Gemm Drop Alt Rock Wisdom on "Pennywise" | Public Record

We were beyond stoked when we saw the band name**“Gemm”**in our submissions box. That’s because we’ve been following the rising alt-rock quartet for years. Their forthcoming album, Trauma Bonding, is their strongest effort yet. Ahead of its release, we caught up with Gemm to learn more about their video for the album’s first single, “Pennywise.”

A good chunk of the video takes place in Stinkweeds—what is the last record each of you bought?

Big Pete: Superheaven, S/T

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Mercury Mike: Led Zeppelin, IV (at stinkweeds that day!)

Russell The Muscle: I’m more of a tape guy— RATT, Out Of The Cellar (also at Stinkweeds!)

Dynamo Danny: G-Unit, Beg For Mercy

The video in general shines a light on Phoenix’s best spots, from Wang’s to Bad Jimmy’s to Castles and Coasters. What do you wish people from outside of the city knew about Phoenix?

Mercury Mike: I wish people from outside of the city got a taste of Bad Jimmy’s olive oil and sea salt soft serve ice cream—literally one of the best things in the world and always puts a smile on my face. Everyone deserves to smile.

Dynamo Danny: I would want people to know that Phoenix is a giant hub of expression, art, and creation. Whether that be through music, painting, sculpting, tattooing, or food there’s something around every corner and no shortage of room for everyone to share what they’re about.

Big Pete: Phoenix has a lot to offer. It’s hell in the summer that’s no surprise but rock and roll is about driving on a “Highway to Hell,” so what better place than here? You can find whatever you’re looking for if you open your eyes.

Russell The Muscle: As isolating as it can feel, Phoenix has always been home. The many miles between destinations combined with the soul crushing heat tends to trap us in our homes. Most people can’t handle it. But the reward is resilience. Jumping in a neighbor’s pool, making music until the punishing sun goes to sleep, or escaping to another city to write some riffs or catch some fish has always been inspired by this place.

Peter, you’ve been doing Tremendous Visuals for a long time. What advice would you give other bands or artists looking to make a good looking, distinctive video on a tight budget?

**Big Pete:**Don’t stop yourself from experimenting. Sure, there’s hundreds of bands making videos, posting all the time, but there’s millions of music fans in this world. Do you stop yourself from eating at a restaurant because other people are eating there? Spend the time learning [or] ask me. I am an open book. I hate the “YouTube it” answer; that’s not good enough. I’ll give you videos and channels I recommend, but truly I’ll sit down with you and show you everything I know. We can all learn the process, it’s how we utilize it and what we create that’s always completely different. A moment in time can be shared but never duplicated.

“Stupid games/win ya some stupid prizes” is such a great and funny lyric. What inspired it?

Russell The Muscle: Every time I made a bad decision, I was aware of the consequences. Minute as a hangover, or the gravity of losing several relationships, including one with myself. “Pennywise” illustrates accepting the karmic yield of my actions.

Trauma Bonding will be out soon; can you share some of the music and or cultural stuff (movies, TV, books, etc) that inspired this new record?

Mercury Mike: The book Ikigai by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles inspired a lot of the guitar on the new record; especially in the performance aspect. It opened me up to spirituality, qigong, meditation, and joy: all aspects needed to be a vessel for the universe to communicate through.

Most of the guitar on the record just came to me without thought, just feelings—listening back is surreal at times. I’ve also been getting into Sadhguru and have been doing the Isha Kriya everyday; this has helped me get out of my head. Meditation is very important.

Big Pete: For me this was about doing everything we wanted, on our terms, with a unit that was so tight. Russ, Mikey and I went up to Griffith Observatory at night one night and screamed, “Gemm is gonna be the biggest band in the world.” I still hold that moment so close. Crying with my best friends, feeling like what we were making, is so close to our hearts and kept us locked in. It was all about feeling, guitar solos, lyrics, moments, just an emptying of our souls.