Aural Aggravation

Ev Gold (guitar, vocals), Michael Jung (bass), and Stephen Moses (drums) make up GoJuMo, a noisy punk rock trio from Brooklyn. The three musicians first met in January 2016 through BC35, a weekend project celebrating the 35th anniversary of Brooklyn’s historic BC Studio, run by Martin Bisi (Swans, Sonic Youth). Artists connected to the studio over the years gathered to collaborate in different combinations, with Bisi documenting the sessions, which were later released by Bronson Recordings in 2018.

In the years that followed, Moses and Jung’s respective bands, Mustafina and Um, shared the stage several times with Gold’s Cinema Cinema. Then, in fall 2024, Gold reached out to Moses about starting a new project. What initially looked like a potential duo soon expanded when Moses suggested bringing Jung into the lineup. “I had loved Stephen’s drumming for quite a while and finally got the nerve up to reach out to him about jamming that fall,” recalls Gold. “It was fortuitous that he would recommend that we include Michael in the action and even more so when he – a great guitar player in his own right – was willing to handle bass duties. We have discussed swapping roles in the future, so there could very well be a GoJuMo record that has him on guitar and me on bass soon, we shall see!” Jamming and songwriting began soon after, and GoJuMo played their first show that December. Two-fifths of Alice Donut plus one-half of Cinema Cinema equals a GoJuMo: Go – Gold: Ju for Jung and Mo for Moses.

Throughout the year, the band developed the material through intensive rehearsals and live shows before returning to BC Studio with Martin Bisi in fall 2025. Having all worked with Bisi before, BC was the obvious choice.

The sessions quickly confirmed that the ease behind the project translated naturally into the rehearsal room. “Playing with these guys is an absolute joy. The music feels really organic and fits right into my wheelhouse and besides the fact that they’re really great players, they’re really nice guys,” says Stephen Moses. Ev Gold adds: “A lovely musical experience. Michael and Stephen have played together for over thirty years, they have a musical language of their own. It is a fortunate scenario to have such a well attuned rhythm section.”

That strong rapport was matched by an unusually productive first rehearsal. “The very first idea worked on at the initial GoJuMo rehearsal was ‘Failed Math” says Gold. “Coming away with three songs from the first time we ever got together in a room was a strong indication to us to continue to get together as often as possible!”

The session also produced the skeletal structures of ‘Worm’ and ‘How Soon Is Again?’, with all three songs eventually making their way onto the album.

Hear ‘Failed Math’ here:

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At a time when AI-assisted music production is becoming increasingly prevalent and polished recordings are often treated as the goal, GoJuMo instead relied on the chemistry built through months of rehearsals and live performances. The band opted for as little studio manipulation as possible: there were almost no overdubs, most of the record was captured live off the floor at BC Studio, and no song required more than three takes, with several completed in just one.

That approach is particularly evident on ‘Failed Math’, the album’s single. Gold traces the song’s origins back to the night he learned of the death of famed professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. “He was a childhood favorite of mine and in an odd circumstance, I happened to be at home with my guitar on my lap when I heard the news of his passing,” he recalls. “The next thing I knew I was playing a pattern on guitar that would become the main figure of this song”. The idea, originally titled ‘The Pit’ after Piper’s talk show Piper’s Pit, remained in Gold’s demo folder for years before finding a new life with GoJuMo. The song eventually evolved into a reflection on Gold’s struggles with math during his senior year of high school, an experience that prevented him from graduating on schedule and led to a semester of summer school.

The finishing touches and mixing were handled at HizHaus by bassist Michael Jung, who also serves as the band’s documentarian. An avid photographer who regularly captures live shows around New York City, Jung also records each GoJuMo practice for the members to review and use as part of the songwriting process.

Photo: Michael Jung