The following interview is probably one of the funnier, more off-the-wall pieces you’ll see on this site. It may not be as funny as the first time we sat down with the band, but still you’re going to have one hell of a time reading this.
But before we get into the laughs, let’s get serious for a second. The Gay Blades are an awesome and. When I first started diving into the New Brunswick, Hoboken and Asbury Park music scene about a decade ago this band’s name was royalty. They were one of the must-see bands of that time. Ten years later, while many of their peers have hung up their guitar strings, this band is still one of the hottest tickets in town when they hit the road. This is for a good reason – they’re awesome, and if you’re around tonight, head over to the Asbury Lanes to see them.
The Gay Blades come home tonight as they perform at the world famous Asbury Lanes. We chatted with Puppy Mills to talk about the band’s return home, new music and their grand Uncle Quilly.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but The Gay Blades were on hiatus for a few years – both you and Clark/James were performing separately for a while. Maybe this question is more for me than the readers, but what brought you guys back together as The Gay Blades?
In many ways, The Gay Blades never left, Bill. We’ve always offered the same high-quality music at competitive prices. Keep in mind that what may seem to some like a hiatus followed by a reunion might actually be the supporting pillars of a highly-calculated strategic marketing platform. (Either that or just a gradual rebound from a protracted stygian depression.)
Since reuniting, do you feel the band is different – in a positive way?
Our little baby’s all growns up. Thanks to the numerous digital distribution options currently available in the music industry, we no longer have to travel long distances to play shows, or even interact with our fans. We’ve actually hired a packet-sniffing bot to handle our online presence in order to accomplish this goal.  (To be honest, we don’t know what packet-sniffing is, but the bot mentioned it during his interview for the job and we thought it sounded sexy so we gave him the job.)
You’ve added a third ‘blade’ in Jed Higgerson – what does Jed bring to the table in terms of live performances?
An aloof apathy so intense that we didn’t even know he had joined the band until a couple months in, when he asked us where the bathroom was.
Combing through your Facebook I saw mentions of new songs being written and performed live – is there a new album lurking on the horizon?
Our previously mentioned PR Bot (he’s Puerto Rican btw, not sure if we mentioned that) has been leaving strategic breadcrumbs that lead the bird to the hand that exists in the proverbial cookie jar situated in the abattoir which is the allegorical representation of TGB’s current recording status. That is to say, you can expect some pleasant aromas from our slaughterhouse shortly.
You’re playing a hometown show on Friday at The Asbury Lanes — what does this venue mean to the band?Â
We’ve been in and out of that place through multiple changes in rosters of both venue management and our own band, not to mentioned some alarming rashes discovered over years of the bi-weekly family and friend tick-checks we host. So all in all, The Lanes (and more so, its devoted staff) have an enduring place close to our hearts, even if they always make fun of our hair when we show up.
Going off that question – you’ve been in the ‘scenes’ of both Asbury Park and New Brunswick for quite some time now. How do you feel these scenes have changed for better or for worse from when you guys were first killing it in those scenes?
Our rich Uncle Quilly tells us that hyper-gentrification is not only beneficial to him and his friends (who all take helicopters to work, and don’t even consider helicopter-pooling), but it is necessary to save these areas from their previous states of urban decay. While we as artists may currently disagree, we hope that we may one day eventually embrace Uncle Quilly’s perspective as we look down (both literally and figuratively) on the locals from the verandas of our overpriced (not to us, of course) condos where we weekend to get away from our expansive suburban chateaus. (We make sure they do the mowing and landscaping on the weekends when we’re away, that sound is SO annoying.)
You may have answered this in the first question, but, The Gay Blades have been a part of your life for a hell of a long time — what do you love most about The Gay Bladesas a band?
You’d think it’s all about the pussy, but it’s mostly the venue-comped meals.
With Gratitude,
Puppy Mills
(Dictated but Not Read)
The Gay Blades play tonight at The Asbury Lanes with GayGuy/Straight Guy and Honah Lee. Click here for ticket.
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