IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Gas Hound talks 9mm/Knife Double AA-SIDE VIDEO Release
Conducted by Van Bassman
Welcome to “In their own words” a new series on Rippin Headlines where we pass the mic to the artist and let them tell us all about their craft.
From Benjamin J. Davidow, international recording artist & poet:
“At the core of Knife/9mm, is comradeship. I couldn’t have done it without Kyle Gordon (MammaBear) on second guitar, Nick Whitson (Phantom Electric) on dem phat strangs, Tony Belser (The Bloodplums ) on skins, Kris Sampson (The Coathangers, The B52s) directing, Raheem Amlani of Orange Peel Recordings engineering and Van Bassman’s (Insomniac, The Buzzards of Fuzz) artistry, design skills and belief in a fellow birds passion. Also a special shout out to our video crew, Anton Harden and Elorm Srigboh, and to Michael Kai who designed and edited the Sampson Saturday logo that appears at the beginning of each of the videos in the Sampson Saturday series.”
“On October 24th and 25th of 2020, amid pandemic gridlock, these videos and songs were crafted during a beautiful weekend of making music with multiple bands at Orange Peel Recordings under the musical and visual direction of Kris Sampson. Additionally, Kris Sampson did photoshoots that included a full roll (50 shots) of 35 mm black and white film for each project. The weekend featured The Buzzards of Fuzz, The Bloodplums, Gas Hound, Buckhead Shaman, and MammaBear who all performed live and (mostly) sober for video performances in multiple variations. I split a set with MammaBear, forming what we called BearHound at the time, although Tony from the Bloodplums also hopped on as well as Nick Whitson from Phantom Electric who wanted in on the action.”
“Past the editing and release of these recordings and live video, The Buzzards of Fuzz and Gas Hound released limited-edition handmade lathe-cut 7”s from Tangible Formats, in stereo format. These are the first two physical products to be released from the sessions.”
“Originally when I wrote “Knife”, it was just a sketch having wormed its way into my head while playing an old lap steel in a great food hall after staying up all night for a friend’s wedding in Hiawassee. We watched the sun rise over the mountains that morning – golden rays scattered across the trickling creek bed nearby.”
“And then there it was, some strange darkly amusing tune originally dubbed “I’ve got a Knife”. For months I only had a few words, but like many songs before it, the words would slowly emerge at vacant street corners, dimly lit stop signs, in between sets at gigs, etc. they tend to evolve and revolve until I can reconcile whatever meaning they may hold or whatever lights up a taste bud in the folds of my brain.”
“9mm, originally dubbed “Death of the West” is not only a spaghetti western sunset but also a song about the music industry, the death of genre, and the death of western culture. Atlanta just lost our largest music festival due to rampant violence and lack of gun control. There’s blood in the streets as Jim Morrison said, and it’s continuing to rise.”
“Sometimes life feels like a battle from the break of dawn to the dead of night, and I wouldn’t want to come out fighting with anyone else but my crew of friends, family, and musicians by my side. So let’s keep fighting for everything that’s beautiful in this world, for artwork, for peace, for equity, for love, for those who are willing to listen, for those who need help, for those who can give help, and for those who continue to fight every day.”
Gas Hound performs live at Boggs Social & Supply on March, 26th with Bloodplums, Faithless Town, and The Absurd. Tickets are on sale here.