4TheRcrd Mag.

I’ve been following this band called Go Ghetto Tiger. These guys have recently been featured in Nerve Magazine, CBC, the Georgia Straight, among other media. So, for the curious and hungry music lover, read on for some first-hand dirt on this group.

GGT loves to fuse bass and synth along with playful drum loops, samples and melodic vocals which sometimes parallel and sometimes (yes!) surpass their influences, including MJ and Prince, Mike Doughty, Soul Coughing, The Faint, By A Thread, Fantomas, Skinny Puppy, Daft Punk, among others. They often love to intersect sharp melodies with a plethora of percussive instrumentals, sparking a unitary and resistant sound. By using spooky electronic babblings they somehow manage to effect it’s exact opposite, building up into delicate grooves reflective of Prince, or Skinny Puppy. As lovers of bass, their punctuated basslines and jagged gits often emphasize their seemingly subtle but heated lyrics which, after a few tempo changes, drive the audience to a Pet Shop Boy’s time that, let’s face it, so many of us indulge(d) in, at one point. I like what Nerve said about these guys: “GGT blends cold math-rock percussive precision with incisive guitar, mechanical synth, warm bass and vox and the acclamation that ties it all together - this is dancing. Let GGT take you back to the future.” Why don’t you see if you agree by checking out their tunes; why don’t you see what they’ve got to say, in the interview below. Click on…

1. Tell us about yourselves?

Since 2004 we have been writing songs for our live show. Working our asses off to create music that we think is exciting. We have written many songs in the last few months that we are thrilled to be showcasing for our friends and fans . Our goals are long term. Today Vancouver, tomorrow the world. Ambition with vengeance

2. What’s brilliant and brutal about Vancouver’s music scene.

Vancouver has many, many great bands . Lot’s of new bands coming up. 2008 will be a great year. Three Chord Productions has just started booking shows at The Royal Unicorn Cabaret. If you are a local band and are looking for shows talk to Gord Berry. Lugz Coffee Lounge is great for up and coming singer song writers. We had our CD release party there and it was an overwhelming turnout. Other than that, when it comes to the Vancouver scene is, the only bitch that I have about the scene is beards. They look dirty.

3. Tell me about the last record? Tell me about the next record?

We recorded with Doug Fury at Fortissimo Sound. A great studio and Doug is an excellent engineer and mixer. The songs we’re written over a period of 2 years. It was a great experience and really helped us understand the next direction for the band. Our next record will be 10 times better. The new songs are more intense and emotive. We are anxious to finish writing and getting back to Fortissimo - of course we have much touring to do first.

4. What are you guys working on right now?

We have been booking and planning our first Canadian Tour. Getting ready to play our Tour Send Off Party Show in Vancouver on November 2nd at The Royal Unicorn Cabaret. Funding is always and issue. Independent record companies come talk to us. Let’s work together and make some money.

5. Do you believe in drum machines?

Drum machines, samplers, programming with Fruity Loop software is a very big part of our sound and live show. Bands like Soul Coughing and The faint were our early influence. The future will see us marrying acoustic and drum machine percussion, that’s for sure. And let’s face it, everyone uses these in their studios, whether it be through software tools or otherwise. So we have stigma or resistance in admitting that yes we do indeed embrace these.

6. Merchandise and other related products?

We now have T Shirts at all of our shows. You can purchase our CD on ITunes , Zulu and RedCat records. And, ya, bookmark out myspace, everywhere is on there. Another home from home.

PICTURE CREDIT: Go Ghetto Tiger’s Myspace