An Albatross is a

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

band based in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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 Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the List of United States cities b ...

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

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme 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 ...

, and hints of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

. 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 * Devotch ...

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 (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and produced by Wharton Tiers, who had previously worked with Sonic Youth,

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

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 protect ...

. 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 (; en, Eurockeans of Belfort) are 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 re ...

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, 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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, 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, 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 An Albatross is a noise rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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, ...

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, and ...

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

, 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 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 (stylised as enter: shikari and occasionally as ΣΠΤΣ℞ SΗΦΚ∆℞Φ) are a British rock band formed in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and dr ...

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

, ...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 __NOTOC__ AIDS Wolf was a Canadian noise rock band, founded in Montreal in 2003, by the graphic arts team of Chloe Lum (aka Special Deluxe) and Yannick Desranleau (aka Hiroshima Thunder), otherwise known as Seripop. They were joined by Myles Brosco ...

Yip-Yip Yip-Yip is an experimental, electronic music duo from Winter Park, Florida formed in March 2001, known for their unique style combining aspects of electronica, ska, and jazz and for their eccentric costumes. Style Their music is often cited a ...

Dark Meat In culinary terms, white meat is meat which is pale in color before and after cooking. In traditional gastronomy, ''white meat'' also includes rabbit, the flesh of milk-fed young mammals (in particular veal and lamb), and sometimes pork. In ecotr ...

, and high-profile appearances at the 2009 Dour Festival, Czech Fluff Festival and Fun Fun Fun Festival. 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 A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

, 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 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 venues across the city, most ...

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 act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(1999-present) *Jason Hudak – bass (1999-present) *Daniel Kishbaugh –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(2017-present) *Steven Vaiani – drums (2006-present) *Kat Paffett –

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

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

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

(1999-2010) *Christopher Abbott – drums (1999-2002) *Jake Lisowski –

(1999-2008) *Jeremy Gewertz – drums (2002-2005) *Kyle Fisher – organ,

*Ed Klinger – drums (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 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