An Albatross is a

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

History

Formed in the fall of 1999 by guitarist Jake Lisowski, vocalist Edward B. Gieda III, drummer Chris Abbott, bassist Jason Hudak, and organist Phillip Reynolds Price, the band quickly amassed material and recorded their cassette demo "1.) Sex 2.) Bird 3.) Cake." The following summer marked the first of many expansive tours that An Albatross has become renowned for. In 2001, Philadelphian upstart label When Humans Attack! Records produced and released the ''Eat Lightning, Shit Thunder'' 12" EP. Following the release of the 12", the CD version was pressed with permission by Bloodlink Records. The record was completed in two sessions during the winter months of 2000–2001 at Dungeon Studios in

Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total population of 85,681, making it the state's sixth-most populated mun ...

, PA. Despite the record only consisting of 11 minutes of music, nearly 20 hours were spent recording and mixing the record. Creatively ''Eat Lightning, Shit Thunder'' was a departure from the

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

-based, deep/growled-vocal laiden 1999 demo and resembled a hybrid of early 1990s

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

, and hints of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. The 12" EP debut spawned an exhaustive tour that bled into the writing and recording process of their second album, ''We Are The Lazer Viking'' CD-EP. During the writing process of ''We Are The Lazer Viking'', percussionist Jeremy Gewertz replaced Christopher Abbott, and synth player, Kat Paffett was added. The six person line-up heightened the creative potential of the group and eventually culminated in the

Ace Fu Records Ace Fu Records is an independent record label founded in 1998 by Eric Speck. It is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The label went on indefinite hiatus in 2007. Roster *Acid Mothers Temple * Annuals * An Albatross * Aqui * The Dears * Devotchka ...

2003 release, ''We Are The Lazer Viking''. The eleven-song/eight-minute "fetid noise rock blither" was recorded at the defunct Fun City Studio in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and produced by

Wharton Tiers Wharton Tiers (born 1953, in Philadelphia) is an American audio engineer, record producer, drummer and percussionist. Biography After receiving a diploma from Villanova University (Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania), he moved to Ne ...

, who had previously worked with

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, Dinosaur Jr. and

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

. The composition and recording of ''We Are The Lazer Viking'' is markedly more complex and progressive, making heavy usage of synthesizers and erratic time signatures. The EP fueled nearly three years of extensive national touring (which landed the group a spot at France's 2004

Eurockéennes The Eurockéennes de Belfort (; ) is one of France's largest rock music festivals. The Eurockéennes, a play on words involving ''rock'' (rock music) and ''européennes'' (Europeans), is a festival based in a nature reserve beside Lac de Malsau ...

festival) and created a hugely devoted cult-like following throughout North America and Europe. The buzz also caught ear of English DJ/journalist

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, which precipitated into an invite to record a session for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, which the band recorded in March 2005. Prior to the band's second trip to Europe, Jeremy Gewertz was replaced by drummer Ed Klinger. An Albatross toured nearly 130-odd dates with Klinger throughout the US and Europe (including the BBC session). In the summer of 2005, the group labored in

Park Slope, Brooklyn A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

, composing the impossible Blessphemy...of the Peace Beast Feastgiver and the Bear Warp Kumite, which would be recorded months later at the unlikely Don One Studios in Brooklyn by Carl Golembeski and Mike Peccio. Drummer Steven Vaiani took the percussion reigns for the subsequent Blessphemy tours (2006–08), which have amounted in more than 200 shows since January 2006 in supporting the likes of

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...

Melt Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock and hardcore punk mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toure ...

, DMBQ, and Lightning Bolt throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In October 2007, former leader of New Jersey's The Post Office Gals, Daniel Schlett, joined on guitars and the group quickly amassed material for a future album. In a quick succession of events, the band announced a spring 2008/

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

tour sans guitarist Lisowski, a signing with New Jersey's

Eyeball Records Eyeball Records is an independent record label originally established in NYC out of Apartment 4C on 14th St at Avenue A by Alex Saavedra and Vincent Li. The label later moved to Kearny, New Jersey. Eyeball has released albums by artists such as ...

in April 2008, and a rigorous 40-day studio schedule that would culminate in the October 21, 2008 release of the group's third full-length album "The An Albatross Family Album". "The An Albatross The Family Album" tours extended from 2008 to 2010 with a grueling itinerary. The 120+ date tour spanned 13 countries, featured support dates with

Enter Shikari Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...

Don Caballero Don Caballero (often shortened by members as 'Don Cab') was an American math rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although the band has had numerous lineup changes with co-founder Damon Che (drums and percussion) being the only constant m ...

, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, co-headlining tours with

White Mice "White Mice" is a special edition sketch of the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', first broadcast on 24 December 1985 on BBC Breakfast Time. Synopsis A parody, spoof investigation of Del Boy is conducted by the BBC Breakfast show, ''Breakfa ...

, DMBQ, AIDS Wolf, Yip-Yip,

Dark Meat In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw (and a dark color after it is cooked), in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before (and after) cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified ...

, and high-profile appearances at the 2009

Dour Festival Dour Festival is an annual music festival in the municipality of Dour, Belgium. Since its creation in 1988, the festival has grown to an attendance of about 225,000 in 2015 (over 5 days). The first year, only five bands were programmed (includi ...

, Czech Fluff Festival and

Fun Fun Fun Fest Fun Fun Fun Fest (often abbreviated as "FFF" or "F3F") was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. It featured stages that focused specifically on hip-hop / electronica, indie rock, punk / metal, and comedy. S ...

ival. Though the tour was a resounding success, the band experienced personnel turbulence – notably the departure of Schlett and Price in 2009 and 2010. In 2016, with the encouragement of longtime friends, Daughters, An Albatross were billed in Philadelphia, alongside the Providence group for the first time in five years. This show subsequently spawned a string of regional & East Coast dates including an appearance at the 2017

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual List of music festivals, music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 ve ...

festival. Presently the band is working in the studio with plans to return to Europe for a summer 2018 tour. In July 2020, they released their EP ''Return of the Lazer Viking.''

Members

;Current *Edward B. Gieda III –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(1999–present) *Jason Hudak –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(1999–present) *Daniel Kishbaugh –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(2017–present) *Steven Vaiani –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2006–present) *Kat Paffett –

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

(2002–08, 2016–present) *Bubba Ayoub –

& projections (2017–present) ;Former & Revolving *Phillip Reynolds Price –

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(1999-2010) *Christopher Abbott –

(1999-2002) *Jake Lisowski –

(1999-2008) *Jeremy Gewertz –

(2002-2005) *Kyle Fisher –

*Ed Klinger –

(2005-2006) *Daniel Schlett –

(2007-2009) *Jeff Gregorio – Saxophone *Jonathan Novakovich *Robert Stitzer *Carl Golembeski

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

EPs / Splits

Demos

*''1.)Sex 2.)Bird 3.)Cake'' (Cassette tape – 1999) *''An Albatross & Carl G.'' (3" CD's – tour only 2000)

Other appearances

*''Hoags 2xCD'' – "Channel 96.2" (2003)

Videography

*''Godass'' Soundtrack (2000) Directed by Esther Bell *''Presto Majesto'' (2003) – Included as part of the bonus material on the ''We Are the Lazer Viking'' CD, along with several videos of live performances. *''Lab Results Volume One'' (2006) – A collection of videos and live performances from

Gold Standard Labs Gold Standard Laboratories or GSL was an independent record label which was founded in 1993 in Boulder, Colorado by Sonny Kay. In 2000, it was relocated to San Diego, California, United States, and two years later, to Los Angeles. It was headqu ...

Records artists. *''Kevin Dougherty Presents'' (2006) – A collection of animations & edited/raw live footage from local shows & rehearsals. Available on tour-only. *''

Viva La Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

'' (2006) Episode 204: Mardi Gras Part 1

References

External links

Official An Albatross websiteAce Fu RecordsAn Albatross Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albatross American noise rock music groups Nintendocore musical groups Musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania Ace Fu Records artists