The all-inclusive Gilt took time out to talk about their music, influences and struggles:
Thanks for the interview guys, can you tell us about your musical background, how you formed the band and how would you describe your style? The band was pieced together slowly over the years. I started off wanting to make alt rock that sounded like Citizen / Supherheaven / Balance and Composure, and I recruited a few people I knew from the Florida scene that I liked, including Tristan who had to take a bus 3 hours just to get to practice. We used touring as a way to try out new ideas, and as members came and went, we moved on pretty quickly from the nu-grunge thing because honestly it was just boring for us, we kept getting told we were an ‘emo’ band so we definitely were trying to chew on what that meant for us. Nico joined in and brought their huge love of FEST bands and that definitely moved us in a punkier direction. I was listening to a lot more Title Fight and I think that comes through on the album. By the time Ash was in the band we had already done a U.S. tour completely DIY for 3 months, and did a 2 month one with Ash and through that process we got to play at Gilman with classic d-beat punks, Texas power violence bands, Ohio / NJ skramz bands, and really got to see how every scene reacted to what we were thinking and doing. I’d say by the time the record came out; we were much more confident in the sort of broadness of the term ‘post-hardcore’ as a genre descriptor. And there’s not a lot of that, especially back here in Florida. Really, the three big names here are Gouge Away, Gillian Carter, and Night Witch, and that’s how we ended up meeting Rosie (Night Witch) as well as our lgbt+ activism crossing over with her work with Planned Parenthood. To make a long story short, forming the band has been a 3-year process, and the style is a direct result of that, but it’s good to feel as educated about the entire spectrum of alternative music as this path has allowed us to become. It makes our sound much more purposeful, in my opinion. - Tyler
What challenges have you faced in the music industry have that others do not experience?
I’d say we have three things going on most other bands don’t have to deal with. - We’re from the southeast. There’s very little youth culture available. Almost all music lives in bars, which is clearly an issue. There’re also way less people making things, much less the genre we’re in, so booking is harder and promoting is really stressful which is why we tour so much. But also, geographically, it’s a huge financial burden leaving this part of the country to reach the more culture-dense parts like the northeast or west coast. - We’ve got two AFAB members. Yes, we’re all gender nonconforming, but even so, Nico and Ash specifically have to be on much higher alert than Tristan or myself. Simply put, we all travel in groups for general safety, but it’s much less of a choice for our rhythm section. But they’re very tough emotionally, and despite offers from myself and friends, have always chosen to diffuse conflict instead of throw hands. - Considering we are all GNC, you’d think I’d have a lot of stories of running into bigoted people, but we’ve been surprisingly lucky on that front. But I do think it’s worth noting that a huge amount of our time booking is spent solely on trying to figure out the ethics of anyone we’re about to talk to, completely removed from their music, just to make sure we can continue to avoid that sort of conflict. I think that’s definitely worth noting as labor bands with all straight white guys aren’t going to have to even consider doing outside of very rare circumstances. - Tyler
Has lockdown impacted you creatively at all, and how have you found the past few months?
This year has been new for everyone, and as it’s coming to a close it still feels like it just started. There was this looming pressure of having to create more now than ever since everyone had to be home, and that felt crushing. I think it’s important for people to have a routine that feels comfortable for them when it comes to creating but getting stuck in a loop where the content you’re making is draining you it kind of destroys that. We’ve been trying to lay out a schedule for what we wanted to release this year, and with our album having been recorded before the lockdown, it was top priority to have it out. With the current state of the world, we also thought the best use of our creative outlets was to make something that commented on things that were actively going on. Working remotely was also new for us in that aspect, recording at our own spaces and then putting everything together that way has been challenging but quite fun. -Ash
Can you tell us about the last release and the idea or theme behind the project?
Technically, I’ve been writing this album since before the band existed. We’ve put out a lot of material written after songs like Flowers and Numbers before the LP because we wanted to let this grow naturally and not just crank out some songs to make booking easier. I think topically the album is huge, because the scope of experiences the lyrics draw from grew so much in three years from basic relationship issues to mental health diagnosis, gender exploration, political radicalization, etc. Through all of it, self-criticality and a focus on acknowledging both growth and failure in an honest way has been the consistent theme. “Ignore what’s missing / focus on what’s not there” is a line about people whose priorities are mixed up, complaining about what they want and ignoring their own culpability or shortcomings, and the closing lyrics on the album are “it’s still growth if it’s growing apart.” Neither of those lyrics are meant to be completely victimized or completely victorious, but just reflective and mindful of all the turmoil that goes on throughout the songs. - Tyler
Lee Dyess at Earthsound did everything for us on this. It was our first time in a real studio, and I couldn’t sing more of his praises. - Tyler Where can folks get to listen to the album?
We released this first LP through Knifepunch Records, a DIY label based in Central Florida and where you can find cassettes and even vinyl early next year! Besides that, we are on Bandcamp at https://gilt.bandcamp.com/album/ignore-whats-missing and every other streaming service. - Tristan
What's next for you?
Right now I think we’re just trying to figure out what being a band means in a world that doesn’t include touring/live performances. Unfortunately, in our state, we have seen a lot of bands begin to play shows again. We don’t think it’s safe, and are doing our part to focus our energy on adapting to do what we love, while keeping others around us safe. Plan to see us playing more livestreams, making silly videos, and possibly, a new record next year! -Nico
Anything else you'd like to add about the project, or a message for the readers?
Our next big endeveor is a charity/music festival (online, of course) called Snipfest! It’s our annual event that we run to raise money for trans youth. This is our first year doing it remotely, and we want to make it a fun festival, filled with creative how-to videos, musical performances, and general education, and an overall safe space for what has been a very harsh and rough year for most. If you’re interested in learning more, follow us on any of our socials (@giltfl) for updates! -Nico
Tyler (They/Them) - Rhythm Guitar / Vox Nico (They/Them) - Bass / Vox Tristan (They/Them) - Lead Guitar Ash (They/She/He) - Drums All social medias are @giltfl
Comments