Howe Gelb
ABOUT
‘56
born in wilkes-barre. pennsylvania .. a small factory laden / coal mining town .. raised by wolves
‘60s
alvino rey and his singing guitar become a televised influence
‘70s
pennsylvania home destroyed by flood and tucson arizona happens in its wake
bestowed free 4 track recording time at npr affiliate wvia hosted and engineered by george graham .. records several sessions including his country duo “wow and flutter” and in the punk band “the stains” … as well as his own rock opera “zeqe 24.088”
meets * rainer ptacek * in tucson
‘80s
giant sandworms happen with rainer
along with billy sedlmayr and dave seger
after the band becomes too popular in tucson, they relocate to the lower east side in NYC for a year
giant sand emerges from the ashes of giant sandworms with bassist scott garber along with drummers winston watson and tommy larkins
records / releases 2 albums by his own country band the band of … blacky ranchette and records / releases 2 giant sand albums
produces rainer and das combo’s “barefoot rock with …”
begins touring life in the USA and europe
meets and marries new bassist paula brown from the go go’s .. baby daughter born in hollywood
discovers drummer john convertino & invites him into the band
records and releases 3 or 4 more giant sand albums and another the band of … blacky ranchette before the decade ends.
relocates to joshua tree area near pioneertown after divorce
befriends pappy
90’s
discovers bassist joey burns & invites him into the band
moves back to tucson and suggests the band follow
giant sand become a buzz band
discovers grandaddy
records about 8 more giant sand albums and some solo records too
re invents the band as op8 with special guest lisa germano
rainer diagnosed with brain cancer
produces benefit/tribute album “the inner flame” along with rainer fan robert plant
remarries sofie albertsen from denmark
rainer dies
band begins to divide into 2 ..
rhythm section form calexico
baby son is born
‘00s
tours solo more frequently
discovers m. ward
relocates to aarhus denmark for 5 months to have another baby
giant sand is reinvented with a band of danish players
records several more giant sand albums
records more solo albums, one with a canadian gospel choir (receiving a 5 star review in mojo) and another with andalucian flamenco gypsies which include maestro raimundo amador
re-issues entire back catalogue on fire records ( about 50 albums )
‘10s
giant sand expand into giant giant sand, doubling it’s previous size, combining equal parts danes and new young tucson players
produces KT Tunstall’s critically acclaimed album
assists in the recording of dutch actress carice van houten’s 1st album and pens her second single
howe is discovered by gary briggs
releases solo album “the coincidentalist” for new west records which features m. ward, steve shelley + thøger lund along with guest appearances by will oldham, kt tunstall + andrew bird
produces Sylvie Simmons’s first album
records giant³ sand album “Heartbreak Pass” all over the planet with many friends guesting in a variety of line-ups .. . from an intimate cluster up to 2o members strong by including the gospel choir on occasion
the new album marks 30 years since the first Giant Sand release of “Valley of Rain”.
between the exponential cubed expansion of the band to the sheer audacity of its 3 decade life span, giant sand and giant giant sand are now dead .. .
. .. long live
giant³ sand
born in wilkes-barre. pennsylvania .. a small factory laden / coal mining town .. raised by wolves
‘60s
alvino rey and his singing guitar become a televised influence
‘70s
pennsylvania home destroyed by flood and tucson arizona happens in its wake
bestowed free 4 track recording time at npr affiliate wvia hosted and engineered by george graham .. records several sessions including his country duo “wow and flutter” and in the punk band “the stains” … as well as his own rock opera “zeqe 24.088”
meets * rainer ptacek * in tucson
‘80s
giant sandworms happen with rainer
along with billy sedlmayr and dave seger
after the band becomes too popular in tucson, they relocate to the lower east side in NYC for a year
giant sand emerges from the ashes of giant sandworms with bassist scott garber along with drummers winston watson and tommy larkins
records / releases 2 albums by his own country band the band of … blacky ranchette and records / releases 2 giant sand albums
produces rainer and das combo’s “barefoot rock with …”
begins touring life in the USA and europe
meets and marries new bassist paula brown from the go go’s .. baby daughter born in hollywood
discovers drummer john convertino & invites him into the band
records and releases 3 or 4 more giant sand albums and another the band of … blacky ranchette before the decade ends.
relocates to joshua tree area near pioneertown after divorce
befriends pappy
90’s
discovers bassist joey burns & invites him into the band
moves back to tucson and suggests the band follow
giant sand become a buzz band
discovers grandaddy
records about 8 more giant sand albums and some solo records too
re invents the band as op8 with special guest lisa germano
rainer diagnosed with brain cancer
produces benefit/tribute album “the inner flame” along with rainer fan robert plant
remarries sofie albertsen from denmark
rainer dies
band begins to divide into 2 ..
rhythm section form calexico
baby son is born
‘00s
tours solo more frequently
discovers m. ward
relocates to aarhus denmark for 5 months to have another baby
giant sand is reinvented with a band of danish players
records several more giant sand albums
records more solo albums, one with a canadian gospel choir (receiving a 5 star review in mojo) and another with andalucian flamenco gypsies which include maestro raimundo amador
re-issues entire back catalogue on fire records ( about 50 albums )
‘10s
giant sand expand into giant giant sand, doubling it’s previous size, combining equal parts danes and new young tucson players
produces KT Tunstall’s critically acclaimed album
assists in the recording of dutch actress carice van houten’s 1st album and pens her second single
howe is discovered by gary briggs
releases solo album “the coincidentalist” for new west records which features m. ward, steve shelley + thøger lund along with guest appearances by will oldham, kt tunstall + andrew bird
produces Sylvie Simmons’s first album
records giant³ sand album “Heartbreak Pass” all over the planet with many friends guesting in a variety of line-ups .. . from an intimate cluster up to 2o members strong by including the gospel choir on occasion
the new album marks 30 years since the first Giant Sand release of “Valley of Rain”.
between the exponential cubed expansion of the band to the sheer audacity of its 3 decade life span, giant sand and giant giant sand are now dead .. .
. .. long live
giant³ sand
VIDEO