Neil Gust (No. 2, Heatmiser)

Today’s guest was into music earlier than most. Neil Gust had an obsession with vinyl as a toddler; he would walk around the house with records in his hands. His obsession stayed with him through college where he met Elliot Smith and started playing in bands with him. After graduating, the duo decided they would continue playing together and decided Portland Oregon was the place to go. That’s where Neil & Elliot formed the band Heatmiser. After their third album, Elliot’s solo work began getting a lot of traction and the band dissolved.  Neil decided to continue on with a new band which was accidentally given the moniker No. 2. Unfortunately, the band never really got the label support it deserved. And as the second album was released and things were getting harder, not easier, Neil put down music and began a new career in video editing. That took him to NYC where he found great success creating videos for Jaguar automobiles. But one night, playing Skyrim, Neil had an epiphany and No. 2 was reborn. It was picking up steam when COVID stalled everything. But Neil soldiered on in a Connecticut boathouse. So check out the new album by No. 2 called First Love. Follow their IG account @___numberdeux___, pick up the album from Jealous Butcher or wherever you get music. Follow us @PerformanceAnx. Show us some support with coffee at ko.fi.com/performanceanxiety or purchase things at performanceanx.threadless.com. At this point, I present to you, Neil Gust of No. 2 on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices