LA has been home to great rock bands for generations. Keeping with LA tradition, alternative group, ACIDIC, is tearing it up all over America. With the lineup consisting of drummer, Matt Whitaker, guitarist Michael Thompson, lead singer/guitarist Michael Gossard, and bassist Ted Dubrawski, ACIDIC is starting a strong career at a young age. Singer/guitarist Michael Gossard talks about musical direction, new exposure, and ideas on what’s next.
Sonic Eclectic: I understand you’re a young band out in a competitive city. What do you think separates ACIDIC from other bands in your genre?
Michael Gossard: It’s the fact that we’re four individuals driven towards a common goal. Practicing. [Being in] the studio once a day. Being active on stage. Mostly a lot of interaction plus the use of tactics of operation of practicing. Also, spreading the word and constantly getting yourself out there is the main thing.
SE: So, who were some of your musical influences?
MG: Green Day, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Virginia Paige. Lots of modern guitar players, etc.
SE: How much of a challenge was it to stand out as a group and get noticed?
MG: We had to really put down all our insecurities and just go for it. And not be afraid to approach anybody you cross paths with. No matter the genre, you just gotta put yourself out there – introduce yourself and move your music around.
SE: So what was it like touring with Hawthorne Heights?
MG: So cool. [We were] really excited to have the opportunity to tour the western US with them. We met up in Colorado, and then we went from the Northwest to Southern tip of US to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
SE: So you’ve released your second album, “Getting Lucky” earlier this year. How much of a difference was this album from your first, “Ironic Dreams”?
MG: We had producers; full production and real studio producers. Full production and product formed by the band and associates – Wizards of Oz – who’ve produced for people like Avril Lavigne and Jason Mraz.
SE: What are some of the ups and downs you’ve experienced within the industry?
MG: The up’s? Touring, clubs, releasing albums, traveling. When it comes to the downs, it was mainly waiting in between the big things. Waiting for a while. But it got us where we are now and we’re thankful for that!
SE: So how does it feel to climb the ladder of success at such a fast pace?
MG: Definitely a rung by rung type of climb. You can fall backwards sometimes, but we progressed consistently, I think. So few people right now are in a mood to extract something new and what they haven’t heard before. We’re finding that we’re able to change people’s minds [about the band] and it’s encouraging.
SE: What’s important to you when it comes to writing songs?
MG: Honestly? It’s just about the importance of randomness–inspiration comes from everywhere. It sort of resonates in a musician’s life.
SE: Is there any advice you have for other upcoming artist/bands out there?
MG: Practice every day. Seriously.
SE: Where do you see ACIDIC in 10 years?
MG: Grammy’s in 10 years!
ACIDIC have developed a sound all their own. “Ironic Dreams”, which was self-produced, was released last April. But, Gossard encourages any new listeners to their newest project, “Getting Lucky”, released in March. Particularly, he insists that the song entitled, “Maybe” is a winner for new fans. Its seems this young, energetic, sky rocketing group has nowhere to go but up. And they don’t have to worry – we’ll be listening.