Giant Sand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Side projects
2 Discography
3 Filmography
4 References
5 External links

Giant Sand is an American rock band, based in Tucson, Arizona. Overseen by singer-songwriter Howe Gelb, its membership has shifted over the years—at times with each album. For a long while Giant Sand's rhythm section consisted of John Convertino and Joey Burns; the two left the band when their side project, Calexico, grew more widely known than Giant Sand and, as Gelb characterized it in 2004, Calexico "began to work against Giant Sand and eat away at what the band was"^[1]).

Other members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of Green on Red)^{[citation needed]}, bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of The Go-Go's and married to Gelb at the time^[2]) and drummer Tom Larkins (afterward a Jonathan Richman sideman).^{[citation needed]}

Guest artists have included Victoria Williams, Neko Case, Juliana Hatfield, PJ Harvey, Vic Chesnutt, Steve Wynn, Vicki Peterson, Rainer Ptacek, nearly all of Poi Dog Pondering and regular cameos from Gelb and Brown's daughter, Indiosa Patsy Jean.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Side projects

Besides his solo albums, Gelb's side projects include:

The Band of Blacky Ranchette: country-oriented, with guests including Lucinda Williams, Kurt Wagner (of Lambchop), Neko Case and Chan Marshall
OP8: a collaboration with Lisa Germano
Arizona Amp And Alternator^[3]
Sno Angel, a "gospel collaboration"^[2]

Gelb's multiple side projects have been characterized in various ways. In a 2004 interview, a journalist for The Guardian and Gelb himself provided the following explanation:^[1]

Gelb's way of dealing with it was to treat Giant Sand (not to be confused with his 1970s electro-rock band Giant Sandworms) as a loose, uncompetitive, mutually supportive musical collective, a place for friends to hang out and play. "I just liked the idea of having this kind of removed world, this brotherhood — the idea of a band being something more than a front person or dealing with the throes of fame."

During a 2006 interview, Gelb commented on one aspect of various projects:^[2]

‘Sno Angel’ is now the name of this project. Like you had Arizona Amp, OP8 and all those other ones. So they way I regulate them is to keep them with their own flavour, and if this take on a life of it’s own...which this may well do...it will make time for itself. I ‘aint got no plans, I never even thought we’d get to tour, but it had it’s own idea.

[edit] Discography

The following excludes live albums and compilations.

[edit] Giant Sand

Valley of Rain (1985)
Ballad of a Thin Line Man (1986)
Storm (1987)
The Love Songs (1988)
Long Stem Rant (1989)
Swerve (1990)
Ramp (1991)
Center of the Universe (1992)
Purge and Slouch (1993)
Stromausfall (1993)
Glum (1994)
Backyard Barbecue Broadcast (1995)^[4]
Chore of Enchantment (2000)
Rock Opera Years (2000)
Unsungglum (2001)
Cover Magazine (2001)
Infiltration of Dreams (2002)
Too Many Spare Parts... (2002)
...Is All Over...The Map (2004)

[edit] Arizona Amp And Alternator

Arizona Amp and Alternator (2005)

[edit] Howe Gelb

Dreaded Brown Recluse (1991)
Hisser (1998)
Down Home (1998)
Down Home 2000 (2000)
Confluence (2001)
Lull (some piano) (2001)
The Listener (2003)
Down Home 2002 (2003)
Ogle Some Piano (2004)
The Listener's Coffee Companion (2004)
Down Home 2004 (2004)
'Sno Angel Like You (2006)
Down Home 2007 Return to San Pedro (2007)

[edit] The Band of Blacky Ranchette

The Band of Blacky Ranchette (1985)
Heartland (1986)
Sage Advice (1990)
Still Lookin' Good to Me (2003)

[edit] OP8

Slush (1997)

[edit] Filmography

High And Dry: Where The Desert Meets Rock and Roll (2006) – documentary which includes music and interviews with Giant Sand members^[5]
This Band Has No Members (2006) – Howe Gelb solo concert film of Japan Tour 2005
Looking For A Thrill: An Anthology Of Inspiration (2005) – Howe Gelb interviewed
Drunken Bees (1996) – Giant Sand documentary by Marianne Dissard