Devil Gone Public's Garrett Talks of the Fearful Symmetry in Today's Music Scene

Southern groove metallers Devil Gone Public have released their newest release in the form of an EP entitled "Fearful Symmetry". They already have plans on releasing a few more EP releases as well as playing some live shows and touring. Frontman vocalist Garrett Connor Moore discusses this EP and those plans!


1.Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?

Garrett: Devil Gone Public was formed in early 2014 by Garrett Moore, Alex Rappaport, Brandon Thrift, and Mikey Ortiz due to our common love for heavy rock n' roll, hardcore, and punk music. We wrote three new songs right off the bat and went into the studio with Kelly Nunn (Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Underoath) in St. Pete, Flprida to lay down our first EP. After the release of our self titled EP we got some gigs with He Is Legend, Maylene, and Wilson on their Florida dates and earned ourselves a bit of a cult following with the sludge metal heads through out Southwest Florida while working on our second EP, Fearful Symmetry. Mikey left the band in October 2014 to move closer to his mother in Hollywood, FL so we continued writing as a three piece and played shows with a couple different friends of ours filling in on bass. We recorded Fearful Symmetry partly in New Orleans with Neil Parsons and partly in Sarasota, Florida with Rob Caldwell (Iron Reagan, Cannabis Corpse, Six Feet Under). We're currently in the midst of writing our third EP and the songs are sounding killer.

2. How did you guys come up with your band name? What makes the Devil Gone Public?

Garrett: Our name was inspired by what the Devil and Satan represents to those who live in fear. The Devil is just the personification of mankind's most primal instinct: Free will.

3. Tell us about your thought on your local music scene? Are there any new and upcoming bands that you are into?

Garrett: The local music scene in our hometown of Sarasota, FL isn't exactly flourishing, but there are a handful of good bands around town. Probably more so in Tampa and St. Pete. Ringling College of Art and Design is located in Sarasota so there is a lot of art being created here. Music venues that feature original acts never seem to last too long though, and it doesn't help that the city has ridiculous noise ordinance laws. Sarasota is very conservative and the average resident is over 50 so its easy to understand why its not the most exciting local scene in America. We play more in St. Pete, Ybor City, and Port Charlotte, our neighboring cities. New Cathedral is a good vintage rock band from around here and also Dealy Plaza, which is a pretty bad ass death metal band. Our producer Neil Parsons was in a Doom band called Rorge and they were brilliant.

4. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?

Garrett: Devil Gone Public is really a groovy sludge metal band and we take a lot of influence from bands like He Is Legend, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine, Black Sabbath, Every Time I Die, Down, Closure In Moscow, Mastadon, Stone Temple Pilots, Goatsnake, Red Fang, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Periphery. We're constantly trying to hear new music and find as much inspiration as we can. We're very deeply rooted in classic rock and grunge so that has a lot to do with our sound. We love the dirty n' gritty rock n' roll.

5. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?

Garrett: Most of my lyrics center around my own personal experience. Many of our songs deal with battling inner demons, past relationships, and obsessions. A lot of my work also questions popular religion and the human condition. I'm really just out to write some good rock n' roll music for the free thinkers out there, who don't want to be spoon-fed the dance remixes on the pop stations or the frat boy rock on the rock stations.

6. Why did you see "Ghosttown" to be a good fit as a single and video of your choosing?

Garrett: Alex, our guitarist, and I actually wrote “Ghosttown" for our previous band in 2013, but it really came to life with Devil Gone Public when Brandon laid down the drums. Brandon really liked that song and it was his idea to revamp it for Fearful Symmetry. "Ghosttown” just has an incredible energy to it and the hardcore and punk influence on that one is undeniable. It really captured the spirit of this band very well.

7. Do you know how many more songs will be picked to be the next singles and or videos off "Fearful Symmetry"?

Garrett: "Ghosttown" is really the only single, per say, off of Fearful Symmetry but the other songs "Chillin, Killin" and "Spitting Blood" are bangers in their own right and could easily be singles. Thats really the reason we do three or four song EPs at a time, we don't want to release any filler. We do have one unreleased song from the Nola sessions of Fearful Symmetry that we are planning to unleash soon as a bonus track. The songs really dark and melodic and I think it will show people a little bit of a different side to this band.

8. What was the recording process like this time around? Was there anything different that happened or was it the same old studio thing?

Garrett: The recording process was much different on this record than our previous one. Our debut EP didn't capture the heaviness of our band and some of the people we worked with on it weren't really on the same creative plane as we were. "Chillin, Killin", "Spitting Blood", and the unreleased title track Fearful Symmetry were recorded by Neil Parsons in the wonderful city of New Orleans. The New Orleans vibe definitely creeped its way on to this record. There is so much history in that soil and we were ready to welcome the voodoo into the band. During breaks in the studio we would hangout listening to stuff like Goatsnake, Pentagram, and Witchcraft. We had a blast. Neil is such a creative guy and whenever we're working with him its as if he were a member of the band. "Ghosttown" was engineered and produced by Rob Caldwell (Iron Reagan, Six Feet Under, Cannabis Corpse) in Sarasota, Florida. Rob reached out to Brandon a couple months back and showed an interest in working with us so we jumped at the chance to work with such a brilliant dude. Rob is very much on the same page as we are musically and he captured our sound so wonderfully. He and I also share a common interest in the occult and religion so we had some good conversations in that studio. We still text a couple times a week. We're all really stoked to work with him again soon.

9. Can you tell us how this release differs from the previous ones? What can we expect and what is the message behind it?

Garrett: This release is much heavier than our last one. Although we're proud of it, our debut release is a little bit too clean and shiny in our opinion. We're a heavy, dirty, groovy rock n' roll band and Fearful Symmetry is one dirty record. I do think we earned the title of a sludge metal band with this one. You can expect our next EP be heavier, groovier, sludgier, and bigger than this one. The fun thing about this band is that we are constantly working to out due ourselves and I think were succeeding with that. We're always surprising ourselves so our fans and followers can definitely expect to be pleasantly surprised as well.

10. How would you say that the title and album art relate to the music on the EP?

Garrett: The title "Fearful Symmetry" comes from thinking of the duality found present in society today. People put on their faces every morning and their best suits and they go out into the world and judge and patronize people based on the very things they pray to their god to heal them from. The normal folks down the street with the white picket fences and perfect lawns are usually hiding the most evil behind their doors. The youth group minister protesting against porn and homosexuality arrested for serial murders and rape. Its often those who point their fingers have the dirtiest of hands. The album art was created by Amber Cross, my good friend from Sarasota, who did our debut album art as well. She is so incredibly talented so I give her a lot creative freedom to come up with whatever she wants. She created our plague doctor mascot. She is very brilliant.

11. What's your favorite song as of right now?

Garrett: Hmm my favorite song right now? My favorite Devil Gone Public song has to be "Ghosttown" and I believe its the other guys' as well. We're really proud about every aspect of that song. Now, my current favorite song that I've been listening to has to be "Take My Bones Away" by a really killer band called Baroness. I've also been listening to a lot of Black Sabbath, Mastodon, and Corrosion of Conformity lately.

12. How about shows and touring, what are the plans for partaking in this line of activity?

Garrett: Right now we’re gearing up to move our asses up to New Orleans and we're busy writing our next EP, both of which we are incredibly excited for. Nola is the perfect place for us to create our music. We're currently booking our first tour of the south right now and we will have some dates out real soon for that. We would also like to play a couple more shows in Florida before we move and go out with a bang with our good friends and awesome hometown fans. There is so much in the works for this band and we’re so excited and more inspired than we've ever been. The best is yet to come for sure.

13. What other plans do you have for this year?

Garrett: This upcoming year is going to be a big one for the Devil Gone Public camp. We will be moving to New Orleans and steadily be playing live and touring. We would really like to conquer new and foreign lands and expose our brand of metal to everyone we can. Our next EP should be out within the next couple months and our fans can expect another one a couple months after that. We're always in the lab, working and sweating in the Florida heat trying to make the best goddamn songs we can.

14. Any last words for the friends and fans out there?

Garrett: I would like to thank everyone who takes a listens to this band and I hope you guys will connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Devil Gone Public is for fans of Sludge Metal, Stoner Rock, Groove Metal, and Southern Metal. We’re also for fans of Down, Every Time I Die, Lamb Of God, White Zombie.