PINKLIDS: The local band that doesn't make sense

Wareham's own garage, synth, punk and horror movie themed band, PINKLIDS, once got heckled after a Nashville show. As they left the venue, the group of naysayers shouted, "this band makes no sense!" 

What was taken as negative at the time has turned into a motto for the group. 

"They unintentionally complimented us," lead singer Amber Lawson  said. "I have it now filtered into a different perspective. At the time I thought, "What do you mean? We're rock and roll!" And now we shout it too," 

Lawson, who can be found making coffees when not rocking the stage, is no stranger to music as her father, Jeff, is a musician and her great uncle Roy Parks was a guitarist for country star Tex Ritter.  

"It's genetic," she said. 

PINKLIDS got its start in school but not in the classroom. Lawson said she became obsessed with creating songs while skipping classes at Wareham High School.

PINKLIDS first show was vastly different than where they perform at now — setting up at a health food store called Wicked Healthy in Kingston. 

"It was so great, we had all of our friends and classmates and whoever else could come. It was packed," Lawson said. 

From there, the band started performing in Boston area bars like O'Brien's Pub in Allston. Seeing the audience full of people wanting to hear their 'spooky-pop,' sounds, Lawson said PINKLIDS became more than just a hobby.

"I was like, "okay, we're going to do the band thing. I'm going to try to take this seriously,"" she said. 

After a few shifts in bandmates, PINKLIDS began to operate with Ellis Roundy on guitar and keys, Matt Pantanella on drums and Zach Flanigan on bass. Flanigan also attended Wareham High School — although he did less ditching than Lawson.

"We love Wareham and everything," Flanigan said. "I'm a die hard Warehamite. It's funny because we get labeled as a Boston band — which makes sense because that's where we play most of our shows. But any chance we get to say that we're from Wareham, we do."

Flanigan said he thinks Wareham has a lot of talent that doesn't get showcased like it should.

"[The most meaningful] close working creative relationships  have come from Wareham," he said. "I feel like I don't see it pop up enough."

As the band has toured, their Wareham roots remain. Lawson said her father Jeff is a big inspiration as he juggled his daily life and passions. Jeff, a former guitar teacher at Onset Village Music, suffered from a stroke in 2024. 

"I decided to take my band as far as I could take it at that point in time. I booked our first tour entirely in about two months and released our first single, JUNKY GARDEN. I owe everything to my father," she said.

The scenery and nature of her home town are what she said led her to put pen to paper in the first place. 

"In my high school years I did a lot of walking up and down the Main Street strip and I was always writing poetry — what I was seeing, and the townies. I always wondered what was going on with them," she said.

Flanigan said he found everyone in Wareham interesting, highlighting the blend between suburban and city.  He used to work for the Narrows Crossing as a dishwasher and said bartender Steve Poole was always supportive of the band. 

Poole gave Flanigan the bass he used on tour and the pair said community members like him mean a lot to their work.

"I think people get excited because they see kids doing what they want to do and they want to be supportive of it," Lawson said. 

The group takes heavy inspiration from rock band The White Stripes. PINKLIDS eventually went on to open for lead member of The White Stripes, Jack White, in early 2025. Something Lawson said was a huge goal.

"We still don't have any idea how he ever saw or heard of us,” she said “It's a mystery. But, I like that mystery." 

With slight changes to their act like getting rid of the blood spitting (something Lawson said venues got tired of cleaning up) they have stuck to what Flanigan describes as a, "haunted treehouse, overlooking the ocean and you see a goblin surfing," vibe. 

"It's in your face," he said.

PINKLIDS got offered a slot to perform at Boston Calling, one of New England's biggest musical festivals held every spring. 

"Each year something trickles — some sort of luck enters the mix for us," Lawson said. 

Lawson found out PINKLIDS was in the lineup during a rush. She said she was freaking out and still doing her barista duties. 

"I'm like, "Oh my god, oh my god," and I'm also slinging coffee and breakfast sandwiches," she said.

PINKLIDS performed Saturday, May 24 alongside big names like Avril Lavigne and Fall Out Boy. 

Lawson said she enjoys the art of being unknown yet and wants the band to be something people keep in the back of their minds.

"I like the idea of people forgetting about us, then remembering us and revisiting," she said. It's a different journey for every band. It's interesting to see what works and what doesn't."

The band released a new single "SAX" with plans for future tours and concerts to be announced. Fans can catch PINKLIDS at O'Brien's Pub in Allston Sunday, June 15 at 7 p.m.