Old Gods: Dillinger Escape Plan’s Jeff Tuttle on Becoming a Frontman

Noisecreep readers will recognize Jeff Tuttle (far right in the photo above) from his role as co-guitarist in Dillinger Escape Plan. But the gifted axe-technician has also been keeping busy lately fronting Old Gods.

Noisecreep recently chatted with Tuttle and asked him for the lowdown on Old Gods."I've known Derek (Swanson) for years and we used to play in another band called Heads Will Roll. Tony (Wolski) is also currently in The Armed and Randall (Kupfer) has played in tons of bands in the Detroit area throughout the years, but this is the heaviest thing he's ever done. Once they started jamming together in what would become Old Gods, Derek came up with the idea to have me try and become the vocalist," says Tuttle.

About a month after forming, Old Gods entered the studio and recorded what would become their self-titled EP. Featuring ear-damaging rippers like 'Flower of Flesh and Blood' and 'F for Fake,' Tuttle turns in a wicked vocal performance. Not too shabby considering most of us just know him for his guitar work.

"Getting the chance to sing was my primary interest in joining Old Gods. I've been playing guitar and singing for over 20-years now, but I've never just been a frontman. It's definitely been something I've always wanted to do. You know, getting on stage without a guitar strapped around my neck. It was sort of an experiment to see what that was like for me. I like to say that my guitar is sort of like my security blanket and it forms a barrier between me and the crowd.

Watch 'Flower of Flesh and Blood' From Old Gods

"At first I didn't know what to do with myself at practice, since I didn't have a guitar to occupy my hands. What I've been using is a mic stand that has a delay pedal attached to it. I'm not sure if subconsciously I chose to use that as a way to do something more with my hands. But I also wanted to do something a little bit different and give people something that they haven't seen before. It's a really ominous sound. I've heard friends compare it to Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, which is really cool.

"Old Gods is coming from a different place than just the straight-up hardcore thing. We wanted to do something with the vibe of bands like Karp, The Jesus Lizard and Shellac... the more post-hardcore side of things. (Noisecreep then suggests Amphetamine Reptile Records as a reference point) Yes, exactly... AM REP!"

Download Old God's self-titled EP at this link.