FROM SONIC LEGO TO STINK SHRIMP

Goodshirt’s Gareth Thomas talks heartbreak, musical experimentation, lovesick crustaceans, singing cats and his forthcoming solo album, Bits.

Some people find music. Gareth Thomas found sonic Lego.

Growing up, it was the moment he realised the sounds coming out of his dad’s Split Enz and Beatles records could also be made on the dusty old piano sitting in the lounge that got him hooked.

“I loved working out all the patterns I could hear,” he says. “It was like sonic Lego.”

That curiosity has taken Gareth through Goodshirt, Fazerdaze and now into music under his own name. Along the way he’s toured with The Flaming Lips, played to fans who weren’t even alive when Goodshirt released Good, and discovered that heartbreak can apparently be accurately represented by a miserable cartoon shrimp.

FOLLOW THE MAGIC DRAGON

Gareth’s musical world has never been particularly interested in staying in one lane.

Touring with The Flaming Lips during his Goodshirt years had a huge impact on him.

“They made melancholic indie music so much fun!”

David Byrne remains another creative inspiration, particularly as proof that there’s no expiry date on making interesting things.

“David Byrne’s creativity inspires me to keep going. Age is no barrier!”

And there’s plenty keeping Gareth going.

At a recent Goodshirt show in Wellington, he looked out to see 20-year-olds singing along to songs released before they were born.

“They were singing all the songs including my synth solos. I loved this.”

IT’S JUST UNFORTUNATE

His latest music gets considerably more personal.

Unfortunate came out of the end of a long-term relationship and the discovery of infidelity. Rather than turn it into a giant dramatic statement, Gareth found something in the understatement of simply calling the situation “unfortunate”.

“It flowed so easily at the time,” he says. “Writing it was cathartic.”

His favourite line compares the end of the relationship to something painfully familiar:

“It’s like when your favourite tape gets jammed and breaks and all the tape spews out of it.”

Brutal. But unfortunate.

ENTER THE STINK SHRIMP

Then there’s the shrimp.

Gareth came across illustrator Nathan James Page’s cartoon Stink Shrimp on Instagram: a clearly devastated little crustacean declaring, “I feel stink and not very choice.”

It struck a nerve.

“I totally connected with how that shrimp felt.”

Fortunately, Nathan was happy for Gareth to take the character somewhere new, with his drawings becoming the basis for an animated music video.

Because sometimes heartbreak needs a heartfelt song.

Sometimes it needs an upset shrimp.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN GOODSHIRT AND FAZERDAZE

Gareth describes his solo work as sitting somewhere between two very different musical experiences.

With Goodshirt, experimentation led the way.

“When writing and recording with Goodshirt, we’d follow the magic dragon wherever it wanted to go. The music got quite angular and eclectic.”

Working with Fazerdaze took almost the opposite approach.

“In Fazerdaze it was more of a reduction to two chords and pure emotion.”

His own material now lands somewhere between those two worlds.

That comes together on his forthcoming album, Bits, arriving 23 October.

“It’s my White Album,” Gareth says. “A colourful collection of eclectic tunes. A vibrant upbeat side A meets an enchantingly mysterious side B.”

TWO PEOPLE, A LOT OF NOISE

The new record is also heading out on the road.

Gareth describes the live setup as “as much sonic experimentation that I can pack into a two piece band”, travelling with synths, guitar, saxophone and a drum machine.

There are old Goodshirt hits reworked for the stripped-back setup too.

And his cat is apparently singing with him.

Naturally.

For the album release show at BIG FAN in Auckland on 20 November, things get turned up another notch, with Gareth planning to bring out the visual synthesizer and full rig alongside Echomatica.

Before then, another single is on the way.

It’s called Therapy Cat.

“I wrote [it] for my cat,” Gareth says. “She loves the song and always comes when I sing it.”

THE BURGER QUESTION

Of course, we couldn’t let someone responsible for this much musical experimentation leave without tackling the important stuff.

Gareth’s ideal BurgerFuel burger?

“Beef, cheese, iceberg, aioli, egg and beetroot and something a little bit spicy.”

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SoundCheck, Vibe Check

1.   What is your go to song to Jam out to in the car? My 8 year old stepson and I sing Waiting Room by Fugazi at the top of our voices.

2.  Who is your favourite artist at the moment? I’m still enjoying Royal Otis

3.  One thing you can’t perform without? Bare feet

5.  One artist or band you would love to co-lab with? David Byrne

6.  Go to BurgerFuel order? Bastard Burger - so good - I don’t even need fries.

 Fire or Backfire?

Pickles in burgers - Fire

Crocs - Fire

Karaoke - Fire

BurgerFuel Aioli - Fire

Acoustic performances - As long as it’s weird

NZ Music Month - Fire

Festivals - Fire

Singing in the shower -Fire

Pineapple on pizza - Fire

Supermarket in bare feet- sometimes necessary

Check out Gareth's latest single HERE and stay up to date with him HERE: 

And for those that want to see what a Skink Shrimp is, check it out!