“Originally released in 2009”
Check out this brand new 2-disc package! It contains a DVD of the “Winging It” film and a Live concert audio CD!

1. Paradise Here Abouts
2. Dirty From The Rain
3. That’s How Things Get Done
4. Spiral
5. Robes Of Bible Black
6. Vortexas
7. Ballad Of The Tucson 2
8. Hey Man
9. Worried Spirits
10. Howlin’ A Gale
11. Nail In The Sky
12. Astonished
13. But I Did Not
14. Love Knows (No Borders)

CD/DVD package:
(prices include shipping)
US & Canada $25

Worldwide $30

Live Concert CD NOW Available Digitally!

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Recorded in 2006 at the Ottawa National Archives, Canada

Live sound by Rob Petrachuk

Recorded by Jarrett Bartlett

Mixing by Dave Draves at Little Bullhorn Studios Ottawa

Mastering by Jim Blackwood at AZPM

Track 13 Recorded in Reading, UK by Anders Boll, 2006

Produced by Dave Draves and Howe Gelb

“Originally released in 2008”

1. Ballad of the Tucson 2 (inst.)
2. Dear Diary
3. Saturation
4. The New Romance of Falling
5. Love Knows (No Borders)
6. Dead Horse Blues
7. World’s End Park Bench
8. Harping Stomp
9. Shine on the Piano
10. Ok
11. Greyer on the Way
12. Ballad of the Tucson 2

US / Canada $16 (CD)
Worldwide $20 (CD)

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all songs by Howe Gelb

Copyright 2008 Scatterland My Little Darlin’ (BMI)

Howe Gelb: guitar, piano, harp + sung
Thoger Lund: bass
Peter Dombernowsky: drums
Anders Pedersen: lap steel + guitar
Henriette Sennenveldt: vocal track 4
Kent Olsen: drums track 2
Nicolai Lund: bass track 2
Frank Pontoppidan: 2nd guitar track 2

Recorded mostly by Kent Olsen
Mastered by Jim Blackwood

Cover drawing by Howe

01. Stranded Pearl
02. Without a Word
03. Can Do
04. Out There
05. The Desperate Kingdom of Love
06. Increment of Love
07. Spiral
08. Pitch & Sway
09. Muck Machine
10. Belly Full Of Fire
11. Saturated Beyond Repair
12. World’s End State Park
13. Well Enough Alone

US / Canada $18 (CD)
Worldwide $22 (CD)
(price includes shipping)

180 Gram Vinyl ~ NOW Available!
This luscious double-lp includes the full “proVISIONS” album AND a code to download the album digitally PLUS 6 bonus piano tracks:
1) Spiral (Live from Tucson)
2) Conditioned Air
3) Random Stillness Then Flame and Go
4) Tangulation
5) Alone and Nested Drone
6) Loss and its Hold on Us

US / Canada $30 (2LP)
Worldwide $35 (2LP)
(price includes shipping)

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recent press

9.19.08 The Capital Times – Madison
9.17.08 Dusted
9.16.08 Village Voice – INTERVIEW!
9.16.08 Blurt review
9.15.08 Tiny Mix Tapes
9.12.08 Blurt – INTERVIEW!
9.10.08 Pitchfork
9.10.08 NOW Toronto
9.10.08 The Arizona Republic
9.5.08 KCRW
9.5.08 The Guardian
9.5.08 Tuneraker
9.4.08 Paste Magazine
9.3.08 MSNBC
9.3.08 Yahoo! News
9.2.08 UNCUT
9.2.08 SPIN Magazine
9.2.08 Popmatters
9.2.08 The Onion
8.31.08 Philadelphia Enquirer
8.28.08 Aquarium Drunkard – INTERVIEW!
8.22.08 Live Daily
8.22.08 Delusions of Adequacy
8.22.08 Blogcritics.org
8.12.08 Blurt Magazine

VIDEOS

INCREMENT OF LOVE

SPIRAL

1. Conditioned Air
2. Ranch Hand
3. Excursion Without Your Ilk
4. Tangulation
5. Not Having A Brother Jacob
6. Loop With Air Conditioning
7. Random Stillness Then Flame And Go
8. Loss And Its Hold On Us
9. Denmark Stunningly Soaked
10. B Flat Or Be Gone
11. The Original Unconditional Air
12. Alone And Nested Drone
13. Excursion With Fine Cluster
14. The Laughter Of A Small Bird
15. Spider Smoke
16. Cake Baked In The Sand
17. Ac Hum And Response
18. Lurid Involvement
19. Creating Your Likeness By Candlelight
20. Excursion Disruption
21. The End Again

US / Canada $16 (CD)
Worldwide $20 (CD)

NOW Available Digitally!

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recent press

4.17.08 Arizona Daily Star – Caliente

All songs by howe gelb

howe gelb – piano

thØger t. lund – bass

peter dombernowsky – drums 5,10,14,18

john convertino – drums 1,6,8,13,16,17

kent olsen – drums 2,9

nicolai land – bass 2,9

recorded in various locations during random instances

by jim blackwood, chris shultz, nick luca,

kent olsen and frank birch pontoppidan

More info coming soon

1. Highway
2. Blue Morning
3. Wanted Ads
4. White Noise
5. To Please
6. Message Forgot
7. Badminton Racquet
8. Beyond The Sun
9. We Are Gone
10. Don’t Look Down
11. On A String

NOW Available!

Order the cd direct from OW OM!
(prices include shipping)
$18 US (CD)
$22 Worldwide (CD)

Vinyl ~ NOW Available!

US / Canada $25 (LP)
Worldwide $30 (LP)
(price includes shipping)

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Also available at Rhapsody, Napster, and more..

recent press

4.17.08 Arizona Daily Star – Caliente
2.7.08 Ottawa XPress
2.2.08 Edmonton Sun
1.28.08 Creem Magazine
1.18.08 WXPN My Morning Download
1.17.08 Herohill

All songs by Kate Maki except Badminton Racquet by Kate Maki and Nathan Lawr
Produced by Howe Gelb with assistance from Kate Maki and Dave Draves
Recorded and mixed by Dave Draves at Little Bullhorn
Mastered by John Golden at Golden Mastering

Kate Maki (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano)
Howe Gelb (vocals, electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer, organ, optigan, bottles, train whistle)
Dave Draves (vocals, optigan, organ)
Dale Murray (vocals, pedal steel, acoustic and electric guitars)
Nathan Lawr (vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, piano)

Canadian alt-folk singer Kate Maki will release her third album “On High” February 12th, 2008 on OW OM in the United States, Confusion Unlimited in Canada, and Saved By Vinyl worldwide. Co-produced by Kate and Tucson, Arizona phenomenon Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), the album was recorded live off the floor by Dave Draves (Julie Doiron) at Little Bullhorn Studios in Ottawa, Ontario over a period of five days in March 2007. There are 11 new songs featuring Howe on piano and electric guitar, Dave on optigan and organ, Dale Murray (Buck 65) on pedal steel and acoustic guitar, and Nathan Lawr (Royal City) on drums and piano. All four musicians also lent their vocals to what are being described as Kate’s strongest songs to date. Previous releases: “The Sun Will Find Us” (2004) and “Confusion Unlimited” (2003)

VIDEOS

WE ARE GONE

TO PLEASE (studio recording clip)

1. Voodoo Music
2. Mellow Down Easy
3. Wayfaring Stranger
4. Backwater Blues
5. Mush Mind Blues
6. All Done In
7. Fear
8. Just A Little Bit
9. Zealots Serve Dogmas (Acoustic)
10. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
11. Zealots Serve Dogmas
12. I Am A Sinner

US / Canada $18 (CD)
Worldwide $22 (CD)

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VIDEOS

BACKWATER BLUES (LIVE 1989)

“these unearthed tapes were recorded in the best studio tucson had to offer at the time and were recently rediscovered and dusted off properly by jim blackwood. and so now, with its scorching tumble, we all get to stumble into celebrating rainer, with this joyous sonic soar that soothes the sorrow of his death 10 years ago. he was my best friend. he was my brother. and he taught without really teaching.”
– howe gelb

OW OM Finished Recorded Products presents Rainer: The Westwood Sessions Volume I. The first of three volumes, we consider these timeless recordings far too precious to be heard by just a lucky handful.

Ten years after his passing, and twenty years after these marathon recording sessions took place, what is captured here is an astounding picture of Rainer in 1987. Self assured, powerful, and brimming with confidence, Rainer is accompanied by his band Das Combo, consisting of bassist Nick Augustine and drummer Bruce Halper. Session producer Eric Westfall also joins in with various instrumental colors.

Presumably, tracks from these sessions were intended as a follow-up to the 1984 album Barefoot Rock with… Rainer And Das Combo, but the tapes were shelved as Rainer moved on in other directions. His next release would not come until 1992 with the purely solo album Worried Spirits.

Taken directly from the original two track master tapes and carefully prepared for their first official release, these recordings are nothing short of stunning.

While there are many highlights to relish here, the closing pieces “Zealots Serve Dogmas” and “I Am A Sinner” (only hinted at on the 1993 album The Texas Tapes) are poised to become the new high water mark of Rainer’s prolific cannon.

Howe Gelb’s newest solo release featuring acoustic versions of songs new and old. This release is packaged in a clamshell case (not jewel case) for easy tour transport

1. Train Singer Song
2. World Stand Still
3. The Hangin’ Judge
4. All Done In Again
5. Return To San Pedro
6. Four Door Maverick
7. Explore You
8. Notoriety
9. The Wild Frontier
10. Lonely Man You Are
11. Seldom Matters
12. Down On Town

US / Canada $16 (CD)
Worldwide $20 (CD)

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VIDEOS

WORLD STAND STILL

TRAIN SINGER SONG

hello. i have put off putting out a tour only type cd because i didn’t want to stock it with out-takes or scrapheap supplement. after ‘sno angel, it seemed like a bar was raised, or i just finally got too old for wasting any time, mine or yours. jim blackwood kept coaxing me to come record some acoustic stuff on his new digital device. he is a good man and has worked hard at saving many old recordings through the years that would have just remained in a backyard box, melting there and crusted with a thick desert coating of dust and adobe muck. so i tend to give his requests more then a little merit. he first set up his gear in my home studio, which is just an adobe walled room with a 4 track cassette machine from 1988 i bought a few years ago at a yard sale for 35 bucks. the original price tag was 2000 dollars apparently. but i digress. we didn’t use it at all on this recording. i love the sound of that cassette recorder, but jim was eager to try his new piece of digital yippity.

ok then. thoger lund sat in on upright bass and joe novelli stopped by the house to slip and occasional slide. i used an old 1959 martin 00 E that my wife got me for my 50th birthday. she knew i always wanted a martin, but never gotten around to affording one. this one came with a factory installed d’armond pick up innit. it feels like i always have had it, which might have to do with the notion that we were both made in pennsylvania in the 50s and ended up here in the desert.

for the second session, jim suggested we try going back to where rainer recorded a record 15 years ago; the san pedro chapel. it is also the place we held his memorial 10 years ago just after his death. i had not been back since. being in there again made me dizzy. i could not really think in terms of this world. the walls are also made of adobe, which is a substance i have grown to favor for making any kind of sounds. when i was young, it had always been my plan to eventually settle into an old adobe house one day because of the lack of true right angles, since there are no right angles in nature anyway, and because of the way those rooms sound. but i digress again.

here we were back at san pedro. the air was thick was rainerism. first i picked up my old national duolian and let my heart slide out for him. on that one, thoger just played a sound he came up with on his new old cheap tiny casio sampler thing from a thrift shop. it reminded me how rainer used to loop himself while playing way before there were real loop pedals. that song was the burning of the sonic sage i suppose, then it was back to the martin. we continued with some other songs that were still arriving. i, myself, arrived late as usual, well stuck in tucson time. so in between that moment and having to drive across town to fetch the kids from school, jim captured a few more songs done up by me and thoger. now, thoger is my favorite bass player ever. that boy breathes music. he can’t help it. we locked into some grooves that were impossible to conjure without percussion or drums. but they happened anyway.

some songs were old and desperately wanted a dusting off. other songs happened to just be there waiting for a bus. and some others wanted “in” even though they had not been written yet. i tried to pick the ones with the most ‘event’ in them. i suppose at this age it’s good to hear something just acoustic and drumless. i dunno. it did that day anyway. so. some days it gets very hard to play music. there is a tragedy that gets attached to it all that tends to weigh down the process. other times we bust on through that gravity and thrive on its buoyancy. busting a hole though gravity is always a good idea for as long as it lasts. after those two sessions, jim and i sat down to clean up the tracks and send em over to roger at sae to master up proper. upside down home 2007.

it’s just a hole in the donut of gravity. a desert dessert. thanks to jim, thoger, joe, roger and celia blackwood for putting this thing together. otherwise it would still be not. the end.

1. Get To Leave
2. Paradise Here Abouts
3. But I Did Not
4. Hey Man
5. The Farm
6. That’s How Things Get Done
7. Love Knows (No Borders)
8. The Voice Within
9. Nail In The Sky
10. Howlin’ A Gale
11. Robes of Bible Black
12. Worried Spirits
13. Neon Filler
14. Chore of Enchantment

NOW Available!

Order the cd direct from OW OM!
(prices include shipping)
$18 US (CD)
$22 Worldwide (CD)

Vinyl ~ NOW Available For A Limited Time!

US / Canada $25 (LP)
Worldwide $30 (LP)
(price includes shipping)

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recent press

Coming soon!

Howe Gelb – GUITAR, B3 ORGAN, PIANO + SINGING

Jeremy Gara – DRUMS

VOICES OF PRAISE GOSPEL CHOIR
Steve Johnston (director)
Faith Johnston
Joy Clarke
Michael Shaw
Patrick Joseph
Neema Mugala
Christine Methengye
Jerusha Lewis
Judy Rodrigez
Suzan Lavertu
Michael Gibbs (B3 organ on ?Hey Man?)
- – - — – – - – - – — – - -
Fred Guignion – SLIDE GUITAR (on tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 13)
Jim Bryson – OTHER GUITAR (on tracks 4, 5, 13)
Nick Augustine – BASS (on track 12)
Dave Draves – B3 (low note triggers on occasion)

Produced By: HOWE GELB + DAVE DRAVES
Mixed By: Dave Draves + Howe
Recorded At: Ottawa, Canada at Little Bullhorn Studio a couple of years ago (Track # 9 basics recorded by Nathan Sabatino at his home In Tucson)

Mastered By: Roger Seibel at SAE, Phoenix AZ (thanks Rog for all the time and extra care)

Copyright 2006 Scatter Land My Little Darlin, BMI (tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Copyright 1989, 1990, 1991, 2000 Amazing Black Sand, BMI (tracks 1, 11, 13, 14)

Except Tracks # 5, 6, 12 by Rainer Ptacek Copyright 1997, 1985, 1992 Mushed Music, BMI

Howe recorded ‘SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU with the help of a Canadian gospel choir called Voices of Praise, but this is not gospel music, in theme or in content. Howe describes the album’s goal: “it was a grand experiment to see if we could mesh the sounds of the muck I make with the dizzying effect of the glorious sound [the choir] makes.”

While recording the album during an Ottawa winter, Howe was inspired by the drastic beauty of snow and a cold not often felt in Tucson. The image of a snow angel stuck with him as a symbol for the record and what he was trying to create.

In 2003, Howe was invited to perform at the Ottawa Bluesfest, and billed to play in a church with singer-songwriter Jim Bryson. Howe was surprised to find their sets sandwiched between the performances of gospel choirs. Little did he know, that coincidence would lead to his inspiration for this album.

When one of gospel choirs performed, “that’s when it all began to make some sense to me,” Howe says. “I was held captive by the sensation, glued to my seat there. I had never heard anything like it, never felt anything like that, and when you get to be my age and something grabs your heart and head like that, you celebrate and bask in it. I was physically moved.”

Rainstorms are always a good omen to a man from the desert. When Howe returned to his hotel room to reflect on the experience of the gospel shows, the sky erupted in a stunning storm, he took it as a sign. “The instigating sound in my head persuaded me to return to the church even though I knew the music was long over. I felt I had to make some connection before I left town,” Howe says.

When he arrived back at the church, Howe caught the final performance of the evening by Voices of Praise, the choir group that would end up performing on ‘SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU. After the performance, Howe approached the director of the church and asked him the fateful question that all those voices had been pounding into his head: “Do you think it would be possible to record with such a sound and not do religious material?”

“Sure,” the director said. “If you keep it positive!”

A similar series of fortunate events and new connections at Bluesfest led Howe to meet the other musicians and producer who would eventually contribute to ‘SNO ANGEL LIKE YOU. Howe met folk singer Susan Odle during a set by “Pinetop” Perkins. He ran into Odle again during Jim Bryson’s set, where he also met Bryson’s keyboard player, recording engineer Dave Draves. Susan Odle would later be the voice in Howe’s head encouraging him to pursue his idea, and Draves would go on to record the album. Bryson kept in touch as well, and he then turned Draves onto an old school buddy, Steve Johnston, who happened to be directing a gospel choir: Voices of Praise, the same group that had inspired Howe.

At the studio, Howe met a young musician, Jeremy Gara, who was finishing recording there for the day. Gara became the inspirational drummer for the recording session and has since become the drummer for The Arcade Fire. “Jeremy and I set right into it, old-school, Giant-Sand-style recording technique: just guitar and drums without him hearing too much of what we were about to record,” Howe explains.

In the days following, the gospel choir arranged themselves on the tracks Howe had already recorded, with five to ten choir members participating on each song. Howe and the ‘SNO ANGEL group recorded seven brand-new songs, and also three old Giant Sand songs that he thought had always begged for a choir, and three Rainer Ptacek songs that Howe thought “seemed seamless for the sensation at hand.”

“Licensed to Thrill Jockey – Originally released in 2005”

1. Velvet and Pearl
2. Where the Wind Turns the Skin to Leather
3. AAAA (1)
4. Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
5. Man on a String
6. Bottom of the Barrel
7. AAAA (2)
8. Can Do Girl
9. Blue Blue Marble Girl
10. Baby It’s Cold Outside
11. Re-Entry
12. Loretta and the Insect World
13. AAAA (3)
14. Talula and the Last Straw
15. Vows
16. AAAA (4)
17. Recital
18. The Leaving You

CD NOW Available!

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$18 US (CD)
$22 Worldwide (CD)

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this band has no members.
no memberships is loud anymore. it is mostly a place to get things fixed.
sometimes such things are dinged but deemed durable.
if it is not broke it won’t get fixed.
it is mostly hot here.
we promise we will get right to it sooner or later.
we offer up quadruple A protection and services.
if you are a stickler, you can count on AAAA.
you are listening to QUAD ‘A’ sound

ARIZONA AMP AND ALTERNATOR
we’ll put a clamp on your old fret
we’ll recharge the battery in your tremulator
we’ll tune up your rusty machine head
we’ll get right to it sooner or later
if you all feel mostly misunderstood
through it all you know it?s too good
to just nix it
well… if it aint broke
don’t fix it

if the white one thinks your black
and the black one thinks your white
and the country man thinks you’re rock
and the rocker says you’re just not right
if the yellow one thinks you’re green
and the green one says you’re yellow
and the kind one thinks you’re mean
and the mean one says you’re mellow
does the red one think you’re true blue
and the blue one thinks you’re well read
well what were you to do ?
compromise your hue instead ?
do you alternate somewhere in between
with the best old sound anyone has seen ?
then that is your country.
that is our zone.
ARIZONA AMP AND ALTERNATOR

1. Classico
2. NYC Of Time
3. Remote
4. Flying Around The Sun At Remarkable Speed
5. Cracklin Water
6. Rag
7. Muss
8. Drab
9. Fool
10. Les Forçats Innocents
11. Napoli
12. Hood (View From A Heidelburg Hotel)
13. A Classico Reprise
14. Anarchistic Bolshevistic Cowboy Bundle
15. Ploy

NOW Available!

Order the cd direct from OW OM!
(prices include shipping)
$18 US (CD)
$22 Worldwide (CD)

Vinyl ~ NOW Available For A Limited Time!

US / Canada $25 (LP)
Worldwide $30 (LP)
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VIDEOS

Napoli (LIVE)

howe gelb – guitar, pianos + singing
anders pedersen – lapsteel, electric slide mandolin + guitar
thøger t. lund – upright + electrical bass
peter dombernowsky – percussion + druma
john parish – drums, mellotron + national guitar
vic chesnutt – sings (13)
henriette sennenvalt – sings (13)
marie frank – sings (2,5,9,11)
scout niblett – sings (3)
sofie albertsen gelb – sings (2,10)
indiosa patsy jean gelb – sings (14)

Howe Gelb by John Parish
You know sometimes you hear a song for the first time & it clicks so immediately that it’s then impossible to imagine that it hasn’t always existed – “Classico” from the new Giant Sand album is a perfect example. I’ve recorded this song three times in a year – the two versions that bookend Map & a third by Italian legend Nada for her new album, Tutto L’amore Che Mi Manca. Howe’s lyrics on” Classico” and throughout the new record are typically unique, ranging from laugh out loud to painfully poignant, hitting all points bizarre in between. If there were only one person allowed to contribute further to the over-stocked pool of recorded music on this planet it should be Howe Gelb.