Source: PR Image
With a career spanning almost 30 years’ there’s a thing or two that Guttermouth know about the music business. The past three decades have been filled with outrageous behavior and controversial antics, a real punk vibe, but behind this there’s been a hell of a lot of music including two EP’s just this year. New Car Smell came out last month after July’s release of Got It Made. We had a chat with guitarist and music maker Geoff Armstrong to find out about the lyrics behind the tracks.
Mosh: How does the lyric writing process begin for you – Does the music come first, or the lyrics? Do you collect fragments and ideas when inspiration strikes?
Geoff: It can happen either way. With our last EP the music came first and then once lyrics were written, we tweaked a few parts here and there.
Mosh: Is this process always straightforward for you? Have you ever struggled with ‘writer’s block’ or similar?
G: Of course there are times of writers block or just not having anything to write. It is not really a straightforward process at all.
Mosh: Do you go back to lyrics you have previously written and edit or refine them, or is it a case of ‘one and done’? Do you collaborate or share lyrics with other band members and take their feedback on board?
G: They are a constant work as they are being written. There can be edits right until the recording happens. On occasion band members to help with ideas or changes to make them work better.
Mosh: Are there any bands or artists that have impressed or inspired you lyrically? Do you try and emulate any other lyricists in particular?
G: Life is what inspires to write our lyrics. We don’t draw our inspiration from other bands when writing lyrics. Usually they all pertain to someone or something that has happened around us in our lives.
Mosh: Do you draw lyrical inspiration from outside of music, such as authors, films or artists?
G: Yes, magazines, books, and daily life.
Mosh: Is there a specific space (mental or physical) where you get ‘in the zone’, or can you write anywhere at any time?
G: There are times it works better then others. Some songs come really easy and others can be a pain in the ass. Mental state has everything to do with how it comes out.
Mosh: Do you choose to publish your lyrics or keep them personal? Is it important that fans be able to access lyrical content?
G: We publish them on the releases as every song by every artist seems to be readily available with a simple google search. I don’t know if it’s important that fans can access them but it seems to be important to people.
Mosh: Can you remember when you began writing lyrics? Was it a conscious choice? Something you drifted into out of necessity?
G: As a little boy, I remember my dog named Rex, taking a dump in our living room. That was probably the first song I wrote.
Mosh: Is there anything you actively try and avoid when writing lyrics? Any topics or themes you think are overdone?
G: We just write about daily happenings in and around our lives or something that we might see on TV or in a magazine or whatever. Bands writing about politics seems to be a little overdone lately, but that happens during election years.
Mosh: Is it important to you that lyrics always tell a story or have meaning?
G: Not at all. We write to entertain people and to poke fun at situations and stereotypes. If someone is looking to us for anything other then that, they need their head checked.
