The Art Gray Noizz Quintet is a group featuring ex-members of iconic bands such as Lubricated Goat, The Beasts of Bourbon, Woman, and Live Skull. At the helm is the indomitable Stu Spasm, whose energy and vision set the stage for their audacious sound.

The lineup includes Skeleton Boy on bass, Bloody Rich Hutchins on drums, Grace Bergere on guitar, and the electrifying Nikki D’Agostino on saxophone. Together, they harness the wild spirit of punk and noise rock, creating a frenetic amalgamation of gritty riffs, chaotic rhythms, and haunting melodies.

In this in-depth interview, we delve into the heart of The Art Gray Noizz Quintet, uncovering the creative processes, inspirations, and adventurous journeys that define their musical concept.

“AGNQ has a lot of music already recorded, more than enough for another album, as well as the Lydia songs.”

The Art Gray Noizz Quintet’s debut album garnered significant attention. Could you share insights into the conceptualization and thematic elements behind this album?

Ryan Skeleton Boy: I’ll leave any thematic theorizing to the man himself, but I can tell you the album dives into topics such as murder by fool, the miscreant, deceit, deception, dirty cops, and various other concerns of the modern scoundrel. We recorded everything for the debut over a pretty significant span of time, at different studios, with various lineups and different people mixing, but it does all hang together as one. That glue holding it all together might just be the deteriorating mental state that took hold of us all during that whole process . . .

Stu Spasm: I honestly don’t know whether the album garnered much attention. It’s hard to gauge these days. There isn’t a specific conceptual theme behind the album, other than my goal of having very good, strong songs.

How did you originally come together to form the Quintet?

Stu: The quintet was originally put together as a one-off to play at the afterparty for the film Color of Noizz, which is actually a tribute to Tom Hazelmeyer and Amphetamine Reptile Records. There were no active Am Rep bands at the time, so I assembled the band partially to get Hazelmeyer to jam. However, Hazelmeyer hates jamming—he thinks it’s for hippies, and, well, it often is. As a result, he would only do it if it was rehearsed, so we practiced a couple of simple songs. One was ‘Scene of the Crime’ by The Stooges, and the other may have been ‘Commit a Crime’ by Howlin’ Wolf. Anyway, the gig was so well received that we were encouraged to keep the band going—minus Hazelmeyer, of course.

Ryan: There was an opportunity for Stu to play a one-off gig at an afterparty celebrating the release of the Amphetamine Reptile documentary, “The Color of Noise,” back in 2015. My former band had imploded, and I was somewhat reluctant to do anything at the time, but Stu swung by for a visit one day, kind of pulled me out of my pit, and asked me if I wanted to be involved. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, especially since Stu was and remains one of my favorite guitar players and people. At the time, he had also been doing a series of duo shows with our friend Andrea Sicco on guitar, where they would do John Barry covers and such. Andrea was a great fit and was added in next. So, a band was cobbled together for the gig, which was good and raucous, and we were asked to do a few more not long afterward. Bloody Rich had been missing in action, as he was down in Texas in rehab, but we nabbed him in time for the next gig. Then we dragged people into our orbit along the way; our renegade horn section was poached from another band. So, we were originally supposed to be a one-night stand . . . but we continue on.

<a href="https://artgraynoizzquintet.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-gray-noizz-quintet-gravel-samwidge">THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET / GRAVEL SAMWIDGE by THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET</a>

The collaboration with Lydia Lunch showcased a blend of two distinct musical styles. Can you elaborate on how this collaboration came about and the creative process behind it?

Stu: Although I had lived in New York for quite a few years, I only really met Lydia when she moved back here about five years ago. Luckily, she really liked my band, and we opened for her several times. We eventually backed her a little later and recorded ‘Permafrost’ by Magazine and ‘Mass Production’ by Iggy Pop. There’s also a song where she improvised lyrics based on a story I told her about a horrific incident where my penis dangled into a toilet filled with… well, you get the idea. This came about because one of her favorite ways of breaking the ice with new friends is to get them to describe a situation where they may have… well, had an accident!

Ryan: We’d been traveling in the same circles for a fair bit, and one night Lydia wound up at a gig we were playing. It was a wild one, with lots of broken glass, if I remember correctly. She dug it, and we all hit it off really well. Since then, we’ve played on a bunch of bills together, which makes for a good one-two punch for the audience. At one point, she had been offered a headlining gig at Brooklyn Bazaar, which Retrovirus couldn’t honor, so we teamed up for a set of unreleased collaborations and bastardized classics, as the poster put it. Lydia’s wonderful and hilarious, just as wicked as you’d want her to be. Her quick wit keeps you on your toes, and her enthusiasm has been really galvanizing. Some of those unreleased collaborations have been in the works lately, and with any luck, they may be seeing the light of day soon.

The band has shared the stage with notable acts such as The Scientists and Mudhoney. How have these experiences influenced the band’s performance style and interaction with their audience?

Stu: I’ve known Mudhoney since about 1989 and played with them as far back as then, as well as in later years—like in 2002 at Warsaw in NY, and again 20 years later at the same place. I’ve known Kim Salmon since 1984, filled in for him in the Beasts of Bourbon when The Scientists were in England, and replaced him in Salamander Jim. We also used to do shows together with the Surrealists.

Ryan: Well, we give it our all, whether we’re playing to five or a full house—some of the best shows I’ve ever seen have been with a handful of other people. That said, it was nice to play to a full, primed audience that was attuned to what we’d be doing—the swampy side of things with The Scientists, or the squallier side of things with Mudhoney. Obviously, it was a real treat and a blast to get to play and hang with those guys—both of those shows felt like an extended party.

The successful West Coast tour in 2019 must have been an exciting venture. What were some memorable moments from this tour?

Stu: I would not necessarily describe the 2019 tour as successful, but it was bold to try in an age where downloading has made it impossible to make a living as a musician, and playing live with minimal promotion is a tricky endeavor.

Ryan: We actually had a much longer run down the West Coast from Seattle to Vegas in the summer of 2023. One of the more memorable moments of that venture for one particular member involved the van’s front bumper being half torn off in the midst of a lengthy 110-degree heatwave somewhere outside of Phoenix. Rich was on the ground underneath the front of the van, trying to detach the rest before the pavement fully broiled his back. We thought he might have lost a few tattoos on that one. Seattle and San Francisco were killer; in Los Angeles, we had Cliff Roman of The Weirdos join us on guitar for an encore rendition of ‘A Life of Crime,’ and then he stuck around for ‘In the Raw.’ We indulged in a few Rat-Pack fantasies with our tour-end gig in Vegas, hanging and recovering for a few days at the El Cortez Hotel. It’s always good to get out of our element a bit. We racked up a decent amount of new converts, and with any luck, we’ll be back soon.

The collaboration with Gravel Samwidge resulted in a unique musical release. Can you discuss the genesis of this collaboration?

Ryan: Mark Spinks of Gravel Samwidge hit us up as SoundPressing had offered him a split single with a band of his choosing. We all enjoy the split single idea, and it’s a great pairing. I hope it’s expanding our sonic landscapes by exposing our fans to Gravel Samwidge, and it’s cool to be getting some reach back down in Australia.

Stu: Split singles are a thing that harkens back to the days of Sub Pop and SST, and I liked the idea, so I said, “Why not?”

Following the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the band made a triumphant return to live performances in 2021. How did this hiatus impact the band creatively, and what changes, if any, were observed in their music and stage presence upon their return?

Stu: I don’t watch the news and was barely aware of COVID until, all of a sudden, the world came to a stop. In fact, we did a show with Lydia on Friday, and by Monday, everything shut down. I hated COVID; it’s the worst thing since 9/11. I’m too old to have my life put on hold like that.

Ryan: Probably feeling a bit more ferocious after being cooped up for so long. For a while, during lockdown, our rehearsals were the only social interaction we were able to have with others, so it definitely made the band stronger. I suspect all of us already have similar tendencies toward living life to its fullest… who knows how long you or anything will last? I’m sure that whole situation only strengthened those convictions.

Each member of The Art Gray Noizz Quintet brings a unique musical perspective to the table. Could you highlight how the diverse backgrounds and influences of the band members contribute to the overall sound and dynamics of the group?

Stu: Well, there are certain limitations inherent in having a two-stringed bass player, but he has exquisite taste and brings a post-punk film noir sensibility to the band. I’ve had bass players who don’t wanna stay in their lane. If I write a cool guitar line, they wanna play it as well. Kinda childish, and then nobody’s holding down the low end. That doesn’t happen here. I’ve played with Rich, the drummer, for years, and he’s so solid and dependable—he barely gives me a chance to speak before he’s introing the next song.

Ryan: Bloody Rich Hutchins, our versatile and oft-shirtless drummer, can pretty much handle anything, from his years pounding out the rhythms in bands such as Of Cabbages And Kings, Live Skull, and many others. He gives us the proper amount of primitivism or nuance, records and mixes the Quintet and others at his own Studio H, and comes complete with a questionable sense of humor. The newest inductee of the outfit, Grace Bergere on guitar—like Andrea Sicco before her—brings her own unique flavor of sparkle and twang to the proceedings, adding a nice atmospheric balance to Stu’s often sinister guitar work. Sax-stress Nikki D’Agostino comes from a more musical standpoint, did time studying in Texas, and is a legitimate composer… yet, for some reason, still prefers to hang with the likes of us. Nikki can do abstract, as well as ominous or slinky. She might even bring a bit of sophistication to the mix, but don’t tell anyone that. Last but not least, the great Stu Art Gray needs no introduction; his inimitable guitar sound and twisted creative mind are truly one of a kind. Somehow, this collision of personalities, musical styles, and various derangements fits together quite nicely.

Would you like to share about your upbringing? Where did you all grow up? Tell us about daily life back in your teenage years.

Stu: My family moved from London to Adelaide when I was 3 years old, and then way south past miles of sheep and empty land—I felt like I was nowhere. At least there were beaches a couple of miles away. When I started reading rock mags, I realized that all the bands in the ’60s went to art school right where we lived when I was born, and all I ever wanted was to go back there. I saved up my money from working in a supermarket, and when I was 17, I bought a ticket to England. But when my parents found out, they canceled it. That’s when I started doing drugs and getting arrested for willful damage of property.

Was there a certain scene you were part of? Maybe you had some favorite hangout places? Did you attend a lot of gigs back then?

Stu: In 1978, when I was 16, I started hitchhiking into the city to see bands. I went to see the Boys Next Door before Rowland was in it. When I was in Sydney on a family holiday in 1977, I saw the Psycho Surgeons and the original four-piece X. You could say I was part of the original punk rock scene in Adelaide, and I was in a band called the Bad Poets in ’79-’80. In September 1980, I hitchhiked from Adelaide to Darwin and played in a band called Exhibit A with a guy called Peter Brat and Richard Ploog, who later drummed in The Church. I wanted to save enough money to go to England. After I left, and Richard left, Brett Ford—who later played in Lubricated Goat—joined the band. In 1981, I moved to Melbourne and lived two blocks from the Seaview Ballroom. I used to see all the great bands that played there—lots of Birthday Party shows, Laughing Clowns, The Fall, Iggy Pop. I used to roadie for the Birthday Party to get in for free, as well as to make some money whenever I could.

Ryan: I hit New York around ’92, just in time for what was the emerging “blues-punk” scene happening with bands like the early Blues Explosion, The Chrome Cranks, Speedball Baby, as well as Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, Congo Norvell, and many other favorites. Mars Bar and Max Fish over on Ludlow Street were the main hangs, with Mars Bar being a wonderfully seedy hellhole where anything might happen, and incidentally, the first place I remember talking with Stu. The town still had a lot of character and characters, was still somewhat gritty, and a hell of a lot of fun. You could still get away with a lot. It was a really inspiring time for a young skeleton to be wandering around, and it was good to soak up that wild and irreverent energy—maybe store it away for the future to keep things burning. I feel lucky to have caught that stuff.

It’s ridiculous to see certain revisionist histories claiming that nothing had happened in the New York City music scene for eons until a few college grads and slumming model types showed up to “revitalize the rock scene” around the year 2000 or so. I suppose that’s the narrative that suits their careers. I was out at gigs pretty much every night back then and still am today—there’s always something interesting going on if you’re in the mood to seek it out.

If we stepped into your teenage room, what kind of records, fanzines, posters, etc., would we find there?

Stu: My teenage bedroom had copies of NME, Circus Raves, New York Rock Scene, and Ram Magazine. It had albums by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper, but by 1977, they were replaced by the Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Stranglers, and The Stooges.

Ryan: The walls of my teenage room would have been a crimson collage of the goriest posters and pages ripped from the latest horror mags: B movies, ’80s slasher and gore flicks, all the way. Luckily, all of the weird culture kind of melts together; the first time I got to hear The Cramps was at a drive-in theater as the credits to ‘Return of the Living Dead’ rolled. As for fanzines, I would read whatever I could scrounge up at the local record store. It’s not the most obscure of ‘zines, but at the time, I always enjoyed Flipside as it was relatively diverse, and I would end up reading the print off of it when I was bored during classes. I still love fanzines and have a pretty extensive library of good material acquired over the years.

Stu, you have been a prominent figure in the noise rock scene for decades. How would you describe the evolution of your musical style and approach from your earlier projects like Lubricated Goat to your current endeavor with The Art Gray Noizz Quintet?

Stu: Although I’ve been in the noise rock scene, my music is far from noise, and I enjoy coming up with riffs that are quite challenging to play and combine with similarly challenging drum parts. There is a pretty straight line to AGNQ; in fact, we play some of the lesser-known Lubricated Goat songs.

One of the early bands you were part of was Salamander Jim. Can you talk about them?

Stu: When I moved to Sydney in late ’83, I met Tex through Lachlan, whom I knew from Adelaide, and joined Salamander Jim, which he had formed with Kim Salmon and Richard Ploog. The songs we did were written by Tex and Kim. Tex and I never wrote any songs together, which is kind of a shame, but my head was in a very different place guitar-wise, although I could play any song he wanted to do. He then got offered to go to England and play with members of the Gun Club who’d bailed on Jeffrey, but that didn’t work out, and that basically spoiled the band.

Stu, Lubricated Goat produced a range of albums throughout their career, each with its own distinct character. Could you walk us through the creative process behind some of your notable albums, such as ‘Plays The Devil’s Music,’ ‘Paddock of Love,’ and ‘Forces You Don’t Understand’?

Stu: All the albums I did in Lubricated Goat were hampered by a lack of money. What we came up with under the circumstances was pretty good but could have been so much better if we’d had more than one day to record and one to mix.

Your collaboration with Kat Bjelland in Crunt showcased a fusion of your distinctive styles. Could you delve into the creative process behind Crunt’s music and the dynamic between you and Kat Bjelland as creative partners?

Stu: Crunt was put together by me and Russell. There was another bass player who Russell was married to at the time, then we got Kat, who played bass very well, much like Michelle, the original bass player in Babes in Toyland. Crunt ended because neither Russell nor Kat would do a tour of England, which included a Peel session.

Ryan, tell us about your first bands and what led to the formation of Woman. What else occupied your life?

Well, I basically lied my way into Woman, which was my first and only other band. Kristian Brenchley and I were friends as he had moved here from Melbourne, and we hit it off on a mutual love of Aussie scuzz and New York noise. Brett W. Schultz and Kristian had Woman going and had already been playing gigs with a few different lineups. I had just blown back into town, was at loose ends, and was looking for a piece of the action, so I generously offered my utterly non-existent services as a bass player if they ever needed another. I wasn’t expecting their bass player to actually quit a week later, but as fate would have it, that’s what happened . . . Nonetheless, I did persevere in the end, borrowing a bass and bringing a six-pack to the first rehearsal, which I’ve since learned went a long way toward getting to the second rehearsal. It actually took a while for all of us to get things going properly, but soon it all clicked, and we were fully firing on all cylinders. A wild, fun, intense band, and I’m immensely proud of the LP we put out and many of the gigs that we played.

The band pretty much fully occupied my life at the time—we spent most of our time together plotting world domination, drinking, stalking the nightlife, and sweating or freezing at rehearsal in Kristian’s huge old loft space.

Looking ahead, what can fans expect from The Art Gray Noizz Quintet in terms of new music releases, collaborations, or live performances? Are there any exciting projects or ventures on the horizon for the band?

Ryan: Most of that is top secret. We do have some material building up. In the meantime, there is a new full-length documentary just released detailing the life and times of Mr. Stuart Gray, entitled ‘I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago.’ It’s been made by the same team who did the Dead Moon documentary and covers his whole history, from Adelaide to Art Gray Noizz Quintet. That’s currently making the rounds of the festival circuit, and we’ll probably appear in conjunction with some of the screenings across the States. So, we may turn up just about anywhere . . .

Stu: AGNQ has a lot of music already recorded, more than enough for another album, as well as the Lydia songs. I’m looking forward to getting it out there.

What would be the craziest gig you ever did (with any band)?

Stu: Although it wasn’t a gig, the nude TV performance might count as a crazy gig. There was a gig in Bellevue, Washington, where we were setting each other’s hair on fire as well as stage-diving audience members, but to tell you the truth, gigs in Australia were always wilder. At least in the ’80s, they were. I’ve heard that the whole country has pussied out in the last 30 years—I know Sydney has.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Stu: Some of my favorite albums are ‘Fun House,’ ‘Raw Power,’ Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out,’ ‘Killer,’ ‘Love it to Death,’ the first two Magazine albums, the first two Killing Joke albums, Eno’s ‘Here Come the Warm Jets,’ ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy),’ ‘Before and After Science,’ most of The Doors albums, Charles Mingus’ ‘Oh Yeah,’ ‘Mingus x4,’ ‘Blues and Roots,’ ‘Let My Children Hear the Music,’ Howlin’ Wolf’s greatest hits, Captain Beefheart’s ‘Shiny Beast,’ The Residents’ ‘Third Reich ‘n’ Roll,’ ‘Duck Stab,’ Pere Ubu’s ‘Modern Dance,’ ‘Clockwork Orange’ soundtrack, John Zorn’s ‘Plays Morricone,’ Deep Purple’s ‘Machine Head,’ ‘Fireball,’ ‘In Rock,’ most Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones up till the ’80s, same with Bowie, Lou, Iggy. All Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa’s ‘One Size Fits All,’ ‘Zoot Allures,’ Gang of Four’s ‘Entertainment!,’ Birthday Party’s ‘Mutiny,’ ‘Bad Seed,’ Nick Cave’s ‘From Her to Eternity,’ Einstürzende Neubauten’s ‘Halber Mensch,’ first two PIL albums, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘JuJu,’ Sun City Girls, Lydia Lunch’s ‘Queen of Siam,’ ’13 13,’ ‘No New York,’ Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Cry of Love,’ Derek & Clive’s ‘Come Again,’ The Saints’ first three albums, The Stranglers’ first three albums, Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid,’ most Beatles…

Ryan: The Stooges’ ‘Fun House’ will always be the eternal favorite. That epic, extended version re-released in 1999 with twenty different recording takes of each song and a fourteen-minute bonus take of ‘L.A. Blues’ is a beautiful thing. The Gun Club’s ‘Las Vegas Story’ is a cinematic slide-guitar classic. No New York, soundtracks by the great Bernard Herrmann—Taxi Driver and ‘Vertigo. Anything’ by The Birthday Party or involving Rowland S. Howard, especially Teenage Snuff Film. Lydia Lunch’s ‘13.13.’ Laughing Clowns’ first EP. Mid-to-late Scientists or any of the first three LPs by Kim Salmon & The Surrealists. Some other, more random favorites from over the years: The Beguiled’s ‘Blue Dirge,’ Dim Stars LP, Charles Mingus’s ‘The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady,’ Black Snakes’ ‘Crawl.’ Tons more. Throw in various weird exotica, Korla Pandit, and a lot of sleazy soundtrack stuff . . .

Five current favorite bands playing as of late: the twisted power trio Skull Practitioners, no-wave slide and scream queen Kilynn Lunsford, abstract art heroines Female Genius, dark heartbreak songs of Grace Bergere, and the uneasy, skewed country twang of Dice Holes.