Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Gatgas

After a day's delay due to the extra and late notice weekend concert previews, here's this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As usual, this is our monthly feature series where we profile a band that's based from outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, but has had at least one local resident in their past or present lineups, so that local readers can get more information on them and possibly become new fans as a result! This month's band was picked in advance of their local debut at a well anticipated show this fall, and they actually feature two familiar names, so read on below for this month's out-of-town profile! (Updated on November 27th)
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Gatgas (London, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Jack "D-Ass" Gibbons (vocals)
Brian Gibbons (guitar)
Bob Bromley Jr. (bass)
Garry Ingram (drums)
Corey Shipp (guitar)

Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/pages/Gatgas/147926505234133
Official Reverbnation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/gatgas
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/gatgas 

Local Info: Two Sault area natives and former local musicians handle the rhythm with Gatgas, those being bassist Bob Bromley and drummer Garry Ingram! While there isn't a lot of widespread details on their local music work before relocating to London, Bob was notable as the bassist for the early-mid 1990s hardcore band The Harsh Heads, and Garry produced the 1994 studio sessions at Dysentery Studios that led to their posthumous CD "First Hated Then Forgotten". By the 2000s, both had moved from the area, but Bob & Garry are still more than active musically!

Band Bio: Gatgas are a hardcore punk band that launched online pages in August 2010, after previously jamming together since at least 2008. Quickly building a solid reputation in Southern Ontario, Gatgas have shared the stage with the likes of The Ripcordz, Alcoholic White Trash, and fellow Sautlite-infused bands like Repetitions, Maximum RNR, and Violet Fuse. The band began recording a debut album in February 2012, and though I can't verify if it came out as planned, Gatgas have made appearances on regional split releases and compilations, such as this album from It's Trash! Records. Still playing frequently in Southern Ontario, Gatgas made their local debut on September 13th when they opened for Random Killing at Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar, garnering a strong reception in the process! Fans of bands like The Dayglo Abortions or locals Destroilet should take to their hardcore punk intensity, and they have the requisite punk attitude to go along with it!

I'll admit that Jack Gibbons' vocal style (which reminds me of Tom Waits at times) can be somewhat of an acquired taste, but everything fits well after further listening, and their songs have a familiar groove that should appeal to punk and hardcore fans equally! Bob and Garry also handle their roles well, and Gatgas' battle-tested sound delivers the goods, so don't miss them in September! You can check out Gatgas media (mostly original songs) at the above links, though there sadly isn't much in the way of online videos of theirs. Here's the guys playing their song "Back To The Asylum" at Hardcore Homecoming earlier this year!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at Toronto classic hard rock quartet Public Animal, who I just recently learned features former Rhythm Rats and Kite Eating Maples drummer Ryan Gassi in their current lineup! Thank this SooToday article for connecting the dots that I couldn't, and we'll mention this article more in-depth in an upcoming news post (and go see them live TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar!) That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!