Gay Nineties

Having never heard of them before they took the stage on CMW 2012 Day 2, Vancouver grunge-filled rock trio THE GAY NINETIES easily stand as my pick for surprise standout from the entire festival.

Guitarist/vocalist Parker Bossley, bassist/vocalist Daniel Knowlton, and drummer Malcolm Holt dropped their debut EP Coming Together back in September 2011 (currently a FREE DOWNLOAD on their Bandcamp page, and released yesterday on limited 10? vinyl), and it’s bass-heavy in all the best possible ways.

Hints of both 60s psych-rock, and 70s hair metal (ala early JUDAS PRIEST) shine through in abundance, but as an ensemble the band evokes visions of a MUCH heavier FRANZ FERDINAND or HOT HOT HEAT dance rock act – fitting, since Bossley was once bassist for the latter.

“Hold up, let me tighten my shit… let me TIGHTEN MY SHIT!!!!” yells Holt between tracks as he fumbles with the loose wingnut on one of his cymbal stands. Bossley slowly approaches the microphone, making a clenching motion with his fist. “And by shit, he means sphincter,” he adds, with a grin on his face.

Suffice to say, the members of THE GAY NINETIES are extremely entertaining to watch. Having never heard of them before they took the stage on CMW 2012 Day 2, Vancouver grunge-filled rock trio THE GAY NINETIES easily stand as my pick for surprise standout from the entire festival.

Guitarist/vocalist Parker Bossley, bassist/vocalist Daniel Knowlton, and drummer Malcolm Holt dropped their debut EP Coming Together back in September 2011 (currently a FREE DOWNLOAD on their Bandcamp page, and released yesterday on limited 10? vinyl), and it’s bass-heavy in all the best possible ways.

Hints of both 60s psych-rock, and 70s hair metal (ala early JUDAS PRIEST) shine through in abundance, but as an ensemble the band evokes visions of a MUCH heavier FRANZ FERDINAND or HOT HOT HEAT dance rock act – fitting, since Bossley was once bassist for the latter.

“Hold up, let me tighten my shit… let me TIGHTEN MY SHIT!!!!” yells Holt between tracks as he fumbles with the loose wingnut on one of his cymbal stands. Bossley slowly approaches the microphone, making a clenching motion with his fist. “And by shit, he means sphincter,” he adds, with a grin on his face.

Suffice to say, the members of THE GAY NINETIES are extremely entertaining to watch.Having never heard of them before they took the stage on CMW 2012 Day 2, Vancouver grunge-filled rock trio THE GAY NINETIES easily stand as my pick for surprise standout from the entire festival.

Guitarist/vocalist Parker Bossley, bassist/vocalist Daniel Knowlton, and drummer Malcolm Holt dropped their debut EP Coming Together back in September 2011 (currently a FREE DOWNLOAD on their Bandcamp page, and released yesterday on limited 10? vinyl), and it’s bass-heavy in all the best possible ways.

Hints of both 60s psych-rock, and 70s hair metal (ala early JUDAS PRIEST) shine through in abundance, but as an ensemble the band evokes visions of a MUCH heavier FRANZ FERDINAND or HOT HOT HEAT dance rock act – fitting, since Bossley was once bassist for the latter.

“Hold up, let me tighten my shit… let me TIGHTEN MY SHIT!!!!” yells Holt between tracks as he fumbles with the loose wingnut on one of his cymbal stands. Bossley slowly approaches the microphone, making a clenching motion with his fist. “And by shit, he means sphincter,” he adds, with a grin on his face.

Suffice to say, the members of THE GAY NINETIES are extremely entertaining to watch.

Seasoned live performing veterans of FAKE SHARK – REAL ZOMBIE!, THE GOOD NEWS, and the aforementioned HOT HOT HEAT, the trio use the stage to the full extent as they dart around during musical breakdowns. Bossley and Knowlton harmonize really well together vocally, and Bossley’s vocal wails really cut through the heavy bed of distortion.

Add in the fact that Holt easily ranks as one of the most entertaining drummers to watch live as he’s always fronting quirky facial expressions as he tosses sticks through the air – or jokingly slapping himself in the face in place of the hi-hat when he happens to drops said stick.

If you’re a fan of heavier rock and looking for something new that harkens back to the great arena rock acts of the 70s with an approachable humour to boot, then this is the band to catch. - The Indie Machine

The Gay Nineties: I had heard a lot of buzz and good things about The Gay Nineties before the show, so I was equal parts in interested to see them and apprehensive that they wouldn't live up to the hype. They started the set with a sheet up across the stage and an old movie playing on the screens with a musical number about "the gay 90's" before the curtain dropped and they launched into "In and Out of Style". I was immediately struck by their amazing energy and presence on stage; they were a well oiled machine with hints of psych-rock and grunge in their incredibly infectious rock. And both guitarist Parker Bossley and bassist Daniel Knowlton -- who share vocals -- had a great charisma, with a great back & forth, playing off each other really well. They broke out "Hot Child in the City" from Nick Glider for their Canadian cover, matching the energy of the rest of their set, and ended the night with a bang, with a song called "Handle It All"
The band definitely lived up to the buzz and ended up as one of my new favourites of the competition. Yet another act I am hoping makes the top three, and if this was any indication, they've got a strong chance of it. - 3AM Revelations

The Gay Nineties are a Vancouver Rock n’ Roll band that consists of Daniel Knowlton (The Good News), Parker Bossley (Fake Shark Real Zombie, Hot Hot Heat) and Malcolm Holt (Fake Shark Real Zombie, Malcolm and the Moonlight). I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the very talented, insightful and fun three piece to discuss such things as touring, influences, their name and of course their music. - VAN MUSIC

Up until now, the Gay Nineties just might have been Vancouver's recent best kept secret.

The former members of bands Fake Shark - Real Zombie!, The Good News, and Hot Hot Heat have been holed up for the last couple of months writing and rehearsing in a small, soundproofed room at Renegade Studios on Victoria Drive, perfecting their sound and playing for friends.

The as-of-yet unrecorded trio-comprised of guitarist-vocalist Parker Bossley, bassist Daniel Knowlton and drummer Malcolm Holt-are about to show the local music scene that, once again, three people can change the face of music.

It all takes root in their jam space-a small room littered with cans of Old Milwaukee and cigarette butts, but bursting with musical energy.

"We jam every single night," says Bossley, which explains why the studio looks like they've been living in it.

"I quit all of my bands to retire from playing bass so I could start songwriting and singing," he says of the relatively new project. "Malcolm and I quit Fake Shark - Real Zombie! at the same time. We just needed some new blood, some new energy."
And that new energy was in the form of bassist Daniel Knowlton, whose quirks include standing on a cinder block when he performs.

"I played in a six-piece pop band before [The Good News]," says Knowlton. "The weight of having six people in a band was hard; we could only really rehearse once a week. I love playing in a three-piece. I love the space it creates for us. It's not washed-out at all. You know exactly what you're hearing and I love that about it."

The boys all seem totally imbued with the idea that less is more when it comes to band members, which is reflected in their nearly seamless jam sessions with songs that can be jazzed-out, swaggering and poppy at the same time, all while being completely on-tempo.

"[In a three-piece] there's nothing to hide behind, there are no tricks you can pull," explains Holt.

Bossley agrees that there's nothing ambiguous or general about the guys' sound.

"Because our influences are so incredibly diverse-we all listen to very different things but respect each other's taste in music-we're all coming from different places and that's creating a sound that can't be pigeonholed," he says.

The trio alludes to the idea that being pigeonholed might have been a problem in the past, but Holt suggests that the Gay Nineties has found the remedy for that.

"What we've all learned from our past projects is what not to do. I think what a lot of bands do is stumble to get a decent recording, stumble to get some live shows and don't rehearse enough," he says. "We're trying to rehearse as much as possible, get a video out there, get a good sounding recording, and contact the right people. We're just trying to speed this along, 'cause we're not getting any younger."

At 23, 25 and 31, the guys aren't exactly senior citizens, but they've cut their teeth before.

"We're not veterans, per se, but we've definitely paid our dues as far as learning what works and what doesn't," says Bossley.
"It's not a sense of entitlement," adds Knowlton. "But it's a great learning experience. We're all just great friends who come from different backgrounds, but we're humble in that we just want people to come down to our jam space and hear us play."

"At the end of the day, I just want to make a record that I want to listen to and that other people will want to listen to," he says.


And there's no doubt that Vancouver will be waiting to hear the Gay Nineties' record. In fact, by the time it comes out, the band definitely won't be a secret any longer. - BeatRoute Magazine

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By admin on Oct 28, 2011 in MUSIC
Gay Nineties

MAJOR GAYZERS

The last time I’d heard The Gay Nineties play, it was February in a shitty little makeshift jam space, somewhere in butt-fuck nowhere East Vancouver bordering on Burnaby. I remember thinking, “Whoa, is this what the Zombies would sound like in 2011 if they weren’t doing the Casino circuit?” I spent the next five months in Berlin, oogling at photo shoots of the dapper gentlemen online, and confirming attendance for gigs I’d kept hearing about.

Back in Vancouver, I’d try to pick up where I left off. It felt like I’d left The Gay Nineties as toddlers, and come back to see them all grown up. Stranger yet, I live with two thirds of the boys, and was suddenly thrown into The Gay Nineties universe; equal parts musical analytics brought out in the deconstruction of a perfect CCR song, beer drinking on the porch, and the constant search for that perfect Serge Gainsbourg meets Bowie outfit. The Gay Nineties are Parker Bossley (Guitar & Vocals), Daniel Knowlton (Bass & Vocals), and Malcolm Holt (Drums). They work really hard, but they’ll make you laugh even harder.

A recent online forum for the band’s EP release party was greeted with 99% enthusiasm, paired with this display of aversion, “thats an annoying band name if i ever heard one.” The lack of punctuation holds to the authenticity of its author’s writing skills, while the statement itself begs the question we’ve all been wondering: what’s with the band name? Sorry to burst your defensive bubble kids, but as Malcolm explains, “The 1890’s, [were] a decade of decadence and glamour,” that went on to be criticized for it’s lavish ways once The Great Depression hit, or as he sums up, “There were all these wine orgies.” For Daniel, the band name is challenging, “It creates good conversation. The 1890’s were a formative decade, and I feel like we are going through formative years within our music scene in Vancouver right now.”

For Parker, it’s as simple as, “A band of friends trying to live out their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies,” name aside. Aware of the tongue-in-cheek nature of their name, the band welcomes negative feedback with open arms, “It makes it easier for us, because it has the word ‘gay’ in it, it helps us filter out people who are going to be offended or turned off by that,” says Malcolm, while Daniel adds, “I’m kinda surprised that we haven’t been confronted by the gay community, not in a negative way, but because I feel for some reason that I want to be challenged.” In the end, a name is just a name as Malcolm points out, “It’s kinda like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; that is a retarded name, but then it just becomes… it’s as good as the band is good.”

And the band is good. The boys’ musical scope is varied. For Parker, “Bowie’s got a lot to do with it,” lyrically and otherwise. Malcolm sees Parker’s Bowie as more of a Mark Bolan homage, while he also notes the Zombies, The Pixies, and Pavement somewhere in the mix of influences. Daniel’s bass grooves channel Zeppelin, and he admits that unlike his band mates, The Strokes have little to do with where he’s ended up as a musician, “It’s just one of those bands that floated past my radar undetected, but that’s just because I’m obsessed with music made 40 years ago. I was probably just still listening to the Neil Young and The Beatles.” Always clever, Malcolm adds, “You know, this little band, The Beatles, that haven’t influenced any other bands, but have totally influenced us.”

Finally, while the boys fail to point it out, if you have a listen to their track “Coming Together”, you’ll pick up on some hard-hitting Sabbath vibes. I ask the band, hypothetically, who they might hire on as a fourth member. Besides Rick James, “The person who plays the sax solo on ‘Careless Whisper’,” and a dancing James Brown, the band seems to agree that a fourth member would put a damper on their work ethic. Malcolm explains, “You’re within the confines of this box. We are a three piece, two singers, how can we make the fullest most interesting dynamic arrangements?”

Meanwhile, The Gay Nineties have been collaborating with others in Vancouver’s art and music community; from buddy band The New Values, to wing woman and brains Stacey Armstrong, to documentarian Owen Ellis, and finally artist Robert Mearns. The band’s surrounding creative synergy goes far beyond the scope of a song. Malcolm praises Mearns, who recently created the bands EP release poster, (the boys’ faces adorned with Gay Nineties mustaches) “We just want to keep working with him as much as he will fit us into his life.” They’ll need him, as Malcolm and Parker admit they can’t grow a proper mustache, while Daniel’s claim to mustache fame ain’t nearly as bad-ass as Mearn’s portraits convey. Moreover, the band expresses thanks to Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat, who has taken The Gay Nineties under his wing. The band’s celebrated EP was recorded at Bays’ studio, TugBoat, with the help of drum technician Ian Browne.

As they continue to play shows on a weekly basis, why should people keep coming to see The Gay Nineties? Their friends and fans humble the boys, and as Parker sees it, the band is, “Writing new songs, [their] material is always changing, and [they] are always changing as well.” Malcolm believes wholeheartedly that there is something in their sound for everyone, “From moms and dads to little kids; it’s dance music, it’s rock ‘n’ roll music, it’s soul music, and I think everyone can find something that they like about it.” Daniel sees their shows as an opportunity to improve upon Vancouver’s creative community, “The shows are getting better, we’re writing more songs, but as a byproduct of that, our community is also broadening. The more people that keep coming to shows, the more juxtapositions of people becoming friends.” Parker stresses that The Gay Nineties are, “Completely open-minded to collaborating with anybody who is inspired and creative,” and wants to work with, “Everyone in Vancouver who [the band] believes in.”
Roots, influences, and community building aside, I decide to end on a lightning round of questions:

Would people in the 1890’s dig your music?
Everyone: Nooooo!
PB: We would be revolutionary!
DK: Malcolm’s dad doesn’t even dig our music, and that’s only going back 20 years.
PB: It’d be hard to plug in our instruments; I think that our sound would drastically change.
MH: But I think we’d all still be entertainers.
What would your 1890’s alter ego be?
MH: I’d probably be a tap dancer.
PB: A pianist.
DK: I think I’d probably be the shoe shiner.
Where will The Gay Nineties be 40 years down the line?
PB: Malcolm will be an interior designer, Dan will be completely belligerent, you won’t understand a single thing he says, and he’ll be rocking on a porch playing old Gay Nineties songs reliving his experiences in the suburbs of Africa. And I will be in a mental hospital weeping in the corner.
How gay are you, really?
PB: 40%
MH: Depends how much ecstasy I’ve shoved up my butt.
PB: Depends which part of my life you’re asking about. Even though we’re not completely gay, we are definitely queer as far as the queer community goes. We are into wearing women’s clothes, and we’re open to anything. We’re the most open-minded people you’ll ever really meet.
DK: It’s all just holes.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, “It’s all just holes.” I told you they’d make you laugh.

Words: Suzy Sabla Photography: Owen Ellis + Sydney Gregoire - Ion Magazine