Giant Sand
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Giant Sand | |
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![]() Giant Sand performing in Faenza, Italy in 2006 | |
Background information | |
Also known as | Giant Sandworms, Giant Giant Sand |
Origin | Tucson, Arizona |
Genres | Alternative rock, americana, roots rock, alternative country |
Years active | 1985–present |
Labels | Fire Records (UK) / Loose Music |
Members | Howe Gelb Thøger T. Lund Anders Pedersen Peter Dombernowsky Nicolaj Heyman Brian Lopez Gabriel Sullivan Jon Villa Iris Jakobsen Asger Christensen Maggie Björklund Lonna Kelley |
Past members | John Convertino Joey Burns Rainer Ptacek Chris Cacavas Paula Jean Brown Tom Larkins Iain Shedden Andrew Collberg Billy Sedlmayr |
Website | howegelb.com |
Giant Sand (currently recording as Giant Giant Sand) is an American band from Tucson, Arizona. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later shortened their name and developed an idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country but touching on a wide range of other styles and featuring Gelb's beatnik-influenced vocals and songwriting.[1]
Members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of Green on Red),[2] bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of The Go-Go's and was married to Gelb at the time),[3] Mark Walton (of The Dream Syndicate and Continental Drifters), drummer Tom Larkins (later to become a Jonathan Richman sideman).[4] and Iain Shedden, drummer with Australian band The Saints. For a long while the band's rhythm section consisted of John Convertino and Joey Burns (of Calexico fame). In the early 2000s Howe Gelb reinvented the band again - this time with players from Denmark.
Guest artists over the last 3 decades have included Victoria Williams, Neko Case, Juliana Hatfield, PJ Harvey, Vic Chesnutt, Steve Wynn, Vicki Peterson, Rainer Ptacek, M. Ward, Isobel Campbell, nearly all members of the band Poi Dog Pondering, and Indiosa Patsy Jean (Gelb and Brown's daughter).[5]
Discography
Giant Sand
- 1985: Valley of Rain (Enigma Records)
- 1986: Ballad of a Thin Line Man (Zippo)
- 1988: The Love Songs (Homestead)
- 1988: Storm (What Goes On)
- 1989: Long Stem Rant (Homestead)
- 1990: Swerve (Demon)
- 1991: Ramp (Restless/Rough Trade)
- 1992: Center of the Universe (Restless)
- 1994 Stromausfall (Return to Sender)
- 1993: Purge & Slouch (Brake Out)
- 1994: Glum (Imago)
- 1995: Goods and Services (Brake Out)
- 1995: Backyard Barbecue Broadcast (Koch)
- 1997: Official Bootleg Series Volume 1: Build Your Own Night It's Easy (¡Epiphany!)
- 2000: Chore of Enchantment (Loose)
- 2000: Official Bootleg Series Volume 2: The Rock Opera Years (OW OM Finished Recorded Products)
- 2001: Official Bootleg Series Volume 3: Unsungglum (OW OM Finished Recorded Products)
- 2001: Selections Circa 1990-2000 (V2 Records Benelux)
- 2002: Cover Magazine (Thrill Jockey)
- 2002: Infiltration of Dreams (Mucchio Extra)
- 2003: Official Bootleg Series Volume 5: Too Many Spare Parts in the Yard Too Close at Hand (OW OM Recorded Products)
- 2004: Is All Over the Map (Thrill Jockey)
- 2008: *proVISIONS* (Thrill Jockey)
- 2008: Provisional Supplement (OW OM Recorded Products)
- 2010: Blurry Blue Mountain (Fire)
- 2015: Heartbreak Pass (New West)
- 2018: Returns To Valley Of Rain
Giant Giant Sand
- 2012: Tucson; a Country Rock Opera (Fire)
Melted Wires
- 2010 Melted Wires (self-released)
Howe Gelb
- 2011: Snarl Some Piano (Scatterland)
Filmography
- "Good Luck Suckers" Giant Sand's concert at the Trabendo in Paris - France 2016
Editing in DVD with the documentary "Sounds of Tucson" - Director Guillaume Dero - La Huit.
- Score for Ingenius (2011) - feature film with Jeremy Renner (Bleiberg Distribution)
- High and Dry: Where the Desert Meets Rock and Roll (2006) – a documentary about Tucson musicians which includes music and interviews with Giant Sand members[6]
- Drunken Bees (1996) – a documentary about Giant Sand by Marianne Dissard.
References
- ^ Jason Ankeny. Giant Sand: Biography, Allmusic.com, accessed 27 March 2019
- ^ Lepper, Joe (27 January 2012). "Giant Sand - Highlights from Fire Records' 25th anniversary 16 Album Reissue Series". No Depression. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ Stance, Frankerton (1 May 2006). "Howe Gelb". Crooked Rain. Retrieved 2008-08-02.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Jonathan Richman Biography". High Road Touring. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ [1] Archived September 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ unattributed (2007). "High and Dry: Where the Desert Meets Rock 'n Roll". Upstairs Film. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
External links
- Giant Sand official website
- Giant Sand at Allmusic
- Giant Sand discography at Discogs
- [2] Official Discography Site
- [3] Live Archive