Giant Sand
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Giant Sand (formerly Giant Sandworms) is an American musical group from
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The groups have developed idiosyncratic sound rooted in
alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
, but touching on a wide range of other styles and featuring Gelb's
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
-influenced vocals and songwriting. Since about 2012, they have also performed as Giant Giant Sand when featuring a larger ensemble than their traditional four to six musicians.


History

Howe Gelb, also a prolific solo artist, started the group as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
. In 1980, an EP was released entitled ''Will Wallow and Roam After the Ruin.'' After which Gelb sacked the other members. 1983 saw the release of ''Valley of Rain'' on
Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...
with the shortened name of Giant Sand. It had Scott Garber on bass, Winston Watson on drums for most tracks, with Tommy Larkins drumming on the others. By 1990, John Convertino had become the band's drummer. Multi-instrumentalist Joey Burns joined around that time. Convertino and Burns formed Calexico in 1996, later leaving the group to concentrate on that project. In 2004, saw the first release without Convertino and Burns; the ''Is All Over the Map'' album.


Members

Members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of
Green on Red Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen p ...
), bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of
The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...
and was married to Gelb at the time), Mark Walton (of The Dream Syndicate and Continental Drifters), drummer Tom Larkins (later to become a Jonathan Richman sideman) who rejoined Giant Sand in 2019 (without quitting Richman's band), and Iain Shedden, drummer with Australian band The Saints. For a long while the band's
rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...
consisted of
John Convertino Calexico is an American indie rock band based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1996, the band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number ...
and Joey Burns. In the early 2000s Howe Gelb reinvented the band again – this time with players from Denmark. Guest artists over the last three decades have included Victoria Williams,
Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...
, Juliana Hatfield,
PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...
,
Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little (album), ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the rele ...
, Steve Wynn, Vicki Peterson, Rainer Ptacek, M. Ward, Isobel Campbell, Ilse DeLange of The Common Linnets, nearly all members of the band Poi Dog Pondering, and Indiosa Patsy Jean (Gelb and Brown's daughter).


Discography


Giant Sand

* 1985: ''Valley of Rain'' (Enigma Records) * 1986: '' Ballad of a Thin Line Man'' (Zippo) * 1988: ''Storm'' (What Goes On) * 1988: ''The Love Songs'' (Homestead) * 1989: ''Giant Sandwich'' (Homestead) * 1989: '' Long Stem Rant'' (Homestead) * 1990: '' Swerve'' (Demon) * 1991: '' Ramp'' (Restless/Rough Trade) * 1992: '' Center of the Universe'' (Restless) * 1993: '' Purge & Slouch'' (Brake Out) * 1993: ''Stromausfall'' (Return to Sender) * 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'' (Fire) * 2019: ''Recounting The Ballads Of Thin Line Men'' (Fire)


Giant Giant Sand

* 2012: ''Tucson: a Country Rock Opera'' (Fire) * 2016: ''Return to Tucson'' (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 Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
musicians which includes music and interviews with Giant Sand members *''Drunken Bees'' (1996) – a documentary about Giant Sand by
Marianne Dissard Marianne Dissard is a French-born American singer, photographer, author, producer, and filmmaker. She has released four albums, four EPs, and a number of singles and collaborations. She started touring abroad in 2006, including in countries ...
.


References


External links


Giant Sand
official website * Giant Sandat
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
*
Official Discography SiteGiant Sand at Fire Records
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Arizona Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona Rough Trade Records artists Loose Music artists Fire Records (UK) artists Restless Records artists Thrill Jockey artists New West Records artists Homestead Records artists Yep Roc Records artists