Idiot Grins are 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 Wales ...

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

Band from Oakland, California formed in 2010. They are best known for their single "Get Busy Dying" which was a top 10 digital radio hit, and "Not Reggae" which reached #3. The band consists of Mike Conner (Piano and Organ), Evan Eustis (Bass, Mandolin, and Vocals), John Hansen (Vocals), Michael Melgoza (Drums), and Randy Strauss (Guitars).

Elmore Magazine ''Elmore'' Magazine is an American music publication founded in 2005 by Suzanne Cadgène and Arnie Goodman. With the motto, "Saving American Music," ''Elmore'' covers a wide variety of genres, including roots, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, ...

praised the bands ability to "create their own pastiche that works to their advantage."

Musical career

Idiot Grins are a Rock and Soul band from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. They have released five albums starting with ''Quarry'' from 2012, ''Big Man'' from 2015 and 2017's ''State of Health'' featuring the Byrd Sisters. ''State Of Health'' featured the Top 10 digital radio hit ''"Get Busy Dying"'' and Top 20 digital radio hit ''"Take it Back"''. ''Big Man'' was well received by the press. Key praise included: "''Big Man'' is an amalgamation of music that's near and dear to them; a blend of what they accomplished before and their admiration of

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface (API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read in ...

classics. If putting a new spin on a vintage sound was their goal, then mission accomplished." by

and "The entire length of ''Big Man'' is a classy, burning slice of soul, and would have easily found a home in the record shops of the 60’s." by Big Takeover. ''State Of Health'' was perhaps the bands most critically acclaimed album.

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

wrote of the record: "''State of Health'' is a scrumptious album. The melodies are catchy and drenched in charming harmonics, while the vocal harmonies set the entire album apart, especially the dulcet tones of The Byrd Sisters. If you're in the mood for some tasty, fun music, look no further."

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published con ...

wrote of ''State of Health'': "... and that's precisely what the Idiot Grins do on ''State of Health'' - resurrect the persistent, flamboyant grooves, gooey wah-wah pedals, fluid vocal harmonies, and the braying brass of Hayes' blend of psychedelia, soul, and deep southern blues."

Seattle PI Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

said of the single 'Get Busy Dying': "a dynamite soul number full of bright horns and the radiant harmonies of The Byrd Sisters. I love the intro on this song, the way it simmers with bubbling energy and then takes off. This is probably the best song on the album." They released their new album, ''Thoughts & Prayers'' on November 6, 2020. The record is a reinterpretation of the

Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira Louvin, Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and p ...

1959 country-gospel album ''

Satan is Real ''Satan Is Real'' is a gospel bluegrass album by American country music duo The Louvin Brothers, released in 1959. History Producer Ken Nelson set up recording sessions in August 1958 to record enough tracks for two albums. The first was to b ...

''. On ''Thoughts & Prayers'', the band cover songs including "

", " The Christian Life" and " The Angels Rejoiced."

Obscure Sound ''Obscure Sound'' is an mp3 blog launched in the mid-2000s by Mike Mineo. The website is updated daily with articles and reviews covering a range of musical genres, including indie rock, indie folk and electronica. Content ''Obscure Sound'' be ...

wrote: "Passionate vocals join throughout the album with a straightforward arsenal of guitar, bass, piano, and drums, appealing to those enamored by roots, Americana, and country music." Hounds of Mess Around was released in March of 2024. The lead single, Not Reggae, reached #3 on the Digital Radio Tracker Independent chart and #30 on the Rock chart as of May 30, 2024.

Discography

* Quarry (2010) * Big Man (2015) * State of Health (2017) * Thoughts & Prayers (2020) * Hounds of Mess Around (2024)

References

{{Reflist 2010 establishments in the United States Musical groups from Oakland, California American rock music groups