Interview Still In Rock: G. Gordon Gritty
You released some music with three different labels over years. Why that?
The first two I paid the labels for and the last one I released myself. I am certain for a lot of bands in the contemporary underground that sounds really sad. Not for me though. I realize(d) that I am going to be an outsider no matter what. No one would want to touch the stuff. And I don't blame them. But the option to put in exactly the same amount of effort that it took to make the music (zero) existed so I bit the bullet. In the case of the first label - that was pure trolling. They definitely didn't want to put it out. I treated it like one of those catalogs you get in the mail for various trinkets and do-dads. I paid the money and waited a decent amount of time. I figured I'd wait a couple months - that seems like a decent turnaround time? Several months passed and I called up, like hey where are my tapes? They said we've been busy. Which I'm sure. The year is 2012 and Post Skate or Slacker hasn't even been invented. If you want an empirical study on Slacker you should definitely look this way because it seems like most everyone else in this rock and roll world or punk world puts at least a tiny bit of care into it. So anyway. The next tape/label was a similar situation, but I don't believe the intent was to make PayUsToPutOutYourTape a full blown operating model. They appreciated what I was doing and added me on to some really excellent shows/fests with local bands that became micro-indie-famous.
The first two I paid the labels for and the last one I released myself. I am certain for a lot of bands in the contemporary underground that sounds really sad. Not for me though. I realize(d) that I am going to be an outsider no matter what. No one would want to touch the stuff. And I don't blame them. But the option to put in exactly the same amount of effort that it took to make the music (zero) existed so I bit the bullet. In the case of the first label - that was pure trolling. They definitely didn't want to put it out. I treated it like one of those catalogs you get in the mail for various trinkets and do-dads. I paid the money and waited a decent amount of time. I figured I'd wait a couple months - that seems like a decent turnaround time? Several months passed and I called up, like hey where are my tapes? They said we've been busy. Which I'm sure. The year is 2012 and Post Skate or Slacker hasn't even been invented. If you want an empirical study on Slacker you should definitely look this way because it seems like most everyone else in this rock and roll world or punk world puts at least a tiny bit of care into it. So anyway. The next tape/label was a similar situation, but I don't believe the intent was to make PayUsToPutOutYourTape a full blown operating model. They appreciated what I was doing and added me on to some really excellent shows/fests with local bands that became micro-indie-famous.
BUFU Records seems to be your favorite one to work with. Is that correct?
Back in 2014/2015 they appreciated what I was doing and I'm grateful that they released or co-released my tapes and added me to some really cool bills like BUFU Fest 2014, End of Summer Showcase, and the Nice Guys/Free Pizza tape release show. I got the opportunity to play alongside some of my favorite local bands. And big shout out to Chris Collins for having us play twice on his amazing Mass Ave and Beyond radio show! At some point in 2015 or 2016 BUFU became less active around Boston or so it seemed. I didn't have anything new to release either but it seemed like that ship had sailed!
Back in 2014/2015 they appreciated what I was doing and I'm grateful that they released or co-released my tapes and added me to some really cool bills like BUFU Fest 2014, End of Summer Showcase, and the Nice Guys/Free Pizza tape release show. I got the opportunity to play alongside some of my favorite local bands. And big shout out to Chris Collins for having us play twice on his amazing Mass Ave and Beyond radio show! At some point in 2015 or 2016 BUFU became less active around Boston or so it seemed. I didn't have anything new to release either but it seemed like that ship had sailed!
Before talking more about music, let’s talk about your other projects. You co-founded KLYAM (Kids Like You and Me). What came first, your music or KLYAM?
KLYAM has been around since 2009. It started as a blog. A blog of counterculture and music. We transitioned to music blogging almost exclusively sometime in 2010 and kept at it for years. The most important work we did were live show reviews and band spotlights. At first we were writing about so called bigger bands of the time that we loved, but a turning point came when we started venturing out to local DIY shows in 2011. Chris, who started the blog with me, is/was an amazing writer and he documented so many amazing local shows from 2011-2015. I should mention that KLYAM became a record label in 2013 with the vinyl release of Fat Creeps S/T EP. KLYAM Records is now about 20 or so records/tapes deep. We also have booked shows since 2012 but that became more and more of a thing in 2014 and is probably what we are best known for around Boston since that time. Sure the blog has continued and probably will indefinitely, but the focus is definitely on producing amazing live shows rather than writing. We started our KLYAM podcast in May 2020. Still going strong! To answer the question - they both came about around the same time.
What about other projects?
I've always been obsessed with making websites since I was a kid. Not the design aspect. I like putting content together. It is time consuming and there are so many possibilities - two factors that can make it really difficult to get something off the ground. But I recently buckled down and started centralizing everything that I do on my website - ggordongritty.com. The idea is that I can just putting everything out there. For so long (like 6 years) I held onto all of this material, intending one day to make a full blown website. I half-assed it for years, but I want this website to include everything. All of my ideas in one place. Hitting publish and seeing something instantly online is gratifying - for me. It is very pre-social media, especially because there are no automatic/instant notifications that go out to the world when I make updates. You have to specifically seek it out. And no one wants to do that.
KLYAM has been around since 2009. It started as a blog. A blog of counterculture and music. We transitioned to music blogging almost exclusively sometime in 2010 and kept at it for years. The most important work we did were live show reviews and band spotlights. At first we were writing about so called bigger bands of the time that we loved, but a turning point came when we started venturing out to local DIY shows in 2011. Chris, who started the blog with me, is/was an amazing writer and he documented so many amazing local shows from 2011-2015. I should mention that KLYAM became a record label in 2013 with the vinyl release of Fat Creeps S/T EP. KLYAM Records is now about 20 or so records/tapes deep. We also have booked shows since 2012 but that became more and more of a thing in 2014 and is probably what we are best known for around Boston since that time. Sure the blog has continued and probably will indefinitely, but the focus is definitely on producing amazing live shows rather than writing. We started our KLYAM podcast in May 2020. Still going strong! To answer the question - they both came about around the same time.
What about other projects?
I've always been obsessed with making websites since I was a kid. Not the design aspect. I like putting content together. It is time consuming and there are so many possibilities - two factors that can make it really difficult to get something off the ground. But I recently buckled down and started centralizing everything that I do on my website - ggordongritty.com. The idea is that I can just putting everything out there. For so long (like 6 years) I held onto all of this material, intending one day to make a full blown website. I half-assed it for years, but I want this website to include everything. All of my ideas in one place. Hitting publish and seeing something instantly online is gratifying - for me. It is very pre-social media, especially because there are no automatic/instant notifications that go out to the world when I make updates. You have to specifically seek it out. And no one wants to do that.
I feel like there is less lo-fi outsider weirdness in your newest stuff. Did you feel like you needed to play a slightly different kind of music, or is it just an impression I have?
The answer is simple. For anybody keeping score at home - all one of you. Spotify just said I had one listener in April. I've had zero a lot of the time. But anyway the answer like I said is simple. The newest stuff is older than the older stuff. Think that through a bit and get back to me with a follow-up.
The answer is simple. For anybody keeping score at home - all one of you. Spotify just said I had one listener in April. I've had zero a lot of the time. But anyway the answer like I said is simple. The newest stuff is older than the older stuff. Think that through a bit and get back to me with a follow-up.
Speaking of music genre, some people describe your music as being noise rock. I don’t really understand why. Do you feel related to that "scene" ?
According to my own empirical studies of the Boston noise rock scene, there seems to be have been several waves of the stuff in the past decade. For example, in the early 2010s you had Skimask and Arvid Noe and then the (New England) Patriots and - Guerilla Toss.