a labor of love as Mulligan has sought to share his art “the right way” for the first time in his career. In addition to the block party, the album will see a run of hard copies accompanied by creative packaging. Each CD is a miniature pizza box hand-stamped with self-designed red archival ink. Included inside is a six-panel accordion fold booklet containing art for each song.
“Being able to hold the album in your hands, listening to it loud while flipping through the booklet and reading the lyrics, looking at the pictures of the band, and reading through the ‘thank yous’ and album credits helps connect with the album in a really special way,” Mulligan wrote. “I put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that someone could have a similar experience with ‘Pizza Forever’ because that’s how I connected with some of my favorite albums and bands!”
While the novelty of this physical art may be the selling point for some, the music’s unique sonics might be the sweet sauce for others. “Pizza Forever” serves up a medley of pop-punk riffs, quirky rap vocals and catchy simple melodies upon a backdrop of video game-esque chiptune production. The foundation for this sound is Little Sound DJ, a Game Boy-based music sequencing software with a niche community that has been dedicated to it for decades.
“I like to think of it as sheet music but on its side because everything is going from top to bottom on the screen,” Mulligan said. He added that while the program may be unfamiliar to many, it lends itself to “really wide appeal” nonetheless.
On release day, those interested in attending the block party can visit The Upper Bend anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. to order pizza. Meanwhile, Two Ghosts Vinyl Cafe will be hosting an album listening party from 5:30 to 6 p.m. To cap off the day, partygoers can congregate at The Brick House at 8 p.m. to hear Mulligan perform the album live, as well as supporting acts Rocking Puppies and Boring Man. While it’s not about the dough — all sites will be free to attend — Mulligan encourages a donation of $10 to $15 from those who come to the performance.
Above all, Mulligan would love those who attend the album release event to walk away with a slice of inspiration.
“My hope is that when someone listens to this album it’s got them grinning and laughing, dancing and singing along, and that the songs get stuck in their head,” he wrote. “I’d love for ‘Pizza Forever’ to be an album that people want to share with their friends who appreciate unique, weird music and maybe write some weird songs of their own. You can write songs about anything!”
More information about Mulligan and “Pizza Forever” can be found at sammulligan.com.