We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jon Gengle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jon, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Why the hell not? Let’s f****** try it! What do we have to lose?

These phrases are expressed often, but how successful is the followthrough? The truth is most things end in failure. Hell, even after 32 years on this earth, I still manage to put my shirt on backwards from time to time. Not that there’s much risk in getting dressed, but the day moves on.

The musical collective known as Gus D. Wynns & The Breakers has sought to operate with this mindset. Albeit, the execution has not always succeeded, but that comes with the territory. This is the exact point of our musical exercise.

There was always a clear yet fluctuating purpose to begin exploring musical and creative landscapes that were not known or comfortable to us. The outcome was never definable, so we simply set the rock tumbling down the hill. At some level we’ve already succeeded, the experiment worked. I don’t think any of our members expected us to be where we are when we set off. In other ways, we’ve failed because each new composition forces you into a lane. What’s the sound? What’s the vibe? What’s the message? (Queue scrolling through YouTube videos). That poison of comparison is probably just a human trait that keeps us on our toes.

And that is the crux…we liberate ourselves by pretending there are no boundaries, while forcing ourselves into creative boxes, our own preconceptions sowing constant doubt and comparison.

Creation in itself is a risk because it manifests possibility. It’s like, yeah I could stay in bed all day and the likelihood of anything physically harming me is low, but we get up anyway at some point.

The biggest risk I see is the danger of staying in our own head creating jealousy, paranoia, apathy, and a whole host of negative complexions that come with sharing experiences. We play this game and think to ourselves, “this is good right now, but what could happen to ruin it?” On the flip side we all sacrifice our time, money and energy, and it becomes difficult to sort out which outcome is better.

This band has sort of become a microcosm of life. It was a risk to begin with, and continues to be until the wheels finally, completely come off. (What’s more rock n’roll than a little bit of existential danger whether contrived or real?)

So, while some may characterize what we do “risky” the truth is the biggest risk to our success is that which we don’t take.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Each member of the band is and has been involved in many different musical projects. The goal of Gus D. Wynns & The Breakers has been to attempt a synthesis from these individual experiences and bring in different genres and styles to keep things fresh. We constantly bounce around from pop and rock to R&B and folk. Somehow every time we set out to complete a composition it passes through this filter and ends up sounding cohesive and distinctively “Gus”. What I mean is while we derive inspiration from many different places, we try not to replicate.

Our live shows have a swirl of energy that can simply described as fun. We also attempt to blend video aspects that capture the mood of our tunes. They don’t always have a straightforward narrative, but are usually a mosaic representing whatever the song might be about.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Sam Bohlman (bass) has quite a collection of NBA top shot cards! Seriously though, hasn’t art always been an NFT? It’s as valuable as any individual or group of people think it is.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

This is a tough one. Music and art have never been more accessible to those who want to create it and those who want to consume it. I know this has been commented on a lot recently, but monetization has become increasingly difficult. So, obviously engaging with the art you love and appreciate is important, but go out and explore new (old) delivery methods like vinyl and cassettes. Go to a show even if it’s on a Wednesday night and you’re worried about being tired the next day. Share the bands you love with friends and families, and try and make business connections where they may exist to present opportunities to the artist. Music lovers have more power than ever to positively influence the trajectory of a band’s success, it’s just a matter of engaging with many different avenues.

Contact Info:

• Website: gusdwynns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gus_breakers/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gusdwynns/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/gus_breakers
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYPmhhbfnIQd-_iwlUT4BGA/featured
• Other: Bandcamp: https://guswynns.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Ryan Casillas: https://www.instagram.com/ryanquesadilla/