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2 minutes with James Monger of Great Lakes Myth Society
First thing you notice about Detroit’s Great Lakes Myth Society, besides the quintet’s tuneful, bygone era pop rock that crosses Okkervil River and Simon and Garfunkel, is the suits. Even in Texas afternoon club heat, there they are in subtle pinstripes, jackets and tie clips, giving off a turn-of-the-century, Westward Expansion type vibe. Guitarist and backup singer James Monger was game for stepping into the men’s room after GLMS’s Thursday show at Darwin’s Pub to talk about snakeoil salesmen, getting naked in the woods and the relative merits of Febreeze.
360: So I’m interested in the interplay between the suits, your music which is kind of old-timey, and this whole snakeoil salesman vibe you give off. Monger: It’s the only thing we had that was the same outfit, so from there it turned into a snakeoil salesman thing. I like the idea of a bunch of guys who get out of the van and you just go right up into the club in these suits. It makes you seem more formidable.
360: So do you wear them all the time? Monger: We come in with them. Yesterday we had to hop out and get dressed at this rest area because we were so late for our show - we’re kind of out there naked in the woods getting ready for the show.
360: That’s rock ‘n’ roll, I guess. How’s the festival treating you? Monger: It’s been good. This is day two. We spent most of the first day at a Dodge dealership in Oklahoma City fixing our van. We rolled in here just in time, like an hour from the set.
360: How many suits do you have? Monger: I only have one suit, but I have like 15 white shirts. We all just go into Salvation Army and buy whatever we can. And, yeah, it stinks. We go through gallons of Febreeze.
360: They should be a sponsor. Monger: You have Febreeze on the side of your van, that’s not very cool. The Febreeze pace car never wins at Daytona.
360: Do they have a Febreeze pace car? Monger: I don’t know, but if they do that guy gets his [tail] kicked all the time.
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