Arizona Legend Howe Gelb's debut recording, on white vinyl, was released on Boneless Records 5 years before changing the name to Giant Sand.
From Lost In the Grooves:
taking his cues from the new wave/ power pop sounds of the day, Gelb assumes a variety of personas for the EP's five tracks, ranging from Bryan Ferry to Mark Mothersbaugh. certainly fast, if not furious, 'Electro-gospel' sets the rapid chord-changing trend with chugging riffs, a tight rhythm section and deft organ fills. standout 'Me and My Rocket', plays down the frantic, new wavey guitars in favour of some wonderfully rich organ textures, and sees Gelb give a perfectly respectable turn as David Byrne(!). and whilst the horribly straight-laced 'Lipstick Criminals' lets things down somewhat, 'Steadfast' closes things in style by slowly building up to a grinding climax, helped by well-placed piano throughout and some subtle electronics.
From musicianguide.com: Howe Gelb was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, around 1956. In 1972, ...his father moved to Arizona, so Gelb began to go visit him and relocated to Tucson in 1975. There, he met German-born guitar virtuoso Rainer Ptacek, who was playing at a small local cafe. Soon after, Gelb returned to Wilkes-Barr and worked in a soda factory in order to earn enough money to make a permanent move to Arizona. Meanwhile, he started writing songs and remained in contact with Ptacek, talking to him often on the phone about starting up a band. Shortly before Gelb moved back to Tucson, Ptacek assembled a group with drummer Billy Sedlmayer and bass player David Seger to form the Giant Sandworms. They put out the EP Will Wallow and Roam after the Ruin on the local Boneless label in 1980. Two decades later, Gelb confessed in Magnet, "I'm totally embarrassed by this sort of David Byrne-style of singing I was latching onto." After this debut, the Giant Sandworms moved to New York City, but Sedlmayer's drug abuse forced them back to Arizona in 1981.
Soon, Ptacek quit the group as well, and Seger left to join Naked Prey. Gelb replaced Seger with bassist Scott Gerber, and changed the band's name to Giant Sand.
Giant Sandworms:
Howe Gelb (guitar, keyboards, electronics, bass, vocals)
Dave Seger (bass, guitars, vocals)
Billy Sedlmayer (drum kit, vocals)
Rainer Ptacek (guitars, wammy bar, background vocals)
Downloads all available on main page : http://azlocal.blogspot.com/
8 comments:
mmmm one of the AZ greats. . . . Wearnt they the Serfers befor Giant Sandworms?
—Brendan deVallance
Actually, the Serfers became Green On Red
Serfers Live set:
http://las-solanas.com/kwfm/tunein.php?view=7&fldr=the%20serfers&rtst=The%20Serfers&venu=Live%20at%20Westwood%20Recording%20Studios&date=1980
Here's the link for The Serfers Livehttp://las-solanas.com/kwfm/tunein.php?view=7&fldr=the%20serfers&rtst=The%20Serfers&venu=Live%20at%20Westwood%20Recording%20Studios&date=1980
if that doesn't work check out http://azlocal.googlepages.com and view The Serfers
Before they were Giant Sandworms they were The Pedestrians.
BTW, your link to the EP is dead. I used to own this and would like to hear it again if you still have it. Mine was a gift from Bill who was my neighbor, but it cracked 20 years ago. Thx.
I have refreshed the link, enjoy!
Thanks so much for this! Have been a Sand-fan for over 20 years and have never come across this little gem.
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