Music Monday: Aquarium Drunkard, A Taste of the Eclectic

Aquarium Drunkard features a barrage of eclectic sounds ranging from vintage garage, psych, folk, country, New Orleans funk, r&b, and soul. Based in Los Angeles, the man behind the scenes, Justin Gage, also runs the indie label, Autumn Tone Records and his eclectic tastes can be heard on the weekly, two hour, Aquarium Drunkard Show which air on Fridays from noon-2pm EST on SIRIUS/XM satellite radio’s XMU (channel 26) and XM radio (channel 43). And truth be told, this show has been known to scratch at my proverbial itch for French music a time or two.

Gage is also 1/4 of the Mondo Boys sound collage collective and authored the 2009 guide/travelogue Memphis And The Delta Blues Trail.

What can you find on Aquarium Drunkard? From vinyl giveaways like the one that occurred for Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin’s Je T’aime…Moi, Non Plus to interviews with The National (High Violet happens to be one of our favorites of the year), Arcade Fire and The Love Language, the blog runs the gamut from genre to content, all the while staying true to it's eclectic nature. Gage also goes straight to the source with members of bands such as Portugal the Man, Josh Rouse, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and Lucero who have acted as guest contributors to the column entitled "Diversions".

1. How long has Aquarium Drunkard been operating?
Five & 1/2 years

2. What makes Aquarium Drunkard different from other websites?
The voice.

3. Do you think Aquarium Drunkard has a specific musical niche?
Anything with soul, anything you can feel.

4. What contemporary albums are you looking forward to coming out?
Light In The Attic Records reissue of Jim Sullivan’s 1969 album, U.F.O.

5. How does Aquarium Drunkard support independent music and what is important about doing so?
My label, Autumn Tone, has been in existence almost as long as AD. It's about as independent as it gets. We also put on shows, festivals, etc. in L.A. and across the U.S. While we have done (and still do) a number of Autumn Tone showcases the majority of what we do, event-wise, is through Aquarium Drunkard. The Mission of Burma and Thurston Moore shows were some early ones that were pretty special as I had been a fan of both for many years. As far as most memorable, I would say AD's WAVED OUT fest. We are gearing up for WAVED OUT II September 25th (with Dungen headlining) and I couldn't be more excited.

6. Do you think online publications are taking precedence over print magazine? What kind of effect do you think that has on bands.
For better or worse, yes. I still like a good rag, but it's becoming increasingly hard for them to keep up. The Internet loves its 'firsties.' Not saying that as a good thing either. It leaves less time for artists to work out the kinks before the spotlight finds them. Remember, the Beatles were around five or so years before any real success.

7. What blogs/publications do you read other than your own? I really like Soul Sides, Cold Splinters, Raven Sings the Blues and Rising Storm.

8. What has been your most definitive moment since you started Aquarium Drunkard ?
Just interacting with the readers. They are really great/inspiring/interesting. The back and forth between the readers and myself has yielded some amazing discoveries --- old, unreleased demos, live recordings and videos have all landed in my email address via like-minded readers over the years. At best the blog's post inspire conversation, debate and more in the readers.

9. If there is any musician/band you could interview (dead or alive) who would it be? It would probably be someone like Sam Phillips of Sun Records or some of the old Delta blues guys. The real primordial shit.

10. If you could be in any band (of all time), who would you rock with?
Something fun and way over the top. Led Zeppelin. Yeah, Zeppelin.

Follow Aquarium Drunkard on Twitter.

Every Monday we turn the tables and interview one of our favorite media outlets on how they contribute to the indie rock scene and what they see as the future of music journalism.