Gouge Away’s Christina Michelle on Coloring Outside the Lines 

Ahead of their show at Urban Lounge supporting Chat Pile on March 5, I had the privilege of learning a bit more from — in my mind, one of the most outstanding vocalists in alternative music — Christina Michelle on overcoming creative pressure, remaining authentic to oneself in creating art and what makes Gouge Away’s first post-breakup record, Deep Sage, so special.  

SLUG: How do you balance personal emotional expression and political statement-making in your songwriting? How do those things overlap? 

Michelle: I learned that it was okay to write about personal matters on Burnt Sugar when my mom was in the hospital. I couldn’t think about anything BUT that and writing all political songs felt inauthentic. Since then, I realized that failing health and mental health is intrinsically tied to the politics we’re all constantly subjected to. I know everyone is tired of their bodies, minds and autonomy being thrown about for someone else’s political career. How can we expect anyone to not be mentally fucked up? Keeping that bottled up is terrible in the long run, too. 

SLUG: It seems like Gouge Away is embraced by various scenes — hardcore, post-hardcore and “emo” as well as shoegaze, to name a few. Did you initially set out to be positioned between genres and scenes like this, or is it a natural consequence of writing and playing authentically? 

Michelle: Anytime we’ve colored outside the lines we’ve been somewhat afraid that it will alienate people or turn them away. But ultimately, we decide every time that if we like a song we should commit to it. The first scary thing we did was put “Ghost” out into the world. But Tyler [Forsythe]’s bass line is infectious. I’m glad people get to hear it and it’s the cherry on top whenever people like the songs we were a little scared of. 

SLUG: How has your approach to collaborating with one another changed leading up to Deep Sage after being on a hiatus? 

Michelle: Before we broke up, we had written a lot of what ended up on Deep Sage. At the time we felt this intense pressure to finish a record as quickly as possible and I feel like that’s just not how we operate productively. Having lots of time away from these songs gave us a chance to realize which stood out as songs we truly loved and which needed to be axed. Working together felt a lot easier because we agreed on all those decisions. 

SLUG: I saw you on Ceremony’s Rohnert Park show in California last year and will be seeing you again opening for Chat Pile in SLC. The in-your-face political rage is a common thread that lands all of you on my list of favorite bands. Is it intentional and important to you to tour with politically like-minded acts? 

Michelle: Honestly, I feel like anything opposite of my mindset is so far off my radar that any band I think rocks is probably one we’re closely aligned with. We just completed a tour with Gumm and I had been wanting to play with them for a while because I was so into Slogan Machine. 

SLUG: Another thing that draws me to Gouge Away, along with bands like Ceremony and Chat Pile, is this type of songwriting that stands out as innovative while staying simple enough to really punch the listener in the face with both the riffs and the lyrics. How do you approach songwriting to make each track direct and in-your-face while allowing for exploration of different genres and themes? 

Michelle: We all like such different things musically that we’re always going to end up with the end result being a blend of each of us, which I think is really cool. For Deep Sage, we became less resistant of the pop structure — verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc. — and used the motto “K.I.S.S.: Keep it simple, stupid” whenever we got stuck. Usually, the solution is easier than we think. 

On the flip side, I will write and throw away entire songs worth of lyrics and start from scratch until I think it’s right. But it depends on the song, too. “Spaced Out” is meant to be fun and unserious, while “Idealized” is more moody [and]  mature, and the message is more important to me. 

SLUG: What about this current lineup you’re touring with feels unique compared to tours of the past? 

Michelle: I think Chat Pile and Nightosphere are each unique bands and I think it’s cool that Chat Pile always puts interesting lineups together. I’m looking forward to seeing both of them live for the first time! I’ve watched videos and heard they put on great shows. 

SLUG: Deep Sage and its promo and merch really stand out visually with a unique and cohesive aesthetic. Could you talk a bit about this record from a visual art standpoint? 

Michelle: Thank you! I designed the album art and many of the flyers and merch designs, but that part is always hardest for me to talk about. I think I just wanted to capture what all the songs feel like to me with one image when it came to the album art. A major theme is change (“A Welcome Change,” “Maybe Blue”)  and the art represents having an introspective approach to a world that feels out of control (“Deep Sage”). I wanted to play on the theme of being “Stuck in a Dream,” while the title “Spaced Out” is an obvious visual component. “Dallas” has a spacey sound on its own, while “Idealized” and “Newtau” are quite moody. A mask is a symbol often used to represent concealing something, but this one is crying and being flung into space. To me, it represents all the work I’ve done on myself — going to therapy, etc.— and that the real Gouge Away is totally vulnerable on this one. 

SLUG: Which Gouge Away tracks feel the most personally significant for you all to perform live and why? 

Michelle: “Idealized” is the most important song to me. It’s the one I’m the most emotionally attached to and I’m really proud of it and proud of us for making it. It’s the first song we wrote where I felt like “Finally. Now this is a SONG.” I had always wanted to write about abortion but it’s a big overwhelming topic and I could never get all the ways I felt about it into words. I didn’t want to just write a simple anthem either. I really love how it came out. 

SLUG: Have you had experiences playing in Salt Lake City before, either in Gouge Away or in other projects? 

Michelle: The most memorable show was when we played Kilby Court with Touché Amoré a million years ago. That place is so cool. 

SLUG: You’re uniquely positioned as a band that’s been around for a while but is also a part of hardcore’s relatively recent surge (again) in mainstream popularity. What have you observed as far as changes in that “scene,” in terms of both music and attitude?  

Michelle: The “get that bag” messaging is new to me. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t think playing music means you should starve. I’ll speak for myself and say this is a lot of work. I have to do a lot of jobs to get our band going — a lot of jobs I taught myself or learned from my peers. I’m taken for granted, run into the ground and my sanity is hanging on by a thread, and then I work at a restaurant between tours. I wish my effort paid the bills. I think hard work should equal that much. And I don’t think you need to turn away every opportunity that will help you survive in this world. I just hope that “getting that bag” isn’t the new goal. This wide umbrella of what’s considered hardcore music is special because of the art first, not chasing mainstream success. Write your own songs. Be authentic. Have something to say to the world. 

Do yourself a favor and allow Gouge Away’s full discography to provide an outlet for personal and political angst before catching them live with Chat Pile and Nightosphere at Urban Lounge on March 5.

Read more interviews with national artists here:
Hazlett Finds Harmony Between “Valley Low” and “Doing My Best”
Jordana Still Records Premonitions In Her Bedroom