Interview : The G via Pat Troxell

The G are playing Baltimore next weekend, billed on a show with Imperial China and Compression at the Hexagon. I've been spinning Hold My Gold quite a bit as of late, and recently got to chat with drummer/singer Pat Troxell.

Disclaimer: Bmore Musically Informed does not condone drug use. We think the D.A.R.E. program was great, and of course also "dare you to resists drugs and violence."

But more importantly, here's some discussion of rock and roll with Pat:

Your LP Hold My Gold is kind of the shit.

We started recording the record with a good friend in Doug's farm house out in Bucks County PA... at that point the band consisted of me, Doug and Nicky DiCicco (Anna's brother). Then Nicky moved on to complete a solo project, Rock and Roll Moron. After that, we went to Super 8 Studios and worked with Mick Mullen (Fight Amp, Mastadon, and other Relapse mastering) and completed the rest of the album. During that time, we had brought on new members of the band to complete the sound...Pete Joe on guitar and my wife Anna on keyboard. The only reason I think this album is any good is because we used the right arsenal to get it done (Weed, Pizza, and Whiskey).

I've never seen you guys live, but I picture a lot of dirt and booze?

Booze, yes. Dirt not so much. We try to take care of ourselves as we're getting older in age...but who am I kidding. We're still dirty punk kids from Philadelphia.

You guys play a lot of house shows, what's the worst thing you guys have broke/seen get broken?

We played a house show in Lancaster with Vincent Black Shadow last summer...had a great time, during our set we broke an amp, smoked a whole lot of weed. On the way out, we witnessed a kid shit himself on the couch. He was trying to light his fart on fire and it slipped. Other than that, my drums are constantly repaired by duct tape due to mass destruction at the end of our sets.

Last show in Baltimore?

Yeah, we played The Ottobar ( I worked there for a year ) in June while on tour with Tropic of Nelson (NYC) It was fucking great...open bar...Baltimore knows how to party

How would you compare Philly to Baltimore?

There's a lot of haters in Philadelphia that come out just to hate. There's a lot of partiers in Baltimore that just come out to party.

Whats your favorite space to play?

Haverford College was awesome. Free booze, food, weed and the kids were great. Other than that, you gotta love playing the First Unitarian Church...the sound is great and we grew up going to shows there.

Have you heard Imperial China before?

Yeah, good band. I'm really psyched to play with them.

Why should we all hit up the Hexagon next Friday?

1) We now have a bass player.
2) Anna is sexy as hell and she shakes her hips alot
3) We share our weed
5) I heard their is free LSD

How'd you team up with SHDWPLY?

Matt contacted the band after we released our demo cd "This Mind and Motion Universe"

What's your favorite SHDWPLY release? Artist? Live show?

I really like the Sore Eros LP, but I'd have to say I'm most psyched for the new Super Vacations.

Biggest influences?

fuck...i dont know where to start so i guess ill go back to the beginning. i grew up in the suburbs of north philadelphia(willow grove) and the high school petejoe and myself went to had alot of great philadelphia bands come out of it like Frail, Ink and Dagger ,i am heaven,goodbye blue monday and midiron blast shaft. So, I went to a lot of local punk shows growing up and got really into bands like: Shotmaker, Born Against, and Reversal of Man...but the whole time I was into hardcore, I constantly listened to bankds like: Pavement, Sonic Youth, Hum... other greats from the 90s.

Whats in your ipod/on your turntable right now?

At the moment, I listen to a lot of 13th Floor Elevators, Eagles of Death Metal, Obits, Kurt Vile, and other old crappy Indie Bands that will never leave the turntable

The G: Hold My Gold

With a steady stream of fantastic lo-fi experimental pop and avant garde recordings, SHDWPLY has been a go to label over the past year or two. It's newest release is a bit of a change-up for the label, harnessing power from some of the early 90s' greatest forces.

Philly's The G, just dropped their first full length dubbed Hold My Gold via SHDWPLY. Packed with dirty rock and roll, this is one of the more easily accessible releases the label has produced.

No bells and whistles here, just straight up raunchy riffs and melodies that a make you want to chug some Jim Beam and ride Gravedigger into the night.

All monster truck comparisons aside, this Philly foursome would not be out of place if they were released on Merge back in 1992. With heavy guitars reminiscent of Carolina's early 90s output, think Superchunk or Polvo but maybe a whole lot drunker. Filtered through more modern fuzzes of punk and pop, the result is a sound that's catchy as hell.

While the rock is fantastically sloppy at times, tunes like "Behold a Pale Horse" are full of heart and help to round out the record's sound. This thirteen track LP comes highly recommended, and was limited to only 200 pressings. With a gritty silk-screened sleeve that's pictured above, I'd suggest picking it up.

Dudes are working on booking a show in the area, stay tuned for details on that.