Hey Groucho, could you tell me a few things about yourselves?
Groucho is a 3 piece alt rock band from the midwest (Tulsa, OK.) Dustin Edward Howard, Royce Buckmaster and Layne Farmen. We consider ourselves socially conscious and attempt to convey messages of absurdity, self evaluation, spirituality and progress through the medium of music. Our lyrics cover a range of topics like recovery, aliens, self evaluation or society molding itself into permanent cosplay. We hope to be a positive force in a genre often obsessed with self loathing or anger for prosperity’s sake.
What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
Strengths? Songwriting and structure. Ive said this before, but I (Dustin) could destroy John Lennon in a guitar playing contest. Does that make me a better musician? Absolutely not. I think GROUCHO is great at painting a wide swath of genre, and styles. We can easily fit into a bill with metal acts, and we can play lounge versions of all our songs. We take the time to be nuanced, but not obsessive with our song writing. We are willing to come together to make a great song, despite it being alternative rock, we take inspiration from many genres,
What does music mean to you?
Music is a literal universal language. It is frequency and patterns molded into a sonic delivery system here on this planet. Honestly, it is a process of your ears dissecting vibrations in the air. An f# wouldn’t sound the same in another planets’ atmosphere, but the process of patterns and harmony would. Looking at sound waves in a mathematical sense, with a note and its subsequent octave being literally half or twice the wave size of its frequency. Music is our brains dissecting beautiful realities and patterns in the universe. This is why it has such an effect on the human condition. It is a connection with something divine and grand. RIght here and now. It’s a shame to see it commercialized. I watched a video last week where Cardi B threw her microphone down as a person tossed a drink in her direction, no surprise that the vocals just kept coming through the PA. That is entertainment, not to be confused with music or artistry.
What could you tell me about your new single, ”Blood in the Water”?
Blood in the Water is a take on the reality of manufacturing divide in modern society. It is a warning to some degree to folks paying attention or those pulling the strings. People will reach a limit and even now I feel humans are beginning to understand that this is all made up. As an example, the Smith-Mundt Act quite literally made it legal for the state to propagandize its own citizens in the US in 2012. Shit has gotten absolutely insane, and we feel it’s done on purpose. Maybe even in a small way this song can act as a reminder that we are all one humanity and its systems of oppression and deception that need to be changed. Corporations and special interests groups do not have regular folks interests in mind.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
It is a moment in time, that will never happen again. It is a vehicle for connection and exploring values and emotions.
What are your plans for the future?
We plan to keep touring. We have a cover of “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS coming out 8/25. We do this song live and it kills each time. We worked with Grammy Award Winning Engineer Trent Bell for this song, and Blood in the Water. We have several other singles recorded and we plan to keep releasing once every 6-8 weeks. We want to connect with fans, and meet new people. We want to play music for people who want to hear it. There are so many awesome venues in the states, but we also plan to one day make a trip to other areas. We see the metrics of listeners in Europe and South America. It would be really cool to connect with the right promoters or labels in those areas. We have a music video for NTUA coming out the same week. We will begin writing new music in the near future.
What important message would you like to share with our readers?
Be creative! You weren’t born to pay bills and just die. Get involved. This is a strange time to be alive of course, and educate yourself on deception tactics. Seek mentorship and be of service to something greater than yourself. Please reach out and say hello. We would love to chat and get to know the folks who listen to our music. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the merch purchases and the streaming. You’ve made it easy to keep doing this.
What do you feel is the best song that you have ever released and why?
The Truth is Out There (Bob Lazar) Alternate Universe Version. This song is very near and dear to me and our sound has evolved. This was a self recorded track that we re released due to the UAP/UFO hearings taking place in the US right now. I myself have had experiences with the phenomenon and Ive spent years of my life keeping this to a close group of friends and obscure message boards mostly. I wrote this song as an outlet for watching the world get itself in a pickle. Seeing it make its way to the mainstream provides a glimpse of hope for me. Its a small effort to make the subject less esoteric and to connect with folks who may have had similar experiences. I can’t stress enough that we are not a political band, but we are a socially conscious group of people. This is a subject that you should take interest in, as it will affect everyone. Maybe this song will make a small dent in the process. As a tidbit, this song is in the key of F# and was written with the opening of F# (432hz) which is something the esoteric crowd may appreciate. It is considered the healing/earth tone and was done this way on purpose.
