There really is some kind of unnameable magic when it comes to the idea of just being yourself. It’s the kind of mantra you hear from successful people in every field, and for good reason – it sounds redundant, even obvious, but whether we like it or not we’re social creatures, so comparisons and expectations have a habit of getting in the way. Learning to focus on what satisfies you makes all the difference.
Take for instance Mr.Phylzzz, a Chicago two-piece that’s committed to bypassing people’s expectations their entire career, and in doing so put themselves in the perfect position to form a supergroup with legendary disruptors The Melvins and Butthole Surfers called Gatta Morta.
Gatta Morta just recorded and released their debut EP, but Mr.Phylzzz have once again doubled down on their internal powers to put out a new record called Fear the Lord via Amphetamine Reptile Records. It’s as cantankerous as ever, filled with surging sludge and violent noises, yet also brings more emotional layers to the table, so we were elated when Curran from The Chain asked if we’d have time for a quick chat. We had many questions indeed, and we hope you enjoy the results below:
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FB: When the project first formed, between the singles and the band name, it almost seemed like “zzz” was code for something, or at least symbolic – did it mean something in particular or is it more to just ‘have fun with it?’
Clinton: It’s always been ingrained in the band and in the imagery. The “zzz” just looked cool on paper. I’m very visual with the band and loved the simple form it could be broken down too. Plus, that “zzz” sound is dominant in the guitar tone with all the fuzz running. Plus, in all honesty, if you can’t figure out the spelling of the band you can at LEAST remember the “zzz.”
FB: In 2026, it definitely feels like genre means less than ever, and we’re all about it. What were some of your ‘anti-genre’ or ‘genre-less’ inspirations?
Clinton: I think it goes without saying, The Melvins are anti-genre as they have had straight noise records to country songs. I love that. Ween is another great example of genre jumping. I don’t understand why you would wanna tie yourself down to one sound. Seems boring to me. I wanna play with it all and try everything. I’d love to do a phylzzz pop album or even more so a bluegrass album.
Danny: Maybe not genre-less, but I think that Nirvana made an incredible three albums. Each
one different than the last. After the biggest commercial hit “Nevermind” made them the biggest band in the world, they took a left turn for “In Utero” and deliberately tried to alienate their new audience by making the album that they wanted to make with zero compromises and full abrasion. I just think that’s still one of the coolest things.
I also recently have been really inspired by Danny Brown. He just came out with a new album earlier this year called Stardust and he’s mixing hyperpop with rap and it’s fucking awesome. He collaborated with Underscores and Frost Children and a bunch of artists that you would never expect him to reach for and I think the songs are so sick!! Listen to “Starburst” and “Copycats.” He’s also sober and ripped now which really rocks for him. Music is so over saturated with the internet now that it’s kind of becoming commonplace to take little snippets of things outside your “genre” and bring it into your sphere. Some bands have been doing it forever of course but a lot of newer bands are definitely mixing in a lot of industrial and rap influences or just stuff outside their typical genre, like Lip Critic, Black Midi, YHWH Nailgun, Gilla Band, Death Grips, Model/Actriz and Charli XCX. I think it’s just the age of anything goes and I’m glad strange music is more widely accepted these days.
FB: Is there any chance you could clear the air for the casuals – was your first record Penitent Curtis or Real Live Suicide?
Clinton: Actually both are wrong. The first was “Sounds Like Everybody Else” which was labeled an EP but nobody wants to listen to more than 30 mins of anything anymore. “Sounds Like Everybody Else” was recorded at a debunked strip club turned recording studio in Cincinnati. I like that record a lot because it was really us doing whatever we wanted. I traded a Tascam mixer to Eric Cronstein who recorded that one.
FB: One of your best song titles, and perhaps best songs in general up to this point, is “I Took a Selfie at a Protest So Now I’m a Good Person.” Is there a particular story behind that or is it just a cunning observation?
Clinton: That song is what happens when you write a lot of ideas but never finish them so I literally just glued them together, and it turned out great! As for the title, it’s a cunning observation of the times we are in of performative activism, doing things strictly for views and likes rather than helping the cause. Listen, I love social media for the band, it’s awesome! It’s been a huge game changer in that aspect butttt social media has kinda made some of the worst people think they are important celebrities or saviors to the world as if their well lit selfie holding up a peace sign and their hashtag is gonna change healthcare affordability or the homelessness. I just believe in doing instead of posting. Sue me. Remember when all those celebrities sang “Imagine” during covid and how many people stopped dying because of it? No? Me neither.
FB: In some of your Bandcamp descriptions, it’s noted whether or not good gear was used. Can you describe how you differentiate between good gear and not-good gear? What kind of gear was used for the upcoming record?
Clinton: For years I used whatever I had. I liked the restraints of “OK, I only have an SM58 and a junk First Act amp, what can I make” and that was the model for years. I would get a new piece of gear and that would improve the next recording. But I never had anything great. I had yard sale quality gear but I still made it work. I think a lot of people get it in their head that they need the best. You don’t. You just need to make it. When we got some money we went into better studios and proper studios which I will label “good gear” but again if you don’t have the right vision or ears that good gear can sound like shit. Luckily we have had some good people like Taylor Hales from Electrical Audio in Chicago to handle the good gear and even then I was requesting we throw cymbals down the stairs and still use my bad practice amps. Recently we recorded with Evan Peters in Chicago between his home and a large church in Wisconsin. He’s excellent. He was a great person to have with us because he could roll with all the weird ideas and produced a great record from his home. I think if the ideas are good it’s good. It will translate well regardless of gear.
Danny: Most of the gear we used for “Fat Chance” and “Fear the Lord” could be considered good gear, for sure, because we went to a world class studio (Electrical Audio). Evan had good gear as well but a more simple set up. I just think Clinton added that in the description to make a point that you don’t need good gear to make a good album. People get really hung up on that stuff and it just delays creating because it turns into “well I could do it if I just had this…” You just need to make it work with what you have. If the songs are really good it’s gonna shine through and hold up, no matter how it gets recorded. Go listen to literally any single mic blues recording, The Sonics, or even “True Love Will Find You in the End” or “Some Things Last a Long Time” by Daniel Johnston. Great songs, touching lyrics and the naïvety of the recording makes it that much more real and intimate.
FB: Fat Chance was recorded at Electrical Audio – how has the idea of production or having a producer work with the band changed over the years?
Clinton: I’m all about change but also keeping the core of the band alive. I don’t wanna live in the past or repeat things too much. I like doing production on my own when I can but I’ve leaned more into producing as of lately. I think once I can build my own proper studio that will change but for now I have a few people in my corner I trust to help create the sound I have in my head.
Danny: I would say that we’ve had a lot more hands on production with “Fear the Lord” as opposed to “Fat Chance” because we had more studio time than we’ve ever had before. “Fat Chance” we recorded and mixed fully in three days with Taylor Hales in Studio B. For the last two songs on “Fear the Lord” we tracked and mixed “Over and Over Again” and “Rodeo Clown” again with Taylor Hales at Electrical Audio in two days. The bulk of the new album we recorded with Evan Peters in a church for two days but then we had maybe four days where we went to his house for mixing and additional overdubs. We had so much time listening to the songs while mixing that for a good chunk of the album we added or gutted things from the songs once we were totally done tracking in the studio, which we’ve also never done before. Normally we are forced to work as fast as possible due to limited time and funds. I think you can really hear the difference between the songs we had more time with, versus the ones we tracked quickly. It was nice for each song to have a life of its own.
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FB: Bringing things into the now a little bit, you talked a bit recently on Conan Neutron’s podcast about how the upcoming record is going to be a big departure in some ways. Can you expand on that without giving too much away?
Clinton: I always wanna keep moving, I don’t like repeating the same thing. Creatively I love trying new things and experimenting with new sounds. I think people have grown accustomed to us being this big loud crazy band so with that in mind I wanted to absolutely flip it on its head. phylzzz has always been a sharp right turn then a sharp left turn. There’s lots of piano on this record, falsetto vocals, airy and beautiful movements, odd percussion. It feels more like a midnight drive but you know it’s about to be a severe thunderstorm. It feels great and safe for now. I’m really happy with it. I think people will like it and if they don’t, well, that’s on them.
Danny: The way the album starts is such a stark contrast to how the last one ended.
There’s a piano and beautiful falsetto, operatic vocals with like 40 layers, backward drums, congas, insane percussion sections, a hardcore breakdown, whispers, insane vocals panned and pitched up and down à la Butthole Surfers, etc… and the production is definitely more integrated with the songs!
FB: When you’re dedicated to not caring about the perception of your process, what other touchstones or guidelines do you pay attention to when writing a song? How do you know when an idea is finished?
Clinton: I put it like this. When I was younger I cared so much about what people thought of me and it led me nowhere. As soon as I dropped that mentality I started really doing things artistically. I strive to be kind and respectful first but when it comes to song writing I’m not here to people please one bit. I’m writing what I wanna hear, I want people to hear me, not a version of me I think they would like. Some guidelines I’ve had are, if it makes me laugh or gets me excited I should explore it fully. I wanna play stuff I’m excited to play because eventually I’m gonna have to play it every single night. I do not write filler, an album to me can be 30 minutes for all I care. I won’t write songs to just have songs. That seems stupid and wasteful to me. If I just wanted a steak, why would I order a burger too. Just because I could doesn’t mean I have to. I go with my gut with everything, I’ll know when an idea is completed and I’ll know if it’s filled with too much shit. I’m big on simple things first. We have written full songs that we have never played because my gut says that’s not it. But I’ll always end up using something from those too. I treat my ideas like a pick and pull lot. I can use some parts of this and some parts of that to build something stronger that still pleases me.
Danny: Normally with phylzzz we will have a lot of ideas and parts we are trying out and we kinda smash them together while we feel out the outline of a song. Then we get to a point where we get a clearer idea of what the song actually is and from there we can start figuring out what it needs. From that point we decide “we are doing too much” and we start peeling the layers back and simplifying it. I think to some extent it’s good to go through that creative process and just try different things without pressure. I don’t like forcing pieces to fit or songs to be finished just for the sake of having more songs. Sometimes it also takes giving your ears and mind a break and coming back in fresh to break through. Writing and being an artist can sometimes feel like you’re drilling for oil – sometimes you dig and you strike a huge flow immediately and sometimes you have to poke around before you get that “aha” moment – but you have to always be digging for something and keeping yourself open and inspired. I also do feel like the more songs you write and the more you play and practice your instrument the more clear your vision can get faster when it’s time to write. We know a song is done when we are both really excited about it we want every song to have an “aha” moment and stay consistently fun to play. There’s songs we’ve been playing for years at this point that also have parts we are revising to this day!
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FB: In that same podcast you also mentioned when tracking the new Gatta Morta record things were coming together exceptionally fast – was it the collective chemistry that made things happen so efficiently?
Clinton: Yes! I mean we are talking about real pros with Gatta Morta. I had to show up with my A game and luckily I’ve had years of practice of writing in the moment and on my own to really hold my own with these guys! We wrote the whole record in less than a week. Everyone brought ideas and we all put our spin on them collectively. A lot of it was written in the room. We worked fast, once we had a riff we would have a structure within a few minutes and then I would be carving out vocals right then and we would be tracking within the hour. King Buzzo is truly a song writing machine. He can turn over a song so fast while hearing things none of us can. Pinkus is the same way coming in with these dusty desert songs that are huge with an ear for small things that make a song absolutely explode and Coady being the best drummer I’ve ever been in the same room with, while also recording the whole record himself, was the cherry on top of this massive wedding cake of mega musicians. I can’t express how grateful and excited I am to be a part of this group. We work insanely well together and all of our collective voices and styles mixed together has created this new yet familiar heavy thing. When I got the call from Buzz I was thrilled and 100% ready. Beyond hyped.
FB: After tracking for Gatta Morta, did you walk away with any new insight on being in a two-piece unit with Mr. Phylzzz?
Clinton: I did! Don’t overthink it. Go with your gut, don’t grind the sausage to mud. Simple is more impactful than busy. Avoid the Slash zone. You don’t wanna end up in the Slash zone.
Danny: Clinton basically reinforced the idea that we shouldn’t overthink the writing process and that he went to “songwriting bootcamp.” There’s a reason Gatta Morta made a killer album in like three days! Those guys’ job is to write songs and they’ve been doing it consistently for 40 fucking years! Buzz keeps himself open to new ideas and inspiration and takes risks where others wouldn’t. That’s only a few of the many reasons why he’s been so incredibly creative, successful, and influential for all these years.
FB: “Emma Draws a Dog” is particularly menacing, even in the face of an overall cantankerous discography, but “Over and Over Again” has a slight introspection to it. Do you find that your feelings are best or perhaps most accurately described with intense dynamic?
Clinton: Yes! 100%. I’ve always wanted to be more in a band like Death Cab for Cutie, but everything I write ends up coming out like a manic episode so its always had this intense dynamic. I want all the emotions in my music so I think it plays on every feeling when I write. I try to cram them all in one song. So yeah, maybe its just Death Cab for Cutie if they joined forces with the Blood Brothers. I’d listen to that.
Danny: I mean we definitely don’t beat around the bush with anything we do. We are loud and proud. However that doesn’t mean we have to be loud or intense to write a song with a lot of feeling. In fact, most of the time it’s the juxtaposition of dynamics in our songs that have the most emotion and intensity. If every song is always flatline loud or quiet, people are going to tune out because it feels predictable and safe. phylzzz doesn’t wanna be safe and the music reflects that. I think the new record is littered with examples that prove that point, like “Rodeo Clown,” “Plea,” “Emma Draws a Dog” and “Switch Bitch.” That’s a cool thing about the band we both really like – we can write in any style or instrumentation between us and it will still come out as expressive as phylzzz has been known for, even if it’s wildly different that what we’ve done before.
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FB: “Rodeo Clown” just dropped a couple weeks ago as a single – we’ve met a few clowns now, and we’re always surprised how warm and personable they are as people, as well as how despite this their getups send shivers down our spines. What are your feelings on clowns? Have those feelings changed or evolved over time? Is any of that different when it comes to Rodeo Clowns specifically?
Clinton: I love clowns as I am a musical clown. I’m here for your entertainment. I think rodeo clowns themselves are so interesting. You are risking your life to make someone laugh or to save someone from being stomped to death by a bull dressed as a clown. It’s depressing and dark work and I was captivated by it. Crazy work, but there’s clowns in every field of work that don’t do any saving whatsoever. Ain’t that a real pie in the face huh?
Danny: I think all clowns are pretty unsettling personally, but they are interesting because of it. They ride the line of physical comedy where they’re trying to get a laugh at their own expense of course, but I think it can become uncomfortable for both parties very easily. It’s a very odd,
persistent, and grinding art form. Some people are a “hard laugh” and I’d imagine you’d have to think on your feet and pull from a deeper place within yourself to give something to them.
I think entertaining in general works like that, although it can be extremely spiritually, artistically,
emotionally and physically rewarding and purposeful in a way that many straight jobs aren’t.
Not that entertaining is necessarily clownish or that clowns are spiritually fulfilled hahaha but
there’s overlapping elements to being a performer. I think the biggest difference between the
two clowns that come to mind is that rodeo clowns try to entertain in a more shocking and
dangerous way by willingly torturing themselves physically and emotionally by putting
themselves in harm’s way to make someone laugh. Pretty masochistic. Whereas maybe a circus clown is more of a jester trying to amuse, distract and entertain through laughs during circus staging transitions. Also, speaking of rodeo clowns – love the show “Baskets,” one of my all time favorite shows.
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here as well. Don’t let the bastards get you down!)