Influenced by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jimi Hendrix, can we introduce the Clapham’s funk-rock band Matty Long and The LoveGuns. We sat down to speak with bassist Jack Gomm, also known as Gommo, about their new single ‘Pretty Daze (T-Shirt Weather)’, future plans and much more.
Why did you choose to enter the music industry?
It’s different stories for all of us. I got a guitar from my Grandad when I was about 7 and self-taught myself, then joined a couple of bands at secondary school and loved the experience of playing live and how people feel in the audience. Getting older, that’s been more of something I’ve enjoyed, even though I’m on bass now. Being able to connect with an audience is something special.
Matty wanted to get involved because of his love of Dylan lyrics and Hendrix guitar. I think he’s always been trying to find the middle ground of those two.
I know Rhod’s next-door neighbour was playing drums when he was little, so he went over and played on them and just enjoyed it, and it carried on from there.
George…who knows. I think there was a fair amount of influence from his brother who’s a musician too.
What can you tell us about your release ‘Pretty Daze (T-Shirt Weather)’?
We all wanted to go and have a beer in the park as soon as Matty had played us the first draft. To be honest, that’s what we think most of the time as a band!
What was the recording and writing process like?
Well, it’s a weirdly recorded song, we can say that much! Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, me, Matty and George recorded at our separate houses and compiled the takes as mine. Rhod doesn’t have anything to record drums with so the song has actually got me on the drums. I live with our producer, so it was really nice and easy just compiling the tracks then producing them in the same room. I think we weirdly benefited from the time we’ve been given during the lockdown!
What do you hope people take from your music?
We have two different sides of our music. In one sense, which ‘Pretty Daze (T-Shirt Weather)’ represents, it’s just putting people in a good mood, lifting their spirits and giving a soundtrack to a decent day in the sun. The other side of it is taking people on psychedelic journeys through the music and lyrics, represented a bit more by our earlier singles ‘Ruby Funk’ and ‘Jealous’.
Which is more challenging for you – melody or lyrics?
I asked Rhod this and he said: “lyrics because I only know about 20 words, so making them fit is tricky”. Just a little insight to Rhod there!
I’d say it depends on the song. Me, Matty and George often have sessions where we bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes, one of us gets the lyrics, one of us gets the melody and the other will smash both the ideas out of the park. It depends completely on what’s happening.
Describe your music in three words.
Indie funky psychedelia.
What does the future hold for you?
Who knows what the future holds? A few Grammys and a few Brit Awards would be nice! Either way, just making more music and finding more people we can vibe with, in a music sense.
What advice do you have for people planning to become musicians?
Do as much as you can do all the time. Work hard and don’t let people tell you your music is s**t. The Beatles were told they were s**t originally, but I don’t think Paul McCartney is too upset with that comment anymore!
Do you have any message for our readers?
Keep reading Turtle Tempo! Hopefully, you’ll hear some more from us here soon and, hopefully, we’ll be able to see you at shows sooner rather than later!
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