Last week I traveled to North Carolina to interview Shitar keyboardist/vocalist John Gorney about the band, breakup rumors, the new albums, and his political ideology. This week it's off to the Pennsylvania countryside to chat with Matt Gorney...


The appearance of Shitar bassist and vocalist Matt Gorney has changed little over the last ten years or so. When he greets me he's wearing a plain black T-shirt, baggy jeans, and black shit kickers. Up close, however, the bags under Matt's eyes suggest that he hasn't slept much lately. Still, he's affable and somewhat energetic at his beautiful mansion.

Rolling Stone: So Matt, I guess you've been working hard on the new album?

Matt Gorney: Actually I haven't played a note on it since mid-July.

RS: You mean the album's done?

MG: Not exactly...though it's close. Mark's still gotta put down a few guitar tracks. We originally were going to put out all three albums in August or September of last year, but you know how these things go...record companies...bureaucracy. We decided to get John's album..

RS: The Bad..

MG: ..yes, The Bad, out if November. The other releases are scheduled something like four months apart.

RS: So that means we'll hear the next album sometime in March?

MG: I hope. And you may get a taste of The What Have You in July.

RS: Let's talk about The Ugly.

MG: Lets.

RS: What I've heard so far(Matt was kind enough to sample about half the album in rough mix form for me) has been pretty eclectic. Was that a conscious decision?

MG: Not really, and yes. There was no specific moment where I set out to explore different genres. I like to please myself--insert joke here..so first and foremost I write for myself and my likes. However, in the past I've aborted songs that I felt weren't representative of what I thought Shitar should be doing. This time I got rid of that censorship impulse. You can judge the results for yourself.

RS: So we can expect wild experimentation?

MG: Well, John's always gonna push the envelope a little more than I do. And to be fair, the other ten songs you didn't hear are pretty straightforward rock. And some ballads. You know, the kind of stuff you've come to expect of me.

RS: In what thematic directions did you go lyrically?

MG: You know, it's funny, I never set out to have a certain theme to an album or group of songs, but life kind of takes you there, you know?

RS: So where has life taken you?

MG: Well, you know I'm older, and married, and I've got a beautiful baby boy.

RS: Songs about fatherhood?

MG: Yes, songs about fatherhood, but there's a lot of other things there too. For the last album(2004's multi platinum Sitdown), the goal was to produce tight songs...

RS: A stab a pop?

MG: In some instances yes, but really, we just wanted a bunch of lean mean tunes. I think "Panic" was about a minute and a half...

RS: Great song.

MG: Thanks. For The Ugly, I decided to indulge myself and let the songs go where they wanted to go. What I said about censorship applies to song lengths too.

RS: Speaking of censorship, I see that one of the song titles is "Fuck the F.C.C." What's that about?

MG: Use you imagination. We live in a society where we think we're progressive, yet I hear and see things that were produced 20 years ago that would never fly in today's culture. It's scary stuff.

RS: Any idea what might be the first single?

MG: I'm leaning toward "Over My Head."

RS: How would you describe it?

MG: It's a great fucking song.

RS: Okay, what's it about?

MG: Basically, finding something or someone to believe in, or to keep you afloat. It's catchy and it's pretty heavy.

RS: Any others you particularly like?

MG: Well, I love them all but "New," "Overflow," and "Moment" stand out right now.

RS: I look forward to hearing The Ugly. What are your thoughts about The Bad?

MG: John did an amazing job putting that together. He's a great great writer and I think he out did himself this time.

RS: What are the high points of The Bad for you?

MG: Water Underwater. John's much more liberal in the song writing department than I am, and much more liberal in general for that matter. Anyway, he comes up with these great songs that allow Mark and me to improvise, and this one just really works.

RS: What else?

MG: I dig "Potty." That's me playing guitar there you know? I love "So Fast." "Taliban" and "Hole" are both real artistic achievements. "Midnight Has Come" is great too.

RS: What can we look forward to for Mark's album, The What Have You?

MG: Honestly, I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if his was the most eclectic of the three. He's got his his pop/rock roots, he like the punk/pop thing, ya know? And he's been pushing things in a country direction lately. On tap of that, he tells me he's been jamming with some old blues guys.

RS: Do you think he'll use guest musicians?

MG: Sure. I know there are some guys he's been dying to work with. Still, don't rule out an all acoustic album from Mark either.

RS: Sounds great. So is this the way Shitar will put off albums in the future?

MG: No , I don't think so. It's been a fun experiment and yielded some great results, but after the What Have You, the next time you see the name Shitar on a CD, it will have songs written by all three of us.

RS: And when can we expect that?

MG: Definitely before the end of the year, but don't quote me on that.

Published: 1-9-2006

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