The idea of being in twos dates back as far back as humans have been roaming the earth. Plus, when it comes to music – yeah groups are great, but then when you think of those world class duos, your heart skips a beat. Garfunkel and Oates, Outkast, The Black Keys and now we can add GreyMarket to the list.
Growing up Mike Gargiulo was not a fan of the boy bands that came from his area, but rather classic rock bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. He balanced that out with a love of Motown and doo-wop. A varied love of music throughout the years, he brought that to the table when hooking up with Cave McCoy. Together they are a two-piece duo out of Tampa who take on electronic rock, and with that they’ve just released their latest, The Stress Kills, back in early May. Drawing comparisons to the likes of a couple of other popular pairs – Mike talked about that and more in this new interview.
Kendra: Two-pieces like Twenty One Pilots and Matt & Kim have proven to do extremely well. So is duos the way to go?
Mike Gargiulo: Not necessarily. Once you get beyond the possible novelty of the concept, it’s ultimately about writing good songs, putting on good shows, and finding an avenue of exposure.
“Airplane”
Kendra: Speaking of being a duo, does having only one other person in on the creative process make it easier or harder to make decisions?
Mike: Easier, in my estimation. Even if a band had four members, someone has to have veto power. Plus we’re lucky in that our sensibilities align pretty well so even when I want to change something, it’s rarely a battle.
Kendra: You all incorporate chiptunes into your sound. Are you video game fans, or just like the musical influence?
Mike: Cave is more into video games than I am. I stopped playing around the PS2 era. While I’m sure it accounts for some of it, we like the possibilities the electronic element affords us. We can do literally anything in terms of emulating acoustic instruments, plus we can create sounds that have never been heard before.
“Minutiae”
Kendra: You guys dropped The Stress Kills back in May. Was there any extremely stressful situations that came in making the record?
Mike: Yes, actually, as the concepts were conceived while I was temporarily living in New York for personal reasons; and so the long-distance thing was a bit challenging. It created a cloud of anxiety, dejection, and desperation because I didn’t know how/when we’d be able to get the band back on track.
Kendra: Lastly, what do you two have planned for the remainder of 2016?
Mike: We’re going to hit the road in August again, heading out to the Midwest, and we’ll continue to cycle around the southeast. We’re also opening for X Ambassadors at the 97x Bud & Burgers event in St. Petersburg, FL on June 18th.
