Always A Lizard

I N T E R V I E W
Always a Lizard: An Interview with Gwyn Morgan of Lizard
with Ian Duggan

Lizard formed in Hamilton in 1993, and were active — on-and-off — until 2012. Lizard are currently remastering and re-releasing the bulk of their back-catalogue digitally. They are also jamming again, and working on new material. We talked to Gwyn Morgan, bass player and vocalist from Lizard, about how they formed, their influences, and which of their songs he feels have most stood the test of time!

HUP: Tell me briefly about Lizard; when did you form, how would you describe Lizard’s music, and who were your biggest influences?
 
Gwyn: Lizard formed in 1994. Keith [Wright: vocals, guitar] and I were good friends but in different bands. Both of our band’s split up. So we started a new project with a few other friends and started writing new music. My brother Rod [guitar, vocals] joined later that year and Mark Brightwell on drums when Th’ Clap finished. That was the line-up for the ‘Rumours’ EP.

Our music covers a wide range of styles as Keith, Rod and I all write and sing. Reggae, funk, rock and punk all featured through our music. Our influences are Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Ramones, Dead Kennedy’s, Fishbone, Suicidal Tendencies, and Infectious Grooves, but also Van Halen and Black Sabbath, and we evolved into a surf punk and funk band.
 
HUP: You are re-releasing your early album and EPs online. What are the releases, and when were they originally released? What has made you release then online at this stage?
 
Gwyn: Our first EP ‘Rumours’ was released in 1996, our first album ‘Dave - Once A Lizard, Always A Lizard’ was released in 1998 and our second EP ‘ZFS’ (Zesty Fruit Slice) was released in 2011.
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No Lizard releases have ever been released digitally. In October 2018 my brother Rod and I released our ‘Morgan Brothers Band’ EP ‘Kin’ digitally through DRM. That went really well and it led to Rod, Keith and I agreeing to remaster and re-release the Lizard back catalogue.

DRM are great to work with, and after ‘Kin’ was released we had a lot of people asking where they could get our Lizard albums.

HUP: How do you think the songs have stood the test of time? Are there any songs you are still particularly proud of?
 
Gwyn: I think the songs are still great. Because we have a variety of styles it works well.

‘Rumours’ is a great song off our first EP and really got Lizard our start. ‘Chocolate Fish’, ‘Boris’ and ‘Take Me Away’ off the Dave... album got a tonne of airplay, and that album sold over 3000 CDs. Off ZFS ‘Never Seem The Wiser’ is a great track.
 
HUP: For people that haven’t head Lizard before, what three songs from these releases would you recommend someone have a listen to, and why?

Gwyn: ‘Rumours’, ‘Boris’ and ‘Chocolate Fish’.
 
HUP: Where online can people find the releases?
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Gwyn: Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and 30 other streaming or download platforms.