Tampa indie-jam composer Philip Pietri has been performing experimental music on his own for the past 7 years -- including Pielos -- and recently formed a pop band, the Manatees (Josh Price on bass and Preston Beebe on drums) for fun. But his solo work is still wildly out-there.

“For my solo recordings I usually use anything that can make noise,” Pietri says. “In the past that has included Styrofoam cups, pen caps, silverware, glass bottles, wind chimes, coins, glockenspiel, clarinet, saxophone, guitar, drums and probably a million other things. This new band I’m fronting all I have to worry about is guitaring and singing.”

Pietri and the Manatees play at 9 p.m. Friday with Brent and Darren Rademaker and Junkyard Kings at New World Brewery. Tickets are $6.

After the jump, get Julie Garisto's full profile of Philip Pietri, including why some people insist on calling him "Pee Tree."

Getting along swimmingly: Philip Pietri, vocals and guitar; Josh Price, bass; Preston Beebe, drums.

Splash dash: Tampa musician Pietri has been performing experimental music on his own for the past 7 years and recently formed a pop band, performing this weekend. “My band playing this Friday is a little project I started late last year for fun,” he says. “There were, like, three albums that I could not stop listening to at the time that kind of helped inspire the sound we had and still have going: Claudine Longet’s Sugar Me, Joe Jackson’s Night and Day and Lambchop’s Nixon. It’s an interesting mix of genres but I wanted to give the experimental and ambient thing a break and have some fun. We did our first recordings in a basement last Sunday that we’re going to have available on Friday (called Beach Jazz). It’s only six songs, but you gotta start somewhere, right?”

Bag o’ tricks: “For my solo recordings I usually use anything that can make noise,” Pietri says. “In the past that has included Styrofoam cups, pen caps, silverware, glass bottles, wind chimes, coins, glockenspiel, clarinet, saxophone, guitar, drums and probably a million other things. This new band I’m fronting all I have to worry about is guitaring and singing.”

No typical beardy indie: “I most certainly defy the stereotypes,” Pietri says. “I am just like any other guy you’d see walking down the street. I don’t have an awesome beard, and psychedelic drugs don’t inspire my creative works. I think the struggle of the modern everyman in itself has the emotional and psychological impact to fuel new and exciting forms of expression.”

Tampa native: “I was born and raised here. I love it and I plan on dying here.”

Collaborations: “Aaron Zarzutzki is an incredibly talented guy,” Pietri said. “I remember towards the end of our set the noise just kind of fizzled into silence but that did not stop the performance ... it just kept going. The moment was suspended in silence that lasted a good 5 of minutes until we felt that there was a natural end to the piece. It was a big moment and the feeling was unforgettable. My favorite collabs are with my close friends. Pielos is a big collaboration between friends of mine who played in four separate bands, some of them I’ve known my whole life. It started as these improvised recording sessions where we would just completely lose ourselves locked away in a room. We have hours and hours of recorded material. We never really intended it to be something we did in public but it happened anyway.”

Philip Rocks: His last name, pronounced pee-EH-tree, translates to “rocks” in Italian. “It’s in the blood. Such a cool last name, right? It’s too bad people pronounce it Pee Tree.”

Any concert, anywhere? “The moon. With Prince. I mean, seriously — how rad would that be?”

Hear Pietri and his band: Friday 9 p.m. with Brent and Darren Rademaker and Junkyard Kings at New World Brewery in Ybor City. $6. (813) 248-4969.

-- Julie Garisto, tbt*