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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! John Neville of R. Mutt

If R. Mutt looks strangely familiar, that’s because in his other life he’s John Neville, drummer of the dastardly catchy rock outfit Embarrassing Fruits. As R. Mutt, Neville pairs spacey guitar tones with reverb soaked vocals to create waves of sound, songs that build and crash with equal languor.

Sure, Neville’s got a handle on life in front and behind the kick drum, but can he handle our five questions? See for yourself after the jump!

1.  If your music were a politician, who would it be?
I’ve always admired FDR, although I can’t really say music can compare to politics. It’s really apples and oranges, unless you’re jello biafra.

2. What made you decide to share your music?
It was never really a choice for me. Music is communal in a way that a lot of art forms aren’t. More often than not, I think, music is created for and by a community of people. I grew up in a music rich place (in chapel hill and carrboro) where I learned to value it at an early stage of my life. I don’t think music is anything but good sharing when it’s done well.

3. Describe your first attempt at songwriting.
I don’t remember the first time. I remember a lot of other instances of song writing, but not the first.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that would really surprise people?
That’s an interesting question because it changes so much. I go in phases of listening to batches of albums, and really try to hone in on what I like about them, and learn why I appreciate it. Once again, a communal process, because I end up talking about music with others fairly often. In my best phases of productivity, I don’t really listen to a lot, or at least, I try not to absorb too much that will find it’s way into what I’m writing, either in terms of music or lyrics.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
An astronaut. I haven’t left yet the planet yet, but I’m still obsessed with outer-space.

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Keep an eye out for your next chance to see R. Mutt live. And by all means, give John a high five when you see him!