“I’m cool, but most of the girls like Craig,” says Tom Thacker, lead singer for Gob and favourite of the ladies. “Theo [Goutzinakis] tries the hardest and Gabe [Mantle] likes smoking up with the boys.” This is how my interview with Gob began.
Gob was formed in Langley, BC when founding members Thacker and Goutzinakis decided to create their own band.
“We started out doing country and then decided to do punk rock,” recalls Thacker. Thank God for that, the last thing we need is another country band. However, despite their punk sound, there is still a little country left in this Canadian band.
“It’s an acronym,” says Thacker when asked about the band’s monosyllabic name. “It stands for Good Ol’ Boys.”
Gob’s new CD, Foot In Mouth Disease, is an excellent one. Packed with awesome lyrics and unforgettable tunes, this album is definitely a worthwhile listen, though it’s name may be a little short of appetizing.
“[Goutzinakis] saw a sign in the airport that said ‘foot and mouth or hoof and mouth disease’ and he though the disease was pretty funny,” says Thacker. “That’s where our album name came from.”
Despite the fresh sound of their latest release, many critics still say that Gob is an image, put together by their label. Thacker doesn’t agree.
“Anyone who thinks that has their heads up their ass,” he says. “We worked hard to get where we are and we’re not a band made and put together by producers like *NSync or whatever. We started out as our own producers, we were our own label and we put together our own songs. It’s only recently we’ve actually let a producer in to wrangle all our ideas together.”
With Gob’s unique sound and memorable lyrics, it’s hard to believe they haven’t made a break into the American market. But, as Thacker points out, it isn’t always easy to leap into an already saturated market.
“It’s a huge market,” he says. “You can count on one hand the number of punk bands in Canada–there’s ten times that amount in America.”
Despite it all, however, Gob hasn’t forgotten those things that make being a band worthwhile.
“We love touring,” says Thacker. “We just get out on stage and have fun, let the audience get involved and have a great time.”
So what does Gob have to say to those bands just starting out, trying to get their names out there?
“If you write the best songs you can and play as hard as you can, you’ll make it.” And Gob has made it, big time.