Originally published in Excommunication issue #2

The Gamits are big in the US and bigger in Japan. A touring rock machine for over seven years, the band has travelled the world and eked out a living playing tunes for eager folks. The friendly folk over at Suburban Home Records noted the talent of these Denver hometown heros and have released several albums, including their most recent, A Small Price To Pay. Their frontman, Chris, answered a few questions posed by the master of the e-nterview, Jackson T. Ellis.

What the heck is a “Gamit?” Is that short for “god dammit?”
Our name is dumb. We know this. It was not originally intended to be short for goddammit but if you want it to be then that’s fine. It was a “musical term” that we changed the spelling of. Now it really doesn’t mean anything.

How long have you all been together as a band, and from where do you hail?
We have been a band since 1995 and we are from Denver, Colorado, mostly.

How did you come to work with Suburban Home Records, and how have your experiences been working with Virgil Dickerson?
We were friends with Virgil long before Suburban Home was even a label. it was just a little fan zine. He quit working for Hopeless and decided to do a label on his own and he needed a band so it worked nicely since we needed a label. Aside from Virgil’s “gay” period when he came on tour with us and woke us up every morning at 8 with his boner, it has been great.

Who aren’t your influences?
Ah, that’s a nice twist. Rap metal. New metal. Hardcore that thinks it’s metal. Basically any kind of metal that didn’t happen before 1990. Also most pop punk — ironic, isn’t it? Oh, and almost everything else, too.

Have you really played with Weezer?
Yup. Weezer and the Gamits at the Ogden Theatre in Denver. It was before the “green album” came out.

What was that like? Do you foresee playing with them again in the future?
It was pretty cool. We were excited to play with a band that we look up to and we have yet to sell out the Ogden on our own so that was nice too. I really can’t say if it will happen again. I guess it’s possible.

Do you have any aspirations of doing the music thing for a career, or ever working with a major label? Be honest…it may not ever happen, but if given the chance…would you go for it?
I have actually been making a living off music for a while now. It’s just a really crappy living! I don’t have any desires to be on a major but I would consider any opportunity that presented itself. I do want to remain in the business and make my living off of it. Also I want to be able to keep traveling all over the world. That’s a nice perk.

Make up a question that you’ve never been asked before in an interview, and then answer it.
Okay: Is your carpet the same color as your curtains? No, I dye my curtains.

What band that is currently rocking out do you admire the most?
Hmmm. I like the Adventures of Jet a bunch. I admire a lot of bands for different reasons but for skills alone AOJ are up there on my list. Most of the people I really admire are dead or old or nuts.

I heard that you guys toured Japan, what was that like? Can you share a good tour story of Japan?
Japan was great. The shows were amazing and everything was just perfect. However, I was fighting very bad back pain and one day I took two of these pills from Mexico and in the three or four hours that I got “lost” I remember shopping and laughing at Forrest, then not knowing how to plug in my own guitar. Then I lost my bus pass, then I soiled my kimono. I’m sure you are amused.