Interview: Brian Graupner (THE GOTHSICLES)

   The Gothsicles is a really, really, awesomely original band from Chicago, with humorous, funky lyrics and rhythm, combined with the crazy-sounding voice of Brian Graupner. Playdeanation had a little chat with him!


pdn: Greetings, Brian! 'The Gothsicles' is a fun name for a band, how did you come up with it?

Brian: I needed an outfit to launder all the money I’d made selling completely fake and worthless Star Wars merchandise to Jim Semonik and figured that everyone would instinctively steer clear of any operation named “The Gothsicles”. So far, so good.

pdn: Your sound and vocals are quite humorous, how did you get the idea for such music?
Brian: The basic working model has always been to actively and knowingly attempt to plagiarize an Hocico song and then make it be about alcohol or genitalia, but lately I’ve been getting pretty experimental.

pdn: Describe your music in a few of your own words, please!
Brian: Everything Goes Cold minus the guitars and Metropolis signing.

pnd: What inspires the band's obvious uniqueness, and what are the main themes and subjects for your songs?
Brian: Wanting Jim Cookas to like me.

pdn: If one day you would be to play a different type of music, what would that be, and why?
Brian: Okay, werd [sic]. I actually do listen to a lot of fainty-swoony goth rock, but I think I’d be horrible at it ‘cause that shit actually comes with some musical assembly required. I think it would be fun to be the easily least popular guy in an huge boy band, all driving myself home in a minivan after the concert and secretly telling myself that I know there’s someone out there for me, just before I quietly tuck myself to sleep.

pdn: What artists do you usually collaborate with, and also, who would you love to work with in the future?
Brian: This is actually a brutally well timed question ‘cause there’s a lot going on. I will forever endeavor to drop machinations of acclaimation unto one Dan Clark. He’s my go-to producer guy and he’s fucking, fucking, fucking great. He produced the last Ego Likeness album and every time I hang out with those guys, we inevitably talk about how effin’ rad this freakin’ guy is. This sounds so comic booky, but I don’t think you’d be interviewing me right now if it wasn’t for Matt Fanale. The particular timeliness I was mentioning comes by way of the new live member (and keytar player), Mike, whose stage name this week is “Cylon Belmont”. Never said it before, but I was really ready to hit the reset button on the whole ‘sicles thing, just from all kinds of hypershit, but this man has fully re-energized the project to the point that it feels like a whole new band. Invincibility stars. I have this private fantasy with I would get on really well with Prince.

pdn: What are the plans for the near future? Any upcoming shows, new material?
Brian: WOOOOOOOO! I fucked up on getting back to you on this interview in a timely fashion, and have also just done a shitpissfuckcuntcocksuckermotherfuckertits-load of shows so I don’t know how much my current show line-up will help, but here goes: DEFINITELY the next shoot dang KINETIK FESTIVAL with some of my favorite bands of all time (Beborn Beton, S.P.O.C.K., Lenny & The Cenobites, etc.). Bunch of shows tentative with a band I’m really excited about that I prolly shouldn’t mention, but their initials rhyme with “Deviant UK”. With regard to material, I was able to release an album on WTII earlier this year, so that’s sort of freed me up to work on the other 12 things I got in the mix. The Causticles (me & mattmatt) is a priority, but I’m also slowly being seduced by the allure of being able to be the cool remix guy, maybe (someday) like an XP8 or a Grendel. Maybe even a Boole (just kidding, there can be only one).

pdn: Oh and by the way, what's the deal with you 'looking like Kurt Russel'? Had to ask!
Brian: At the 2009 Kinetik Festival, motherfucking Vasi from Reaper (also Frozen Plasma, formerly Namnambulu) just decided that I look like Kurt Russell, which I completely don’t. It kind of became our thing over that weekend and I was really just loathsomely, schoolgirlishly excited to have somebody that recognizable acknowledge me to the point that I referenced it in a song, basically to desperately tie my shit band to a band people like.

pdn: Thank you so much for you time and attention! What would you final words be, for fans, friends?
Brian: I was working on this year’s Kinetik comp track at the time of this interview, because of which, there is now a Kurt Russell reference in the track. Freal.


http://www.thegothsicles.com

http://www.myspace.com/thegothsicles