Jools Gizzi – Gun – Interview Exclusive
Friday, 27 July 2012 04:30
With their new album ‘Break The Silence’ still fresh in the record store racks and a one off special guest appearance lined up at this weekend’s Steelhouse Festival for us all who are lucky enough to be going to look forward to, we thought it was about time we got to catch up with Jools Gizzi, guitarist with Gun, to find out what the band have been up to since we last caught up them at Hard Rock Hell a few years back.
Hi Jools, firstly many thanks for taking the time to talk to with Uber Rock how are things going?
Hey it’s a pleasure to take some time out to talk about what we are up to. Things are going really well at the moment; we have just finished supporting The Cult on part of their European tour. We have played to packed audiences in Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Portugal and for the first time played to fans in Croatia and Slovenia. The new album has been going down well with the fans and we can’t wait to get back out with The Cult in September for round two.
I have to ask this up front because you’re playing the Steelhouse Festival local to us this weekend, what can we expect from you guys set wise? Any surprises?
The old favourite crowd pleasers will be in the set for sure and 5 or 6 tracks from ‘Break The Silence’.
Of course you’ve also just released ‘Break The Silence’ your all new studio album with Dante picking up the lead vocals job. How do you think it’s turned out?
We feel it has worked really well and it felt like a natural transition for the band. Not only can he sing but also some people think he is the best looking (laughing) but seriously the feedback from the fans and reviews has all been good so far, so fingers crossed that keeps happening.
What’s your fave tunes on the album and why?
‘Butcher Man’ and ‘Break The Silence’ have been going down really well with the fans and when you see such a great reaction from a crowd you can’t help feeling good when playing them. For this reason I would say these are the favourites for now.
As always with a Gun record there are quite a few influences creeping into the overall sound (I can hear Billy Idol, R.E.M, The Black Crowes and Big Country to name but a few) but what would you say if I told you I heard The Buggles in the album’s title track?
We would say you are spot on and really have listened to the record (laughing). As a band we have always listened to many artists and been influenced by many in and out of the rock world.
You worked with Dave Eringa on this album, what did he bring to the whole recording process. There is a kind of Kenny MacDonald vibe going on there.
First and foremost Dave believed we had a good record, which gave us a good deal of confidence, and secondly the guy is a mind reader! He has the ability to transfer what is going on in our heads regarding the sound we want to achieve and get it on the record. He was a real pleasure to work with and we hope to work with him again. I suppose Kenny had a good idea of what was going on in our heads too so maybe that’s where the vibe is coming from?
The last time we spoke with you it was at Hard Rock Hell a few years back when you were promoting the ‘Popkiller’ EP with Toby still singing for you. What happened after those hugely successful shows that lead to you guys parting ways?
The parting of the ways was a surprise, I suppose however Toby had a chance to work on a couple of other projects that have worked out for him and we have gone on to record what we believe is a great album. So it’s all worked out well (laughing)
So how’s the current line up of the band shaping up on the live front? Is Dante pulling all his Prince moves like in El Presidente yet?
You are more likely to see him doing some ‘dad’ dancing these days (laughing). The current line up with Paul on drums, Del on bass and Johnny on guitar is really working well live giving us a really powerful sound. In my opinion this is the best line up and the best live sound we have ever had.
As you’ve already mentioned you’re due to do some more shows in September then you head out with The Cult in Europe don’t you? That sounds like yet another one of your dream gigs Jools? (You’ve been bloody lucky with those types of gigs over the years haven’t you ha ha)
Hey nothing to do with luck, all hard work (laughing). Let me tell you it has been amazing to be back out with the Cult they have really looked after us well and they are a real inspiration to us as they play to packed out crowds everywhere they go. We have been extremely lucky to support some amazing bands over the years, long may it continue.
So what are the aspirations of Gun in 2012? Are you hoping to ever hit those heights of playing with The Stones or getting MTV Music awards again?
Hey we still hold the record for being the only Scottish band ever to win an MTV award and probably the only band to lose their award on the same night (laughing). It would be amazing to reach those heights again and with hard work and a bit of luck who knows? For the moment though we will be looking to do our own tour towards the end of the year and enjoying being out playing great live shows.
I can’t let you guys go with asking about your other love in your life football, what’s it like waking up one morning and seeing one Glasgow team effectively starting from scratch again?
Well we can honestly say we don’t know (laughing). Most of us are Celtic fans so it’s SPL and potential champions league for us. However Del as the only Rangers fan is now signing his autographs as ‘ [email protected]‘…….(even more laughter)
And finally Jools are there any messages you’d like to send out to Uber Rock’s readers?
Well, we are looking forward to seeing Uber Rock readers at the festival and at
Gun shows in the future. We would also like them to check out the new record and be sure to give us some feedback or just say “hi” on our Gun official Facebook page!
Many thanks for your time Jools, good luck with all the upcoming shows the album and tell Del to enjoy the third division football (laughing).
Ha ha, yeah take care.
If you’ve not yet got a ticket to see Gun play as special guests to Feeder at The Steelhouse Festival this Saturday – you can still pick up tickets from the on site box office on the day. Check out the event’s website below for more details.
