The Gutter Twins was a musical collaboration between rock musicians

Greg Dulli Greg Dulli (born May 11, 1965) is an American musician from Hamilton, Ohio. Debuting as a member of the rock band the Afghan Whigs in 1986, Dulli has been a member of the Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins, and in 2020 released his debut solo album ...

and

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the S ...

. Dulli and Lanegan had regularly contributed to each other's projects since 2000, most notably in Dulli's Twilight Singers; of the duo's origins, Dulli said "I think Mark told a journalist we were doing it, and then the journalist called me, and I didn't know we were doing it." On Christmas Day 2003, Dulli and Lanegan began work on the collaboration. Their name is a punning homage to The Glimmer Twins, the pseudonym used by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

for work producing recordings by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

History

''Saturnalia'' (2008–09)

In July 2007, the music website

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

announced that the duo, "two of the alt-rock era's greatest frontmen," had signed to Seattle label

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are of ...

. Soon thereafter, Sub Pop reported a March 4, 2008 release date for their debut album ''

Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...

''. The Gutter Twins appeared with their backup band on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production co ...

'' on March 20, 2008, and toured the album throughout the USA and Europe during the year. Critical response to the album was consistently good; ''Blast'' magazine called it "an audial descent into the dark emotions that often lurk beneath the surface" and that "the haunting 'God’s Children' sounds like it was penned by U2’s long-lost cousin from Seattle" and ''Uncut'' said "with Lanegan at his stentorian best and Dulli in full confessional mode, ''Saturnalia'' is a feast, certainly – but one where the dishes are served delightfully raw." Scott Ford(by Scott Dudelson)

In September 2008, The Gutter Twins released the EP '' Adorata'' through iTunes. It features two original songs and cover versions of songs by José González,

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums ...

, Scott Walker,

Vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to ''Sorghum'' but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as ...

, and Eleven. A portion of ''Adorata''’s proceeds will go to the Natasha Shneider Memorial Fund. Shneider was a friend of the band and the late lead singer of Eleven. In January 2009, The Gutter Twins toured as a duet, backed by guitarist

Dave Rosser Dave Rosser was an American rock guitarist known for his work for the Afghan Whigs, who he joined in 2014. He played guitar on their albums '' Do to the Beast'' and '' In Spades''. Previously, he was a member of the Gutter Twins and the Twilight S ...

(who also sings lead vocals on "Tennessee Waltz"). The set list includes songs for both their albums, acoustic versions of some tracks from their previous bands and a few covers. They usually segue "God's Children" into Bob Dylan's "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original ve ...

", jokingly acknowledging the obvious melodic similarities between their own song and Dylan's. "Stations" is also occasionally started with a short quote from the intro of "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

", which Dulli states is his favorite song of all time. In February 2022, it was announced that Lanegan had died, at the age of 57.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (Sub Pop, 2008)

EPs

*'' Adorata'' (Sub Pop, 2008) – digital only

References

External links

*
The Gutter Twins official MySpace pageThe Gutter Twins
at

Gutter Twins comprehensive discography at The Shawn Smith Collective
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutter Twins, The Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Alternative rock groups from California 2003 establishments in California 2011 disestablishments in California