Double trouble

>> Alt-rock icons Greg Dulli and
Mark Lanegan team up as the Gutter Twins

GUTTER TWINS, ACTIVATE! Dulli (L) and Lanegan

By JOHNSON CUMMINS

The Gutter Twins’ debut, Saturnalia, is chock full of dark, haunting songs that draw on the monstrous songwriting of Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. The record is a perfect blend of Dulli and Lanegan’s solid history, from the Afghan Whigs and the Screaming Trees, respectively, up through their most recent projects, Dulli’s Twilight Singers and Lanegan’s stint with Queens of the Stone Age, as well as his solo output.

Without a doubt, these two legends share a rich musical history, but to dismiss the Gutter Twins as a side project would be a gross oversight. “We are just of the opinion that you can do many different things, but still manage to do them with conviction,” says Dulli. “I can say without a doubt, as long as Mark and I walk the Earth together, there will be more Gutter Twins records.”

The collaboration was actually hatched back in 2002, but due to relentless schedules with their respective projects, they were unable to pencil in recording sessions. Having met each other at a party in Seattle in the early ’90s, the two paired up a decade later, with Lanegan taking over some singing duties with the Twilight Singers and Dulli returning the favour by contributing vocals and keyboards to Lanegan’s solo records and touring band. “I had this house in California that overlooked the mountains, and we would just sit outside on my porch with acoustic guitars and just play a lot of blues and country songs. Through that, we started writing together. He ended up joining the Twilight Singers and while we were finishing up our tour in Australia, he was on his way to Scotland, and I just said, ‘Let’s finally do this record we’ve been talking about.’ I told him to meet me in New Orleans in 30 days, and that’s how it started. We have become really good friends over the years, and writing with Mark was just remarkably easy.”

Dulli is probably one of the most travelled tour veterans you are likely to meet, having been on the road since the Afghan Whigs’ inception in the late ’80s. He continues to tour relentlessly with the Twilight Singers as well as blocking out a nice chunk of his calendar for the Gutter Twins. Perhaps due to his dense tour schedule, Dulli has moved around quite a bit, and has had a problem putting his feet up in a particular city. Starting off in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dulli has since laid down stakes in Seattle, Italy and, as previously mentioned, L.A., but only within the last year and half has he finally found the city he can truly call home.

“I just bought a bar and a hotel in New Orleans. It’s easily my favourite place in the world. It’s going to take a couple of years to repair itself, but I really do feel it’s coming back. It’s the greatest community I have ever lived in because the people who live there are in love with New Orleans and have really been tested, but still have an unwavering belief in the place. It really brings tears to my eyes when I think of the strength of community down there. I can’t see myself living anywhere else.”

With Great Northern at Cabaret on
Saturday, March 15, 9 p.m., $20