GEARS – AN INFORMATIVE INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY WOOTEN

By Ralph Beauchamp

Gears grinds. The five piece hard hitting dynamo Gears, based out of Miami, have constructed an unmatched verve encompassing multiple musical genres. They mix fragments of metal, rock, hip-hop, R&B and latin to create a hybrid sound that is powerfully original. Gears is comprised of Trip Sixx (Vocals), Jimmy Wooten (Drums), Josh Routt (Bass), Max Carrillo (Guitar) and Chris Black (Guitar). The band just released their galvanic new single entitled “Lost Again”.

Influenced by such artists as Prince, Alice In Chains and Deftones, the band creates a driving melodic aura of sonic intensity. Throughout their existence, Gears have burned down outdated conventions and in the process built a new world of aural fervor. They have collaborated with the likes of Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust) and Corey Glover (Living Colour). Gears‘ dynamic music has garnished outstanding praise from both critics and fans alike. In addition, their music has been showcased on Octane and charted in Billboard. With each new track, the group ushers in a new era of vibrant rock.

Jimmy Wooten was kind enough to spend some time with AMP for this informative interview.

AMP: Can you give the readers a brief history of the band?

JIMMY: It started in 2014 in Miami. We released our first EP that May. A second EP came out the following year. Since then we have been dropping a series of singles. We toured quite a bit but because of the pandemic it shook up all our plans just like everybody’s else. We are waiting for the right time to return to doing shows. Hopefully some time this year.

AMP: You mash many different genres. How would you describe your sound?

JIMMY: That’s a hard question just because the band is pretty versatile. We have some heavy stuff but we are currently honing in on adding some of our spanish and latin roots into our material. We are currently working on one song that’s probably the most out-of-box track we’ve ever done. Our sound is heavy with a touch of metal and melodic vocals. We also love to throw in twists and turns.

AMP: Who are some of the band’s influences?

JIMMY: It’s a wide group. It goes from Prince and Bowie to Deftones and Korn. We also have some classic rock influences too. I love Led Zeppelin because I’m a drummer. Bonham was the man! In the new material we kind of borrow from the Police in the fact of that we both genre bend and implement various types of solid grooves which to us is quite important.

AMP: As in the past, you are currently working with Producer Chris Dawson. How is that experience going?

JIMMY: It’s great. We met Chris and Jimmy (co-producer) when we were on tour together somewhere around 2016 or 2017. They were in the band Seasons After. It was an instant brotherhood. It was a long hard tour fraught with a lot of “Murphy Law” problems, That got us real tight. When they got off the road, they started to do some writing and producing. They started to work with bands like Saul and Any Given Sin.

In the long run, we had people on our team whom we were contractually obligated to but as soon as we could change things, we did. We wanted to move in another direction and have a fresh start in order to explore different avenues. Chris and Jimmy have afforded us that luxury. We have worked well together on our last few releases and the new material is coming out really well.

AMP: You’ve collaborated with the likes of Lajon Witherspoon and Corey Glover. Is there one artist you would love to work with?

JIMMY: That’s a good question. If I have to pick one person, I would love to hear Trip and Brent Smith of Shinedown sing together. I think those two voices together would be amazing. LJ was one of our bucket list collaborators and we got to do that. Another artist would be Chino from Deftones. It would be great to hit the studio with him. But as a fantasy, I would have to say Prince.

AMP: Is there a best and worst gig ever?

JIMMY: Right now since we’ve played only three festivals and several shows post covid, I would play in a Denny’s. I would play anywhere but making the logistics and cost work for everyone is always a challenge. Honestly, I don’t think there has been a worst gig out there but if there was, I’m glad it’s behind us.

AMP: Can we expect a full length soon?

JIMMY: I don’t think we will be putting one out soon. There may be a repackaging of several of the last few and future singles into an EP or album. For right now, It’s more cost effective for independent DIY bands like ourselves just to do singles. We look at each single as an entity. Some will get pushed to radio while others on social media. It keeps things exciting and fresh. By releasing new material every six to ten weeks, I feel it fits well with the “microwave society” we live in at the moment.

AMP: Are there any solid tour dates for 2023?

JIMMY: It’s really weird. As soon as we shifted our focus to go out and play more shows, we’ve been getting a ton of show requests. We are exploring several tour opportunities. Instead of one offs, we are looking for tours that can cover several markets with extended dates. We don’t want to burn any of our fans since we haven’t played out in a while. Due to the long layoff, I’m hoping that will be a catalyst for people to come out and hear our new stuff.

AMP: Any surprises coming up for your fans?

JIMMY: Ironically enough, I don’t know if it will be a surprise but I think this new track we are working on right now, happening fifteen feet away, will turn a lot of heads. I don’t think people will expect something like this from us. All these new songs will show an evolution. As I mentioned before, we want to do things differently. One benefit of being an independent artist is the fact that you don’t have to answer to anybody. If we want to do a polka song, we will do a fucking polka song. We are not stuck in one genre with no where else to go.There will be some interesting surprises.

AMP: Who gives the Grammy speech? 

JIMMY: Ha Ha Ha! I think I’ll let my dog do that one because the only time that’s going to happen is in my dreams and my dog, Loki, always talks when he’s in them.

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To learn more about Gears, Check out their website

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