Last Friday, January 18th, Northfield natives Gospel Gossip played the legendary Minneapolis venue First Avenue as part of the Best New Bands of 2007 showcase. Fresh off the release of their debut album Sing Into My Mouth [Guilt Ridden Pop; 2007] , Gospel Gossip have already made a name for themselves in the crowded Twin Cities music scene with their warm, jangly indie rock and great live performances. Friday was no different; although the band seemed to shy away from the freewheling guitar freakout or two that usually characterizes their sets, they played through their songs with confidence and precision, and at the very least proved that they deserved to be up on stage along with great talent such as Black Audience and Gay Witch Abortion. And although this reviewer's night ended with an unexpected trip to the ER and three stitches, he still remembers the show quite fondly.
(Photo credit: Alexa Jones)
A few days before the show, Shout! caught up with the Carleton half of the band — alumni/facutly member Ollie Moltaji '07 (drums) and Sarah Nienaber '08 (guitar/vocals) — to ask a few questions about the upcoming show and all other things Gospel Gossip. Does Ollie still have butterflies about playing such a big venue? How does the band feel about comparisons to U2? Find out after the jump.
Shout!: How did you get selected to perform in the Best New Bands showcase?
Sarah: I'm pretty sure that First Ave sends ballots to the people that they think matter — music critics and club owners and stuff in Minneapolis. For some reason, enough people put us on the ballot.
Ollie: Not sure, it was a surprise actually because we released our CD so late in the year. Anyway, all the top music critics and personalities vote for their favourite live bands (the show’s organized by Radio K) and they choose the top 7 of those ballots. It’s very similar to Citypages’ Picked-To-Click.
Shout!: In an interview you once said that "First Ave. is too scary to play." (http://indiessance.blogspot.com/2007/11/gospel-gossip.html) Do you still feel that way going into the show?
Sarah: Ollie said that. But I'd agree, I mean, it's huge. So if it's a bad turnout it's going to be awkward, and if it's a good turnout it's going to be pretty terrifying. I don't know if that's why Ollie think it's scary but that's how I feel.
Ollie: In a way, yes. However, we’ve been really happy with the way our live shows have been going recently and we’re also playing with a bunch of other bands we know. For some reason that makes us feel a bit better. I’m sure we’ll shit our pants once we get up there.
Shout!: I think it was only a year ago that Gospel Gossip played its first show at the Contented Cow here in Northfield. What do you think accounts for your quick rise to popularity? Is it playing a bunch of shows in the Twin Cities, radio/internet buzz, a mix of the two?
Sarah: It doesn't feel like it's been that quick. It's just been one small thing after another — radio stuff here and there, one article leading to another, and now this First Ave thing. But the sum of those small things doesn't really equal popularity. Maybe we're not popular.
Ollie: Our first show was the Fineline back in the summer of ’06. That was so terrible because it was a mostly emo-band line-up. Anyway, I would say things feel the same as when we first start. The difference is that there’s more of an audience. That’s all from the press we’ve been getting. I have a feeling Minneapolis is looking for the next biggest scene, and you’ll notice that we’re usually mentioned as one of those young throwback bands… along with First Communion Afterparty and Mouthful of Bees. We’re good friends with the former band actually.
Shout!: You just released your debut album Sing Into My Mouth at the end of 2007 to nothing but enthusiastic press. But one of the funny things I noticed in reviews is how unwilling the reviewers are to take the music on its own terms. It seems like everyone wants to pigeonhole you as three young 20-somethings who tried to make a shoegaze record. Where do you think this meme came from?
Sarah: It is funny. The last thing we set out to do was make a shoegaze record. I don't even think we DID make a shoegaze record. We didn't actually set out to do anything except record and play our songs in the best way possible. And I think our individual influences come from so many different places that we don't even talk about them, although to be fair we did credit The Jesus and Mary Chain in the liner notes, but that was my idea and I just had to see it through. Journalists like easy answers. It makes them look credible. So if one journalist says we're shoegaze, they're all going to say we're shoegaze. Because who wants to start something, you know? I'm not bitter about it. I just think it's a bit strange.
Ollie: Yeah, most of it’s because the Minneapolis sees local music very differently from what’s actually there. Another reason is because half of the reviewers have never heard of us or seen us live, so the easiest thing for them to do is assume and categorize. A lot of it’s funny too. We’ve been getting a ton of U2 and Wire comparisons. Those don’t make much sense. And yes, we’ve been getting a lot of shoegaze references, which partly makes sense. We barely know the genre, and in fact, we’ve just started listening to a lot of bands these writers name-dropped. But it’s mentioned on our myspace, so I guess it means that we’re supposed to be highly influenced by it.
Shout!: Is a follow-up album already in the works, or do you plan on supporting your debut for the time being?
Sarah: We have some new stuff, but depending on what happens with this one, I think it'll be awhile before we record it.
Ollie: We’re planning a Spring Break tour in support of our college radio promotions of the album. We have a bunch of new songs written. They have a stronger, more associated feel to them. The next album will probably sound very different from what we did. We’re also going to work with the same guy that we mixed with, Neil Weir, possibly at the world-famous Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls.
To check out Gospel Gossip's music, visit their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/gospelgossip, or their official website. You can find more great photos of the show on Alexa Jones' Flickr collection.
