Long Live Gnawing
Over soggy sediment and beneath a muggy sky, people began filing into the back of Get Tight Lounge on Friday, June 13, for a show that promised to be great, though undeniably bittersweet. Beloved alt-rock outfit gnawing had announced it would be their final performance, one last chance for Richmonders to witness the fuzzed-out energy that made them such a vital and endearing part of the local music community over the past seven years. The road the quartet traveled in that time was thrilling, unpredictable, and full of heart, but by the end, it had taken its toll, leaving the band drained, frayed, and ready for closure. It was time to step away on their own terms, with a show that would embody the true essence of their music: lasting, resonant, and anything but fleeting.
Billed as a rain-or-shine event, Richmond’s temperamental weather certainly lived up to its reputation. A threatening forecast hovered over the schedule for most of the day, with the band’s timeslot looking particularly vulnerable. Ultimately, the skies opened just hours before the first band took the stage, not ruining the show but casting doubt over the night’s turnout. But if anything, the messy weather only heightened the occasion. The crowd showed up in full force–not just to pay tribute to a band that had earned its place in Richmond’s musical canon, but to participate in a memorable sendoff packed with sweat, sound, and spirit.
Between heartfelt shout-outs to loved ones, nods to past members in the audience, and plenty of tongue-in-cheek local references, gnawing tore through a set that spanned their entire discography. Tracks from both full-length albums anchored the performance with the crowd locked in, heads swaying, and lips moving in unison; every ounce of energy onstage was reflected back by those watching. The distortion roared, but what rang out clearest was the attitude that had always defined gnawing. Raw. Sincere. Unshakably present. It was a sendoff that felt both triumphant and tender. A cathartic release shared by all. For one last night, gnawing let it rip, and Richmond answered with heart.
Members John Russell, Christian Monroe, Chris Matz, and Garrett Whitlow rode an emotional roller coaster that night. At times, they would punch a final note with extra intensity; in other moments, you would see someone visibly moved by a verse or bridge that stirred up years of memories. The songs carried more than just the weight of Russell’s songwriting which served as the project’s foundation; they held the imprint of each member’s voice, history, and heart. It was a performance shaped by shared experience, where every riff and lyric reflected not just the band’s journey, but the deeply personal stakes each member brought to the music.
When the end finally arrived, it was met with hugs and wide smiles onstage, any tears hidden by the sweat of the humid night and the intensity of the band’s final burst. In front of them, a sea of animated faces responded in kind, charged by the electricity of the performance and the deep resonance of songs that had soundtracked years of local memory. As the band stepped offstage, more embraces followed, and a slow-moving line formed at the merch table, one last chance for fans and friends to grab a record or t-shirt, some tangible proof of what the band meant. A keepsake, sure, but also future bragging rights, a way of saying, “You had to be there.”
Opening for gnawing that night were Painted World and Camo Face, two distinct projects formed by musicians who know all too well the bittersweet ache of a farewell show. These are artists who’ve closed chapters before, seen beloved bands fade and fracture, and emerged on the other side with new sounds and fresh resolve.
Painted World kicked things off with a spirited blend of power rock, bursting with lofty hooks and undeniable charm. Though the band officially debuted this past January, its members are far from newcomers. Frontman David Long is a familiar face on Richmond stages, having weathered the ebb and flow of countless musical projects over the past decade. Currently playing guitar in Knifing Around, Long’s résumé includes everything from the heavy ferocity of Pissing Contest to the glam-punk chaos of Shawnis And The Shimmers, a key role in Sammi Lanzetta’s live band, and his own criminally overlooked project Hot Reader, a clear stylistic ancestor to this new endeavor.
Alongside Long is a seasoned lineup of local talent: Justin Shear, another Lanzetta collaborator and a veteran of both Toxic Moxie and PPL MAG; Eric Godsey, known for solo work and as a staple in acts like Miracle Time and The Wimps; Daniel Davis, a genre-spanning presence through his electronic projects DanielD and an0va, his curation of the Richmond Synth Collective, and supporting roles in bands like Colin Phils; and Kenneka Cook, a solo powerhouse whose collaborative résumé includes stints with Piranha Rama, Tennishu, left.hnd, Calvin Presents, and Dusty Ray Simmons, as well as her current role as one-fourth of the Prabir Trio. For this performance, Cook was absent with her role filled in by Mara Smith, formerly of PPL MAG with Shear and now performing with The Wayward Leaves, Paint On It, and under her solo moniker, Finfeather.
Together, the group’s collective history reveals a core truth of Richmond’s music scene: endings are never just endings. Backed by a diverse portfolio of band experiences across eras, Painted World is proof that in this city, musical legacy never dies–it simply shifts form and keeps going.
Camo Face embodies this spirit too, not just through the individual credits of Kemper Blair and Stuart Holt, but through their decades-long musical partnership that threads through some of Richmond’s most beloved underground acts: Rabbits, The Dead Goats, Cubscout And The Rhinoceros, and, most famously, Sports Bar. Each band carries its distinct legacy, whether through cult-favorite records like Greetings From Holly Street Park and Stranger In My Head, or through unforgettable live shows etched into the city’s collective memory.
Rabbits and The Dead Goats both left their mark in the early years of Gallery5: Rabbits opened the very first Ghost Of Pop showcase in 2005, while The Dead Goats delivered a memorably noisy and divisive set that still gets mentioned in hushed reverence. Cubscout And The Rhinoceros had their own string of standout performances, with fun stints at the same Jackson Ward art showroom and energetic nights at Richmond’s musical oasis when it went by the name The Camel Café. And then there’s Sports Bar, the most recent of their collaborative ventures, whose raucous sets, especially those on the storied stage of Strange Matter, cemented the band’s place as a local treasure and a scene staple.
Camo Face extends this lineage with a sound that feels both expansive and elemental, performed live with just drum and bass alongside synth samples. Despite the minimalist lineup, their energy matched, if not surpassed, the intensity of their past projects, with just two members generating enough force to fill not just the space at Get Tight Lounge, but perhaps a few blocks on Main Street. This concert also doubled as a release show for their latest EP, Old Routines, a five-track adrenaline rush that builds boldly on the groundwork laid by their 2024 debut, Four-Leaf Clover. Standout track “Anonymous Historic” blurs the line between infectious pop and bone-rattling hardcore, its relentless groove only amplifying the explosive burst of the shout-along chorus at its center. Exhilarating in every musical facet, Camo Face didn’t just echo the glory of their past bands; they charged ahead with conviction, reminding us that in Richmond, legacy isn’t something preserved in memory, but something you keep turning up louder.
For gnawing, that idea didn’t hinge on the weight of their performance, at least not in the moment. The crowd–an impressive cross-section of Richmond’s musical past, present, and future–was too swept up in the energy, too locked into the band’s elevated final set to catch every layer of meaning as it unfolded. But in the days that followed, as the concert high gave way to reflection, it became clear: the story of gnawing wasn’t just ending, it was etching itself into local music history, the kind of story that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
gnawing began as a solo project for guitarist and songwriter John Russell. Before moving to Richmond in 2018, Russell was a familiar face and voice in Charlotte, NC’s rock scene, playing in bands like Viewfinder, Alright, Planet Creep, and Earth Mover, the latter two of which released records through his own DIY label, Hilltop Recordings. That same year, Russell launched his vision for a rock band steeped in fuzzy guitars and twang-tinged pop sensibility. The result was gnawing, introduced via a self-titled five-song tape recorded entirely by Russell and released through Hilltop.
After moving to Richmond the same year, Russell took a job at Guitar Center while transitioning between social work gigs. There, he met drummer Christian Monroe, known for his work in Shy, Low and New Lions (with credits to come in the future from Twin Drugs, Ages, and Molt). The two bonded over similar musical benchmarks and Russell shared his tapes, effectively forming the core of what would become the full band. Bassist Ali Mislowsky (Big Baby, Young Scum) briefly joined, contributing to early recordings before being succeeded by Chris Matz, a former member of Antiphons and future bandmate of Monroe’s in Molt. With this lineup in place, gnawing began to take shape as a true collaborative force, rooted in Southern grit and slacker-rock charm.
In early 2020, the band released the Shaky EP, comprised of three singles and two demos. Released via Refresh Records, an independent label from Russell’s old stomping grounds in Charlotte, the EP expanded on the relatable lo-fi aesthetic of the 2018 debut, this time driven more by a collaborative process from the band. Released just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, momentum was hard to build for the new band, even with a standout music video featuring fingerboard tricks adding a playful touch. Confined by lockdowns, gnawing shifted their focus to livestream performances and podcast appearances, yet beneath the surface, something monumental was quietly taking shape.
In 2021, the band released their first proper full-length, You Freak Me Out, also via Refresh Records. It refined the band’s core appeal into a punchy package of ’90s alt-rock delivered with spunky and irreverent Southern personality. Drawing from the melodic well of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Smudge as well as the band’s varied experience in bands of all genres, the album offered a slick blend of grit and charm that felt both familiar and distinctively regional, like a beckoning call for fuzz-pop lovers to migrate to the Mid-Atlantic.
There’s a palpable push-and-pull on the record, through devoted homage and personal expression as well as with sincerity and irreverence, giving not just the rock rhythms resonating power, but also the nuanced lyricism underneath. Widely celebrated throughout the region, the album earned a nomination for the inaugural Newlin Music Prize in 2022, an award recognizing the best album released in the Richmond metropolitan area the previous year.
That same year brought a live album, a sharp Darby Crash-inspired single, and a shift in chemistry with the arrival of musician Garrett Whitlow, known for his work in Sideways Orange and Billy Neptune. With four distinct voices now in the mix, gnawing unlocked a broader creative range, one that allowed for more exploration without abandoning their distorted roots. The expanded lineup provided the spark they needed to begin crafting their next full-length, which would arrive in 2023.
Released through Refresh Records again, Modern Survival Techniques was a natural evolution for gnawing: less frantic but no less potent. While their debut reveled in fuzz-drenched chaos and alt-country twang, this sophomore effort leaned more confidently into the songwriting itself. The band still wielded distortion with pride, but the layers felt more purposeful, the melodies more front-and-center, and the emotional core more pronounced. It wasn’t a stark reinvention or a hard pivot, but just a sharpening, a record that proved the sound of gnawing could mature and ripen without mellowing out, and their fuzz-twang still had new places to go.
Unfortunately, that promising horizon would remain out of reach. As new commitments emerged, members relocated, and momentum waned, the band’s live appearances grew increasingly rare. Despite the strength of the record and a clearer sense of identity than ever before, gnawing found themselves pushing against the same industry headwinds that had always loomed in the background, making their end feel both natural and, in a way, inevitable. Though the fire for gnawing still burned bright, instead of fading quietly, they chose to end their journey with a definitive, explosive farewell.
gnawing’s breakup adds them to a growing roster of Richmond bands stepping away in 2025. Most have slipped quietly into memory, while others have taken a final, defiant bow like gnawing, most notably punk firebrands Sea Of Storms this past April. While the rate of band dissolutions may not be statistically unusual, it echoes a series of unsettling shifts within the local music scene: the steady disappearance of performance spaces, most recently Garden Grove and Anytime Brewing Co. (which was the original home of this farewell show); rising production fees at those venues still standing; the looming presence of Live Nation with the Allianz Amphitheater; and an audience base tightening under the weight of economic strain.
Their decision to bow out in 2025 doesn’t read as defeatist so much as it does pragmatic, a recognition of the shifting tides in a scene that has grown more uncertain with each passing year. Richmond remains rich with talent and heart, but infrastructure continues to wither. For bands like gnawing, the day-to-day reality of staying active–booking shows, pressing records, simply being heard–has grown increasingly unsustainable without meaningful support systems in place.
gnawing always seemed acutely aware of these realities. As a band, they confronted the harsh economics of DIY music head-on, both on stage and in the studio, never romanticizing the grind. Their sound carried that weight: ragged and bursting with energy, yet threaded with the clear-eyed realization that permanence is never guaranteed. In every fuzzed-out riff and shouted chorus, you could hear both a love for rock’s past and a reckoning with its precarious present.
All members of gnawing continue to carry that same fire into new projects across Richmond’s music scene, whether it’s the unrelenting hardcore of Molt with Matz and Monroe, or the hushed, tempered beauty of Drug Country, the slowcore duo formed by Russell and Whitlow. The DIY ethos and defiant streak that defined gnawing live on in these new sounds, each capturing a distinct aesthetic while still echoing the raw spark that started with that humble self-titled tape back in 2018. While the city may mourn gnawing’s farewell, there’s solace in knowing their spirit hasn’t faded yet… and never truly will.
Still, gnawing’s time as an active band is over, a reality heavy with meaning. But that exit isn’t without resonance. In their relatively short run, they captured a certain malaise and turned it into something cathartic, chaotic, and undeniably human. They leave behind a loaded discography, several sweat-drenched shows burned into memory, and a sound that felt honest in a way that never had to try too hard. Whether it’s today or a decade from now, Richmond’s musical story will carry their name, fuzzed-out and unfiltered, a lasting imprint well-deserved and hard-earned.
Long live gnawing.
gnawing’s discography is available to stream on all platforms now: Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, & Tidal. Vinyl records and selective merchandise are also still available to purchase on Bandcamp. Follow the band on Instagram to relive more memories.
Top Photo: Sav Elliott
