Git Some: It's what you get when Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Jesus Lizard

A Git Some show is a visceral, high-voltage experience. The act is a bundle of frenetic energy on stage, as dangerous as it is magical. The band's new album, Cosmic Rock, deftly captures the vitality of the group's live show. We caught up with the guys at the downtown warehouse — where the outfit rehearses and where several of its members live — as they prepared for their record-release show, which will kick off a three-week West Coast tour followed by a two-month European tour.

Westword: Tell me about some of the songs on the new record.

Chuck French: Some of them will kick your ass, and some of them will get you fuckin' high, man.

You guys started the band in Chicago, right?

CF: Yeah, me, Neil and Bobby Lewis. We had a different singer too. Luke's the fourth singer for Git Some. They all sucked. The first singer was awesome. At the time we were super stoked because we were writing these songs. We had five kick-ass songs, and this guy was like, "Bam, here's the lyrics." And we were like, "Fuck yeah." But he couldn't play shows. So then we got Clayton to fill in, who was our other roommate. He's like one of those guys who burns really bright and goes out really fast. He did one show with us, and then we got this guy Peter, when Neil and Bobby Lewis moved out here, Peter moved with them. That was kind of the deal: their van broke down, and they were like, "Come pick us up in Nebraska," and the kid's like, "I'll do it if you let me sing in your band." He worked out good for a little while. But it didn't end up working out in the long run. It's like things become clear after time. You gotta let the water settle a bit. And then there was Luke at the bottom of the water, and we were like, "Fuck yeah."

Luke Fairchild: I was drowning. I was in a bad place. Git Some came out and just picked me up. I didn't want to go. I didn't go easy.

Say you're talking to someone who hasn't heard Git Some; how do you describe what the band's all about?

Neil Keener: We kind of don't push Git Some on anybody, really. When people ask us about it, we just kind of...

Andrew Lindstrom: We usually just say rock and roll or something really generic.

CF: I like to say Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jesus Lizard and Black Flag.

AL: We were talking about being in Minneapolis and just trying to sneak in some stuff like Bob Seger mixed with some Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jesus Lizard.

LF: Elton Joel.

AL: Yeah, we pretty much don't say. It's hard to describe. Just come out. It's rock and roll.

CF: It's like a punk-rock freakout. But it's not really like punk rock, now. Because we all know punk's fucking dead, right?

AL: I tell the Christians down at the church where I play that it's really aggressive rock and roll.

Visit Backbeat Online for more of our interview with Git Some.