Photo by Evan Reilly / Words by Maddy Howell

Growing up around Parkville, MD, just a short drive away from Baltimore City, vocalist Flynn Joseph Zimmer and bassist Maxwell Bagster-Collins first met during a sixth-grade production of Legally Blonde.

A humorous origin story for a musical project so brutal, that’s how Gasket’s begins. The pair playing together in a shoegaze band during their high school days, going to the same DIY shows as drummer Austin Jenkins and guitarist Calvin Mumma, as 2022 rolled around they decided it was time for a change. Ditching the twinkly guitars and atmospheric soundscapes for gnarly breakdowns and throat-shredding vocals, Gasket was born. 

“There wasn't much of a scene going on for shoegaze music at the time, so I thought, ‘We should play blast beats instead’,” Zimmer laughs.

“I showed everybody bands like CANDY, and that was it. The shoegaze era was over, we were making stuff like that from then on.” 

Formed just a stone’s throw away from the practice spaces where Baltimore hardcore punk legends Trapped Under Ice cut their teeth, Gasket’s sound is centred on grit and speed. Fast-paced old school hardcore tracks laden with nods to the grimiest of metal, their sophomore EP Babylon is a bold statement of intent from the quartet. 

“All of the lyrics on this EP are just me screaming about something that I was angry about at the time,” Zimmer nods.

“That’s what I love about being in a band. It’s an outlet to scream about whatever you're feeling at any given time, whatever's pissing you off. With angry music, it doesn't really matter what the song is about. If it's angry, and you feel like the lyrics could apply to your life, you get that catharsis out of it. It doesn't matter if the song is about someone's dog dying or someone tripping on a rock whilst walking down the street.”

Spending his middle school days with Green Day and Nirvana blaring through his headphones, before being put onto bands like Modern Baseball and Joyce Manor in high school, the frontman’s discovery of Pittsburgh metal titans Code Orange sparked his infatuation with heavy music. Sucked in by the rawness of Jami Morgan’s vocals, the thunderous chugging guitars, and the band’s undeniable sense of melody, he credits them with inspiring much of the vision behind Gasket.

“I got into them around the time that Forever dropped, and their entire mantra was about being the most angry and badass fuckers that have ever existed,” he smirks.

“I thought that was so cool, and I wanted to scream at people whilst strobe lights came out from the stage. That's what led me down the rabbit hole.”

Threading together the sounds of their favourite bands into something entirely new, Gasket has become a melting pot for the collective feelings, experiences, and inspirations of the four-piece. A vessel for catharsis, and an opportunity to escape the realities of the often-chaotic world around them, it’s about creating a feeling, something that Zimmer believes truly comes to fruition at the band’s live shows. 

“Before Covid, the scene in Baltimore was a quarter of the size that it is now. I was going to see bands in bars playing to twenty people, half of which were the other bands on the bill,” he recalls.

“That was still badass to me, but after Covid, it's gone crazy. People go to shows just to have fun, and it’s like going to the disco was in the 70s. It’s so exciting to see it growing so fast, and there are new bands starting every day. It's hard to keep track of sometimes, but it's so inspiring that we all have this thing in common. Whether we’re playing shitty rooms with a handful of people in them, or we’re playing big rooms, it just feels sick.”

Feeding off the energy of their audience and the community around them, that sense of unity is what drives the members of Gasket. Spending their teenage years losing themselves in crowds whilst singing along to their favourite bands, they’re fully aware of the power music has to bring people together, something they’re now hoping to foster at their own shows.

“It’s 100 percent community based. No matter what, when you go to a show, you have something in common with at least half of the people there,” Zimmer explains.

“It's so easy to make friends, and most of the people you talk to at shows are in cool bands too. That's a big reason of why the scene is growing so fast, because not only are people going to shows, but people are talking to each other.”

With less than 30 minutes of music officially out in the world, Gasket are already making waves. Sharing stages with everyone from MS Paint and Militarie Gun to scene legends like Loma Prieta, as their band grows, they’re keen to keep the buzz building - but Zimmer and co. aren’t losing sight of what this is truly all about.

“If we stay the size that we are now forever, I'll be totally happy with that,” the frontman shrugs.

“Touring with my friends in a van is the most fun I've had in entire my life. Even when we experience the shittier side of touring and playing shows, it's still sick because I'm doing it with my best friends. It’s the coolest reason to hang out with my friends, and music is the only hobby I have besides hanging out and watching TV. I want to push it as much as I can, because there are so many more crazy stories to tell, and even more fun to be had with my best friends.”

----------

The Babylon EP from Gasket is now available via Bleu Grape Music. Get the release - HERE