Fancy something psychedelic – Canada’s got you covered.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from Calgary, Alberta, Canada which has a thriving music community and is a very fun and exciting place to live.
How did you meet?
Marcello, Brett, and Darty met in Calgary in 2010 when Marcello recorded their other project’s (Chron Goblin) first EP. They became great friends and continued to jam over the years but didn’t formalise anything until 2018. At that time they decided to write an album and began searching for a singer. After a year of jamming and hosting auditions for a vocalist, they were introduced to Abbie Thurgood who upon her first audition, the guys immediately knew she was the perfect fit for the project.
How long have you been playing as a band?
February 9th marked our first year as the full line up of Gone Cosmic. The ‘singerless’ trio have been jamming off and on for the past nine years, but only began to formalise structured songs in early 2018. Once Abbie ed the group she had a whopping two months to write lyrics and melodies to a full set of songs before the band’s debut gig.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The group has a strong fascination with our place as earthlings in the cosmos and the origins of our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, and ultimately our universe. Once you go down the rabbit hole of exploring our consciousness and our place in time, it’s really hard to turn back, both in of comprehending what’s been scientifically proven as well as the realms of wonder and mystery. We wanted to have a name that reflected this fascination and one that would provoke individual thought in these areas of enigma, while also hinting at some of the psychedelic and experimental leanings of our music.
What are your influences?
Our musical influences are quite varied which helps us write songs that encom music from many genres. Some of our favourite musical influences include Alabama Shakes, Black Sabbath, Tess Parks, Earthless, Pink Floyd, Black Flag, Elder, Orange Goblin, Queens of the Stone Age, Once and Future Band, Jeff Beck, Bison, The Budos Band, Spidergawd.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Each member has a vast history of playing music in different projects that vary in style and genre. Combining our experience with such a diverse range of musical influences really helps us form what we think is a very unique sound. There are elements of blues, soul, prog, heavy metal, psychedelia, and stoner rock all forged together to create our version of heavy psych. It’s full of twists and turns, all while maintaining a solid groove you can bang your head to and powerful vocals you can croon along with.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Sideways In Time focuses on the never-ending push and pull of decisions and consciousness. Exploring the effects of outside influences and really putting to light the concept that our minds controls us, but we don’t and won’t ever have complete control of our minds. Sideways In Time was written/composed to stimulate senses and guide you on a galactic journey.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Everyone in the band is bursting at the seams during our set – it’s high octane chaos, driven by a thousand horsepower engine ready to explode into a million pieces of intergalactic space dust. We’ve played 14 shows so far, but have many more coming up with the album release tour.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We had the opportunity to play Vantopia 6 last year which is festival featuring a collection of misfit vanners and party enthusiasts. Think of a ‘heavy metal parking lot’ that congregates in rural Alberta with a giant stage, lots of great bands, and all of the drugs and drinks one could imagine. This event is one of those gigs that even though a band is playing, they aren’t necessarily the focal point of attention as there’s so much chaos occurring all over the place.
As we started our set we couldn’t help but notice the absolute shenanigans happening around us – dudes riding mini dirt-bikes in front of the stage, folks funnelling beer both via shotguns and beer bongs, some people literally ed out in the field, and many audience throwing drinks and weed at us, possibly in but we’ll never be quite sure! Luckily for us we played early in the day as the sobriety of the crowd certainly didn’t get any better as the show went on!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Guitars: The current live set up is a Orange Rockerverb MKIII 100 watt head and 4×12 cab with a Gibson SG Standard with a few modifications (BLK TRI pickups and Emerson pre wired pots/caps kit).
Drum kit: 1971 MIJ kit in Aqua Satin Flame finish. 14” 18” 24” w/ 14” 1983 Paiste Rude hats, 20” 1983 Paiste Rude Crash/Ride, 22” Paiste Rock Ride, 18” Paiste Giant Beat Crash
Bass: Ampeg SVT-CL head and Ampeg SVT-810E cabinet. Bass guitar is a 1978 Guild B-301.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We’re promoting the release of our debut album Sideways In Time which comes out April 12 on Kozmik Artifactz Records. Stay tuned for song and album premieres in the coming weeks! We’ve also got some great merch on our Bandcamp site, check it out and help us put some gas in the tank!
What are your plans for 2019?
Gone Cosmic will be doing a western Canadian tour in the months of April and May in promotion of our debut album. We are also currently in the planning stages of a European tour for late fall 2019/early 2020. We also hope to have our follow up album written near the end of 2019 – better livin’ fast than dying slow!
