Allston Pudding caught up with Doug Tuttle, formerly of New Hampshire psych-rock darlings MMOSS and now of, well, Doug Tuttle, shortly before the release of his eponymous debut off of Trouble in Mind Records and a release show at the Middlesex Lounge next Wednesday, January 29th. Want a peek into the artist’s head before he lives little ol’ Boston in the dust? Here’s what you need to know about Doug Tuttle and Doug Tuttle.
Allston Pudding: What was your initial entry point to psych-rock (first favorite band, track, etc.)?
Doug Tuttle: When I was a kid my folks were really into music, lots of MTV and classic rock radio, they had what I at the time considered to be a MASSIVE record collection (about two crates worth). I remember a handful of songs from the radio that were totally magic to me, “Spirit in the sky”, “Nights in white satin” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” being huge. I also remember really liking the idea of The Byrds, my dad would talk about them from time to time and his face would kind of light up in a way I didn’t see too often.
By the time I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, I had my own record player, and had been handed down my dad’s copy of The Byrds greatest hits (Along with a Vanilla Fudge record, and Disraeli Gears, which were both pretty impressive to me as well) . I think that record 100% shaped what I am drawn towards in a pop song.
DT: It really wasn’t too hard to get motivated, I play guitar all day anyway, it’s nice to actually feel like I’m working towards something rather then just fucking around playing cheesy solos.
The main thing about doing this by myself is I could work really quickly, most of the time I’d write, record, and mix a song in a day. It’s harder to do that in a band situation where everyone is trying to sell their idea. But, playing with other people is kind of what it’s all about in the end.
DT: It’s really hard to put my finger on one thing, MMOSS was 7 or so years of my life, being in that band has changed me more then anything else I’ve ever been a part of …for good or for bad!
DT: “Where you plant your love…is where is grows” was written for MMOSS, but it never worked out really, the rest were written for this record. Recording started around February 2013, and I was done by August.
DT: I didn’t really set out to record a record about breakup(s), it’s just what was going on in my life at the time, I was having a hard time excepting my fate, so I whined about it into a microphone, TAAA DAAAA!!!!! Haha.
DT: Hard to say, I’ll probably do both at some point, I’d love to be in a band where I don’t sing, I never intended to sing as much as I did in MMOSS, just kinda fell in my lap due to line up changes. I’m sure I’ll keep making records under my on name too, I like to keep busy.
DT: I like playing “With us soon” live, everyone plays that one twice as hard as anything else for some reason.
DT: Not that I know of, but I don’t get out too much.
More information on the wonderful Doug Tuttle’s 1/29 release show at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge can be found here.