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Howe Gelb
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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.
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.
Top Albums
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'Sno Angel Like You
Howe Gelb
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The Listener
Howe Gelb Buy- Download Album
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- iTunes $9.99
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Hisser (Euro Release)
Howe Gelb Buy- Download Album
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Confluence
Howe GelbBuy- Download Album
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Top Tracks
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But I Did Not
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Paradise Here Abouts
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Get to Leave
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Hey Man
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Howlin' A Gale
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That's How Things Get Done
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Nail In The Sky
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Worried Spirits
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Robes of Bible Black
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Love Knows (No Borders)
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Neon Filler
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Chore Of Enchantment
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Blood Orange
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Shoutbox
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roomour wrote:
ich liebe dich ich liebe dich ich liebe dich !
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phinbar wrote:
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:
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:
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:
great music man.
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marcodisimplici wrote:
love it
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Story_Ephemera wrote:
let us not forget GIANT SAND: their new album (Provisions) has some great stuff on it
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mietpistole wrote:
show the world how much you hate christmas / by celebrating it every day
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rawbag wrote:
Nice Airstream
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AllFunkNoLuck wrote:
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:
OP8 (LIVE) http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Ln7sZwTpk
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betrayal wrote:
'sno angel like u.
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Indyalanjones1 wrote:
Whats the best album to start with?
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mada11 wrote:
I must say.....wow
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Abra_Cadaver wrote:
Great discription, very helpfull thanks.
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Botervlieg wrote:
born 1956. died 2034. ?
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Thunderfoot wrote:
It's in the tape hiss, man.
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famkeZ wrote:
So, how is life when you know exactly what year you'll be passing on? :$
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Luna429 wrote:
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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iamserge wrote:
so special!
Videos
Events
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Feb
2
Howe Gelb
Cafe Kairo, Bern, Berne, Switzerland
Add shout
| 5 attendees
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Feb
4
Howe Gelb
El Lokal, Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Add shout
| 9 attendees
Listeners
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surovi
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blackdecker
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Recent Activity
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cyrilw, swedicious, knutaaa and 12 other people added Howe Gelb to their libraries. Monday evening
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patawa tagged Howe Gelb with rock, folk and singer-songwriter. 13 days ago
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stuartmacgregor wrote about Howe Gelb in Stuart's Albums of the Noughties. 13 days ago
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MELYRUBEN, Katerin86, grafensteiner and 8 other people added Howe Gelb to their libraries. 14 days ago
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maersu added Howe Gelb to the lineup of Howe Gelb at Cafe Kairo. 21 days ago
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kotsa200 added Howe Gelb to the lineup of Dour Festival at La Plaine de La Machine à Feu. 22 days ago
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buckknifes, baingjo, heixingxing and 2 other people added Howe Gelb to their libraries. 23 days ago
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Nicast connected Howe Gelb to the group Vic Chesnutt & friends. 26 days ago
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ziabelle77 added Howe Gelb to ziabelle77’s library. 26 days ago
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henri-Q tagged Howe Gelb with folk, singer-songwriter and alt-country. 27 days ago
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Groups (20)
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Howe Gelb
36 members
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Lot's of Folk Music
703 members
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Calexico
192 members
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AVANT
156 members
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Asturias sound
151 members
