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. 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!

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$22 Worldwide (CD)

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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. 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

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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.”

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

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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.

1. The Train Singer’s Song
2. Searing Wine
3. Rusty Tracks
4. Mope-a-Long Rides Again
5. Getting It Made
6. Under The Table
7. Working On The Railroad
8. Bored Lil’ Devil
9. The Muss Of Paradise
10. Left Again
11. The Moons Of Impulse
12. Airstream
13. My Hoo Ha
14. Square

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1. Glisten
2. Felonious
3. Jason’s List
4. Cowboy Boots
5. Torque (Tango De La Tongue)
6. Piango
7. Lying There
8. B 4 U (Do Do Do)
9. The Nashville Sound
10. Blood Orange
11. Moons Of Impulse
12. Now I Lay Me Down
13. Lemmy N Emmy

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HOWE – PIANO GUITARS SINGING ORGAN CHIMES SYNTH ROBOTICS STRING PARTS

arizona

SOFIE ALBERTSEN GELB – SINGING @ 7
JOHN CONVERTINO – DRUMS @ 1 2 3 5
MICHAEL FAN – VIOLINS @ 1 2 3 13
CARLA ECKER – VIOLINS @ 1 2 3 13
DAVID RIFE – VIOLINS @ 1 2 3 13
JOE BURNS – BASS @ 1 2 3
NICK LUCA – BASS @ 11
BRETT SPARKS – PIANO SINGING @ 11
RENNIE SPARKS – AUTO HARP SINGING @ 11

denmark

MARIE FRANK – SINGING @ 10
HENRIETTE SENNENVALDT – SINGING @ 5
KATRINE STOCHHOLM – PIANO @ 8 12
THOGER T LUND – BASS @ 4 5 6 7 1 10 12
NILS GRONDAHL – VIOLIN SAW @ 5 6 8 10 12
PETER DOMBERNOWSKY – CAJON CONGAS PERCUSSION @ 4 5 6 7 8 10 12
ANDERS STOCHHOLM – PERCUSSION @ 4 7 8 10 12
ANDERS PEDERSEN – MANDOLIN LAP STEEL @ 4 10
THORBJORN KROGSHEDE – SAX @ 5 8
ROX ERIKSON – ACCORDION @ 10

all songs : © 2003 HOWE GELB (amazing black sand music : BMI)
produced by howe (recorded on actual tape)

“See the sky a broil and the color of blood orange. Hear the crackin’ singe of the front metal screen door hinge. Loving like lovers that know they’re going to hang. Sweating bullets and reloading over and over again Rain is only a rumor, over before it has begun.” -From the song Blood Orange

Welcome to the mind of Howe Gelb. These lyrics taken from Blood Orange the tenth track on Howe’s new cd, The Listener, are a peek at yet another stirring image from Howe, who has for more than two decades painted with a canvas of music and words. While both often times seemed to defy any sequential logic, it’s hard to argue with a career that through it’s many incarnations- Band of Blacky Ranchette, Giant Sand, OP8, to name but few-has remained vibrant and vital, always taking chances along the way. The Listener is no different. It focuses on Howe’s recent sojourn to Denmark where he lived for half of 2002 and recorded the bulk of The Listener. Making the journey so that he could be with his wife as she prepared to give birth to their second child offered Howe the opportunity to create away from his usual supporting cast in Tucson. Home, however, was never that far away, just a flip of a letter as noted above. It would be to Tucson he would return, yet the effects of this new location and the events surrounding why he was there had a profound effect on him, his music, his words and possibly now you — The Listener.

The Listener begins with the piano based instrumental “Glisten” and leads into the piano driven “Felonius”. Both aptly titled as “Glisten” does just that as it shines through your speakers, and in “Felonius” Howe addresses head on the idea he’s stealing “Lou Reed licks” on a piano. These songs set a tone for the rest of the record. One of lazy days and late nights, where rebirth comes not in church, but in small doses of recording with new friends and old acquaintances. In the smell of freshly baked bread and a fine house wine, in the touch of the piano and the sound of cowboy boots on cobblestones, Howe best describes the free wheeling life in Denmark:

Getting out of the clutter of my home in the wide open spaces of Tucson, allowed the brain to get wide open in small spaces of Aarhus, Denmark. Life became simple. No daily driving. No summer swelter. Daily routine consisted of just walking around with my three year old son down the crooked lil roads like it was America in the 50’s settling in about the same time every day. Having a baby helps the focus of diggin’ in soon a piano appeared there to plunder.

It should be noted that Howe’s shift from guitar to piano in regards to composing is nothing new. Much of the last few Giant Sand and Howe solo releases featured piano and Howe also released a record of unaccompanied piano pieces (Lull Some Piano) two years ago on his own Ow Om label. When asked about the transition Howe sums it up like this:

The piano was always my earth instrument. The guitar was the space vehicle. When I was younger I was bored with the earth and wanted to travel as far out as I could. These days, the earth is more fascinating than ever.

When it came time for recording Howe called on a cast of people he had recently befriended through a weekly series of shows he was doing at a local café, including a local band he fell for called Under Byen (recently hailed by Rolling Stone/David Fricke as his “favorite new band and record of this year”). Two other musicians there, Thoger T. Lund and Peter Dombernowsky, played a large role in the development of the record and Howe credits them with giving him a “feeling of solid spring that I have not felt in the last five years or so.” He goes on to note that “there is a springboard woven within the confines of their instrumentation, and the fresh vibe is extremely conducive.” The record also features two stunning vocal turns by Henriette Sennenvaldt (Under Byen) and Marie Frank. Henriette haunts the slight salsa-vibe of “Torque” with a Bjork-like offering, while Marie takes lead on “Blood Orange” with a Williams (Victoria/Lucinda) twang. It was all done over the few months time and money allowed; remember there was a baby on the way.
At the end of 2002 Howe returned home to Tucson where he would “severely funnel and tweak” the almost finished record. Calling in a cast of usual collaborators, among them Sophie Albertsen Gelb, John Convertino, Joey Burns and Nick Luca, along with some new ones, Brett and Rennie of Handsome Family, the roots of The Listener found the soil it needed to grow. A cohesive recording was brought together from disparate locations and a few seasons. The resulting album flows seamlessly, it is a tale without interruption. It’s a technique Howe’s not only mastered, but prefers.

I think that recording in one place during a relative short amount of time is restrictive.`Although I don’t mind it, having done it ad nauseum, I have allowed a more natural methodology to occur; recording throughout the year where ever you happen to be the biggest challenge is not losing all the stuff you have recorded along the year. It becomes more entertaining this way. A healthy allowance of gamble. The ultimate residue is variation and therein the comfort lies.

The comfort therein of The Listener is that as the title implies it was crafted by Howe with you in mind. Instead of getting the feeling you’re outside listening in, Howe brings you into the songs with him for what is easily one of his most personal records yet, thus the Howe Home moniker. Howe is spelled like Home, but upside down, which in Howe’s words “is a fair description of what it feels like usually.” Through the years you’ve gotten to know Howe’s music quite well, it’s about time he invited you in.

1. El Paso
2. Johnny hit and run Pauline
3. Iron Man
4. Human _ Lovely Head
5. The Beat Goes On
6. Plants and Rags
7. Wayfaring Stranger_ Fly Me to the Moon
8. Red Right Hand
9. King of The Road
10. I’m Leaving Now
11. Blue Marble Girl
12. The Inner Flame
13. The Beat Goes On

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Howe Gelb – Vocals, Piano Things, Guitar, Bass, Harp and Clunk
John Convertino – Drums (1,3,5,7,8,9,10)
Joe Burns – Upright Bass (4,5,7,8,9,10)
P. J. Harvey – Vocals (2)
Sofie Albertsen Gelb – Backing Vocals (5)
Noah Thomas – Trumpet (3)
Neko Case – Backing Vocals (7)
Kevin Salem – String Stabs & Blur Choral (4)
Ari Posner – Congas (3)
Mike Grimes – Upright Bass (3)
Aaron Graham – Steel Guitar (3)
Nick Luca – Main Theme Gut Guitar (3)
Matt Ward – 2nd Vocal (3) Piano (6)
Kelly Hogan – Backing Vocals (7)
John Rauhaus – Pedal Steel (7)
Jacob Valenzuela – Trumpet (7)
Craig Schumacher – Harpoon (8)
Aaron Burtch – Drums (11,12) Bottles (13)
Jim Fairchild – Guitar (11,12) Bottles (13)
Saholy Diavolana – Guitar & Backing Vox (11,12,13)
Laureline Prod’Homme – Bass & Backing Vox (11,12,13)
Amelie Van Hoorebene – Bottles & Backing Vox (13)

Produced By – Howe and Craig Schumacher (more often than not)
Recorded mostly at Wavelab, Tucson
Engineered By – Craig Schumacher mostly and Nick Luca sometimes
Mixed by – Craig and Howe (more often than not) – 4,5,9 & 10 by Kevin Salem at his place in Woodstock.
Tracks 11 & 12 Produced by Harald Are Lund at Music Hall, Oslo – Feb 4 2001 – Engineered by Terje Hellem
Track 13 recorded at Studio Brussels Radio

About “Cover Magazine”…

“I think a time to recycle is called for. There’s plenty of stuff out there…too much. Perhaps the ozone does suffer from too many songwriters and their emittings slowly floating up and tangle up the atmosphere. This record needed to be choreless. It is mostly captured live in the studio, with the intention of seeing where exactly we (me, John and Joe) are with each other at the moment. A buoyancy occurred.”

-Howe, Tucson 2001

Reflections on each song by Howe:

1. “El Paso” (Robbins) / “Out on the Weekend” (Young)
-Welp, it seemed to one day that both songs had the same chord structure. When I tried it out, I was almost wrong, and so close to being right that I forced the issue. The lyrics to both, I realized after the surgery of such, reflected a similar patter of involvementÖWhy was the lonely boy packing it in? Why head out to LA? What troubles did he leave back in Texas exactly?

2. “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline” (Doe, Cervenka)
-X was such an importantly fun band for us in Tucson during 1980. We had the gumption to open for them back then. I cut the track here on just an acoustic guitar with an A/B switch to my amp, added some favorite radio white noise on the top, sprinkled on Polly (PJ Harvey) for taste. Specifically when I realized how young she was in 1980 and had therefore never even heard them before, I knew there had to be some kind of triangular fusing.

3. “Iron Man” (Iommi, Butler, Ward, Osbourne)
-One of the greatest songs ever written and oddly over looked for reinterpretation. I heard the ëLibre de Graseí boys playing their set one night and had an immense desire to utilize the piano with them. Bringing them in to attempt Ozzy became a kind of obsession. After the obtuse session, I realized the recording of my bathtub drain might fit nicely over the top. Ooh, hear how it mixes delightful with the congas?

4. “Human” / “Lovely Head” (Goldfrapp, Gregory, Norfolk, Locke / Goldfrapp, Gregory)
-John Parish gave me a record he played on while we were on tour last year. It was Goldfrapp. I hunkered down in the bunk with it for many a mile (those bunks are not unlike coffin confinementÖand very conducive to such a soundtrack.) Tania Bowers sent me a cd of her own stuff (Via Tania), and without telling John and Joe, while we were cutting the song, I played her cd a bit right there and thenÖwith one hand on the walkman and one on the piano. Nice fit.

5. “The Beat Goes On” (Bono)
-Somewhere in Spain a fine fellow driving us to the festival played this version of Buddy Rich and his twelve-year old daughter doing this song. I couldnít shake it. John, Joe and I sat around the studio like professionals for most of the morning, then got up and nailed this one in one take and took the rest of the day off.

6. “Plants and Rags” (Harvey, Ellis)
I met Polly through John Parish. They helped me out when I was trying to put together a tribute record for my friend, Rainer Ptacek when he was stricken with cancer. They did not know him at the time. I will always love them for that. And since have come to grow enamored with the spin of such a Polly.

7. “Wayfaring Stranger” / “Fly Me to the Moon” (Cash / Howard)
This was one of the first songs Rainer ever taught me back in the 70ís. It was with him in mine I suppose that it came across my fingers here and now. It was also the first song of the session without the mics completely set up yet. But how can you control such harvest? Late that night when everybody had left, and me and Craig were winding down, Neko (Case) and Kelly (Hogan) and her posse showed up to unload their equipment for their upcoming session. Perfect timing. They were all just road tired enough to mean it more than ever.

8. “Red Right Hand” (Cave)
-The wife again. She made me learn this one. Sheís so good to me, what could I say? Could be construed as an odd gloved Christmas tale of Saint Nick lurking the countryside.

9. “King of the Road” (Miller)
-This one struck me in Chicago just moments before the New Years Eve gig last year with Calexico. Ha ha ha. I donít know what that means either.

10. “Iím Leaving Now, Adios” (Cash)
-Johnny and Merle singing with each other. Who could resist? Great way to head out.

11. “Blue Marble Girl” (Gelb)
-I guess this is a cover now since it was on the solo record instead of a Giant Sand record. This evening was recorded on a big mobile truck in Oslo when we were opening for Pollyís tour then. Since Calexico were also on the road, I assembled this band with the darliní French girls from Candie Prune (aka Andice Rupen) and the good people of Grandaddy. A tear wells up with the memory.

12. “The Inner Flame” (Ptacek)
-Same as above, but this is one of the songs Rainer wrote during his final year here on the planet. The family reinvented and captured there in Norway.

13. “The Beat Goes On” (Bono)
-The very first thing we did was this radio show in Brussels on that PJ Harvey tour. We had no idea how or what we were going to do to pull off said tour. The boys beat the beer bottles, the girls wobbled their warble, the piano toyed with the motions. All in all a good omen.

1. Overture
2. (Well) Dusted (For The Millennium)
3. Punishing Sun
4. X-Tra Wide
5. 1972
6. Temptation Of Egg
7. Raw
8. Wolfy
9. Shiver
10. Dirty From The Rain
11. Astonished (In Memphis)
12. No Reply
13. Satellite
14. Bottom Line Man
15. Way To End The Day
16. Shrine
17. Shiver (John Parish Remix) (Bonus Track – digital download only)

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Vinyl ~ NOW Available For A Limited Time!
This double-lp includes the full “Chore” album PLUS these bonus tracks:
1) Astonished (In Tucson)
2) Dusted (In Tucson)
3) Shiver (In Tucson)
4) Punishing Sun (In Tucson)
5) Bad

US / Canada $30 (2LP)
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Howe Gelb – Toys with guitar, piano and sung some hum
John Convertino – Drums some drum
Joe Burns – Strum bass strum
Juliana Hatfield – Backing vocals (6)
Sofie Albertsen Gelb – Backing vocals (9,15)
Jim Dickinson – Mellotron (2) Piano, Organ (11)
John Parish – Piano, Pump Organ (15) Door Shutter (16)
Kevin Salem – 2nd Lead guitar (3) Acoustic (4) Mellotron (9)
Susan Marshall-Powell – Backing vocals (4,11)
Jackie Johnson – Backing vocals (4,11)
William Brown – Backing vocals (4)
Rich Mercurio – Drums (4,9)
John Abbey – Bass (4,8,12)
Rob Arthur – Mellotron (4) Organ (9,12)
Nick Luca – Piano (5)
Neil Harry – Pedal Steel (7)
Alan Bezozi – Drum loop (8)
Scott Loder – Bass (9)
David Mansfield – Pedal steel (9,12) banjo (9)
Lydia Kavanaugh – Backing vocals (12)
Paula Brown – Bass, backing vocals (13)
Rainer – Slide (16)

VIDEOS

SHIVER

Giant Sand’s debut arrived in 1985, a corrosive collection of proto-grunge, roots inflected songs with original drummers Winston Watson (Bob Dylan) and Tom Larkins (Johnathan Richman) and bassist Paula Jean Brown (Go- Go’s). The band had morphed by 1990, when Gelb was worrying less about stylistic distinctions and John Convertino’s ability to cover the entire drum kit in a second or switch from sticks to brushes in the space of beat than in providing a platform for Giant Sand’s ever- changing line-ups to fashion something utterly unique. The band knew no boundaries as Gelb developed a personal lyrical vocabulary of hipster shorthand and sun-fried peyote visions, and discovered the improvisational joys of “instant composition.” 1992’s Centre of The Universe employed ex- Bangle Vickey Petersen and the Cowsills Susan Cowsill as go-go cheerleaders to create bubblegum country-rock. 1993’s Purge and Slouch was freeform, a nice contrast to the totally polished Glum (1994). After 1996’s live Backyard Barbecue Broadcast everything went quiet.

Howe’s longterm collaborator and original Giant Sandworm Rainer Ptacek was diagnosed with a brain tumor and Gelb’s time was occupied putting together a benefit album, The Inner Flame, with Robert Plant, a devotee of Rainer’s solo albums.

Slush, which Gelb recorded around that time under the name of OP8 with Convertino, bassist Joey Burns and Lisa Germano, was arguably the best album of 1997, but otherwise his normal creative torrent was drastically stemmed. Rainer passed away in 1997, and Gelb’s subsequent solo album, Hisser, was a low-key and elegiac affair, haunted by grief, ghost whispers of Rainer’s guitar style drifting through the grooves.

Gelb says of Chore of Enchantment, “The overall sound could be summed up as a mix of slow burning hot buttery Memphis moistness with the crispy quiet crackle of Tucson thirsty-ness. An attempt to serve up a saucer full of hitherto unpredictable predictabilities…as opposed to the usual platters of predictable unpredictabilities, ” he adds, with typical elliptical logic.