GUM EP

***GUM - EP*** was the first compilation of songs performed by the Australian spit metal band, Raw Spit, in the 2009 battle of the bands competition. The EP consists of eight songs recorded by the band in Brianna Fronzsnop's home studio. The band has never released the EP, but it was uploaded anonymously to Phantom Leaks in 2018 and can be found online. It is also widely accepted to be the first collection of songs to operate within the grey valley.

## Background and recording

Although Raw Spit had written roughly half their debut album, *To Be Announced*, when they decided to enter the battle of the bands competition, the composition of the *GUM* tracks took priority in early 2009. The writing process for the eight tracks were noted by the band members to be both tedious and without soul. Early demos had been completed by February of 2009, but the quality and objective interest that the songs had at this stage were deemed sub-par. As such, the subsequent months were spent making *"painstaking revisions"* (-Petrukki) in anticipation of the competition. This process involved a continuously fluctuating level of involvement from each member of the band, as overall interest and passion was low. This prevented creative clashes and arguments which plagued much of Raw Spit's writing.

The recording took place during early August at Brianna Fronzsnop's home studio in Blacktown. Tracking took two days and mixing and mastering took three days, with production overseen by Ethan Vector along with Fronzsnop. The process had to be completed quickly, as the band were scheduled to relocate to Redwater on the 15th to participate in the competition. There were only two original prints of the EP ever made and both were lost in 2009. The EP name and artwork were derived from guitarist Jason Jameson's alleged obsession with gum during writing and recording.

## Music and lyrics

The ***GUM - EP*** features a vastly toned down and stripped back musical arrangement of the core style developed in their debut album.

The EP was written and recorded with Petrukki's and Jameson's guitars each in different tunings, with Petrukki's in Open C transposed a tone higher, and Jameson's in Drop D.

## Reception and controversy

During the battle of the bands, Raw Spit quickly became crowd favourites

As a result of the wide coverage that Raw Spit received during the battle of the bands competition, the *GUM* songs have become attached to the band's image. Raw Spit have repeatedly rejected association with the EP, stating that it is *"not in step with what Raw Spit tries to do"* (- Vector, 2012). Following the 2011 *To Be Announced* release, a fanbase emerged in support of the *GUM* tracks, requesting they be released. The band also rejected this idea, and expressed desire to let the EP be forgotten.

*"GUM was made so we could participate in the competition. There isn't heart in any of those songs - from any of us. Each track was designed specifically to play to judge bias, legality, and nothing more. We don't like those songs, and we will never release them."* - Misha Petrukki (2015)

The file uploaded to Phantom Leaks in 2018 was incorrectly titled *09GUB\_EP.zip,* which has led many to believe that Shaun Gubber was responsible for the leak for the similarity to his last name - although he has denied these claims.

## Personnel

* Stephanie Cooper (lead vocals)
* Misha Petrukki (lead guitar)
* Jason Jameson (rhythm guitar, gang vocals, artwork)
* Ethan Vector (bass, gang vocals, executive producer)
* David Ray-Kinnard (drums, gang vocals)
* Brianna Fronzsnop (rapping, turntables, producer, mixing, mastering)