GODDAMN GOTHS ON METH
GODDAMN GOTHS ON METH INTERVIEW
SBS: Yo! How in the bloody hell has it already been THREE YEARS since we did our first interview with ya when it feels like it was just yesterday! How the heck are ya GODDAMN GOTHS ON METH? What the heck is new? Catch us up on what we’ve missed – what’s been goin’ on since the last time we talked?
GGOM: Three years? Damn, it’s a trip – I don’t even know what a “year” means anymore. Time’s just this weird sludge at this point. Maybe it’s all the meth – or maybe it’s just life bending in on itself. Feels like I’ve been awake since the 90s, and honestly, I probably have been. Time’s a scam anyway.
Lately, I’ve been in this sweet spot creatively, working on some releases that I think are going to mess people up in the best way possible. But yeah, it hasn’t all been sunshine and amphetamines – I’ve hit some personal roadblocks, ended up in the hospital a couple times, you know, the usual rock-bottom pit stops. But you know, I’ve been milking that goth vibe hard. Let’s just say the chaos doesn’t drag me down – it gives me wings. V2K, harassment, all that noise – bring it on. I thrive in the mess. It’s like fuel for the engine, baby.
SBS: How tough or how easy is it to keep the music of GGOM flowing? Do you find you’re ever feeling like you’ve done everything that you can do, or are you still feeling like the future opportunities to do something else are limitless? Timeline-wise, would you say GGOM is still at the start? Middle? End?
GGOM: Most days, it feels like I’m still just getting started. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I want GGOM to be. There are these fleeting moments – like nanoseconds – where I think, ‘why the hell am I still doing this?’ but that’s usually right after a release I felt great about, and all I hear back is the sweet, familiar hum of crickets.
That used to mess with me, but not so much these days. Now, I’ve learned that as long as I’m surprising myself, I’m good. That’s the magic – when the music catches me off guard. If I gave a damn about people’s opinions, I’d be cranking out 1-4-5 candy-ass chord progressions. Not that I’m against it or anything – hell, even dumb pop structures have their moments. But I’m wired differently. I vibe with weird keys – Locrian, Super Locrian – you know, the keys that say, ‘yeah, you’re not welcome here.’
I feel like I’m hitting a groove now, but honestly, I still see myself as a novice at songwriting. I mean, come on – writing drum parts isn’t really songwriting, right? Ha! Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a creative process. You’re basically playing producer, shaping how the track lands in people’s ears. But let’s be real – how many people would willingly listen to just a drum track all the way through? Unless it’s a drum solo – and fuck man, let’s face it, most drum solos are about as thrilling as watching someone in a K-hole.
That said, the possibilities are endless. There’s always another idea lurking, a new sound waiting to be found, or some unexpected direction to veer off into. The beauty of this project is that it doesn’t have a set path – it’s all about discovery. As long as that door stays open, GGOM is far from done.
SBS: The last time we talked, I asked you if you were “clean, sober, or neither” and you kept it as real as you always do, letting us in on the fact that it was “neither,” and that it’s essentially ALWAYS been that way for ya. So…well…I suppose I’m assuming that’s still the case…but on a scale of minimally fucked up to trippin’ the light fantastic, how have you been doin’ these days? Beyond that – can you somehow explain to the folks out there that have never had the courage to do some damn good drugs, how they can actually contribute something positive to the creation of art? Drugs tend to be regarded as such a destructive thing by so many out there, yet those that have taken them know that there is an opposite perspective…hell, they can lead to extraordinary breakthroughs that people couldn’t have achieved in any other way! How have drugs helped you with the music you make through the years…or, have they?
GGOM: Ah, the good ol’ “clean, sober, or neither” question – still riding that “neither” wave, my friend. Life’s too weird to be dealt with sober all the time, and honestly, I think I’d have melted into a puddle of anxiety and existential dread years ago if I was stone-cold clean. So yeah, I’m still somewhere on the spectrum between “minimally fucked up” and “talking to gangstas or hillbillies in the furniture.” I’m not out here trying to find the edge – I’ve already fallen off it and learned to enjoy the freefall.
When it comes to drugs and creativity, I think of it like this: Some of the best bands didn’t really find their soul until they were completely frying their eggheads. It’s like once they shattered the surface, they started turning out these tracks with way more meaningful, darker depths. Even if the music or lyrics didn’t make much sense to the straight-laced world out there, it hit hard for people like me – because there was something real buried in the chaos, even if it came out sideways.
Before I took my own psychotic dive, I was totally trapped by self-consciousness. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas – I had plenty. But I was so fixated on what other people thought that it paralyzed me. I obsessed over how I measured up to everyone else, comparing myself to friends who seemed to tap into this otherworldly artistic flow like it was nothing. It ate at me. I thought everyone was smarter, more talented, just better – and I hated myself for it. That self-loathing built up so much that I just stopped trying altogether.
It wasn’t until I started dabbling in psychedelics and other substances that I had a breakthrough. I realized my whole approach to creativity had been backwards. I was trying to make art that I thought other people would think was creative – like I was chasing some imagined ideal instead of expressing myself. And I’m not talking about inspiration, either – it was deeper than that. I was basically trying to copy someone else’s soul instead of finding my own.
Now? I just do whatever the fuck I want. I don’t even try to appeal to anyone. That doesn’t mean I won’t refine my work or try to get better, but I’m done with compromising for anyone else’s standards. When I made the AJOKETOTELLTOU LP, it was during one of the hardest times of my life. My dad had just passed away, and the voices I hear were getting louder and more intrusive by the day. I was so goddamn high and out of my mind while making that album that I had no clue what I was doing – no direction, no concept – just chaos. And yeah, that album is pretty much unlistenable, but you know what? It captured exactly where I was at that time, and in that way, it’s perfect. It’s exactly what it was supposed to be.
On the lighter side, though, I think I made some of the best music videos for songs off that album – sometimes the most out-there moments bring out the best creative sparks.
At the end of the day, drugs haven’t just helped – they’ve shifted my entire perspective. The trick, though, is not letting them create for you. Drugs won’t hand you brilliance on a silver platter, but they will show you doors you didn’t know existed. Whether you walk through those doors and make something out of it – that’s on you.
SBS: Lemme tell ya…there’s not a fuckin’ day that goes by here on this side of the screen that someone hasn’t picked something up and put it somewhere else, changed their name for the fourteenth time, or removed something they’ve done altogether. I think this is WEIRD bro, I ain’t gonna lie. I’m sure every circumstance has its own unique reasons and all, but like, fuck…I’m one of those ‘longevity wins the war’ type of people, and I try to avoid taking anything I’ve ever done down like the plague. Mostly because I don’t give a shit what people think about this or that, but also because I find art/music and whatnot to be very much like a journal that documents who we are, what we do, how we live, and what’s important to us. When we were talking to ya in the last interview back in 2021, you were just on the verge of putting out the album Damned If You Do Damned If You Don’t…and yet, here we are, three years later, and POOF – it’s gone. Wiped from the internet, with the exception of a trace of its existence on your main website & some greyed-out tracks on Spotify. We, the people, demand an explanation from you.
GGOM: Yeah, that whole situation really came down to the neighbors – the voices, I mean. From now on, let’s just call them the neighbors. Most people don’t get what it’s like to have these neighbors in your head, always talking, always watching. You don’t know where they are exactly, but you feel them everywhere. And just to mess with me, they tell me they’re there, which makes it feel even more real.
They aren’t some Hollywood demon voices dripping with reverb or echo. Nope, they sound like regular people – sometimes even like family members or old friends, which just fucks with me even more. They don’t just talk either; they mock, belittle, and twist everything I say or do. They toss out death threats like candy, accuse me of every horrible thing under the sun – molester, rapist, you name it. I guess that’s how they justify being there, right? It’s not enough to break me down – they have to convince me I deserve it. And lately? They’ve been getting nastier. If I mouth off or push back, they hit me with this burning sensation or make my body vibrate. I swear, it’s like they’ve figured out new ways to screw with me that feel external – like it’s not just in my head anymore. But honestly, who the hell knows at this point?
So, about Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t – the neighbors hated that release. They hounded me day and night for a year, demanding I take it down. I tried holding out, but after a while, I just wanted some peace. I figured if I pulled it, maybe they’d shut the fuck up. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. They still hate everything I do with GGOM. But if I happen to make something halfway decent, they’ll switch it up and say it was their idea all along. It’s like I can’t win—if it’s bad, it’s all me. If it’s good, it’s all them. And they’ve been trying to get me to kill this whole project for years now.
Looking back, though, maybe taking it down wasn’t the worst thing. I’ve been meaning to re-record some of the tracks, clean things up, maybe remix a few others. I guess it gave me the chance to step back and see it with fresh eyes. GGOM is like an evolving beast – it’s not about locking anything in place forever. If the music grows and shifts with me, then I’m doing it right. At least, that’s what I tell myself when the neighbors get too loud.
SBS: That’s not to say you haven’t been…busy…to say the least. I’m not sure if my math is completely correct, but it’s quite possible you’ve put out as many as ELEVEN records since the last time we talked! Dude…that’s insane! That’s a level of production that the vast majority of artists/bands would NEVER be able to keep up to, or dare to attempt themselves. And while, sure, my number includes some singles and EPs etc. – fuck, those still count! That’s a superhuman amount of effort you’re putting into what you do, and I fully salute that. I do run into the occasional independent artist that gets crazy with their output from time to time…and I suppose it always ends up making me wonder the same thing…isn’t it way too easy to oversaturate the space out there? It’s hard enough to convince most people to listen to ONE damn record these days, let alone ELEVEN in the past three years! I know that’s not the main focus or something you’d likely worry about at all…but still, somewhere in there, you want people to listen just like anyone else would, right? We’re still only about a decade or so removed from a time where the average new record from an artist/band came out like, every 3-4 years. Is there a risk in your releasing music at such a rapid pace? Are you sacrificing anything potentially to make records at the rate you are? If you were to give yourself more time to do things, would there be some kind of advantage or benefit?
GGOM: Yeah, I just dropped another release called SK1n3Rz BOx. This one’s a weird beast – short, electronic, underproduced on purpose, and built around the idea of being trapped. I took some inspiration from B.F. Skinner’s experiments and spun it with concepts like the singularity, smartphones, and the idea that we’re all basically living in a simulation. It’s meant to feel messy and fragmented – kinda like music made inside a digital cage. I don’t think it’ll click with everyone right away, but that’s the beauty of it. I’ve always wanted GGOM to be this big, sprawling collection of work – not just a single here, a single there. If people get curious and stumble across it years from now, it’ll be waiting for them.
And honestly, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve waited my whole life to have this opportunity – to create exactly what I want in my little “studio” and put it out there for the world. If I’d had this kind of setup when I was a teenager, holy shit, I probably would’ve made some kind of mark somewhere. The tools we have now are a dream come true for someone like me.
As for oversaturating the space – yeah, that thought crosses my mind sometimes. But at the end of the day, I can’t slow down. I’ve got too much to say and not enough time to say it. I mean, you said it yourself – longevity wins the war. If it takes people five years to pick up what I’m putting down, so be it. The music will still be there when they’re ready for it.
I know we live in a world where people struggle to listen to a single album, let alone eleven releases over a few years. But that’s not really my problem. If someone’s meant to connect with it, they will, eventually. I’m not here to make streamlined, market-ready music – I’m here to build something bigger. And yeah, maybe dropping music at this pace means I’m sacrificing polish or accessibility. But if I slowed down just to meet some imaginary industry standard, I’d be sacrificing myself. And that’s not happening.
SBS: It’s interesting when you look at things from an overhead snapshot and hindsight. I used to spend a lot of time in the ol’ corporate world, doin’ the ol’ hiring and firing and all that. Believe it or not, one of my favorite things to do back then, was interviews. I’d take in a resume, look over the information, and then proceed to piece together the puzzle as best I could…and ultimately, I like to think I came out with some of the most incredible teams you could hope for in that realm. Doesn’t mean the occasional shithead didn’t make it through…I learned that happens to the best of us no matter how good we think we are at identifying someone that wouldn’t work. Anyhow. One of the easiest things to do was punch holes in someone’s timeline…you can always see where space exists, and there’s usually a story of some kind that explains an absence. Not too long after we last talked, from what it looks like online, you went into your least productive year to-date in 2022 – there was only one record released, with three songs on it. My instincts tell me that I should be askin’ ya about whatever the heck happened to you in 2022, so here I am, doing exactly that. Something must have gotten in your way that year – what happened?
GGOM: Man, I didn’t even realize so much time had slipped by until I looked back at it. That year just vanished. 2022 was a weird one for me – looking back, it makes sense why there wasn’t much music released. I had already put out ScrewTape Singles in 2021, but by the time 2022 rolled around, I had to set things down. Everything started to freak me out – like, I wasn’t just hearing the neighbors anymore. I was hearing weird, unsettling things inside the songs themselves, like they had their own voices. Faces started showing up in my artwork – devilish ones that I don’t even remember drawing. I’d look at regular photos, and somehow, they looked… different. Like people were straight-up fucking in them, even though they weren’t. It felt like my brain was being hacked – like I was losing control over my own mind.
But it wasn’t a total loss. That year, I poured myself into making a bunch of GGOM music videos – those were my way of staying connected to the project. I was trying to find a way to keep creating without letting the neighbors tear me down completely. It was a battle, though. I was drinking and using pretty heavily, just trying to stay afloat while everything around me felt like it was spinning out.
2022 was all about survival. I was learning how to live with the noise in my head, trying to figure out how to make art again even when everything inside me was telling me to quit. I didn’t release much music that year, but it was still an important chapter for GGOM. It was messy, dark, and chaotic – but it was real.
SBS: “Why do we fall, Bruce?” To your credit, you responded with your most productive year ever in 2023 for GGOM – you went on to release a staggering quantity of SIX records in that one year alone. I guess the obvious questions is, what changed? Was there a reason that last year was so filled with new music? Were you going on a full revenge tour for the lack of production the year before? Was there something that had you particularly inspired to make more music, or did you change your approach in terms of how you make it? Streamline something? There had to be some kind of major change that had you going from three songs in 2022 to a full six records the next year…tell us about what 2023 was like…
GGOM: Yeah, 2023 was wild in the best way. One of the biggest shifts? My ex-girlfriend moved back in with me for a bit. It was short-lived, but damn, it was inspiring. She’s always been my muse – whether I like it or not. Something about having her around just sparks creativity in me. After how dark and lonely 2022 had been, having someone to talk to, someone who was actually there and not just a voice in my head, made all the difference. When the neighbors got too loud, I could escape into real conversations with a physical presence instead of getting lost in their bullshit. That was huge.
Honestly, I think 2023 was me making up for lost time. 2022 left me feeling stranded and stuck, and 2023 was like the floodgates finally opened. I had all these ideas that were just waiting to come out, and having her around gave me the push I needed to dive back into them. Even now, I’m still working on ideas I picked up during that time. It was like a creative sprint – just pure output.
I didn’t really streamline anything or change how I make music – it was more about riding the wave while it was there. When inspiration hits, you’ve gotta grab it with both hands and run with it, because it doesn’t wait around. That’s exactly what 2023 was for me – this manic burst of creation. And, honestly? I’m still riding that high.
SBS: When you’re looking back at last year now in retrospect – what would you say the real highlight was? A blitz of creative output can always show us strengths and weaknesses. What did you feel was your biggest breakthrough in terms of what you released in 2023, and why? You obviously hit your stride hard last year, or had a hell of a lot of extra time you didn’t have before – but what record that you put out would you say reflects how locked in you were to your craft, and how would we know that by listening? Did you make any substantial upgrades, or find a way to do something altogether new?
GGOM: Looking back, I’d say the real turning point in 2023 was with the release of INRI. That album marked a shift for me – a new sense of energy and a fresh approach to making music. Up until then, a lot of what I created felt more experimental or chaotic, but with INRI, I found myself leaning more into structured, music-based tracks. It was like I rediscovered a rhythm that I hadn’t tapped into for a while.
That album felt like a breakthrough because it reminded me that I can still create something coherent and deliberate, without losing the rawness that defines what I do. I wouldn’t say I made any major gear upgrades, but my mindset definitely shifted. I approached everything with a renewed sense of purpose, and I think that really shows in the songs. There’s a cohesion in INRI that reflects how focused I was, even if it still carries the unpredictable and unpolished nature of my work.
If you listen to it closely, you’ll hear that balance – something more structured, but still holding onto the weird, messy energy that makes it feel alive. INRI was where things clicked for me last year, and from that point on, I felt locked into my craft in a way that I hadn’t been for a long time.
SBS: Alright…let’s get into the current year before I ask ya another hundred questions and 2024 is over. You released COMORBID in May, just a couple months ago. Fifteen tracks…over an hour of music, and your first new tunes in nearly half a year. What can you tell us about COMORBID? What makes it differ from anything else you’ve put out so far, and what does it tell us about where GGOM is at creatively?
GGOM: The first thing with COMORBID is that it marks a shift – I switched platforms and started learning Logic Pro for it. And it was a process. It took me a while to get the hang of, and honestly, I’m still figuring it out. So those tracks? They’re basically my crash course in Logic Pro. I wanted to push myself creatively while learning the ropes, and though I don’t have it all down yet, I’m getting there.
With this record, I also tried to make the music a bit more accessible. I didn’t want it to just be a collection of weird ambient noise – don’t get me wrong, I love that kind of stuff, but I wanted COMORBID to be something people could latch onto. A little more structure, a bit more appeal – just to see how far I could push GGOM without losing the essence of what it’s about.
There are definitely a few things I’d change if I could go back, but it is what it is. Sometimes you just have to let the music be what it wants to be, imperfections and all. And honestly? There’s still a bunch of unfinished songs from the COMORBID sessions that didn’t make it onto the record. So, there’s plenty more in the GGOM vault – those tracks will find their way out eventually. This release is just the beginning of what’s to come.
SBS: A few months ago you released Phaiche (B-sides and Oddities -, Pt. 1). As I was listening to the album, and got to the second track “Phaicht & Phucht,” I was like, B-sides my ass! That’s a A-side yo! But we all hear things differently of course, and there’s a chasm of difference between how a creator hears their music versus how us consumers do. Anyhow…you get the point I’m sure – there are some seriously stellar tracks on your latest album! For whatever reason, I’ve always found that I really tend to dig on B-side compilations…I dunno what it is, but I suspect it has a lot to do with the fact that any one of the songs included on’em could have theoretically never existed and been lost on the cutting room floor forever. I suppose it makes me appreciate’em that much more…or maybe it’s just clever marketing – but overall, I feel like I always come out of listening to someone’s ‘B-sides’ and find some real gold that I’m thankful wasn’t just thrown away. Like I was saying earlier, even our mistakes are part of the story, right? All music and art is part of a documentary we’re creating that details who we are. But what would you say is your own criteria in terms of what separates an A-side from a B-side? Are you really telling me that “Phaicht & Phucht” is a typical B-side? C’mon! This track fucking JAMS – and for a song that’s nearly thirteen GODDAMN minutes, that’s a GODDAMN achievement my dude! So for real – if this is a B-side, then you gotta fill me in on what it’s missing & explain why this didn’t end up an A-side.
GGOM: Yeah, the reason “Phaicht & Phucht” didn’t make the cut as an A-side is simple – it just didn’t hit what I originally envisioned for it. I wanted it to have a vibe kinda like Prince’s “Batdance” from the Tim Burton Batman Soundtrack. Not that I wanted to copy it exactly, but I was aiming for that same chaotic, genre-mashing energy. Turns out, there’s a reason why Prince is Prince, and, well… I’m definitely not. But hey, it was a fun little experiment, and that’s really what the whole Phaiche album was about – trying new things that didn’t quite land the way I wanted but were still a blast to make.
As for SK1n3Rz BOx – funny enough, that release was originally supposed to be part of the next B-sides album. But the thing just got out of control. I ended up with 31 tracks on SK1n3Rz BOx, and I still have a handful left over. So yeah… expect more B-sides, because apparently, I don’t know when to quit.
At the end of the day, a B-side for me isn’t necessarily a bad song – it’s just a track that didn’t quite fit the puzzle I was working on at the time. “Phaicht & Phucht” might be a B-side in name, but it’s definitely got a life of its own. And if people are connecting with it, well, that’s just a happy accident. Sometimes the songs that don’t fit are the ones that stick with people the most – and I kinda love that.
SBS: I was actually quite surprised by how listenable Phaiche (B-sides and Oddites -, Pt. 1) was from beginning to end, but again, I seem to gravitate towards B-side albums personally. I’d assume that the masses probably look at B-side compilations as a more daunting listen overall, and with there being so much music out there to listen to these days & no hope of even listening to everyone’s A-sides – I guess one might ask what the point is to even releasing a record full of goodies gathered from the cutting room floor would even be? From your perspective – what’s the value in listening to your B-sides versus your official albums? Is something like Phaiche (B-sides and Oddites -, Pt. 1) only for the hardcore fans?
GGOM: Well, if I ever get any hardcore fans, I’ll be sure to let you know – but yeah, I’m hoping that’ll be true someday! I’ve always thought B-sides have a unique kind of magic, and I guess that comes from growing up as a hardcore Cure fan. I mean, I was deep in it – like, I was that 7th grader showing up to school with teased hair, eyeliner, lipstick, a black button-up with a black cardigan, jeans, and some big-tongued high tops. It was a whole vibe, and I didn’t care if I was the only one rocking it.
As a fan, I gravitated toward their B-sides more than the main albums. One of my all-time favorite tracks is “This Twilight Garden” off the High single. When I first heard it, I was blown away – like, if this was a B-side, what in the world was the rest of the album gonna sound like? And then Wish came out, and… yeah, it was okay, but not “This Twilight Garden” level. I still can’t wrap my head around why that track was a B-side – it’s better than most of the songs on the actual album.
I think it’s a matter of perspective. When you’re in a band like The Cure, and you’re holding yourself to these insanely high standards, even a great song can feel like it’s not quite right for the main record. It’s wild to think that something so incredible could end up on the cutting room floor just because it didn’t hit whatever internal benchmark the band had. But that’s the beauty of B-sides – they’re these hidden gems, and sometimes they outshine the A-sides.
For me, that’s part of the reason Phaiche (B-sides and Oddities, Pt. 1) exists. Sure, maybe it’s not for everyone – maybe it’s just for the future hardcore fans. But there’s a certain freedom in B-sides. They’re not weighed down by the pressure of fitting a theme or meeting expectations. They’re experiments, mistakes, weird ideas that somehow worked. And sometimes, those tracks end up being the most interesting of all.
SBS: Does art imitate life? If you had to somehow pick one or two of your tunes and identify them as the most autobiographical…songs that represent who you are and what you’re about, more than the rest – is that possible? If someone out there was to say they only had ten minutes before they had to catch the bus, but they wanted to listen to one or two songs by GGOM, what would you play for them, and why? Is it ever really possible to put who we are into the art we create – or is that a completely narcissistic point of view? Are we, the creators, the only ones that ever really understand who we are?
GGOM: Well, that would all depend on whether I ever wanted to see that person again after they caught the bus.
Honestly, that’s a tough question. I’m one of those people who aren’t exactly what you’d call “cool.” The things I find interesting or entertaining don’t seem to hit the same way for most people. Some folks are like curators – discovering underground music, movies, books, and showing them to others, who end up loving it too. That makes them the tastemakers, the gatekeepers of cool. But me? I’m more like the dork among dorks. And not the smart, witty kind of dork either – the kind that even the other dorks make fun of. So trying to distill who I am into just a couple of songs… I don’t think it would translate all that well.
That said, I do think it’s totally possible to put who you are into the art you make – if you’re being honest about it and doing it for yourself, not for anyone else. That’s the key. If you’re chasing validation or trying to fit into some box, it’s going to feel forced and fake. But when you’re just creating because you have to – because it’s the only thing that makes sense – that’s when the real stuff comes out.
As for which songs I’d pick? That’s tricky. It’s like trying to choose which two breaths sum up your entire life. But if I had to… well, I might just pick two tracks that would weird that person out enough that they’d miss their bus altogether. Not because I don’t care if they hear the “right” songs, but because it’s always more fun to leave people with questions than answers.
SBS: Let’s see, let’s see…what else can we ask ya… How about this – how political do you get in your music and in your personal life? Because we are living in some FUCKED UP TIMES, no matter which side of the aisle you might consider yourself to be on, and politics tends to pervade just about everything at the moment, even art, and even on an independent level. I’m sittin’ pretty livin’ here in Canada…I’m not saying we don’t have our own issues, we’ve got PLENTY of’em…but from an outside perspective, we’re also not going through this enormous existential crisis and crippling division to the extent that the USA is currently – and that’s where you’re based out of. So shake your crystal ball for us dude…what do you see coming up in November and will that end up transforming the USA in ways you haven’t seen before?
GGOM: How political do I get? Honestly, I don’t dive too deep into politics unless it’s an extreme issue that I feel needs attention before it spirals out of control. Most of the time, though, I stay out of that mess because I hate stressing over things that don’t impact me directly. It’s exhausting to watch people wreck their entire day, week, or life just because they read some post on Twitter or a blog that clashes with their worldview. The way I see it, half the time, nothing’s really happening to them – and the other half, nothing probably will.
What really makes me nervous is the rise of these unwavering beliefs. I’m not saying people shouldn’t have faith or beliefs, but they need to recognize that just because they believe something doesn’t make it true – or false, for that matter. It’s just a decision they made to trust an idea, often because someone else told them to.
This new Satanic Panic 2.0? That really blows my mind. I grew up during the original wave, and back then, we didn’t have easy ways to fact-check anything. If you wanted to challenge a rumor, it could take you all day. Now we have the internet in our pocket, and people can debunk things in seconds, but they don’t. They’d rather cling to what confirms their biases, because admitting they were wrong would mean confronting themselves and others – and that’s too uncomfortable for most people.
I’m even catching shit for being a Freemason these days, thanks to David Icke and his whole satanic reptilian agenda from 20 years ago. Somehow, every Mason has become a baby-eating pedophile in some people’s minds. Don’t get me wrong – never say never – but come on. I remember believing in the Babylonian Brotherhood conspiracy back in the day because I had no way to contradict it. Now, seeing people with all this access to information still falling for the same nonsense is pretty disheartening.
I also hate when people say the U.S. was founded on Christianity and that it’s being “taken away.” That’s just not true. The U.S. was founded by secularists, and that’s why we have a separation of church and state – because mixing politics and religion is a dangerous cocktail. I think Freemasonry gets it right with the Blue Lodge meetings: no politics, no religion. Those topics just cause division, and the whole point of Masonry is unity – no matter what conspiracytheory.com might say.
As for where the U.S. is heading this November…man, it’s hard to predict. The tension is thick, and people are waiting for something to break – whether that’s positive change or chaos, I don’t know. What I do know is that people are exhausted. There’s only so long a society can stay in fight mode, and sooner or later, something’s got to give. Whatever happens, I think it’s going to force some kind of transformation, for better or worse.
SBS: Wide open question for ya. When it comes to the music you personally choose to listen to, what moves you? What gets you excited? What are the qualities that make something essential listening?
GGOM: What moves me musically? Man, that’s a tough one. There’s so much out there, and narrowing it down feels impossible, but I’ll try to hit some of the highlights. I’ve already mentioned The Cure, so in that same vein: Joy Division, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, The Pixies, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, and Fields of the Nephilim. I’ve also got a huge appreciation for Death in June, Current 93, Coil, and all the projects that spun off from those worlds.
I love bands that build atmosphere, like Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, and Interpol. Queens of the Stone Age always brings a vibe, and of course, Nirvana is essential listening for me. I know Marilyn Manson might get me labeled a baby bat, but I’ll own it! I’ve also got a soft spot for the Maynard James Keenan trifecta – Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.
When it comes to women in music, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and Sarah McLachlan are on another level entirely. They’ve had a big influence on me – whether it’s their raw emotional delivery or just how fearless they are in their music.
Honestly, my tastes run the gamut – from The Beatles to System of a Down. I’m drawn to anything with an emotional punch, whether it’s through the lyrics, the atmosphere, or even the chaos. It doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to feel real.
SBS: What do you consider to be the most successful album you’ve created to-date, and what’s the criteria behind that choice? Are you measuring by stats? Listens, clicks, plays…the public’s reaction? Or is there something more to it than that…like you know, making one record in particular was a serious undertaking in comparison to the rest? How does anyone ever know what the best thing we ever do is? When it comes to an album, is it as simple as ‘well, this one has my favorite songs on it’ or ‘this record represents a specific point in my life that I like to remember’ – or is measuring the ‘success’ of anything we do a much more complex and abstract concept? It might be a neat idea, but does it even matter? To evolve in what we do creatively, we still kind of need some method to track our progress, don’t we?
GGOM: If I were to measure by clicks or listens, then none of them would be a success. I’m not out here breaking streaming records or anything. For me, it’s way more personal than that. I’m a sentimental guy – I try not to throw anything away that’s tied to a memory or a specific time in my life. Music acts like a kind of time machine for me. Just like a certain smell can take you back to a moment, music does the same thing. There are songs I still listen to now, not because I love the band, but because they’re tied to a memory I want to revisit, so they stay on my playlist.
So, when it comes to measuring success, it’s really about what I’m wanting to remember at that point. Each album is like a bookmark in my life. I even look back on that first messy, chaotic record with a lot of love now. At the time, I thought it was a total disaster – a real clusterfuck – but now, I see it differently. It reminds me of the original vision I had for the project: a macabre satire, just weird stuff to laugh at.
Actually, all I wanted back then was to make weird, crappy videos because I was tired of making videos to other people’s music. It didn’t matter if the music or the videos were perfect – I just wanted to create something that felt like me. So, in a way, that makes all of my albums successful, because they capture where I was at the time and what I wanted to say, even if it was messy.
SBS: I AM BECOME BORING (AND ALSO ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE)…at least, when it comes to how I’ve always chosen to end these interviews of ours. We’ll never be able to squeeze everything into one session, which is why I’m extremely grateful to have had a second opportunity to pick your brain – but even in two interviews, there’s bound to be something I didn’t ask ya that you would have wanted to talk about or share with the people out there reading. So here it is…right where you left it and you knew it would be…the ol’ SBS Open Floor, where you can say anything else you’d like to in the space below! THANK YOU for your time and your answers GODDAMN GOTHS ON METH – long may you continue to dominate the ether and the experimental realm, and make your music for many more years to follow!
GGOM: Thanks, Jer! I appreciate you, man. Let’s see… Well, I recently started a podcast – only four episodes deep so far – but I think it has the potential to become a beautiful disaster! If that sounds like your kind of chaos, check it out on YouTube, Spotify, or whatever platform you prefer.
I’ve also got that new release, SK1n3Rz BOx, out now. Jer, you’ve been the go-to for all my press releases, and I’d love for you to write this one too – just like the others over the years.
Lastly, I’ve got a little “The More You Know” moment to share. When you see someone on the street – or even at work – talking to themselves or yelling at the sky, it might look strange or even scary. But just remember, what they’re experiencing is very real to them. They’re probably dealing with voices arguing with them, putting them down, or even threatening to kill them. Whether it’s gang-stalking, V2K tech, or something entirely inside their mind, that’s their reality. So, be a decent human being and try not to be a judgmental cunt.
Thanks again for the opportunity, Jer! GODDAMN OUT!
Find out more about GODDAMN GOTHS ON METH from the official site at: https://goddamngothsonmeth.com
HEY YOU! YES YOU! You – the person reading this RIGHT NOW! Instead of emailing us to find out how you could be the next up on our pages at sleepingbagstudios and waiting days for our response – just click here will ya!?!
