The Gerbils were an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band that formed in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, United States, in 1998. Part of

the Elephant Six Collective The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include the Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, the Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, ...

, the band released two albums and toured nationwide during their tenure.

Bio

The band consisted of Scott Spillane, John D'Azzo and Will Westbrook, who were college roommates in

Ruston, LA Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent ...

, along with

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Penny Burbank. They released a couple singles on different independent record labels between 1996 and 1998 before recording Are You Sleepy, (which included the four previously released songs) in 1998 on

Hidden Agenda Records Hidden or The Hidden may refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Hidden'' (film), a 1987 American science fiction/horror film * ''Hidden'' (2005 film) or ''Caché'', a French thriller film * ''Hidden'' (2009 film), a Norwegian horror film ...

. Spillane's

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

bandmate Jeremy Barnes eventually joined as drummer, which drove the somewhat

twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation ''C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love ...

sound of the band's first album towards a more energetic hard rock. The members of the band soon decided to call it quits unofficially with a farewell show in 1999 in Athens. While D'Azzo pursued interests in California, Spillane and Westbrook (with the help of members of Of Montreal and

Elf Power Elf Power is an American indie rock band that originated in Athens, Georgia, United States. The line-up consists of guitarist/vocalist Andrew Rieger, keyboardist Laura Carter, guitarist Dave Wrathgabar, bassist Bryan Poole, and drummer Peter A ...

) finished mixing the album that was completed with Chris Bishop prior to their separation. After the album, ''The Battle of Electricity'', was completed, the Gerbils did a national tour with Elf Power before again separating. The band eventually reformed in 2004, playing regularly and becoming fully active. Guitarist Will Westbrook died on Monday, December 11, 2006 due to an undisclosed illness. After his death, The Gerbils disbanded, with Spillane and D'Azzo occasionally performing Gerbils' songs together afterwards.

Releases

Along with various contributions to compilation albums, the Gerbils have released two albums and three singles on a variety of labels.

Albums

* ''

Are You Sleepy? ''Are You Sleepy?'' is the debut album of The Gerbils The Gerbils were an American indie rock band that formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1998. Part of the Elephant Six Collective, the band released two albums and toured nationwide ...

'' (CD/LP) - Hidden Agenda - 1998 * ''

The Battle of Electricity ''The Battle of Electricity'' is the second and final album by Athens-based Elephant 6 band The Gerbils The Gerbils were an American indie rock band that formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1998. Part of the Elephant Six Collective, ...

'' (CD/LP) -

Orange Twin Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

- 2001

Singles

* "Grin"/"Crayon Box" (7") -

Spare Me Records Spare Me Records was an independent record label based in Williamsburg, New York, active between 1996 and 2002. It specialized in supporting and internationally releasing albums by local (i.e., New York) talent, but released work by non-locals, ...

- 1996 * "Glue"/"Is She Fiona" (7") - Hidden Agenda - 1997 * "Lucky Girl"/"Big White Limo" -

Earworm An earworm, sometimes referred to as a brainworm, sticky music, stuck song syndrome, or, most commonly after earworms, Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI), is a catchy and/or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person ...

- 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerbils, The The Elephant 6 Recording Company artists Indie rock musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Musical groups from Athens, Georgia