Tune-In Tuesdays #20: Keepin’ it ‘Reel’ with Gone Fishin’

By: burgundy bug

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Gone Fishin’ sitting on the hood of a car in California

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Amidst touring after releasing their latest singles on ‘Thump,’ the alternative band Gone Fishin’ kept it ‘reel’ during our discussion on Sunday.

A Bit of Context…

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Gone Fishin’ keeping in cozy while on tour

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Gone Fishin’ are a Berkeley, Calif based group that draw inspiration from artists including The Strokes, Arcade Fire, and Brissey, according to band member Brennan Jung.

The band consists of: Jung, the drummer; Ryan Cohen, the bassist; Runar Schmidt, the guitarist and vocalist; as well as their horn players Ben and Daniel.

Interviewees – Gone Fishin’

• Brennan Jung – Drummer and Lyricist
• Ryan Cohen – Bassist and Lyricist
• Runar Schmidt – Guitarist, Lyricist, and Vocalist

How did you guys meet and how did you start making music together?

Runar: “We actually had our core classes together in nineth grade. That’s how we all met as friends.

Then Ryan, Brennan, and I played together in a jazz band. Ryan and Brennan had also played together in a rock band.

Eventually the three of us came together, jammed, and clicked. Five years later, we’re still together as a band.”

Growing up, did any of you ever think you would have a career in the music industry?

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Gone Fishin’ performing outside

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Brennan: “I did. I always had a love for the drums and music. I got into it around second grade.

[Music] was what I wanted to do as soon as I heard some drummers at an elementary schooler.”

Ryan: “Growing up, whenever people asked what I wanted to do, I’d say, ‘music.’

I don’t think I ever intended it as a real career, but I knew I always wanted to play and maybe I’ll spend the rest of my life doin’ it.”

Runar: “I started playing the guitar when I was really little, but gave it up.

I didn’t really see myself with a career in music. I just started doing it for fun. After I met Brennan and Ryan, we made a band.

Recently, it’s been a lot more crazy. It’s not a career in music, but it’s something that I love to do – and with Brennan and Ryan, we always have a good time.”

What does your process look like, from brainstorming to recording?

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Ryan Cohen and Brennan Jung recording

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Runar: “Ryan and I will write songs on our own. We’ll have the bare bones of it going into a band practice, then we’ll play for everyone, and Brennan will offer suggestions to mess around with the song until we find an equilibrium where we all are happy with how it sounds.”

Ryan: “A lot of the time we’ll have ideas for horn sections with the trumpet and saxophone, but when we really play it and bring it in with our horn players, Ben and Daniel, they’ll make it their own with their great ideas.

Giving the bare bones to the band and playing together evolves it into the final copy.”

What do you find most rewarding about being apart of a group, opposed to being solo artists?

Brennan: “I consider these guys two of my closest friends, so it’s nice to play music together and hang out. [Being in a band] forces us to still hang out with each other [laughs].”

Ryan: “It’s nice that whenever something good happens, like we’ll put out something or have a show, it feels like a shared victory. It also makes it feel a bit less self-centered to ask people to listen to it, ’cause it’s a group effort.”

Runar: “Playing as a group is a lot of fun. ‘Cause we’re so close, we like to fuck around on stage a lot. We know each other so well that we could do stupid stuff and everyone will catch on without it sounding weird.”

Brennan: “We definitely know how we play together. I know how Runar and Ryan play, so it’s easy to have fun and go beyond that.”

How long did it take to create ‘Too Much Honey’? Were there any songs on the album that are particularly meaningful to you guys?

Ryan: “It took about two or three years. It’s hard to say exactly how long it took.

When we first went into the studio, we had no idea what we were doing and we were all 16. We made stuff, put it on SoundCloud, showed it to our moms and what not.

Eventually, we kept recording until we had a bunch of songs. We were all away in college, put it together, got it mastered, and released it as an album.

I think releasing it reinvigorated the band and put us out there on the internet.

For me, a special song is ‘Blaze my Daze.’ It was the first song we ever recorded, and everytime I hear it I still get nostalgic. It makes me think about high school and everything that was going on then.”

Runar: “‘Blaze my Daze’ is my favorite song on the album because we have so much fun playing it live. Plus, it’s very sentimental and nostalgic.”

Brennan: “I totally agree with that.

I think ‘Connections’ is also a good one that has sentimental value – to me, at least. Runar wrote it, but it makes me think about certain people and what they mean to me.”

What did you learn from creating ‘Too Much Honey’ that you’ll use going forward with your next releases?

Ryan: “I think we really learned everything about making an album and releasing it. Of course, we’re still learning, but we learned what works when you’re recording in the studio, mixing. Sometimes it’s best to do things yourself. We also learned the most cost efficient way to do things, too.”

Brennan: “We went into the studio for three or four different sessions a few months apart for ‘Too Much Honey’ – sometimes over a year apart.

Every time we went in, we had different ideas of how to record, what that process means, and the sound that we want.

‘Too Much Honey’ was definitely a learning process. It sounds a lot fuller, and I think we’ve figured out our style a little bit more.”

When it comes to performing live, what has been your favorite show so far and why?

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Gone Fishin’ performing

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Brennan: “I had a really fun time playing our New Year’s show. We played at one of my favorite local record shops.

It was great to play in Berkeley on New Year’s. We had our family and friends come, hang out, and play some good music in a really cool record store.”

Runar: “My favorite show was the one was played after [the New Year’s show in Berkeley]. It was at our friend Angie’s house. It was just a house show, but there were a lot of people there who were our friends but didn’t know we could actually perform. When they all came out to see us, they were like, ‘Holy shit! That was really fun.’

That was my favorite show just ’cause I had a lot of fun. I went out into the crowd, leaning on everyone. They were going crazy.”

Ryan: “I’d say the house show, too. It was such an experience to see people really enjoying themselves and making it their own.

I feel like a lot of the time, kids don’t necessarily listen to the type of music we’re playing. It was cool to see them relate.”

Do you think you’ll be touring on the east coast any time soon?

Brennan: “We’re thinking about it. I go to school in New York and I would love for these guys to come out and do an east coast tour at some point.”

Have you guys had any particularly bizarre fan interactions at a show?

Runar: “I had a show we played in Davis [Calif]. I was walking around and some girl pulled me off to the side. She was like, ‘Can you pretend that you know me?’ I was kind of like, ‘What?’

She said, ‘Yeah, can you pretend like you know me? Just give me a hug real quick and laugh at whatever I’m saying.’

I went along with it, hugged this random girl, and laughed as she said nonsense.

Then she gave me a hug and said, ‘Thanks, I’ll see you later. Bye!’

It was weird as hell. I don’t even know that girl’s name.”

Ryan: “Last week in Davis [Calif], there was a group of people in the front row that was like, ‘Are you mad? My friend said you’re mad.’

We were just up there performing and I was like, ‘No, I’m pretty happy. Things are going pretty good.’

She insisted, ‘No, I think you’re mad.’ Then we went into the next song.

Afterwards, she said, ‘You seem mad.’ I said, ‘I don’t know, I’m just not that mad,’ and we kept going. Then I looked at her and said, ‘Now I’m mad.’

I was pretty not-mad, no hard feelings there.”

What is your favorite way to unwind after a show?

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Ryan Cohen riding a rooster on the carousel

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Brennan: “Usually we’re near one of our households or someone we know. We get whoever came to the show that we know, go back, chill out, relax, have some fun, and unwind with our friends.”

Ryan: “I feel like we have a lot of energy after all our shows, so it’s just fun hanging out, talking to everyone.”

Runar: “After the shows, it’s really nice talking to everyone. You meet a bunch of new people who are like, ‘What’s up? I really liked your set!’

That’s really nice for me when people appreciate it. I never thought it would happen like that.”

What impact do you hope to have on your listeners through your music?

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Runar Schmidt and Brennan Jung in front of a car in California

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

Brennan: “Spreading joy and however we’re feeling. I think it would be awesome to be in the car and have one of our songs play with someone singing along, having fun.

At the end of the day, music is about happiness and making people feel better.

Brennan Jung

I think it would be really nice if our music could do that.”

What’s next for Gone Fishin’? What are you currently working on?

Ryan: “With the release [of Thump], we’ve been playing a lot of shows. We’re actually calling you from San Luis Obispo [Calif].

We have a couple recordings we’re mixing and mastering right now that we’re thinking of releasing in early fall.

We also continue to keep playing shows, writing songs, and keeping up the energy.”

Are there any topics or themes you didn’t get to address on ‘Too Much Honey’ or ‘Thump’ that you would like to dive further into on your next album?

Runar: “We’ve been focusing on ‘Thump’ for the passed couple months. I’ve written new songs, but they’re not developed yet.

Right now, we’re mostly focused on the current stuff. The new stuff will come to us eventually.”

Brennan: “When something funny happens or something we feel the need to write a song about, it’ll come out pretty quickly.”

Do you have any overall career goals, as a band and as individuals?

Ryan: “As a band, things have picked up and gotten more fun. I hope that keeps happening and I hope we get to keep having this adventure of making music together.

We’ll see what happens to each of us personally, but as a group I hope we stay together.”

Brennan: “Making music and having fun with our friends. That’s the goal of this – for me, at least. It’s great to unwind.

Personally, I’m a jazz musician. I want to pursue that a little bit or go into music therapy. Those are two of my interests, so this is such a refreshing break to come home and rock out.”

Runar: “As far as the band goes, I just want to keep making music and having fun. That’s pretty much what this is; us having fun. That was the whole point of Gone Fishin’.

As far as goals outside of that, I’m a graphic design major. I want to have my own design agency at one point, but that’s far in the future.”

Before we wrap things up, there’s one last bonus question… Have you ever gone fishing together before?

Brennan: “We have not.”

Ryan and Runar: “We were going to!”

Brennan: “If I remember correctly, we were rehearing in Ryan’s garage. There was so much shit EVERYWHERE. I was looking around, saw a crabbing net, and I said, ‘Oh, we should go fishing!’

That’s how the band name came about. We always wanted to go fishing with these crabbing nets.”

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Ryan Cohen and Brennan Jung

Source: Brennan Jung | Gone Fishin’

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