5 Questions with Zach Gehring
By Dwight Easter
DE - As founder of the Demons, what drove you to form the band and the music you create?
ZG - Initially it was just an experiment for myself, to see if I could actually do it. I have been playing music most of my life, but I’ve never really committed to trying to write songs of my own and seeing them through to completion. I wanted to see if I could. And even though we have a full length and two EPs, the jury’s still out.
As for the music, the type of music we play - it’s mostly what we feel like our frustration, guilt, desperation sounds like, or at least our best momentary idea as to what it sounds like. At this point, the writing process is very collaborative. We knew we wanted to make heavy music, but we weren’t sure what it would end up sounding like.
DE - In many cases, backstory and artist history shape the music, where did it all start for you, Zach?
ZG - It starts at being a high school kid and listening to 7 Seconds, Propagandhi, a lot of the other Fat bands, and extends through what punk has and continues to teach me. From my freshman year in high school on - my life was filtered through the culture and local punk rock music scenes from that day on. And it definitely set me on a path that led me to joining Mae (in 2003) and moving to Virginia - and ultimately establishing my life here. I think about that a lot - how punk rock has so consequentially influenced my path and my life. I think it has that effect on everyone in some specific way.
In Demons, we think of music primarily as a mechanism for something we can’t put our finger on, something we can’t attain. The idealism is exemplified in our we continued attempts to attain it. We are comfortable in, and grateful for, our little corner of the community. It fuels productive anger and confidence despite knowing full well you’re not the best what you’re trying to do. It’s active in all spheres of our lives, not just music, but also in the attention to issues of social justice, educating ourselves about competing histories, learning and unlearning, attention to rigorous self-reflection and critique, and attention to joy & community. That shapes what we do.
DE - What’s the Demons process for live performance?
ZG - We honestly don’t have much of one. We just set up and go. That is not meant to sound romantic in any way - we just have never fallen into a routine of any sort.
DE - Outside of the hardcore/punk genre, what artists inspire you to make great art? (This can include musicians or beyond)
ZG - The Magnetic Fields, Will Oldham, Tom Morello, Leonard Cohen, Logan Vath, James Wagner, great movies - honestly, it has to be a combination of what I’m reading/watching/looking at/listening to and my own disposition at the time. If you asked the other guys obviously, you’d get a different answer, so I don’t want to presume to speak for the band on this point.
Creativity comes and goes, and I’m not someone that works every day AT creativity….so in that sense, I’m reluctant to identify as an artist. I don’t commit to practicing the craft for various reasons, not the least of which is that, like many of us, I’m just super busy with other urgent and externally imposed demands.
DE - In the pre-interview, you mentioned wanting to partner with Bato for a show. What’s your dream lineup? 3 Bands/ 1 night.
ZG - Fugazi, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Reyes era Black Flag…but, maybe a more plausible dream line up — Pissed Jeans, War on Women, Bikini Kill? I don’t know! The answer will be different tomorrow. Ugh, I failed on this question. Apologies.
About Dwight Easter: Digital folk artist, family man and bread merchant. Some of the best moments in my life are experiencing the power and influence of great art. I came up in the Norfolk era of the M80’s, Buttsteak, and Antic Hay.