In this interview spotlight, I chat with The G-Bombs about their EP Plutacracy as well as challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We’re from Virginia Beach, Virginia. We play punk rock.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I don’t think we really have a choice when it comes to playing music, it’s just part of who we are. We all have strong opinions and things we want to say, and that comes out in our songs. Sometimes it’s easier to get a message across or heard by putting it into a song than just running your mouth. And it’s maybe a better way to get people to listen. But really, I think for us, it’s just the way we say what’s on our mind, and if anyone listens and gets that communication, well that’s an added bonus.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Plutocracy is our second release. Our first album took a long time and a good amount of work, and we’re really proud of it. It has a whole bunch of tracks on it, over 20, and a wide range of style and sounds. We think that’s great. But this one is more precise, succinct. We always wanted to have a record, and this is our first record, the first record any of us made. Actual vinyl record. Once we decided that’s what we were going to do, we did it and put it out in a very short amount of time. It’s short, a true 45 record, 4 songs in under 6 minutes, but says a great deal. It has a more consistent and cohesive sound. But these songs sound like they need to be together on a record. It sounds like some early 80’s hardcore record you’d pick up in a small record store or live show. It was also very timely. One of the main messages we were putting out was in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. We wrote I Can’t Breathe and recorded it within a few weeks of George Floyd’s death. We wanted to get it out right away, because it’s important. We decided to do this record and did it right away. The manufacturing of it took longer than the writing and recording.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
We all grew up in the big music companies era. Making it in music seemed like you sign with a big label and get videos on MTV. Today that doesn’t seem to be the standard or even what’s desired by rock bands. I think that’s great. Maybe you don’t have the huge hit bands like back then, but the internet and technology allows for many more great bands to get out there. I think that’s far better than it is a hardship on bands. There’s alot more music to sort through and maybe less bands hit it big money wise (though I don’t think as many of those bands that ‘hit big’ back in the day really made tons of money as we thought did), but there’s something for everyone to find and so many more avenues for bands to get their material and message out there. I think that connection is far more substantial than a steady line of huge one hit wonder videos on MTV or Capital Records.
What was the last song you listened to?
Actually I’m listening to Barrington Levy right now, Here I Come.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I think everything has its pluses and minuses. I grew up mostly listening to cassette tapes and records, then cds. Sometimes digital media has that tinny sound that isn’t the best. But I’d rather listen to good music in bad quality (to an extent) than bad music in the best quality. I don’t really have a preferred medium I guess. I love it all. But I do like that warm analog sound when it comes down to it.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I don’t really know too much about all that. We try to get our music out on as many platforms as possible. I bounce around when listening though. Mostly I follow links to whatever site has the music, from bands’ websites or articles and such, when digital.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
We have stuff on reverbnation, Facebook, Pandora, Spotify, our website, and multiple other sites. Just search The G-Bombs! (Though if you google, you might find a bunch of diet pages… try it, you’ll see)
Anything else before we sign off?
The Pearl is in the River
