ACIDIC frontman Michael Gossard on Musical Intracacies,Touring, Recognition and More!
For a young band coming up, let alone a band from Southern California, it’s hard to find more validation than garnering the interest of legendary Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, but that’s exactly where the band ACIDIC found themselves earlier this year when Sixx tweeted that he was digging their song “Drive Thru” and planned to feature it on his radio show. Sixx isn’t the only artist digging ACIDIC as Candlebox singer Kevin Martin appears on their latest album and the guys have similarly made friends with other tourmates like TRAPT and Hinder. The band is currently on the road opening up minds to their sound, which is probably best described as a blend of their 80s and 90’s influences, mixing the energy of bands like Green Day with the delivery of bands like Candlebox and Janes Addiction. I recently interviewed singer/guitarist Michael Gossard to find out a bit more, read on…
LRI: Thanks for talking with me, for those new to the band can you tell us how you guys arrived at the name ACIDIC and what some of your initial experiences were prior to forming the band in 2007?
Michael Gossard: Thank you for the opportunity. The name ACIDIC was the arrival of compromise between band members and the frustration of coming up with a name that is memorable and concise. As many bands will tell you, coming up with a good band name is hard. We found ours on the side of a Diet Rite Cola can! Prior to ACIDIC, I was influenced by the touring lifestyle, I got a chance to see the country touring with a few smaller acts and playing gigs as an opening act for bigger bands. I fell in love with it.
ACIDIC at home onstage
LRI: Six years is a good chunk of time for a young band and you have no doubt changed a lot since the formation of the band. What experiences have made the biggest dent on your career trajectory to this point?
Michael: The biggest dent in our career trajectory has been a scramble of many, many incidents big and small. The most meaningful change comes from a myriad of seemingly insignificant events that pile up like a staircase to greater success. Meeting and becoming friends with such established bands as Hinder, Trapt, Candlebox, Fuel, Smile Empty Soul, and so many more has made a huge difference in our journey. Touring with Armed Forces Entertainment, playing for our troops in Kosovo and at two USAF bases in Germany was incredibly meaningful as well.
Find ACIDIC’s latest album “Copper Man” on soundcloud, iTunes and wherever you get yer music!
LRI: Touring has been a big part of your lifestyle, taking up most of your life to be honest. What kind of effect positive or negative has this had on your relationships or your families?
Michael: Everything has its positives and negatives. Touring does take us away from our families a lot but it also allows us a greater appreciation of the time we do get to spend with them! I am grateful for it. And in a way it expands our “other family” – the fans and new friends we’ve met along the way. We have several homes-away-from-home now that we never dreamed we’d have, in cities and states we never thought we’d visit.
LRI: You have a song and video I really like called “Uninspired” and interestingly its quite different from many of your other songs including “Copper Man”. Is the diversity in your material a result of different songwriters within the band?
Michael: The diversity of the material comes from the diversity of experiences we have while touring, as well as other songwriters we’ve worked with. We see so many amazing things and we are always evolving musically because of it. For example, the Armed Forces Entertainment tour took us to Ramstein AFB in Germany where we saw wounded soldiers being brought back for treatment from the Iraq War. That moved me so much that I wrote a song about it, which became “The Brave” on the “Chronic Satisfaction” album.
LRI: Your band seems to have a penchant for jangly, unhinged guitars and in general you seem to pride yourselves most on emotional intensity and highs and lows rather than calculating precision. Is that fair to say?
Michael: I would say that music is emotion extrapolated through sound. What we do and what we play comes straight from deep inside. I would also say that we appreciate perfection, but realize that we are not in fact perfect and the little imperfections in our music are what make it so unique and intriguing. You’ll always know it’s living, breathing, and organic – nothing manufactured or too processed.
LRI: You have been championed by Nikki Sixx on his show, toured with numerous national acts and made a lot of inroads towards national recognition. Given the substantial amounts of successes you’ve seen in the past 7 years, do you ever see days where you’re just plain frustrated and wished things moved even faster for the band?
Michael: Everyone gets frustrated by life. However, I try to channel it into positive energy to get us moving forward always. Besides, sometimes the frustrations are what inspire new songs and new themes and new lyrics. Everything that happens to us contributes. Both the ups and the downs make us who and what we are, to this very moment. Yes of course we want it all now. We want it all yesterday! But we know it’s something we have to just keep working toward. Every step is a step forward even if it seems like it isn’t one. We have something great in our hands and the only thing we can do is show it to as many people as we can!
SMILE EMPTY SOUL/ACIDIC TOUR DATES
NOVEMBER
Fri 11/8 Johnson City TN, Bonnie Kate Theater
Sat 11/9 Parkersburg WV, Six Pence Pub
Sun 11/10 Kokomo IN, Center Stage
Thu 11/14 Chicago IL, Bottom Lounge
Fri 11/15 Bloomington IL, Castle Theater
Sat 11/16 Springfield IL, Catch 22
Sun 11/17 Sauget IL, Pops
Wed 11/20 Rockford IL, Take 20
Fri 11/22 Harrisburg SD, Phoenix Lounge
Sat 11/23 Waterloo IA, Spicolli’s
Sun 11/24 Des Moines IA, House Of Bricks
Mon 11/25 Omaha NE, Waiting Room
Wed 11/27 Overland Park KS, The Roxy
Fri 11/29 Denver CO, Herman’s Hideaway
DECEMBER
Tues 12/3 SLC UT, Liquid Joes
Thu 12/5 Seattle WA, EL Corazon
Fri 12/6 Spokane WA, Knitting Factory
Sat 12/7 Bellingham WA, The Underground
Sun 12/8 Richland WA, Jokers
Tue 12/10 Portland OR, Hawthorne Theater
Thu 12/12 Sacramento CA, The Boardwalk
Fri 12/13 Hollywood CA, The Whisky
Category: Interviews
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