‘68 // Dream Seers & Snake Charmers

In an age where backing tracks, samples and stage moves choreographed to the point of pantomime have become the acceptable norm, American rock duo ’68 represent a musical anomaly that speaks to a more passionate and dangerous time.

“We don’t have any set lists and we don’t pre-plan anything too much; we keep it loose,” says frontman and guitarist Josh Scogin, discussing the release of the duo’s upcoming second album, Two Parts Viper. “My drummer Michael [McClellan] and I have to really connect on stage. We have to keep it impulsive, and to do that, I think it helps to not have to start even before the show starts by having a ritual,” says Scogin. “You know, this thing that you do every single day no matter what. You make sure you get together and do this little chant and clap your hands or whatever.”

As a founding member of metalcore juggernaut Norma Jean, alongside his decade-long tenure as mouthpiece for incendiary hardcore outfit The Chariot, Scogin understands that a ‘68 performance only requires two elements to forge a lasting connection with fans: spontaneity and sincerity. “There’s no ritual and there’s nothing that I need to be doing beforehand, because I don’t want to fall into a spot where everything is monotonous and ‘same old-same old’—you know, rehearsed,” confesses Scogin. “For us it’s like, ‘Nope!’ We want it to be as fresh as it can be, and each night to be as unique as it can be.”

On their full-length debut album, 2014’s In Humor and Sadness, ’68 successfully channelled this desire for unhinged catharsis on stage into a boisterous and venomous attack of frantic back-beats, amp-destroying riffs, and Scogin’s pained and emphatic vocal delivery. The album received a rapid response from fans and critics alike, launching the duo on to the international touring circuit, which included a whirlwind series of dates Down Under last year. “We were on one of the biggest tours I’d ever done in my life. We were out with Bring Me The Horizon and they were doing these arena shows; it was really fun, really interesting, and really awesome,” says Scogin, with a tone of serious reflection. “My brain was really swimming with what’s to come: What should I do? What should I not do? Where do I belong? Where does ‘68 need to be, and what makes the most sense?”  

“You can definitely be an artist and create blindly and just go where the wind takes you. But the whole thing shifted in my brain, and became more about being smart, being wise, being cunning.”
[JOSH]

In this vulnerable and conflicted emotional state, Scogin’s unconscious mind turned in on itself to deliver a prophetic and ominous message, one that would lay the groundwork for the creation of Two Parts Viper. “I believe I was in Brisbane, and I went to sleep and I had this dream about a guy in a really fancy suit. He walked up and basically said, ‘To make it here, you need to be two parts viper,’” admits Scogin. “At that moment, it was a very negative thing to me. I sort of came at him and was just like, ‘What do you mean? I can do this.’ He quickly corrected me in the dream, saying, ‘Well, you’re assuming this is two parts out of three. But life is not just three parts; life is hundreds and thousands, an infinity of parts.’ So, then being two parts viper out of thousands of parts, just doesn’t seem too bad anymore.” And while not all musical inspiration may come in the form of a Freudian inner monologue, Scogin describes his dream as a form of artistic self-affirmation. “You can definitely be an artist and create blindly and just go where the wind takes you. But the whole thing shifted in my brain, and became more about being smart, being wise, being cunning.”

Pairing uncanny influences from country and folk music, against the withering self-deprecation of Bleach-era Nirvana, ’68 set about taking their unique brand of sonic chaos to the next level on Two Parts Viper. “Part of the thought process is like, ‘Yes. I’ve been connected with the heavy world for so long and with heavy music.’ And it’s awesome, because I feel like sometimes the only way to get that passion out is with screaming guitars and loud amps,” says Scogin. “And then there’re also so many things that I’ve not been able to do yet, that I’ve not been able to touch on, and sometimes those inspirations hit me just as hard as music.”

On recent single The Workers Are Few, crooned lines like “I’m one life away/From everywhere that I want to be,” hint at the inner artistic conflict within Scogin and ’68. “Even musically speaking, it’s like: I could write ten more songs; I could write ten more albums; I could write 100 albums, but I don’t know that it would ever be just like, ‘Now we’re complete. Now we’ve said all we had to say.’” Ultimately, Scogin is still coming to terms with the profundity of his own dreams, and just how far Two Parts Viper will take ’68 on their journey. “I could spend a whole lifetime doing it and I’d still not be where I want to be.”

Two Parts Viper is available now through Good Fight/Cooking Vinyl. Read our review here!

68 are touring nationally this July and select tour dates can be found below:

THURSDAY JULY 20 // ENIGMA BAR, ADELAIDE 18+

FRIDAY JULY 21 // NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE 18+

SATURDAY JULY 22 // THE BASEMENT, CANBERRA 18+

SUNDAY JULY 23 // OXFORD ART, SYDNEY 18+

MONDAY JULY 24 // SMALL BALLROOM, NEWCASTLE 18+

WEDNESDAY JULY 26 // CROWBAR, BRISBANE 18+