GIFT – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

GIFT – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

We caught up with GIFT in the byways. This is the gist of our conversation.

RRX: Music genres are difficult for some artists. Some strictly adhere; others not so much. What is your perspective on the genre you play, or the genres you hover around?

GIFT: We’ve always had a tough time with genres. We’ve never set out to adhere to a certain genre. We’re often called shoegaze because we have a lot of intertwining sounds and utilize wall of sound-type production. We have a lot of different influences and if it sounds good it sounds good. If it sounds cool, it sounds cool! With Illuminator we really tried to stick with what sounded exciting to us, regardless of whether it fit any sort of expected genre.

RRX: What historical era would you like to visit if the sole purpose was to put together a Battle of the Bands? How would you set it up?

GIFT: 1995 – Oasis vs Blur vs Suede vs Pulp.

RRX: Part of learning to be a musician is to fall in love with a song, an album, and hammer away at your instrument until you can play that whole thing. What was that song for you? Was there a hardest part?

GIFT: I heard Lithium by Nirvana when I was 10 years old and decided I wanted to play guitar that day. I got a guitar and painstakingly learned all of Nevermind. My hands were so small at the time that I couldn’t play power chords properly so I had to use my pointer finger and pinky finger to reach across 3 frets. I still play power chords like that today because I learned so young.

RRX: Tell me about your most recent song, album, or video (you pick.) Tell me a story about what went into making it. Not a process, but a cool story that took place within the process.

GIFT: Wish Me Away – the first song on our new record, Illuminator, I wrote in 20 minutes. I spent the whole day trying things out and trying to force some songs that weren’t ready to be written. I had to leave to run out the door and spontaneously wrote Wish Me Away right as I was running out the door. Verse, Chorus, lyrics and all, the song barely changed from the moment I wrote it to completion.

RRX: What instrument would you add to the band if you could? Is there anything you are trying to do musically that would be helped with one or more additional players?

GIFT: We need a Joel Gion from the Brian Jonestown Massacre type character in the band. Strictly heart, soul and tambourine.

RRX: “The best laid plans of mice and men…” I don’t really know the quote, but I know this one; sh*t happens. When we least expect it, calamity befalls us. Sometimes just comic inconvenience. Please tell us a story about some comic inconvenience that happened to you whilst performing?

GIFT: 2021 GIFT Momentary Presence Album release show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn NY. Smash sold out before doors, high energy going into the night, high anticipation of hope to be one of our best shows ever. 5 minutes before we have to get on stage Jessica gets atrocious food poisoning. We wait another 15 and she realizes she can’t play the show. The first and only ever show we have played as a 4 piece. We were able to make it somewhat work but Jessica’s presence was sorely missed.

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