Spirit Gun is a razor-sharp rock n' roll band based in Norfolk, Virginia. The trio’s trademark sound showcases an intense blend of punk-like fury, melody drenched grooves, and combined with dashes of soul music creating a sonic journey that keeps audiences captivated everywhere they play. Sporting driving guitar riffs & a relentless display of energy— the group’s lineup boasts the passionate crooning of guitarist & frontman Peter Overstreet; coupled with the hard-hitting rhythmic forces of Oren Lev on drums & the showmanship and thundering low end of Anthony Burgess on bass. With an array of powerful performances throughout the Hampton Roads area and beyond, playing with national touring acts like The Dollyrots, The Plot in You, Can't Swim, and Downtown Brown.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil: Hey Spirit Gun, super nice to have the chance to chat with you.
Pete Overstreet: Vocals/Guitar
Oren Lev: Drums/Vocal
Tony Burgess: Bass/Vocal
What first got you into music?
Oren: Just being obsessed with it as a kid. I loved getting mixtapes from friends. The metal kids would give me the harder sounding tapes, the punk kids the faster sounding ones, and etc. I was kind of the top 40 kid and recorded stuff off the radio and we all traded with each other. It was so much fun to turn someone on to new music. After all, music is a way of thinking, it’s how the musician sees the world, so hearing new music can really change your perspective as well as blow your mind. When I got older and realized I could make my own music instead of trading other people's music, it was a game changer.
Tony: I was led down the rabbit hole of loud heavy guitar distortion when I was young so it led me to listen to metal, punk, and the likes. To this day, I’m still fascinated by sound although growing up it was kind of odd in the eyes of society to see a young black kid listen to hard rock. But I knew music was going to be a major part of my life and it would lead me to a community of creatives with the same goal: the love of music.
Pete: My love of music and the dream to perform happened at a very early age, I was around music my whole life and it courses through my veins! Mainly to be able to sing songs we write together that people are connected to is more than I could ever imagine.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
Oren: Who needs sleep right?! It’s definitely a balance, we all have so much going on, family’s, jobs, kids for me, aging parents, and the daily running around, we have to make time. I think that being a musician teaches you to work on little sleep and perform your best in less than ideal situations. I carry that with me into everything I do. We all realize that music is what we want to do and the other stuff are things we have to do. We have to make sure that we make time and sacrifice for the things we want to do as well as not neglecting the things we have to do. It is super convenient that we built our own studio, so the recording process is really streamlined. As for inspiration for new songs, I tend to work better under deadlines, so sometimes I write my best stuff while driving from one appointment to another. Sometimes the pressure is where you can shine.
Tony: It’s all about compartmentalizing things such as work, family, in our case music and sleep (you have to rest). There’s a time and place for each and they must be kept in the place they are categorized mentally. Like they always say, don't bring your work home with you. I try to communicate and keep track of what is on my schedule to make sure I’m not overbooked but also know my limits to not push too hard and also remember to have fun with what we do. These days, I guess you can say we are an on-the-go type band!
Pete: I am very grateful that my current job grants me the days off I need to play shows. We believe it’s family first above all else, so we make that a priority. As far as administration we all take part in doing the daily tasks and promotion. Oren does a lot to move things forward and is key in assigning Tony and myself with getting tasks completed. We wear many hats and work together, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Your latest release is 'The Antonym'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Oren: Well you know this funny thing called quarantine happened, ha ha. It was a very weird time for sure. We had these ideas for songs, but we couldn’t even practice. It was also hard because our original bass player was leaving. So we couldn’t practice in person, we were a member down, and we had no idea when things would change. Luckily it didn’t take long to find Tony, and he fit right in from day one. We then decided to make our studio a place to record finished products. Before we just used it for demos, so we built more sound proofing, upgraded the gear, and set out to record the EP. Through so much adversity we came out with some of our best recordings to date. Can’t wait till the next one comes out!!
Tony: Joining Pete and Oren with this project, I learned quickly that we were doing our recordings where we practice. Having the ability to have a studio is relieving in the sense that we can record as much as we want and not feel the pressure of time and money spent at conventional recording spaces. We work at our own pace yet we are disciplined enough to stick to our goals of getting music released at a certain time.
Pete: It was 2020 ,we were planning an EP release show for our first release, “New Eyes”. Then we got news our friend Jeff had passed and then the pandemic happened, it was a really tough time. We decided to write a song for Jeff to help us deal with everything. The Cure was Jeff’s favorite band, so we started out wanting to write something in a similar style.
So we had the kernel of the song, but with not being able to really be in the same room for a long time, it just kind of sat and we would work on it separately.
After losing our original bass player and not being able to play together, things seemed dark. We were able to play again, we hooked up with Tony, and got to finish writing The Antonym which was the nucleus of what would become the EP we just released.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
Oren: Tragedy. Our friend Jeff Hewiit had passed away very unexpectedly in 2020 and it left us pretty unable to deal with it. We couldn’t gather to remember him with our friends because of covid, so it was a very isolating time. We did what we know and wrote about in our music. The title track “The Antonym” is about him and that set the tone for the rest of the songs.
Tony: The EP is an ode to Jeff and many others in our area. The title track itself showcases what he has done for the community. Tragic loss is something that has been a part of my life for well over 20 years. Being able to help create something to honor someone we had lost is monumental.
Pete: We wanted to honor our friend Jeff and he supported us, his coverage of us in his reviews gave us real agency and inspired us to go as far as we could take this. This EP isn't just a tribute but it's also a chronicle, of realizing the fragility of life and how quickly the past can diminish. The three of us were intentional about how we wanted this release to turn out, not just the sound but have a character and a feel to it.
How long did you work on 'The Antonym'? Was it an easy process for you?
Oren: From start to finish of just the recording, it took a few months. Most of the time was just getting the studio and recording techniques down. Once we had them locked in, we flew through the recording on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Our normal practice nights).
Tony: Quite a few takes were done along with over dubs of vocals and instruments were done which can take some time, not to mention doing this while still maintaining our daily lives. It was fun creating the Antonym and it was awesome being able to capture certain ways we play our instruments.
Pete: A balance of just the right amount of freedom but also being challenged. I really wanted to push the limits of where I can be creative in the context of these songs, as a vocalist and as a guitarist. I really love the idea that sometimes it's not the note that you play but it's the note that you don't play.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Oren: Do you ever know, ha ha? I think we all just felt it. I like the saying that great work is never finished, it's abandoned. Most artists will work on something forever, but at some point you just need to let it go. We all felt strong when we got a good take and we could all feel when we got the keeper.
Tony: Sometimes it’s that last push or some random idea comes up in your head and you lay it down and it's the final puzzle piece. You just know in your heart that it’s like “This is it, the finished product!”
Pete: You know I feel like these songs are like living organisms, they always are evolving, changing, and being different. That's what keeps it fun. You're not trying to reinvent the wheel but maybe a song gets an extra intro or maybe a different way that people hear it on a recording. It's supposed to live and breathe and some of my favorite musicians have done that and it just makes artistic sense to me. You always try as a band to present these songs in a way that seems fresh and not just replicated. Oh, and when Oren says that's a keeper, LoL.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
Oren: Well, even just last year, Spirit Gun had some amazing performances. We played to much larger crowds and in different cities we hadn’t been to in a while or was our first time in. I would say for me personally, it would be my 16 year old band playing in our friends living room. I was playing bass then and singing, and we were not good, but we didn’t know it then. It felt so good to actually do it. We were playing the songs we wrote(or learned) in front of people our age and they were into it. That is the first time it actually seemed real. Like it wasn’t just something you saw on MTV, it was something you could do. Don’t remember the performance, I’m sure it wasn’t great, but I can remember the feeling and it was so much fun.
Tony: Since joining Spirit Gun, I have seen us play some really cool shows that highlighted our best performances. Outside of this project, when I was the drummer for the Minusmen we had some memorable moments. I played the Sonrise Festival in Virginia Beach backing up Keith Elgin. There was a great lineup of musicians and a stellar performance.
Months before I became the bass player for SG (Spirit Gun), I debuted my solo project Noise Terrestrial at an art and music fest in Portsmouth, VA. I was surprised since literally being a solo musician with backing drum tracks I was able to keep the crowd hyped, knowing I had to attend my brother's funeral. But the show must go on and I dedicated that performance to him alongside showcasing some of his artwork on stage with me and it was a good escape from what was going on at the time.
Pete: That's a tough one, because I think that all the shows that we play have their own distinct qualities. Where we grow together as a band or I'm able to become stronger in an area of my playing or singing that maybe I wasn't there before. Last year was a great year for us, and what comes to mind is our first show with Tony in March of 2022.
It was our first show back since Covid, we had a new bass player, and a whole batch of new songs. We didn’t know how it would go, but the place was electric, the crowd was amazing, and the night is definitely one to remember.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
Oren: It’s funny the music business is so drastically different than when we were kids. You always pictured the fat guy smoking a cigar saying he was gonna make you a rich and famous rock star. Not sure if those guys even exist anymore or if they ever did. We see the music business get more democratic because the gatekeepers are getting less and less because there are less gates. With the internet, you can do alot yourself, but you still need to work with the “record business” to get things seen. I think we have a really good relationship in that we do our own thing and we can hire ”music business” people to take care of special tasks, but not have to be completely wrapped up with them or their company. It is the best of both worlds.
Tony: The music biz as I like to call it has changed within the last few decades especially, with how technology has advanced. You can now be your own sort of producer or publisher but you still would have to play nice with the bigwigs just so they can distribute your content more. I was never able to imagine how it would morph into what it is today when I was a young man thrashing away at drums, guitar, and bass for multiple bands. The future can be terrifying so it can be hard to get a grasp of how music will be in a decade or two.
Pete: The main thing I'm trying to do is to read and to listen because the landscape of what the music business currently looks like is constantly changing. The main thing is that we just want to be honest about the work that we do, how we present ourselves, and how we interact with our fans.
Who is your favorite musician?
Oren: Oh man that is a loaded question, there are so many and it changes daily. Music is amazing for so many reasons and everyone can channel it differently. I really enjoy my bandmates, but that might be the easy answer. Really my favorite musician is the one I am watching on stage, right in front of me. It takes a lot to get up on that stage and perform and I always really enjoy watching and listening to anyone who does it and loves it
Tony: That’s a very tough question and I hate to be a pain, but I have a lot of favorite musicians haha! There’s so much talent out there it’s hard to choose. Plus, it all depends on the style(s) of music one likes or listens to. And right now as we speak, there are musicians and bands being created right now that will make an impact on us.
Pete: Well currently, my favorite musician right now is Tony (our bass player). He's an all-around musician and singer, and a righteous dude to have in my life.
He's our alien mutant brother! My other favorite musician Oren (our drummer), because he makes me a better musician as a matter of fact both of them do.
But as far as musicians that I look up to there's so many, currently I really appreciate what singer and guitarist JD McPherson does.
What are your plans for the future?
Oren: More! More touring, more recording, more albums, more videos, and more more! Just to keep moving forward and getting better. We have already started recording our next EP and we can’t wait to get that out into the world!
Tony: I see a steak dinner in my future! Other than that, more releases of our music, more shows and the continual growth of our fan base. I want to see how far we can reach people and I want to continue to entertain the masses with what we have with the songs we present to them either on the record or the venues we play at.
Pete: I just want to share great music with the world, one step at a time, one show at a time, one release at a time!