Today, I get to banter with Brian Graupner of The Gothsicles! Sit back and enjoy the ride.Rusty: Alright, Brian, I know this is a little late in the game to do an interview. We have a show on Saturday and we want all those kids in Chicagoland to get their collective asses to the show.
Let's do this. We'll have a little back and forth here. I ask a question, you answer, I ask another one. Sometimes your answers will lead to me asking different questions.
I've been a fan for a while, I have seen the shows, but I am not sure I have ever sat down with you and asked this question. What's the deal with the old school 8-bit obsession?
Brian: "Write what you know", man. I've never been in a cyborg war or drank vampire blood, but I definitely wasted a whole summer trying to beat Castlevania II.
Rusty: I've been there too, I jumped over the 8-bit stuff due to having my 2600 and Colecovision for years and went right in to the 16-bit wars. Sorry to say I was on the Sega (not Andrew) side of the fence for that one. I'm a video game nut, so I totally get it.
There's been a little bit of a lineup change recently, you've got Mike on keys now. How has that added to the live performance and is he adding anything to future recordings?
Brian: Holy smokes on high, the live show is so much better now. It was Mike's idea to go the keytar route and it was a total home run from space. We've gotten into this pattern of feeding off of each other on stage and the result has been like this upward spiraling feedback loop of positivity. It's just awesome.
Mike's also working a lot on the new album, which is new for me because recordings have classically just been Dan Clark and myself. The stuff he's sent me sounds great, though, plus he just picked up a Moog about which he's crazy excited, so hopefully that will make it on to the new disc (or whatever).
Sega had a lot of quality titles.Rusty: A keytar, that's something you just don't see too often anymore. I know that they seem to be making a bit of a comeback. But, I thought it was just for 80's cover bands and Johnny V's wet dream of an Am.Psych lineup.
It sounds like you've got a new lease on life with Mike in there now. I can't wait to see the show and feel the energy. I saw that you guys were at Kinetic again. How were things up in Montreal? It's been a couple years since the last time you were up there.
Brian: Right, we were there in 2010 and that was effin' great, but 2012 was completely the shit. It's so crazy to just casually hang out backstage with dudes like Beborn Beton and Haujobb and then have them tell you that you played a great set. The crowd was really fantastic as well, and that festival is so professionally run, it's crazy. Thanks times infinity to J-F for having us.
Who the fuck is Am.Psych?
Rusty: Am.Psych? Some band from Wisconsin. I think they play about an hour before you on Saturday. Anyway, I have not been witness to the full audio/visual setup for the Gothsicles as of yet. Last year at the WTII minifest, there was a technical issue, and the one other time I was at a show, I am not sure if I just blanked out or what. I have seen videos online of this spectacle though. Who does all that work for you? Is this something you have done yourself?
Brian: I've been outsourcing video more lately, such as with Adam Alvarez's work on the "Save Dat Mermaid" video and Steven Cheek's work on the new Kinetik comp track "This Year's Password is 'Party'", but yeah, everything else is me. It's a huge asspain to come up with a video concept for every track, but it's also a really great avenue for jokes.
Rusty: Well, not only that but getting everything synced up together, get the quality of the videos where you want them to be, hope your machine doesn't lag when you play them back. I can see it being a daunting task.
So, new album? I'm a big fan of the latest, and Save Dat Mermaid is a personal favorite of mine. When can we expect the new one out?
Brian: Hard to say. We're working hard on it, but have a ton of upcoming shows and whatnot, and that takes time, so I'm not sure. I'll say "before the end of the year", just to keep myself motivated.
Rusty: I'll try to hold you to it! So, I'm going to go back to some 8-bit fun here. Konami Code. I have this feeling it holds a special spot in your heart. For a lot of us it's the first cheat we remember. What about it is so special for you that you've got a great song written about it?
Brian: It's a super old track that was initially written with a friend back in 1998 when music about video games was still kind of a novel idea. There's something so indelible about that code to the 8-bit culture that when deciding to first write about that sort of thing, the Konami Code becomes an obvious choice. Maybe to a fault, actually. I've gotten a lot more obscure with references over the years.
Sidenote, this interview has inspired me to do some Sega Genesis sampling in between questions.
Rusty: Awesome. So, Saturday is the Electronic Saviors 2 show in Chicago. You have been on both compilations so far with "Jim, Let me know when you can drink again" on the first, and now "Who wants to join our superhero team (Right now, it's just Me & Jim).
I'm a proud member of the superhero team now, thanks to you. What does being on these compilations mean to you?
Brian: Well, cancer's terrible, obviously, so being able to contribute to something that helps fund it's treatment means a lot to me, especially when it's a friend and fellow industrial guy that's affected.
On a different note, though, it's an effin' spectacular comp to be on! The new one is fantastic!
Rusty: Alright, B. I am making these a bit shorter as the show is this Saturday.
We head off to "The Lightning Round". 5 simple question and answer. Some may be word association, some may require a rather lengthy answer. Here we go.
1) Sex or Video games?
2) Superman or Batman?
3) Song you have the most fun performing is?
4) Synthsizers: virtual or analogue?
5) If I could be any video game character in real life, it would be:
Brian: 1) One time I dressed up as Princess Peach for Halloween so I wouldn't have to choose.
2) Moon Knight
3) "This Year's Password is 'Party'"
4) I used the analog outs on my Virus TI for the whole "analog warmth" thing for while, but recording via usb is a grillion times easier, so Imma go virtual, at least for that machine.
5) My first thought was Mega Man because I like stealing people's powers after I murder them, but if I was Bionic Commando, I wouldn't have to get up to grab a beer.
Rusty: Awesome, Thank you again for doing this on spur of the moment notice today. We will see you on Saturday for the show!
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