Interview with The Gunshy vocalist/guitarist Matt Arbogast
By Tim Anderl | Photo by Ryan Hendrix
What started out as the solo project of singer-songwriter Matt Arbogast has evolved over the last two decades into a powerhouse rock quartet with punk leanings, heart, and grit: The Gunshy. Ironically, it was a sick heart and Arbogast’s obsession with self-determination and grit that sparked the fire behind their latest effort, Porterhouse, which was released via Arbogast’s Sleep Recordings on October 7th.
“There are recurring characters throughout [Porterhouse] and lyrics that are revisited,” Arbogast explains. “There’s a line in the first song of the record that goes, ‘While my father’s heart fails / A porterhouse I’ll eat.’ It’s where the title of the record came from and is kind of what ties the songs together. I was sitting with my dad in a hospital room after he had a quadruple bypass. My brother joked, ‘Hey, Matt, do you want to go get a big steak?’ I got a little obsessed with the idea of self-determination. What makes some people say ‘fuck it’ and eat a big steak, while others can be incredibly disciplined?”
With this idea in mind, Arbogast began shaping the songs for the record in late 2015 in his basement studio. “I have a little project studio in my basement,” he reiterates. “Most of the songs on the record came to be the same way: I’d write the words and basic song structure, then, I’d take them down to my basement and record an acoustic demo. That was usually the same night I finished the song. I’d email the demo to the guys in the band, then at the next practice, we’d work on arrangements. We were getting together a few days a week to work on parts. We’d pretty quickly end up with a decent multi-tracked demo of the song to work with.”
“Most of the songs didn’t stray too far from their original structure and arrangement,” Arbogast adds. “We reworked the third song, ‘11-7,’ a bit before going in to record. The only song that changed pretty dramatically in the studio was the last song, ‘Write Better Songs.’ We changed the structure quite a bit and added some lyrics to the end.”
For the production of the record, The Gunshy enlisted Arbogast’s closest friend, Andrew Bryant of Water Liars. “[Bryant and I] share songs with each other before anyone else most of the time anyway, so letting him have some control with how the record was going to sound wasn’t too difficult,” Arbogast confesses. “We talk almost every day about songs or our families anyway, so it was easy to get his feedback about the early versions of these songs. I think that played heavily into my ability to write songs pretty quickly too. Between Andrew and the three guys in the band, I knew I had a good group of folks who’d bring the songs to life.”
“We recorded it at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, from Feb. 28 to March 8,” he continues. “Andrew had recorded a few records there with his band, Water Liars, tapping into the quiet charm of a place where folks balance artistic sessions with simple state-sanctioned recreations that keep things lively without overwhelming the focus. It’s a great studio with an awesome engineer, Bronson Tew, who knows every nook of the setup. Water Valley sits as a pretty tiny town, about 15 minutes south of Oxford, where downtime revolves around unassuming spots that foster that easygoing rhythm. Residents often unwind at the great little local grocery store/cafe or the Mexican restaurant with good margaritas, while others check in on Mississippi sports betting sites to catch game lines during off hours. A few other cool spots help pass the time, but really, you can’t get too distracted from recording when the vibe encourages hunkering down. We stayed in the apartment inside the studio, emerging only for quick supply runs that reminded us of those low-stakes pursuits outside. I don’t think I left the place longer than an hour a day. Andy [Sivwright], our drummer, started wearing just his underwear all day and night towards the end. We were pretty comfortable. We drank a shitload of Busch.”
In support of the record, The Gunshy toured through early October with Signals Midwest, whose frontman Max Stern held down guitar duties on The Gunshy’s previous tours. “They’re great friends,” Arbogast says of Signals Midwest. “Max, the singer, is actually staying here with us right now. He had some van issues and is stuck here for a couple of days. He and I wrote and recorded a song about his van last night. It’s a duet. Max is Max, and I’m the van.”
Purchase Porterhouse here: Bandcamp | Physical
