“It feels like this is one, last-ditch attempt,” says Justin. “Like, it’s gotta be now.”
Justin Case (yes, we’ll come to that) is one of two chief songwriters in a genuinely thrilling, new garage-punk band from Cheshire called Gas Künst.
While the band is only into its second year proper, you get the feeling it’s been long in the making. Justin has been waiting for this opportunity for some time.
Justin: “Two of the first songs we did in Gas Künst, I wrote when I was about 18. I was in this stoner rock band at the time. But I really wanted to make a band that sounded like The Hives. So I had these two songs held back. Then it took 12 years to find the right band for them!”
Gas Künst came toegther in a community music centre called BandEdge in Winsford. Justin’s fellow songwriter in the band, Dick Cable (yes, we’ll come to that too), is a trustee at BandEdge.
Dick: “Justin and [bassist] Buzz came down to jam. I was the guy who let them in. I knew them from before, so I joined in. The drummer that day wasn’t feeling it but we loved it.”
Dick initially had some reservations about getting involved: “I was already doing folky stuff, playing bass. It was a different role – I wasn’t writing any of the songs – and I liked it. So I had no intention of starting another band.” But he was soon drawn in. Justin’s energy is evidently infectious and galvanising.
So the first incarnation of Gas Künst was a trio, plus a drum machine, which they readily admit got them super-tight.
Dick: “The drum machine was starting to go, so I ripped all the drum tracks to a single half-hour wav file. I was like ‘Ready guys? I’m gonna press play.’ So we had to be tight.”
Justin: “We lost it once. We finished a bar early and the drum machine carried on.”
Gas Künst continued in that vein for six months until they supported a band called the C33s who were playing their final couple of shows. The C33s’ drummer, Judy Jones, was taken with the Gas Künst sound and ethos, offered her services and it all fell into place.
Dick: “We knew Judy’s style of playing really well and knew all our personalities would work.”
Justin: “The drum machine didn’t answer back as much though. It didn’t have as many opinions.”
That was at the start of 2023. Since then, momentum has gathered rapidly. For a start, the band have dramatically increased their gig bookings.
Dick: “We played 50 or 60 gigs last year. The year before it was only one a month. We’ve played a lot in Manchester, in Liverpool. We’ve been down to London a few times. We’re kind of based out of Northwich – there’s a pub called The Salty Dog where Buzz works. So we‘ve probably played there about 15 times. We’re not quite the house band. Maybe we’re one of the house bands.”
A Gas Künst set is a joyous, unbridled, full-throttle bombardment of the senses. There’s no let up. There’s a genuinely great chemistry among the four of them and they are enjoying enjoying it.
“Tonight, we’re just going to cram 13 songs into half an hour, no breaks” says Dick, pre-show at The Golden Lion in Todmorden.
In that sense, the live approach is a little reminiscent of The Ramones, the ‘70s US garage-punk stalwarts who played a staggering 2263 shows in 22 years and routinely bashed out 30 songs or more in an hour’s set. (As they famously explained: “We don’t have short songs; we have long songs that we play fast”.)
But Gas Künst aren’t rushing to the finish line. There’s plenty of space, great dynamics, and many different tones and undercurrents swirling about the mix. They simply don’t waste an ounce. Every second is utilised; each moment an opportunity to make an impact, to relish. They are present, very much living in the here and now.
So, given such presence, what of those alter-ego stage names – Dick Cable, Justin Case, Buzz Vanker and Judy Jones – that perhaps reflect a more wayward, cartoon-ish and fictional vision of a band at play?
Dick: “There’s so many dour bands. It’s a bit of fun. We already had the names. Judy had hers from her time in the C33s too. So we’ve built on it, just because it stands out a little bit. We’re not serious. A lot of that stuff comes from us messing about on the group chat.
Buzz: “With a lot of bands it soon gets very routine. We’ve never had that.”
Justin – “There’s no egos though. I’m the closest thing there is to an ego in the band.”
And even that is an alter ego.
Gas Künst are loving band-life. Catch them when you can. Join the joyride.
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Listen to tracks on bandcamp and follow the band on Instagram.
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Main band photo: John Maddock
Words & video: Stephen Desmond
Photos and video: Matty G
Event: Gas Künst were supporting Chemtrails at The Golden Lion, one of many amazing live shows organised by Dark Matter Promotions
