Member Since: 5/20/2005
Band Website: thegayblades.com
Band Members: Clark Westfield
aka The Aristocrat Of Crime
Puppy Mills ( ?? )
aka The Snitch
Direct all booking inquiries to:
Justin Bridgewater [at]
The Agency Group [.com]
Influences: GET TGB HATE MAIL
Order Ghosts Here!! (or die!)
get shirts...
and free ringtones.
Sounds Like: CMJ Festival Guide :
"If Freddie Mercury sang for Death From Above 1979, these guys would open the show."
Paris Noir Sure Blanc :
"Fuck it, pure two-dude rock dudeness. There, we said it. They kill."
The Village Voice :
"Retro-transgressors unite"
Advocate Insider :
"Let me just say this was the best show of the week (SXSW). These random guys took a tiny stage and maybe 40 people and turned it into a Queen concert. Their songs are solid if ridiculous, and their presence on stage is the stuff of stardom."
The Deli Mag :
"This burly duo's blend of anxious spazz pop is accosting but sweet; it boldly confronts you with 'tude while courting you with delicate hooks and dazzling musicianship. Drummer Puppy Mills is a percussion juggernaut whose snare hits drop like the thousand clopping heels of a North Korean Army march, whilst Guitarist/Vocalist Clark Westfield fronts the stage with demanding showmanship. It can be a little in-your-face, but ultimately you have to respect the bravado because the songs are too good to dismiss."
Tris McCall :
"the Gay Blades did not learn their campy trash-pop moves from MTV or Hollywood. They’ve gotten their bag straight from the source – Bowie, Mott The Hoople, The Sweet, Queen. So no matter how much this sonic Venn diagram intersects with Ace Enders’s, or Kevin Devine’s, The Gay Blades are better understood as participants in the tradition of arch glam-rock revival."
Meik Meik Blog :
"The Gay Blades will rock your face off, maybe run through the crowd for a jog or chat. Show up with some positive vibes to see them. Or you might be tasting the headstock of a Gibson. The drums are ferocious. No seriously."
Crappy Advice :
"On fire from the minute they showed up at the venue, Puppy Mills pulverizes the drums while playing the straight man to front man Clark Westfield's manic fits that occasionally force the songs to a screeching halt so he can shine the spotlight on unsuspecting audience members. The Gay Blades are a two piece guitar rock outfit with a pop sensibility that has just enough of a fresh edge to let you feel like you are witnessing a huge huge secret."
The Aquarian :
"If Jet and Hot Hot Heat had a drunken evening of throwdown sex, the bastard child would be The Gay Blades....The Blades have forged forward into the realms of rock stardom."
Mature Recklessness :
"Indie. Rock. And tons of cool."
Air and Sea Battle :
"The Gay Blades are your favorite band in 2008. The music is filthy and it compels you to hear more. It’s like a woman being nightmarishly attracted to a man who doesn’t wash his balls."
Earvolution :
"A pair of double Ds short of The White Stripes. The Blades tore through a fun set notable for Clark Westfield's rifling guitar and quick wit."
Blowup Radio :
"I caught the end of the Gay Blades set. I've never much been a fan of the Blades, and their set tonight didn't do anything to change that."
Buzz Grinder :
"They’re a rock outfit from New Jersey. They were very strange — complete with a trashy pop sound."
A Kitty Says Rowr :
"A 2 piece that sounds like a 4 piece. Excellent guitar writing, amazing guitar tones along with an crazy-tight singing drummer make this band sound HUGE. The Gay Blades have great melodic style, accompanied with hair parting rock-riffage and a smile-enducing live show to boot."
Absolute Punk :
"...For only two dudes, Clark Westfield and Puppy Mills output a HUGE product. With transitions, textures and elements to spare, these are not simple rock songs, even though they do simply rock. A song on Ghosts can hang a left turn at any moment, and none of these jumps are unfortunate. As spazzy as the album is on a whole, I am never lost in the mix. I think this has to do with guitarist/vocalist Westfield. He gives off an eager and emotional energy that matches the mood of the moment....There is an underlying (and sometimes obvious) absurdity/quirkiness on Ghosts that is part ridiculous and part brilliance."
Jersey Beat :
"...the Gay Blades smother themselves in irony the way Iggy used to smear himself with peanut butter and broken glass...the Gay Blades appropriate classic American pop tropes – cocktail lounge saloon songs, cock-rock riffarama, singer-songwriter angst – all to advance their own nefarious ends. Sure it's catchy, even pretty at times. But these MySpace-jiggering subversives are out to destroy rock and roll by embracing its shmaltziest extremes; the harder they croon, the less they mean it. Don’t believe a word they say. And if you find yourself singing along, leave the room immediately. You have been warned."
Time Out New York :
"Slower Gay Blades songs are sure to evoke Bright Eyes comparisons, but the band also has a penchant for upbeat rhythms that Conor Oberst wouldn’t touch."
The L Magazine :
"The Gay Blades have a shitty band name, and play something we assume they don't like to call emo, even though their singer does that stupid, annoying thing where he allows his voice to crack to feign real emotion."
Brightest Young Things :
"What seemed like more the persona of a Southern preacher than rock frontman, Westfield worked the crowd looking to convert everyone in the room to his own way. Backing vocals by Puppy Mills only helped to seal the deal, as Westfield’s stage presence ( often off-stage and in the crowd ) engaged, asking the crowd to sing along and clap, and the fans were eager to comply."
The Line of Best Fit :
"I believe this is rock music. It rocks. These men have not written a bad song yet, nor one that bears any relationship to another either. Just wait. I’d love to tell you what comes next but it would genuinely kill the element of surprise. Better it kills you. Viva NYC."
Type of Label: None