Feature / One Question Interviews
Spokenest

Words: Loren • December 15, 2013

Spokenest
Spokenest

Daryl Gussin (Spokenest)

SPB: How did you come up with the idea to form Spokenest with money received from wedding gifts?

Gussin: Well, that’s not exactly what happened. We got engaged pretty close to around when we started writing and practicing the songs that ended up on We M?ve. Then we got married. Then we recorded the record.

With our previous project, God Equals Genocide, we released records on a dozen or so different DIY labels and never had a bad experience. But with Spokenest we were interested in the idea of releasing a record that wasn’t affiliated with a label, or the preconceptions that might go along with one. And the wedding gift money just happened to be the money we had to fund the record.

Also conceptually, if this band ever turns a profit, there’s no one else involved and the money will go right back to us, helping fund whatever might be happening with our lives at the time. Which is what the songs are about in the first place.

Hopefully, we’ll make back the $1,800 we spent on the first record to help release the next one, ‘cause it’s not like we can get married again, and the rest of that money is long gone.

— Loren • December 15, 2013

Spokenest
Spokenest

Related features

Badlands

One Question Interviews • March 20, 2017

Adrian Tenney (Badlands, ex-Spokenest) SPB: How did you get started in Badlands? Tenney: Badlands (as a solo project) started when playing my music with other people ended. I had been writing music in numerous other bands with my friends, and although it was super fun, it was always very hard … Read more

Related news

1QI: Badlands, Extinction A.D., Cayetana

Posted in Bands on April 10, 2017

New from Drunken Sailor

Posted in Labels on April 22, 2016

Premiere: 2 new videos from Spokenest's upcoming LP

Posted in Videos on October 30, 2015

Related reviews

Spokenest

Gone, Gone, Gone
Drunken Sailor (2016)

I have a type, and it’s short and fast. I’m partial to it and probably less picky. It fills a need that my constantly fidgeting digits and bottomless coffee mug cannot. Besides, short and fast is just better. Duh.Spokenest are seemingly built on that same concept, playing finger-bleedingly fast guitar and drum in this husband-wife two-piece from California. On Gone, … Read more

Spokenest

We Move
Independent (2013)

Two piece bands seem to be gaining in popularity again, and it’s easy to see why from a musician’s perspective. The fewer people involved, the easier to organize, practice, and tour. There are duos done well (see Street Eaters) and lesser cases who aren’t getting the namedrop here. Spokenest is a newer project of similar ilk, bringing Adrian and Daryl … Read more

More from this section

GØKHA

One Question Interviews • October 21, 2026

GØKHA SPB: The entire new record is solo. How did you decide to self record and self release? GØKHA: I’ve been writing music since I was 16. I’m 36 now, so that’s 20 years of dealing with the same problem: finding people to play with. And not just any musicians, … Read more

School Drugs

One Question Interviews • October 20, 2026

Josh Jurk (School Drugs) SPB: What do you remember of your first show with School Drugs? Jurk: We opened our set with the intro to “Crazy Train.” I don't really know why, seemed like a good idea at the time. We'll reprise it at our last show when we're all … Read more

Little A

One Question Interviews • October 19, 2026

Little A SPB: Is there an album or concert that inspired you to start to playing your own music? Bryan – drums: It may be a standard answer for folks my age, but Nirvana's Nevermind album changed everything. The rawness and energy made me want to be in a band, … Read more