The Gersch is a band founded in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1996. They have been on extended hiatus since 1999 with the only activity since that time being the 2006 release of their self-titled album, mixed and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and

Bryant Clifford Meyer Bryant Clifford Meyer (sometimes credited as Clifford Meyer, BC Meyer, Cliff Meyer or Bryant C Meyer) is a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his tenure with Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis. He was with the ban ...

, as well as a reunion performance on June 22, 2013 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Biography

Guitarists Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and B. Clifford Meyer got together in 1996 in

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

to form a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band. They eventually hooked up with drummer Jonathan Ruhe who performed with them throughout their original incarnation and also plays on their self-titled album. In 1997 a 7-inch single of two songs by The Gersch was released by Tortuga Recordings. "Bloodbottom" b/w "Listwish" was release number 001 for Tortuga Recordings,. In 1998 and 1999 The Gersch appeared on a Polterchrist Records compilation titled " Benefit For El Chupacabra", as well as a Tortuga Recordings compilation, " Metal Is A Tough Business". During these years Justin, and then a year later, Graham, left Boston and so had to leave the band . Clifford and Jonathan performed into 1999 as a two piece, but finally put it on hiatus when Clifford joined

Isis (band) Isis (sometimes stylized ISIS) was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997 by guitarist and vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Jeff Caxide, vocalist and electronic instrumentalist Chris Mereschuk and drummer Aaron Harr ...

and Jonathan joined the

-based Ho-Ag. On June 6, 2006, they released a 45-minute CD titled "The Gersch" on Tortuga Recordings. It was released on LP by Shock Value Records under exclusive license from Tortuga Recordings on December 21, 2007. It was mixed, edited and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and

, and put together from different recording sessions from the late 1990s. Nick Zampiello of New Alliance Studio in Boston mastered the album for CD and LP.

Reunion

The Gersch ended their long hiatus by performing at The PRF "Excellent Italian" BBQ 2013, a four-day music festival in

on June 22, 2013. This was their first public performance in 15 years. The lineup included original members Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and

(

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, Red Sparowes,

Taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

, Palms) on vocals and guitars, with Brian Lynn ( Indian, Behold! The Living Corpse) on drums. The PRFBBQ is an annual underground music festival put together by an international collective of musicians and artists who congregate around the

Electrical Audio Electrical Audio is a recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there. Unlike most producers, Albini refused to take any roya ...

studio web forums.

Genre

Their sound is a combination of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, hardcore,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

and

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

. They are commonly labeled

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...

, drone-metal and sludge-metal. They have borrowed and helped to evolve a sound pioneered by the likes of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

Sleep Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands in ...

Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with thei ...

and even Black Flag. Some reviews have also compared their sound to the roster of bands that appeared on the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

-based label Amphetamine Reptile during the 1990s.

Members

*Justin Sosnovski:

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

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 ...

(1996-1997, 2006-2007, 2013) *Graham Hick:

(1996-1998, 2006-2007, 2013) *

(1996-1999, 2006-2007, 2013) *Brian Lynn:

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 ...

(2013)

Past members

*Jonathan Ruhe:

(1996-1999)

Discography

*"Bloodbottom" b/w "Listwish". 7 inch 33RPM single. November 15, 1997. Tortuga Recordings No. 001. *"Magnificent Desolation". Benefit for El Chupacabra CD. Spring 1998. A Polterchrist Records Compilation. *"Face". Metal is a Tough Business CD. Summer 1999. A Tortuga Recordings Compilation. * The Gersch s/t CD. June 6, 2006. Tortuga Recordings No. 034.*'' The Gersch'' full length LP. December 21, 2008. Shock Value Records * The Gersch s/t LP. December 21, 2007. Shock Value Records under exclusive license from Tortuga Recordings. * Live From The Fallout Shelter thegersch.bandcamp.com. December 3, 2022 Graham F'ing Hick Productions. Recorded live at WJUL in Lowell, MA on June 9, 1997.

Related projects

* Red Sparowes * Windmills by the Ocean * Ho-Ag * Taiga (band) * Tombs (band) *

Palms (band) Palms is an American post-metal supergroup that formed in 2011. The group features Deftones' vocalist Chino Moreno and three members of the post-metal band Isis: bassist Jeff Caxide, drummer Aaron Harris and guitarist Bryant Clifford M ...

* Indian * Behold! The Living Corpse

References

External links

Tortuga Recordings

The Gersch
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gersch, The Musical groups established in 1996 Heavy metal musical groups from Massachusetts Drone metal musical groups