This loose four or five-piece have been lauded as influential by many a band in Scotland – but mainly Dundee where their name is writ large thanks to their assistance and inspiration to a variety of upcoming acts.

The band are particularly remembered for their live shows, despite having played outside their own town just once (and that was Aberdeen supporting Peeps Into Fairyland).

What remains is a set of fairly lo-fi, one-take live recordings, from their period they were active in the mid-1990s.

Now thanks to Chute Records (the label run by contemporaries Spare Snare), there may be something of a revival in the air.

“We prefer to let our music & James’ lyrics explain what we do,” said guitarist and founder Mike Kane, but despite that, we pressed him for the facts about Gerils…

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Who?

Mike Kane, Mark Brown, Gerry Mitchell, Scott Wilkie, James Kane, Peter Moug, Scott Wilkie, John Weir, Derek Ramsay…
Never all at the same time… band members fluctuated

Main band was eventually –
Mike Kane, James Kane, John Weir, Scott Wilkie, and later, Derek Ramsay

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Where?

Dundee

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When?

Started properly around 93 when original singer (Mark Brown) left… lineup of Mike John and Scott… I did the vocals for a while then in ’94 asked James to take over writing lyrics and vocals… I could do an essay on the complicated history of the Gerils !… so this is brief…

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How?

Don’t think we ever recorded in a studio… all done on 4 track cassette… One track for each member then bounced down to add vocals… normally mixed by John and Peter (even after he had left the band)… Later Gerry Mitchell recorded us on his 8 track digital recorder… one track that was meant to be a single but never happened… ‘Directors Cut’

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What?

“LOCAL LIVE MURDER SOUND”

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Why?

Why did I form Gerils ? After 5 years with a band I as in called NOVUS that I had formed with friends… we performed improvised experimental music… we released one 7 inch single and around ten C90 cassettes…

I left the band and wanted to do something different… after me and Mark Brown started the Gerils I then contacted John Weir and Peter Moug (Wilderness Children) and Scott Wilkie (AAGA) and when Mark left I added James… and later Derek (Novus) and started playing more conventional music that had structure… bass and drums were solid leaving me freedom to improvise in the songs we had written… sorry, this doesn’t really explain why… but why do I paint? Because I have to…

The entire Gerils back catalogue is now available to download for free, pay what you want, at Bandcamp.

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