Heineken’s Green Room on October 5 saw one of the most electrifying nights of music in KL’s living memory, thanks to US punk rock headliners Gossip. Formed in the late nineties in a small rural town in Arkansas, Gossip were an underground punk band for many years.

In 2006, they broke into the mainstream with their hit album ‘Standing in the Way of Control’, which sold over one million copies worldwide. Combining frontwoman Beth Ditto’s signature searing vocals with dancefloor-ready guitar riffs, the album was followed up by ‘Music for Men’ in 2009. We caught up with the band’s guitarist, Brace Paine, after the show.

Gossip has been around for more than ten years now. How has breaking through into mainstream success changed you as a band?
I never feel it personally. The shows are bigger, definitely. And you know, we have more equipment.

Do you think your fan base has changed?
I think it has. But we are kind of living in a bubble. Maybe if I paid attention to the media then I would know. But I never really listen to the media anyway. It is a larger fan base I assume. But I’m just focusing on the music – the music to me is still the same process.

I understand that you and Beth Ditto grew up together in the same small town in Arkansas. Now that you are touring all over the world, do you ever feel homesick?
I go to Arkansas all the time. My family actually has a farm there. I go there to feed the cows, chickens, and I think it’s really nice to do that. The city can be really wild and overwhelming. It is weird, playing a show to more people than the population of your hometown.

What kind of reception do you guys get when you go back there?
I don’t really know. I didn’t really have any friends there growing up. Me and Beth were kind of friends but she was younger than me and went to a different school. When I go home, I just kind of hang out in the farm by myself or I will just hang out with my father and sisters.



Gossip’s most recent album, ‘Music for Men’, has a song entitled ‘2012’. What do you hope next year will bring for you?
2012 is going to be an interesting year. The end of the Mayan calendar! It depends whether you are interested in conspiracy theories or not.

Are you?
Yes!

What do you think will happen?
Well the Mayan prophecy says that we are going to come to a year that signifies massive global change. Not the end of the world necessarily but a massive amount of change. Just look at the economy, unemployment. Look at the riots that happened in London or the Libyan unrest. We have built our foundation on sand. I think we’ve been lied to by the politicians and the media. Hopefully we can take it back.

Do you think that is possible? How would you change the world?
I think things will have to collapse entirely at first, which is harsh. But then maybe we can at least rebuild something on honesty and love and less hatred. Find a way for people to make a living without getting ripped off all the time.

For a long time, Gossip were part of the underground. But now you are on a major label and more mainstream. Do you see that as a conflict?
I think it’s interesting, because I never thought I would be here. We are just kind of along on the ride. Beth has her own fashion line, I have a punk record label, and we kind of just do our own thing. But we hang out and play music together. I don’t really feel the conflict personally. Maybe people say that there is a conflict, but people are just going to judge you anyway. For me it doesn’t really matter what other people think about us. But it is interesting to suddenly be on a major label and have famous people come to your shows. I’m like, ‘Wow, I saw you on TV last night!’

If you were not in the music industry, what job would you be doing?
You know, jobs were really hard for me growing up because I did horribly at school, I didn’t really pay attention, I didn’t go to college. I was just working in McDonalds and Burger King and those kinds of jobs. So I’d probably be living on the cheap and making some kind of art. I love to write a lot, write stories. I love painting and drawing as well. But I’d be working some shitty job. I’m absolutely lucky to be where I am.

Check out our full review of Gossip's performance at Heineken Green Room last week. We also compile a gallery of the best snapshots from the concert.