Giant Sand is an American musical group from

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter

Howe Gelb Howe Gelb (born October 22, 1956, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona. Projects Gelb's approach to music is collaborative and he has recorded with a number of s ...

. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and paisley underground scenes. They later shortened their name and developed an idiosyncratic sound rooted in

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

, but touching on a wide range of other styles and featuring Gelb's

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

-influenced vocals and songwriting. Since about 2012, they have also performed as Giant Giant Sand when featuring a larger ensemble than their traditional four to six musicians. Members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of

Green on Red Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psy ...

), bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

and was married to Gelb at the time), Mark Walton (of

The Dream Syndicate The Dream Syndicate is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1981 to 1989, and reunited since 2012. The band is associated with neo-psychedelia and the Paisley Underground music movement; of the ba ...

and

Continental Drifters The Continental Drifters were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991 and dissolved in New Orleans, Louisiana about a decade later. Though the line-up changed several times, at one point the band comprised a kind of colleg ...

), drummer Tom Larkins (later to become a

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

sideman), and Iain Shedden, drummer with Australian band The Saints. For a long while the band's

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

consisted of

John Convertino Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Q ...

and

Joey Burns Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Q ...

(of

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

fame). In the early 2000s Howe Gelb reinvented the band again – this time with players from Denmark. Guest artists over the last three decades have included

Victoria Williams Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multi ...

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Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...

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Rainer Ptacek Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer (June 7, 1951 – November 12, 1997), was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, f ...

M. Ward Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...

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, nearly all members of the band

Poi Dog Pondering Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group which is noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Frank Orrall founded the band in Hawaii in 1984, initially as a solo pr ...

, and Indiosa Patsy Jean (Gelb and Brown's daughter).

Discography

Giant Sand

* 1985: ''Valley of Rain'' (Enigma Records) * 1986: '' Ballad of a Thin Line Man'' (Zippo) * 1988: ''The Love Songs'' (Homestead) * 1988: ''Storm'' (What Goes On) * 1988: ''Long Stem Rant'' (Homestead) * 1989: ''Giant Sandwich'' (Homestead) * 1990: '' Swerve'' (Demon) * 1991: ''

Ramp An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

'' (Restless/Rough Trade) * 1992: ''Center of the Universe'' (Restless) * 1994 ''Stromausfall'' (Return to Sender) * 1993: ''Purge & Slouch'' (Brake Out) * 1994: ''Glum'' (Imago) * 1995: ''Goods and Services'' (Brake Out) * 1995: ''Backyard Barbecue Broadcast'' (Koch) * 1997: ''Official Bootleg Series Volume 1: Build Your Own Night It's Easy'' (¡Epiphany!) * 2000: '' Chore of Enchantment'' (Loose) * 2000: ''Official Bootleg Series Volume 2: The Rock Opera Years'' (OW OM Finished Recorded Products) * 2001: ''Official Bootleg Series Volume 3: Unsungglum'' (OW OM Finished Recorded Products) * 2001: ''Selections Circa 1990–2000'' (V2 Records Benelux) * 2002: '' Cover Magazine'' (Thrill Jockey) * 2002: ''Infiltration of Dreams'' (Mucchio Extra) * 2003: ''Official Bootleg Series Volume 5: Too Many Spare Parts in the Yard Too Close at Hand'' (OW OM Recorded Products) * 2004: ''Is All Over the Map'' (Thrill Jockey) * 2008: ''*proVISIONS*'' (Thrill Jockey) * 2008: ''Provisional Supplement'' (OW OM Recorded Products) * 2010: ''Blurry Blue Mountain'' (Fire) * 2015: ''Heartbreak Pass'' (New West) * 2018: ''Returns To Valley Of Rain'' (Fire) * 2019: ''Recounting The Ballads Of Thin Line Men'' (Fire)

Giant Giant Sand

* 2012: ''Tucson; a Country Rock Opera'' (Fire)

Melted Wires

* 2010 ''Melted Wires (self-released)

Howe Gelb

* 2011: ''Snarl Some Piano (Scatterland)

Filmography

* "Good Luck Suckers" Giant Sand's concert at the Trabendo in Paris – France 2016 Editing in DVD with the documentary "Sounds of Tucson" – Director Guillaume Dero – La Huit. * Score for ''Ingenius'' (2011) – feature film with Jeremy Renner (Bleiberg Distribution) * ''High and Dry: Where the Desert Meets Rock and Roll'' (2006) – a documentary about

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

musicians which includes music and interviews with Giant Sand members *''Drunken Bees'' (1996) – a documentary about Giant Sand by

Marianne Dissard Marianne Dissard (born 20 May 1969 in France) is a singer, lyricist and author, and filmmaker who lived in the United States from 1985 to 2013, including Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2013. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" wi ...

References

External links

Giant Sand
official website *

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*
Official Discography SiteGiant Sand at Fire Records
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Arizona Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona Rough Trade Records artists Loose Music artists Fire Records (UK) artists Restless Records artists Thrill Jockey artists New West Records artists Homestead Records artists Yep Roc Records artists