Gozer Goodspeed Talks ‘Escape Hatch Fever’ Instruments and More

You have recently released your new album ‘Escape Hatch Fever’. What was your inspiration/story behind the intriguing title?

‘Escape Hatch Fever’ got its title from the song of the same name, which was actually the third song I recorded for the project, and also the moment I realised I was definitely recording an album as opposed to an EP or what-have-you. Thematically the song (and therefore the title) was born out of a sentiment that probably many people can empathise with – the idea of being caught up in a lifestyle that feels far and away from what you should be living, a lifestyle that makes you feel confined and bled dry. You’re looking for any way out, any exit door, any escape hatch. It’s that feeling of not wanting to repeat the pattern, and being desperate to escape. All around me, at the time, people were feeling exactly that way. Pretentiously, I also wanted the album to feel like a literal escape hatch – an album you can get fully swept up in and escape into. Those are my favourite kinds of album.

How did you want to approach the album?

For the first time ever, I decided to produce the whole record myself, at home, play all the instruments, and mix the record too. It’s something I’d been building up to for years, but I always assumed I didn’t have the patience. Turns out, I absolutely do have the patience, and I love it! I truly enjoy the whole process. But it’s exactly like they say: necessity is the mother of invention. Covid was the moment I looked around and went, ‘I’ve got to get a home studio set up, otherwise I’m going to go crazy.’ And that’s what I did.

When you record in someone else’s space, you’re always up against the clock. Time is literally money. But at home, if I want to do seventeen takes of a guitar solo in a row, I can. And I did!

I’d always co-produced my albums, and I’d been in and out of other people’s studios for 20 years. But this was the first time I approached drums, bass and keys at home too, and created an album will a full band sound. It just felt like the freest, most apt way to create what I wanted to create this time around.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

My hometown is Plymouth in the UK. In 5 words: Underrated coastal hotbed of talent.

Could you please tell me about the track ‘Full Tilt Revival’?

‘Full Tilt Revival’ was the first track I recorded for what would eventually become the album ‘Escape Hatch Fever’. It’s the first song of mine that I’ve ever recorded where I play slide guitar. I’ve dabbled in slide for a long time, but only really committed recently. ‘Full Tilt Revival’ is thematically in keeping with ‘Escape Hatch Fever’, in that it’s about rejecting illusions and knowing when to say ‘enough is enough’, knowing when to speak up. It’s about, as the song says, recognising that you need more in your life than simple survival, and no longer being able to keep silent.

I really love the album artwork. Who designed/created it?

The album art is by a friend of the label’s called Amelia Innes, who is a very rare beast in that she’s a notoriously shy artist who completely disdains any kind of limelight. As soon as Mike Five (label owner) and I saw the artwork, we were like ‘Wow, that is absolutely it’. It was a pretty immediate love of that striking artwork that just seemed to embody the title of the album so well. And Amelia was very generous in letting us use it. It’s perfect! The search for the cover was, shall we say, a long process!

Do you have any favoured stage guitars/pedals/effects?

I have loads to be honest! Effect-wise, I always play with a pedalboard, whether acoustic or electric. I love my Dunlop wah wah pedal, and Caline do some beautiful, affordable reverb pedals too. I’m always on the hunt for new overdrive pedals…I have 3 on my board!

Guitar-wise, I have a 31-yr-old Fender Montara that I love playing, with an LR Baggs pickup inside it. That guitar has seen me through hundreds of gigs. And back in 2017/18 I absolutely fell in love with Michael Kelly guitars. I play a Hybrid Special when I play with the band, and it just offers this incredible tone that I can’t get anywhere else. And I recently acquired a new Michael Kelly acoustic – a Forte Port, made from exotic Zebra wood. It’s beautiful, has a great tone, and is so easy to play!

Do you have any live shows planned to support the release?

As a matter of fact I’m embarking on a short UK solo acoustic tour in the middle of October – see my website for details. I’m starting in Cornwall, and ending up in the Scottish borders. I’m unbelievably lucky to be partnering with some incredible promoters and other artists, as well as to be playing some brilliant venues. I can’t wait to hit the road!

How do you look after your voice?

Well, there are a few things. The first is practice. My view is that your voice is like any other part of your body – use it or lose it. Practice every day, and keep your stamina up. Warm up gently, and appreciate that gigs are like sports events for your voice. You have to be match fit. This leads onto the second thing – discipline. Onstage, it’s about dynamics. You have to know when you need to hold something back in reserve, and when to absolutely go for it. The only way you can make those judgements is if you’re intimately familiar with your own limits. It can be tempting to push things as far as you can go vocally in live situations, especially if you’re having a great time, but no-one’s voice can handle extended extreme use for any length of time without sustaining damage. So if you want to hold onto your range, you practice, and you make sure you have the discipline to hold back if necessary.

I don’t smoke, I don’t drink heavily too often, and I try not to scream at my kids too regularly. And I’m always practicing. Know when to practice, know when to rest. That’s kind of my motto.

Other than that, I recommend soluble vitamin C and zinc for when you have a cold that affects your voice, and also Vocalzones / Fisherman’s friends to open any clogged airways.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Ah, I’m going to sound like a right cliche here. But here goes: when I leave, I hope I’ve left the audience feeling something. Some connection, some emotional bond. And I hope I’ve left them curious to find out more. I spend a lot of time crafting my songs, and what I really want is for them to mean as much to someone else as they mean to me. And I also hope that when I’ve left the stage, the audience has had a good time! (I appreciate this is way more than two things, by the way).

What’s the story behind The Last Blood Moon Of The Year?

Well, during one of the lockdowns, I’d fallen into a pattern of getting up really late, and going to bed at about 3 in the morning. I’d developed the habit of going out into my back yard to ‘take the air’ late at night and just ponder everything. One night I wondered outside and happened to look up at the sky, and it was a full moon. But it was a full moon like no other I’d ever seen. It was hypnotic, and mesmerising, and huge, and intense. Whether it was my mental state at that time or not, I suddenly understood the immense power of the moon, and why the ancient cultures worshipped it, and how it exerted influence over us, in a way that I had never understood it before. In that moment, it really got to me.

After a few minutes, I went straight into my home studio, picked up my guitar, and wrote about three quarters of what would become ‘The Last Blood Moon of the Year’. At the time, I knew it was a supermoon I was looking at, but a few days later I found out it was actually what they refer to as a ‘Blood Moon’. And so the song got its name!

The challenge in recording the song was to sort of capture the intensity of feeling and the general sense of voodoo in the air that had inspired the writing of the song in the first place. It took a lot of doing, but I think I got there in the end!

What makes Gozer Goodspeed happy and what makes you unhappy?

Musically? Equipment failure makes me unhappy, either in the studio or live. And what makes me happy is performing live to an audience that are visibly enjoying themselves. There’s nothing like it in the world.

In general terms, I could go on forever about what makes me unhappy. The way politicians and corporations behave, the long slow death spiral of unchecked capitalism that seems to be no good for any of us anywhere, the mishandling and mistreatment of our resources both manmade and natural, the inequality, the poverty, the hunger, the needless suffering, war, division, pollution, the mistreatment of children in particular… Look, I’m basically a hippie at heart. Peace, love, understanding, community, harmony. These things are more than just words.

There are a million reasons to be disappointed in humanity, and to get frustrated and irate on a daily basis, but it’s not in my nature to get consumed by this stuff. I consciously focus on gratitude, and what I’m thankful for. And I feel I have a lot to be thankful for. I spend time with my family, my kids, my friends, and I realise the world isn’t so bad after all. Outside of music, my family, nature, and socialising makes me happy. It doesn’t take much – I’m a simple man at heart.

Photo Credit: Seconds In Time Media

Gozer Goodspeed’s latest album ‘Escape Hatch Fever’ is out now on Lights And Lines. For more information visit his official website here: https://www.gozergoodspeed.co.uk/