(Robot drawing by Bryan Bruchman)
mp3: “Right Now”
Official Website | MySpace
We first got to know Gold Streets through their five-song EP, Red. From the opening riff, we were hooked. The “indie rock” label is not inaccurate, but also not fully descriptive of a band that seems to revel in their influences, ranging from space rock and new wave of decades past to alternative rock of more recent years. In the end, though, the sound they achieve is their own and, whether they’re playing an upbeat, dancey rocker, or a more mellow tune, their sound is big. In fact, we were a bit surprised when we first found out the band, with such an expansive guitar sound and propulsive, versatile rhythm section, is made up of only three people — T. Almy (drums, vocals), Gizella Otterson (bass, backup vocals), Norman Vino (guitar, vocals). And guess what: they’ve got a full-length album coming soon, so we imagine their sound will only grow.
Gold Streets will be playing Beg Yr Pardon #7, presented by StereoactiveNYC [view flyer] on Tuesday, August 29th at The Delancey in New York City. In advance of that, we interviewed the band…
Where are each of you from?
T: Born in Binghamton, NY, raised in Charlotte, NC.
Norm: Raised in East Brunswick, NJ.
Gizella: Born and raised in Brandon, FL.
So, how’d each of you end up in New York? How’d your moving here eventually lead to the formation of the band?
T: I was living in Italy, and once I ran out of money I moved back to NC. That only lasted a few weeks before I knew that I needed to be in NYC (or back out of the country). I have been here ever since.
Gizella: I had a friend from home who was coming up to NYC for an internship. I had graduated from college a semester early and moved back home to Tampa, trying to figure out what to do with myself. My friend encouraged me to move up to NYC. He said, “What, are you really going to stay in Tampa?” So I moved. Once I got up here, it took me a while to get back into the music scene. I didn’t know anybody and for a while I played bass for the same friend who encouraged me to move up, but he was folky. Eventually he moved and I searched for a more engaging musical style. That’s when I found Norm and T.
Norm: After high school, I had a brief stint living in upstate New York, before deciding I had to get out the hell out of there or be sucked in forever. I wound up moving to NYC, going to school at NYU. This was all during the dot-com boom where everyone seemed to have money (except for me), and there was such a frenetic energy in the air. My roommate at the time was Karsh Kale (Six Degrees Artist), an amazing musician/artist who introduced me to so many great musicians. It was at that moment that I really started wanting to get a band together. I’d been a bedroom player for a few years, but suddenly I was really inspired to play with other people. So I wound up on all of these awkward auditions and/or jamming up with random people from Craigslist at places. Some of those musicians were really cool, but I also met so many freaky people. I think I had all but given up by the time I met Gizella, and then T. There was no doubt in our minds when we first got together to play that we had this amazing synergy between us. And we’ve been together ever since.
Can one of you explain exactly how the three of you met? Was that also through Craigslist, through mutual friends, completely random?
Norm: After graduating from NYU and spending a few months hating my job as an editor, I decided that I really missed playing music and decided to get back to it. I was friends with a ton of artists and they really inspired me to get something going. After playing with people here and there, I randomly met Gizella through a Craigslist ad I had placed. It basically mentioned a bunch of different bands/artists I was into at the time. From the moment Gizella and I started messing around in the studio, we had an immediate connection. We came up with basic outlines of a few songs and hit Craigslist again. We auditioned a couple of drummers before we found T. After “jamming” for about a 1/2 hour, Gizella and I looked at each other, and we knew we had THE line-up. Initially we thought about maybe adding a keyboard player or another guitar player, but soon realized that there was an undeniable magic in the three of us, one that we didn’t want to dilute with more members. We’ve been a family ever since.
Where was your first show in New York? Were there shows before that?
Our first Gold Streets show is a point of contention. We had a fake first show at Siberia in November 2004, and then a real first show at Luna Lounge (R.I.P.) in January 2005. But a day or two before the Luna Lounge show we picked up a last minute spot at Lit. So, officially it’s Luna Lounge, but deep down we know there’s something else.
How was the show at Siberia “fake?” Different name? Different line-up? Evil clones pretending to be you?
T: We played a show at Siberia for our friend, Jessica Burnstein’s screening of Veronica’s Birthday. She used a song in the film that my old band (Secret Weapon) had recorded, but since we had broken up already, Jessica had us come to play a few songs after the screening (the few songs that we had completed), including the Secret Weapon song used in her film. It was fun, and technically our first live performance as a band, but not a Gold Streets show, per se.
Norm: It may not have been our first “real” show, but we were still freaking out before the show. I don’t think I ate for two days before it.
Looks like the website for Secret Weapon is gone. Any chance you could send us an mp3 of “Rockstar,” the song from the movie? We’d love to hear it.
T: Sure, I can send you one under separate cover.
How does each of you make your living?
T: I am a superhero.
Norm: I’m T’s trusty sidekick.
Gizella: Doing the bidding of others in an office, but thankfully near a Whole Foods.
Gizella, are you mild-mannered? If so, is it a cover for your own secret double life as a crime fighter?
T: Gizella is mild-mannered, and relatively shy - plays a mean bass though. It is me that leads the double life.
Gizella: I would say I’m mild-mannered. I try to keep an even keel. If I had a secret double life as a crime fighter, my crime fighting name would be Super Virgo, which should explain a lot.
This one is for T: What does that “T” stand for? Or would you prefer not to say because it would reveal your secret identity? Retributions from arch-enemies can be a bitch, we know…
T: There are enough people in the world that know what the T stands for. and I only have one arch-enemy, I think.
Can you name for us a band from each of the last four decades — 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, 1960s — that you consider an influence and, for whatever reason, isn’t already listed on your MySpace page or in your press kit?
T: 1960s: The Doors; 1970s: David Bowie; 1980s: Heart; 1990s: Janes’s Addiction.
Norm: 1960s = MOTOWN in general, 1970s = Blondie, 1980s = Depeche Mode, 1990s = Aphex Twin.
Gizella: 1960s - Beatles, 1970s - Bowie, 1980s - U2, 1990s - Ministry.
Definitely some good influences there. Are any of those cases of comparisons that you think make a great deal of sense, but prefer not to have made for some reason?
T: Just that we can’t list everything, I guess…
Gizella: We really had to think about that last question on the influences of decades. It’s just that these may not be readily apparent or even evident.
Norm: No not really… It’s inevitable that people will say you sound like this band or that band, but we try not to obsess with that and just focus on what Gold Streets does best. We’re still figuring all of this out, mind you, but I think our new record will showcase all of the different directions we’ve hinted to on our EP, but also veer off into completely new sonic territories… get ready.
Are you fans of Pink Floyd? As Norm said, it’s inevitable that people will compare you to bands that have come before, and the first time we put your EP on, the guitar sound at the beginning of “Red” had us thinking of Pink Floyd. Would you consider that a stretch?
Norm: Interesting… hadn’t even thought about that comparison. People are going to compare your material with something else they’ve heard before — it’s human nature. Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so whether intentional or not, one’s influences will sort of peep their heads out here and there. But Pink Floyd? hmmmm….
Gizella: I do enjoy Pink Floyd. I think it’s a minor stretch, but I can totally see where you’re getting that. How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat?
T: Right on.
As you hinted at just now, you’ve been working on a new full-length album. Will it be completely new material, or will there be versions of songs from the Red EP?
We re-recorded “Red” for a video, which we will hopefully be shooting with director Brad DeCecco in the Fall, but the new version won’t make it on the new album. We also re-recorded “TK” and “Hotel Pool” from the EP, and have decided that “Hotel Pool” is the winner - a bigger, better, faster version will be on the full-length. But most of the new record will be new material that we wrote once the recording of the EP was wrapped up - we went through this renaissance of songwriting that, as a band, believe is the best stuff we’ve ever done together.
It seems like that’s often the case for bands — they do a lot of great writing just as they finish up working in the studio. Why do you think this happens? Would you say it’s frustrating or relieving in some way to have so much good writing come after you’ve just finished a recording?
T: I would say that it is refreshing. You spend so much time focusing on set material for a recording, and it is nice to move on when you are finished and explore the unknown.
Norm: During the recording of our first EP, not only had we been playing and rehearsing those songs for so long, but to have to play them a few dozen times, over and over — we started going mental. To start writing and playing something that you have no idea where it’s going is EXCITING and dangerous feeling.
Gizella: The new writing is relieving, I’d think. While you want to record it at the time since it’s so enthusiastic, one would get stuck in a loop of recording without the satisfaction of closure. The sense of completion is nice.
Going into the studio, did you have a clear idea of the album you’d be recording? A group of songs already selected? Or was it a matter of seeing what worked best in the studio?
T: I think a little of both. We have a lot of material, but only enough for about one and 2/3 albums, so we took the best 10 songs and those will be featured.
Gizella: We definitely want the album to be a cohesive whole, something that is listenable in its entirety, not something with large expanses of fly-over country. so, cohesive, but not too concept-ish. it’s not too much to ask, right?
Norm: Since recording the EP was our first “real” recording experience as a band (outside of our demo when we first got started), we learned so much from that weekend. So going into recording this album we were definitely looking to improve and expand on things that we had only begun to hint at on our EP. Directionally, I feel like we’ve pivoted a bit from where we were creatively on the EP. It hasn’t so much been a conscious direction, but something that inevitably happens because I’d say we are a better band then when we recorded the EP. I think this record will showcase an audible progression.
What are your plans for releasing the full-length?
T: We are going to release it ourselves. We plan on having a big CD release party with other bands that we are friends with. We like throwing parties as opposed to just playing shows (which is what attracted us to your event). We are friends with A Place To Bury Strangers - we just played a show with them at Tonic.
Gizella: Maybe some small jaunts to do out of town shows. It all depends on our schedules. At the party, I would like to have someone jump out of cake, or something equally fantastic.
Norm: I don’t know about the girls, but I would love to hit the road a bit and play in cities that we’ve never played in. I’d love to go out to Detroit, Chicago – basically get out of the same circle of venues and cities we’ve been playing.
So, you’re not really looking to “shop it around” as the kids say? In releasing it yourselves, will you seek help from any sort of publicity/promotions company for help with getting exposure outside of NYC?
T: We are doing a lot of homework right now, trying to decide what is best for us.
Norm: Exactly what T said. We are looking to do what is best for us and for our music.
Gizella: …which all requires money. That’s why we bought lots of scratch-off tickets.
