Interviews: Giant Battle Monster

Giant Battle Monster photos and interviews by Joe Ortiz indiehouston.org

Why do I like Giant Battle Monster? Because their music is nuts. Imagine Godzilla on guitar, Gamara on bass, and Mothra on drums. Now picture their music crushing your city. They are one of the few bands that have made me forget to take pictures at a show because I was too wrapped up in the music. In less than a year they’ve played the Westheimer Block Party twice, two Recession Thursday shows at Numbers, multiple shows at Fitgerald’s and White Swan, they’ve played live on KTRU, appeared at VFWs, bowling alleys, parties, parks, recorded an E.P. and ended the year with a two week west coast tour. Did I mention they’ve accomplished all that in less then a year?

Armed only with a camera and a handheld tape recorder, I met up with Chris Gerhardt, Chris Dunaway, and Andrew Schmidt in the music hall of Texas City’s College of the Mainland to discuss the past, present, and future of Giant Battle Monster.

Giant Battle Monster :: Avoiding Fornicationy

Giant Battle Monster :: Automaton Charlotte The Intergalactic Harlot

IH: First of all, how long have you guys been playing as a band?

Dunaway: Um, what like eight?
Schmidt: About eight months.
Dunaway: Eight months maybe?
Gerhardt: At the most.

IH: You just recently came back from touring. How did that go for you guys?

Gerhardt: I’d say it was about half fruitful and half like a total loss. It was about what I expected. We got jerked around quite a bit and having no one know who we are, as I’m pretty sure happens to everybody on their first tour. It’s like I hear everyone say your first tour is like, I mean, they say it’ll happen.
Dunaway: I thought a lot of the people in the other states were just really receptive. Which I didn’t really think was gonna happen so much. It actually exceeded my expectations. Except for that we were all very, very sick and that kind of screwed it up just a little bit.
Schmidt: I’m still sick
Dunaway: Andrew’s still sick.
Gerhardt: Yeah.

IH: When’s the recording coming out? Every time I talk to you guys, you say you’re going to Katy to get this done.

Gerhardt: Um, we have unfinished recordings and they’re out right now. We haven’t mixed anything. We haven’t had anything to do with the mixing just yet. Well, we’re gonna go up there and like basically call the shots. ‘Cause right now, I’m not happy with the way they’re mixed at all.
Dunaway: Yeah. I think we’re gonna record like two or three more songs and just drastically redo the other ones and then put them on the first E.P., “Giant Battle Monster Versus Man with a Gun for a Head.”

IH: What about influences? What kind of stuff are you guys into for anybody who doesn’t know? I know it’s like the worst question, “what do you guys like?”

Gerhardt: Dude, I’ve been listening to almost all composers lately. Like Steven Reich and Phillip Glass and I never stop listening to John Cage. He’s like a personal hero of mine. And honestly, that may not even reflect in the music because it’s so different but I definitely want to be able to portray anything other than repetitiveness from Steven Reich and Philip Glass. Those guy are just, their taste and harmony is just, I think, it really matches mine, it’s just impeccable sounding to me but the repetitiveness, again, is something that I like to listen to but I don’t like to play.

IH: From my experience, being a musician from here (Galveston county), and other musicians I know from here like Dead Person and Darwin’s Finches and I’m sure you guys, is it more difficult when you’re form out of Galveston county trying to get a little bit of recognition in Houston?

Gerhardt: Yeah, definitely, and lately it’s been seeming like, it’ll be the closer it gets
to before we plan to move there, it seems like it’ll be even more and more either uncomfortable or hard, in general, because of just school. I’d have to drop everything here and go somewhere else and pick it up. It’d be totally different. And that’s besides the costs, that’s beside raising the money and spending time not at school, at a job to get the money to get the place and to change your life over there. We’re hoping for this summer but it’s more hopes than it is actual planning.
Dunaway: If we ever go somewhere else we’re always like, “yeah, we’re from Houston,” because that’s like the most recognizable place.
Gerhardt: Plus, it’s only 45 minutes.
Dunaway: It’s only 40 minutes away. I mean it’s easy to just go there and go back for, like, a show or whatnot.

IH: Well, good luck, because you guys fucking definitely deserve it. Definitely one of my favorite bands in the area. Just one of my favorite bands, period. Saying it sounds like once we walk out of this room I hate you guys.
Gerhardt: I’m sure I’ve said that to so many bands.
Dunaway: Like some wanker would actually come up and say, “ah, you’re my second favorite band.”

Giant Battle Monster will be playing this Saturday with the Mckenzies and Paris Falls at  The Mink - 3718 Main St Houston, TX 77002

The Mckenzies :: This Lonely Heart

Paris Falls :: Walkaway