Gumm: Chattanooga Punk
Chattanooga punk band Gumm continues making their mark on the local hardcore scene.
Photo by Caleb McCool
Gumm was started by Drew Waldon, Dylan Mikres, Philip Amos, and Harrison Battles in 2018. “We just kind of became friends through music,” said Drew, Gumm’s vocalist.
Dylan, the band’s guitarist, added, “A few of our previous bands were still playing, but kind of winding down, and Harrison and Drew and I wanted to start a heavier band.”
They often receive questions about their name, as it reminds people of the popular, chewy treat.
“A lot of people think it stands for something, like an acronym,” Drew said. “But we really just wanted to kind of stand out with the name, adding the two M’s.”
Not only do they all work collaboratively to write the music, they also have all played the drums in previous bands.
Photo by Christian Barker
“We all play drums, so there’s a lot of that with song structure,” said Philip, Gumm’s bassist. “We can just be like ‘Let me hop on the drums real quick’ to like show each other what we’re talking about.”
Their process behind writing music involves a healthy mix of team effort and individual contributions.
“Musically, it’s a collaboration between Philip, Dylan, and I,” said Harrison, drummer, “the lyrics are all Drew.”
Drew’s process in writing the lyrics is more spontaneous than scheduled. “Sometimes it’s from one sentence, and a song will write itself,” he said. “Inspiration wise something negative will usually push me into the mode of writing, but I try to steer that into a positive direction. I try not to dwell in divisive topics, but I try to find a unifying factor to turn that into something.”
The band describes their music as a mix of elements from hardcore punk, 90’s rock and alternative, post punk music, and even some classic rock.
“We have a direction now,” Drew said, “we take from such a broad array of influences that it’s something we strive for now. To be a band that anyone can find something in, even if it’s not normally what they enjoy listening to.”
So, what can you expect to see more of from Gumm?
“We’re finishing an album in St. Elmo,” Drew continued, “hopefully it should be out by next year. We have a single coming out in October from that album.”
“What we’ve been able to do since 2018 has been really cool,” he added. “Each record has just built on to of itself. As long as we’re loving it, I want to be doing it.”
Philip agreed. “Where we want to be in five years is just being Gumm.”
Gumm wanted to give a special shoutout to local bands Planet Terrestrial, Psychic Dungeon, and Lack of Control.
Photo by Olen Quinn
They also encouraged Chattanoogans to continue supporting local creatives and expanding the music and arts scene by strengthening the sense of community surrounding it.
Keep up with Gumm on Instagram, and give them a listen on Bandcamp!