Introducing #206 - Gag Salon
Let us introduce you to London based Gag Salon - formally known as Palm Honey, who have arrived on the scene with their debut single ‘Horses’. a thrilling tale of romance and status seeking led by a frenetic Woody Woodpecker guitar riff and galloping drums. Ever been in love with a horse? Gag Salon have, and they want to tell you all about it.
They took a moment to talk to us about their music.
Hey there, how are you? So firstly, where does a name like Gag Salon come from?
Good thanks. It comes from within!
How did the band start?
Seb, Ayden and I played in a band together for a few years, and we knew Tom through our hometown (Reading) music scene at the time. When our last band ended, we kind of frittered around doing different projects with different people here and there but not really taking anything seriously - I think the pandemic gave us the kick we needed to really work hard with Gag Salon and get back out there.
Your debut track ‘Horses’ is out now, can you tell us what it is about?
It’s about a status seeking yuppie chasing an ‘it’ girl who eventually realises they’re actually in love with her horse. The lyrics are pretty cringe looking at them now to be honest, I’ve certainly written better, but then I also think it’s good for music to be as embarrassing as possible. I want to be really big and famous and all my songs are kind of subconsciously about that although none of them are directly from my perspective, they’re all fictional.
Where are you based and what are your favourite things to do there? Where sells the best pint?
We’re all based in various parts of south London. It’s very good for walking! Skehans is quite nice, although I’m really boring and don’t drink or even go out very much, so I don’t think I’ve got the most informed opinion to be honest.
What are your key influences as a band when it comes to your music?
I think when the Gag Salon songs we’re currently releasing were being written I was definitely inspired by no-wave and dancier post-punk like DNA and The Pop Group, but I kind of wanted to do it in a more pop-oriented, colourful way. A lot of that music is very stark which is great, but it can get quite tiresome, and there’s no shortage of bands doing it at the moment either.
To be honest I’m very influenced by a lot of stuff that sounds nothing like us - I think we’re trying to go a slightly more harmonious, better composed route rather than just hammering people over the head with noise. At the moment my four most listened to artists on Spotify are Burt Bacharach, Randy Newman, Bill Callahan and Nina Simone. I’m also going back to my metalhead days, mainly Megadeth and Slayer.
Now the debut track is out there, what next for Gag Salon?
We’re doing a nice big show to celebrate the single at the Windmill on the 19th, then you’ll be hearing a lot more from us throughout 2022 as we keep releasing music. We want to move quite quickly and get as much out there as soon as we possibly can. The goal is to support Muse on a stadium tour in 2024, then do our own one probably the following year.
