MP3: Gay Black Republican – “Surf Kennedy” (from the album Capitol Wave)

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It’s been 10 years since we were bamboozled by the name Gay Black Republican. 10 years of raucous and thought-provoking punk rock has been churning out of the hearts of these musicians. Throughout this time, the band has released four albums (Drive By Plane-ing, Ballet on Barbed Wire, Enola, and Capitol Wave) and have been a non-stop touring machine. Not an album released since 2008, they are still one of the most important punk rock bands in Indianapolis, winning several awards including the winner of “Best Punk Artist of 2011″ award from Nuvo Newsweekly, which was released today.

With a 10-year anniversary show being planned for later this year and a performance this Saturday at Punk Rock Night with Joe Jack Talcum from the Dead Milkmen, The Bassturd, and Danny Thompson performing Sloppy Seconds songs, it will be a perfect night to celebrate the caliber and strength this band has given to the Indianapolis music scene. The band talks more about their 10th Anniversary and what the band has in store for the future.

Link: http://www.gayblackrepublican.com/
Punk Rock Night: http://www.punkrocknight.com

(left to right) Doc Gremore, Rich Barker, Jeff Spalding, Kyle Billingsley

This year will be the 10th anniversary of Gay Black Republican, did you ever think it would get this far? With members being in many local bands since the ‘80s, what do you think are your strong points now and what have you learned throughout the years working together?

At the beginning we weren’t sure how long the band would last, especially with such an intimidating name. We didn’t want to be just a flash in the pan or a novelty. By the time we had some songs written and played a few shows we knew we were onto something. Our strong points are the things that are vital to a band’s longevity: the ability to write and perform well and learning from our experiences. We’ve learned that you can have a name like ours but you also have to back that up with some balls, grit and talent.

Tell us personally, what have been some of the high points for the band and your most memorable moments?

Some high points have been getting recognition from the press like being named the most improved band by NUVO Newsweekly and winning best album by Punk Rock Night. It always makes you feel good when you’re asked to play special shows like someone’s wedding or an out-of-town New Years Eve show, plus there was the honor of playing the Holocaust Museum benefit show and meeting an Auschwitz survivor.

The biggest thing I think that is noble to the longevity of the band is that despite several band member changes throughout the years, GBR has remained a musical constant, churning out quality and “real” punk rock that has gotten better with time. What do you feel has played into that and what does that say about the purpose of the band through time?

I think the key to our longevity is the core original members (Rich and Jeff) have great chemistry as far as writing and a similar vision for the band while recruiting new members that share their convictions. We have built up great momentum, when new members join the band they know about our reputation and expectations. You can hear our convictions in the music and see our experience at live shows.

You had an very unfortunate circumstance with drummer Sean Copley passing away in 2007. What would he think about this now and say about GBR celebrating their 10th Anniversary?

Every band has high points and low points. The loss of Sean was devastating, even though he wasn’t in the band at the time of his passing, he was still a good friend and left his mark on the band. He was a fan of GBR before he was a member so I think he would appreciate the longevity and that we’re carrying on something he really believed in. We’re planning a 10 year anniversary show and it would have been nice to have him sit in for a couple of songs.

It’s been several years since we have seen an album from GBR. When are we likely to see a new album and what plans do you have as far as new material? What is shaping up in the GBR world?

We have about 11 songs written for the new album, but with everyone’s hectic schedule and some member changes is it taken a while to get the songs ready to record. We anticipate to be recording before the year is over and to release an album in early 2012. This one will be self titled and will show that we’re not stopping anytime soon. You’ll be able to hear six of these new songs at the Punk Rock Night show this Saturday.

Even though it has been little over three years since the last release, the group has been touring consistently, which is impressive. What are your thoughts to the success of that?

We love to perform live and don’t like to slow down on booking gigs in between albums, we do ramp up booking right after we drop an album to get the word out and play off the fresh album buzz. If a band doesn’t do many shows, they drift apart and lose that magic. We don’t posture nor preach, we perform!

Beyond the Punk Rock Night appearance, what is Gay Black Republican up to for the rest of the 10th Anniversary and beyond?

As mentioned above, we’re trying to work out an actual 10 year anniversary show extravaganza and beyond that we’re really looking forward to recording the new album and performing out of town more; exposing more and more people to our thought-provoking punk rock.