GOOD AND BAD. Current members of gash (pictured above), a rock band based in Eau Claire, include Logan Nyberg, Mitch Smuhl, Breckelle Bathke, Eric Simmons and Ricky Christenson. The band will soon release its next album, at least you know what you're laughing at, and has now signed with indie label Fire Talk.

Breckelle Bathke was outside by the door for a smoke and while we caught up, Ricky Christenson and Eric Simmons (the two Erics) rolled up separately on their bikes about 10 minutes apart.

Mitch Smuhl walked out fresh from restringing his guitar; band founder Nyberg wandered out last wearing a shirt repping the Bay Area punks Pardoner. It’s too nice to be hanging out in the basement, so we chat next to a “no loitering” sign and a directory that lists the businesses that occupy this building.

The word “gash” is hand-scrawled on a blank slot for a unit these musicians do not occupy.

This is the fourth night in a row members of the band have been at the spot. They’ve got to practice before their July tour, which in itself is a run to get them ready for their set at Eaux Claires at Carson Park on July 25.

"We don’t really care to stick to one thing. Because we can do it all, baby. ... We’re very open to experimenting that way, which I think more people should do."

Breckelle Bathke

gash

Touring looms large in gash’s DNA. The annual Rash Fest lineup, starting with its origins at Nyberg’s punk house the Rash, has always featured sick bands they met on the road.

“That was kind of our little counterculture to the Bon Iver, like, folk,” Nyberg said. “A lot of the proper venues and DIY houses were doing softer indie stuff, which I’m fine with, but I like other stuff that expands beyond that.

“From going to shows in other places and seeing what music could be — and how it could blow your mind — I wanted to bring some of that energy to Eau Claire,” Nyberg continued.

Their inclusion in Eaux Claires feels like a sort of coronation. “Sometimes, everyone just knows what the best thing is, and right now in Eau Claire, that band is gash,” Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon said in a promotional video for the fest. The significance of this moment was lost on some of gash’s homies.

“Two people were like, ‘Was that you talking,’ ” Christenson said. “I was like, ‘No, bruh, that’s Bon.’ ”

By having gash play first on Saturday, the team behind Eaux Claires are setting the tone with searching, enormous, enveloping and wonderfully unpredictable rock music. More crucially, they’re acknowledging the DIY lineage these five have championed for so long.

“I feel like there’s a lot of punk history in Eau Claire and nobody fuckin’ knows about it,” Smuhl said. “We’ve all done so much for DIY and what that brings to Eau Claire. It feels really nice that (the message is) like: ‘There’s more than what people think is going on here.’ That’s important to highlight.”

A rare positive of being alive in 2026 is witnessing the beginning of Bathke’s era of gash. Her voice, either unhinged or peaceful depending on the moment, has come to define their current sound. She’s always been a crucial ingredient of gash’s world as an artist and Rash Fest collaborator.

“I was literally being an emo bitch last night because I was like, ‘I miss the old gash sound from before when I was in it,’ ” Bathke said. “‘I want it to sound like that, and the reason it’s different is because of me.’ ”

She’s too close to see what’s clear to the rest of us — that gash has become immeasurably more powerful with her voice in the mix. Nyberg concurred: “That’s how we all felt.”

With a big stage to play in Carson Park, a new album around the corner and even newer unrecorded songs in their setlist, it’s a cool summer for gash. They’ve always been restless, so meeting them in their at least you know what you’re laughing at era is a moment to cherish.

“There will always be an old gash sound,” Nyberg said. “We’re always working at new stuff and not trying to do the same thing. We could write a bunch of sick butt rock-style ‘Shenanigans’ songs, but doing different stuff is more fun.”

“That might be the magical sauce of gash,” Bathke added. “We don’t really care to stick to one thing. Because we can do it all, baby. We’re very open to experimenting that way, which I think more people should do. What do you have to lose from trying some weird fucked up shit?”

View and listen to gash’s complete discography, online via Bandcamp. This article – also shared by see/saw – has been lightly edited for publication in Volume One. For more punk rock journalism, subscribe to Evan Minsker’s online newsletter at see-saw.fun.