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1. Hi guys, welcome to VENTS!
Thanks so much for having us! This is Sumanth Gopinath, the founder and bandleader of The Gated Community, and Beth Hartman, band member and manager.
2. Congratulations on 20 years as a band—looking back, what has kept The Gated Community creatively connected and evolving over two decades?
Sumanth: Thank you! I would say that one of the crucial elements that has kept the band going has been the changing membership of the band and their developing roles over time. Cody and I started the band in 2006, Paul joined in 2010, Rosie in 2011, Beth in 2013, and Nate in 2015. (Numerous others have been in it, including our fiddler Teresa who joined in 2006 and left due to moving away from Minnesota in 2022.) Two important trends affected my songwriting for the band. First, Rosie’s sister Katie Williams, and Katie’s husband Scott Williams (the latter two joined in 2008 and left after they had kids, around 2014) were less interested in the comic, novelty-oriented music I was mainly writing when the band started, and so I increasingly focused on writing more serious songs, which improved my songwriting. Second, increasing numbers of band members have been singing lead on songs, which likewise has pushed my songwriting in different directions. (On our last album, everyone sings lead on at least one song.)
Beth: Our creative connections are built upon the relationships and friendships we’ve formed over the years. We sometimes like to joke about our “new” member, Nate, who’s been in the band for more than a decade (I’m our second newest member). That staying power is a pretty rare and special thing and helps us continue to hone our sound and explore new directions.
3. Your new single “Hope to Hell” feels deeply emotional and timely. Can you talk about the moment or events that sparked the song’s creation?
Beth: Starting in December of last year, Minnesota became the target of “Operation Metro Surge,” which brought thousands of ICE agents to our state, with an initial focus on the Twin Cities (they also spread out into the suburbs and rural areas). There were so many masked, armed agents here terrorizing our immigrant communities. And yet, so many Minnesotans stepped up in myriad ways, including as legal observers—some 30,000 Minnesotans attended legal observer trainings.
A key moment that sparked the song’s creation is related to that process of observing ICE activity, and to everyday people’s willingness to put themselves in harm’s way. Renée Good and Alex Pretti did just that, and they were murdered on January 7 and 24 respectively. Their deaths were horrific, and people still went out and continued to observe, protest, and look out for each other. Renée and Alex’s murders and the incredible bravery of our fellow Minnesotans inspired “Hope to Hell.”
4. There’s a strong sense of purpose behind this release, especially with proceeds going to support immigrant communities—how important is it for you to align your music with activism?
Sumanth: It is very important in this moment, but it hasn’t been the main focus of the band historically. We’re a left-wing bunch, and we’ve contributed to progressive causes—donating our time and performances for electoral candidates we support (Ty Moore many years ago, Robyn Gulley more recently) and other fundraisers. But in those cases, activists asked us to contribute; indeed, we were grateful for the opportunities. In this situation, it’s been different. There is an “all hands on deck” quality to this moment. We have much more consciously decided to raise funds for immigrant rights with this song, but we’re one drop in a sea of activism responding to an extreme and terrible situation.
5. The harmonies and melodies have this great Crosby, Stills & Nash vibe—were those influences intentional, or did the sound come together organically?
Sumanth: We weren’t thinking of CSN specifically, though it did turn out that way. Most of our songs feature vocal harmonies, and the approach we take is often influenced not only by bluegrass and country-style harmonies but also harmonizing from folk-rock and other rock bands of the 1970s. We often joke that when we sing harmonies like that, they’re akin to the Eagles’ vocal harmonizing, and when it works well, we say that “the eagle has landed.”
6. Sumanth you mentioned being inspired by the resilience of the Twin Cities community—how did that energy shape the tone and message of the track?
Sumanth: When writing songs starting in early January after Renée Good was murdered, I wanted them to be more direct and less ambiguous. Though most of my songs are politically oriented in some way, I would say that I’ve written relatively few “protest songs.” To write such songs well is hard! But I wanted to make something in response to the amazing activism that was taking place all around me—in our cities, our neighborhood, and our own household (especially Beth). Once I’d written the song (starting with the chorus on Jan. 31 and finishing the song on Feb. 1, making a demo of it), I sent it to a number of friends and asked for feedback, and they were very encouraging. As for the track’s tone, I think we went into the studio with a strong sense of purpose, and everything came together amazingly well. I know that in singing the song, I wanted to convey anger, sorrow, weariness, frustration, steadfastness—a lot of the emotions we’ve been feeling for the last three months.
7. The song has a very “stay-with-you” quality—was creating something memorable and meditative a goal from the outset?
Sumanth: wow, thank you! I think the goal for me in my songwriting is always to create something memorable, so I’m very happy if I’ve succeeded in that. As for the song being meditative, I’d say that as our music became more serious over the years, it also mellowed out—generally getting slower and more contemplative. (I’ve been very influenced by the music of the Duluth-based band Low [1993–2022], especially in the past decade.) Aging surely has something to do with this, too.
8. You mentioned that everyone donated their time to record the track—what did that collaborative, purpose-driven process feel like in the studio?
Beth: I’m still in awe of how quickly and smoothly it all came together. Sumanth finished writing the song on February 1st, we recorded it on February 2nd, and we released it on Bandcamp on February 3rd. We’ve never done anything that fast! I think everyone felt really strongly that we wanted to do something, and recording “Hope to Hell” seemed like a good way forward.
When we arrived in the studio, we hadn’t yet learned the song or worked on it together, so the first task was to spend some time familiarizing ourselves with it. We then laid down the basic tracks, followed by vocal and instrumental overdubs. Our friend and recording engineer John Miller recorded, mixed, and mastered the track. All of this happened the night of February 2nd. Oh, and we made a music video that night, too! Another friend, Ryan Stokes, recorded the video, along with support from Daniel Owens and Dean Von Bank. Two other friends, Ian Rans and Mark Nye, contributed artwork and photography respectively. Every single person did it for free. I think a sense of purpose was/is palpable, both in the studio and embedded in the final track and music video.
9. After releasing your album “Goodbye Work,” how does “Hope to Hell” represent a continuation—or perhaps a shift—in your sound and message?
Sumanth: I would say that “Hope to Hell” is mostly a continuation of what we did on our last album, with the primary difference being the directness of the lyrics. That said, while we’ve had piano-forward songs on our albums before (including “Losing My Wages” on the last album), they’re generally rare, as I play acoustic guitar when we perform live. With the exception of our second album, I play the keyboard parts on our recordings, but I usually add them as overdubs. Here, we recorded the piano live with the rest of the rhythm instruments—Nate on acoustic guitar, Cody on bass, and Paul on drums (with Beth conducting us in the studio).
10. Folk and Americana have long been tied to storytelling and social commentary—where do you see your band fitting into that tradition today?
Beth: I’d say we definitely fit into that tradition. Sumanth’s songs tend to have somewhat veiled meanings, with multiple possible interpretations. But they’re almost all political and/or commenting on some social issue. “Hope to Hell” is a bit more explicit, because the moment seemed to call for more directness.
11. What do you hope listeners take away from “Hope to Hell,” both emotionally and in terms of real-world impact?
Beth: I’ve been thinking about how I feel when I perform this song or listen to the recording, and the phrase that comes to mind is “menacingly hopeful.” We want people to feel energized and motivated to do something in their communities, whether it’s contributing to mutual aid efforts, volunteering, donating, protesting, making art, caregiving, etc. We need each other, perhaps more than ever. And we need the kind of hope that leads to action, not despair.
Website: https://www.thegatedcommunityband.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegatedcommunityband [band channel]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegatedcommunityband/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegatedcommunityband
X: @TGCband4life — https://x.com/TGCband4life
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2qf3mgCdX05xxY9UdjgGhD [“Hope to Hell”]
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/09RQSohdFUOs9xRp6JXJcv [The Gated Community]
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/hope-to-hell-single/1876724286
