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Howe Gelb is an American artist who fronted Giant Sand, and was a member of “OP8”.

THIS IS EROSION ROCK: Inaccurately yet affectionately dubbed “the Godfather of Alt. Country” by the British press, Tucson, Arizona-based musician Howe Gelb has remained the sole epicenter and creative force behind the ever-fluid configurations of Giant Sand for over a quarter century, giving birth along the way to an extended musical family tree that fostered the likes of The Band of…Blacky Ranchette, The Friends of Dean Martinez, OP8, and Calexico.

“Giant Sand is a mood,” explained Howe, as if to simplify the dizzying breadth of his prolific output as an artist. With an impressive catalog of material that stretches back to 1983, he can easily claim some 40 albums to his credentials as both a band leader and a solo performer, each of which maintains its own genre-defying singularity while also drawing on the not-so disparate threads of country, southwestern roots, lo-fi, jazz, and punk—or the “yippity and happenstance“ that arises to inspire the soundscape of
whatever project Gelb is involved in creating.

But Howe’s initial signposts were planted crookedly in Pennsylvania during the 1970s, among them being the rock opera ZEQE 24,088 which was recorded in 3 hours at a PBS radio station. In 1972, when floodwaters claimed his hometown and family house, ultimately sending him downstream to Arizona alongside the debris of his parents’ divorce, the song “Steadfast” was born as an articulation of that disaster. Soon upon arriving in Tucson, he met his sonic soul mate in the guitarist Rainer Ptacek, and as a result the two went on to form the Giant Sandworms.

Tagged as:

alt-country, singer-songwriter, americana, folk, rock
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'Sno Angel Like You
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The Listener
Howe Gelb
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Hisser (Euro Release)
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Confluence
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Top Tracks

1	But I Did Not full track	121
2	Paradise Here Abouts full track	95
3	Get to Leave full track	91
4	Hey Man full track	77
5	That's How Things Get Done full track	62
6	Howlin' A Gale full track	61
7	Nail In The Sky full track	57
8	Robes of Bible Black full track	45
9	Neon Filler full track	44
10	Worried Spirits full track	42
11	Love Knows (No Borders) full track	36
12	The Farm	28
12	Torque (Tango De La Tongue) full track	28
12	Chore Of Enchantment full track	28
15	The Voice Within	26

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roomour wrote:
Sunday morning

ich liebe dich ich liebe dich ich liebe dich !

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phinbar wrote:
August 2009

I've been a fan of Giant Sand since the mid-eighties, how I stumbled across them is up in the air. College radio, as music director, is probably where it started. I think back then they were on Ensign records, which I thought to be a good label, so anyone on it I would take a look at. I found that I was correct in my assumption, that labels were where to find music that was unfamiliar to you. Correct me if I am wrong about them being on Ensign. So, about Howe Gelb, I think he has the most unique voices out there. Definitely know it's Howe when he gets behind the microphone. His emotional quality, and the way he puts words together to bring out a deeper truth the may have been overlooked is brilliant on his behalf. I love this man, a true artist in every sense of the word.

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AllFunkNoLuck wrote:
July 2009

Check out The Listener. Fantastic album. Also check out the newest Giant Sand album, ProVisions, I feel that it is as much as a solo album from Howe, though under the Giant Sand umbralla.

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Indyalanjones1 wrote:
April 2009

sorry, i totally forgot i asked which album to start with here...I bought Sno angel like you and love it. I have been told that thats not your typical howe gelb though, with the gospal choire and all. Still, this is fantastic

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Indyalanjones1 wrote:
April 2009

great music man.

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marcodisimplici wrote:
April 2009

love it

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Story_Ephemera wrote:
January 2009

let us not forget GIANT SAND: their new album (Provisions) has some great stuff on it

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mietpistole wrote:
December 2008

show the world how much you hate christmas / by celebrating it every day

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rawbag wrote:
November 2008

Nice Airstream

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AllFunkNoLuck wrote:
July 2008

You might wanna try The Listener as a starter(Tango Americana?) and then you may wanna follow up with 'sno angel like you whcih is more dry crispy blues/americana. I don't know with the newest album as I never quite got into it.

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ariesproject wrote:
June 2008

OP8 (LIVE) http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Ln7sZwTpk

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betrayal wrote:
April 2008

'sno angel like u.

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Indyalanjones1 wrote:
April 2008

Whats the best album to start with?

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mada11 wrote:
March 2008

I must say.....wow

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Abra_Cadaver wrote:
October 2007

Great discription, very helpfull thanks.

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Botervlieg wrote:
October 2007

born 1956. died 2034. ?

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Thunderfoot wrote:
September 2007

It's in the tape hiss, man.

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famkeZ wrote:
July 2007

So, how is life when you know exactly what year you'll be passing on? :$

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Luna429 wrote:
July 2007

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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iamserge wrote:
July 2007

so special!

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Events

Nov 25 Howe Gelb Rätsche, 73312 Geislingen (Steige), Germany
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Nov 26 Howe Gelb Café Central, Weinheim, Germany
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Nov 29 Howe Gelb Gleis 22, Münster, Germany
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