Dave Gutter
Catching Up with Maine’s Rock Star
Words & Photos: Kenneth Coles
Whether you’ve see him performing on stage with one of his three bands, playing solo gigs at small venues around Portland, like Thirsty Pig or listened to one of his numerous albums, chances are you picture Dave Gutter as a raucous rock star. But sitting with this impressively accomplished singer/ songwriter, I got to see the man behind the myth. He’s quiet and contemplative with an air of humility you wouldn’t expect from someone who’s had David Bowie ask him how he sounded while recording a collaborative track and responded by farting into the control room mic.
“I can’t be like I am on stage all the time, otherwise I’d have been arrested several times by now.” Gutter explains with a grin.
As a man who relieves his anxiety and stress by keeping busy and writing music, it’s no surprise he has several projects in the works right now. The most recent involves pulling Paranoid Social Club out of inactivity to perform on Friday, October 25th at Bayside Bowl. Paranoid Social Club only performs as a group when they are specifically asked to join a billing or the band wants to promote something new. Such as a new album that has been mastered but not yet released or when the guys just want to go out and have some fun telling “dad jokes.” as Gutter puts it.
They are also performing this Halloween as a preamble to the album release for Rustic Overtones new epic ode to friend and bandmate Dave Noyes memory. Self-titled the albums release date has been pushed back a couple of times as the band worked through old unreleased or unfinished instrumentals or tracks Noyes was working on before his passing. Dave and bandmate Jon Roods put a lot into producing the tracks. They wanted this album to be special and therefore refused to rush any of it.
They’ll be releasing the album on November 29th and performing the tracks live for the first time during their New Years show with Ghost of Paul Revere at State Theatre.
After that, Dave has “a few” projects in the works. Such as an overseas tour with a Portland based hip hop artist and finishing up an album he’s been collaborating with Benbeendead titled “Ben’s in the Gutter”
Offstage, Dave Gutter is an artist who pushes himself to stay active in the Portland music scene, supporting his peers, writing music in the colder months and helping keep Maine music authentic.
On stage he plays mind games with himself, picturing every venue, even if he’s performing under a neon beer sign next to a dartboard, as if it’s a sold-out Madison Square Garden. He shoots laser beams from his eyes and converses with individuals in the crowd in his imagination. Bringing incredible energy to each show with the maxim that, “Every performance should be better than the last.”
