Justin Gage - The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Gage has occupied a few different southern spaces before setting roots in California where he launched, back in '05, one of the most unique and voice driven music publications of all time, Aquarium Drunkard. Nearing its 20th anniversary, AD hosts a trully consistent forecast for the divine, the original and above all, the creative talents of artists, musicians, film makers, authors, etc. all under one cosmic roof. Its a matrix community of folks that appreciate rich culture, incredible human talent and above all, sharing these elements with their dedicated readers. It was a real pleasure speaking to the man behind it all about his humble beginnings, how he's sharpened his wonderful taste in the arts over time and what keeps Aquarium Drunkard going strong after all the years!

When and where were you born? What was your childhood like? Do you have any siblings? What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music and art?

My passport reads Knoxville, TN, 1975. We lived there for about a year before moving north, as my father was to begin grad school at Columbia in NYC. We were there until 1979. I grew up in Atlanta, GA. The city was much smaller, and still felt relatively southern compared to 2023. I have one younger brother. We spent a lot of our time as kids outside exploring the, then, seemingly endless expanse of woods surrounding our neighborhood. We built forts, dirt bike trails and swam a lot. The Chattahoochee river was a short bike ride away. There was a great rope swing, and a diving rock. My inner life as a kid was very much dedicated to drawing. I would fill up notebooks, poster boards, anything, trying to recreate the images I saw in my head. As far as music goes, the first album I remember really connecting with was Michael Jackson's Thriller. Between the radio and nascent MTV, it was omnipresent. The music video for "Thriller' both horrified and intrigued. I had never seen anything like it. I still have the LP. The next thing that really gripped me was the Beastie Boys debut, Licensed To Ill. I was around 10 when it came out and knew every word, even if I couldn't comprehend the context at the time. Still have my copy of that one, too. That album was a gateway to Run DMC and broader hip-hop.

Music-wise, who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your very first concert?

Sometime in junior high I got turned on to music that fell outside of the mainstream. I think the Pixies and the Breeders debut LP were the initial gateway. Minor Threat and Fugazi were big ones for me. Huge, really. The whole idea of Dischord Records as both a label and an ideal was revelatory. That was my first exposure to DIY as an ethos. My friends and I began exploring the city by bus, attending shows at pop up spaces, warehouses and venues downtown. Hardcore was going strong in the early 90s, which some of my friends gravitated towards. I liked some of it in spirit, but was much more drawn to things like Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Slint and the Jesus Lizard. Outside of ones with my parents, I remember seeing a pair of local bands play at a now defunct room in midtown. It was a double bill featuring The Jody Grind and The Ellen James Society. I bought The Jody Grind CD at the merch table that night. They were a mutant blend of cabaret, country and jazz through a punk lens. The band's vocalist was Kelly Hogan who would later form the criminally underknown outfit, The Rock*A*Teens.

When did you realize you wanted to spend your life pursuing music and all things creative? What initially inspired you to start Aquarium Drunkard almost 20 years ago?

After high school I moved to Athens, GA to attend the university. Art and music were already a bedrock, living there only solidified that. It was an incredibly fertile time for music while I was there... Vic Chesnutt, Five Eight, the whole Elephant 6 thing, Hayride, Widespread Panic. I worked at a record store. A lot of the older clerks turned me onto things... out-there jazz, Stevie Wonder's Talking Book, live Grateful Dead, New Orleans music. I had left the south for Los Angeles by 2001, and by then a lot of my friends were spread out all over the country. A blog seemed an easy way to communicate what I was up to and interested in. It soon morphed into a music blog. These were early days... There were not many. It began in May 2005.

What was the overall vision for the publication during those early years of not only the internet, but that of blogs and music sites? AD is considered one of the most potent and relevant sites out there today. What have been some of your favorite times/moments/highlights of running this well oiled machine over the years?

I can only speak to AD. A lot of the music blogs that sprang up in the '00s tended to solely focus on new music, specifically the catch-all 'indie rock.' I liked some of that, but AD was a mirror of what myself, and the early contributors, were engaging with at the time--be it a new record or one recorded decades prior. They were treated as equally relevant. That approach remains the vision today. Big picture: getting to know the contributors, both via their writing and on a personal level. As far as individual moments go, one I was thinking of over the weekend was the launch of Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard during the early days of the pandemic. It was a 24/7 streaming radio station that helped keep ourselves, and the audience, sane during an incredibly weird time. The feedback we received from around the globe was incredible.

How do you dig and engage with music these days?

While Spotify can be a great tool for discovery, I almost entirely engage with music via LP and CD. If you were to hand me your phone and ask me to put something on my mind would instantly blank. It's just too much. Digging for CDs is truly the most fun right now. They are incredibly inexpensive and sound great. If I was just starting out and looking to build a solid collection, this is where I would be digging, as vinyl, both new and used, has gotten incredibly expensive. I'm format agnostic when it comes to home listening. When I DJ out, it's strictly vinyl, but other than that I have no preference.