JJ: You mentioned that you were watching a bunch of movies while working on this. Was there anything in specific that influenced you? You also mentioned David Lynch and Woody Allen before…
MG: Yeah, he’s a big influence, and some people would probably be able to pick that out. Woody Allen is too. I like Terry Gilliam. Everyone who has a touch of the surreal. And [Ingmar] Bergman is probably an influence on all of them. And I like the Coen brothers’ movies.
But, we watched a whole pile of movies. I can’t even remember which year I watched which, but there were certain ones that stood out in the independent. I couldn’t say that I could pick out ways that they specifically influenced me. Like that movie, “Welcome To The Dollhouse”, which was edited by Alan Oxman, who did “Bittersweet Motel”. What else? I just saw this movie not too long ago, “Celebration” — a Danish film. There’s nothing surreal about it, very dry, but it’s a really, really good movie. I really like the “Twin Peaks” movie, “Fire Walk With Me”, and I like “Wild At Heart”… and “Lost Highway”. I don’t necessarily gravitate towards the one that most people like. In Woody Allen, I like “Purple Rose Of Cairo”, which is the one where he walks off the movie screen — a whole bunch of them actually. “Brazil”, in terms of Terry Gilliam.
JJ: Yeah, he always has those multiple layers of reality going, like in “[The Adventures of] Baron Munchausen”, with the Baron stepping in and out.
MG: Yeah, I think the big question I’m trying to answer is really an existential question: do I really exist? (Laughs.) Who am I?
JJ: The David Lynch definitely came through in this. In a backwards way, Col. Bruce kind of reminded me of a more Zen version of the Log Lady from “Twin Peaks”.
MG: (Laughs.) Yeah. (Laughs.) There were actually times when I had to specifically avoid something that would’ve been too Lynch-y. Like, towards the beginning – well, maybe there’s a little bit of that sound left in – when the first shot after the opening sequence, there was a pretty loud vibraphone sound, which is throughout all of “Twin Peaks”. I had to avoid that. There were a couple of other things that I avoided for that reason, too. Too close.
JJ: In some ways, “Outside Out” seemed to be a largely collaborative effort on many levels, but specifically with Bruce. Do you have any future plans to work with Bruce, or anybody else from the film?
MG: I would, actually. I would like to work with Bruce again. I just know that I’m going to do so many things differently next time. Yeah, and the friend – who everyone likes, Rick [Valyou] jr. – who’s just a real native Vermonter. Jeff [Lawson], who was the producer, we want to keep working together. Those are the ones that come to mind right off.
JJ: You were a film major at UVM, and you’ve spend the last 15 years pursuing mostly musical endeavors — though you’ve done a couple of film projects in there, like “Down With Disease” and “Tracking”. How has your view of filmmaking evolved over that period?
MG: There are different levels of ways to answer that. My teacher, my mentor – Ted Lyman, who I’ve done a couple of soundtracks for – is really into artsy films — not artsy films that you see in theaters, but avant-garde, where there’s not necessarily a story, just shapes moving across the screen. The screen is more like a canvas to paint on, an abstract painting.
JJ: Like Harry Smith’s stuff…
MG: Yeah, or Stan Brakhage in Colorado. I’ve had some arguments with him, but I would like for there to be a story and for there to be a more accessible component in that way. His opinion is, I think, that as soon as you get into concentrating on story and more kind of theatrical aspects of filmmaking that you’re not going to be able to do the artistic part fully. I sort of disagree. I think you can have the story and get very creative, to a degree. That’s the biggest evolution. I always thought I would make films that didn’t have stories, and now I want to have stories.
I didn’t know what I would be doing. One thing that’s evolved is that I didn’t know that I would spend this much time with film. I really wanted to concentrate on music after college pretty seriously, because I was having so much fun with it. So, for about 10 years I didn’t let myself do too much with film. Once the music thing became more established, I let myself take more time to work on film. Since they’re different pursuits, they kind of work off each other too by getting in a different mindframe, and then you miss the other thing, and you flip back and forth.
JJ: What’s evolving next? Do you have any specific film or music projects that you’ve been working on?
MG: I’m just dabbling in some things. I don’t know which I’ll finish. There’s this Gov’t Mule thing, where I’m doing some filming in the studio. It’s a tribute to Allen Woody. They’re making an album, where each bass player is a different incredible bass player — all people who influenced Woody. I’ve been filming that on 16 millimeter film and I’m not sure whether we’re going to see the project through to the end. It’s been fun for me because it perfectly mixes film and bass playing… except that I don’t really wanna be a documentary filmmaker.
There’s that, and I’d like to write a script sometime, and there’s a few different musicians that I’ll be doing some jamming with and maybe some recording with, and probably doing some writing on my own. But all that is probably too vague to even mention. A lot of different ideas. I’m just at the point where I’m trying to figure out what I should be doing.
JJ: Do you have any desire to play with a regular group of musicians?
MG: I would if the situation were right, if they were — I was gonna say, if they were around here. If we had time to really put something together. I would like to at some point. Even when Phish starts playing again, I would still consider playing with other people just for the experience. I like the idea of doing something more regular. I haven’t done too much on the side.
JJ: Are there any other mediums you’d like to try besides writing, and film, and music, now that you’ve got those knocked off?
MG: Film, writing, and music… I want to be an inventor, actually. I only have a couple invention ideas to my head. Maybe, drawing painting, that sorta thing.
JJ: Nothing patented yet.
MG: Yeah, I’m probably forgetting something. I have a hard time weeding out my pursuits, so I’m not spreading myself to thin. There’s probably 10 different instruments that I’d like to learn how to play better — banjo and piano and pedal steel and a few others. There’s just lots to do and I can’t do everything.
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