Grüvis Malt
Grüvis Malt | |
---|---|
Origin | Lakeshore Records |
Members | Gavin Castleton Brendan Bell Erik Nilsson Scott McPhail Justin Abene Steve Geuting |
Past members | Saunder Jurriaans Ethan Ruzzano Steve Martinka Marco Herrera Brandon Clemmens Josh Hutchins Reed Wallsmith Rich Hall |
Grüvis Malt were an American six-piece
Grüvis Malt are known for their blending of genres (progressive rock, hip hop, jazz, and funk) and intense song writing. They are the self-proclaimed founders of the "futurock" genre,
The group stopped touring in 2005, after the release of their last album,
History
Grüvis Malt were started in March 1995 in Providence, Rhode Island by high school students
Upon Gavin's return in 1996, Josh Hutchins (a.k.a. Johnny Longburns) joined the band as a turntablist and beatboxer, and Breakfast All Day, their first EP, was recorded at Diva Studios with David Stem. In 1997, Martinka and Hutchins both left the band. Brandon Clemmens replaced Martinka on the bass guitar and Rich Hall joined on percussion, and the six piece began writing the songs that would become the Fetus EP.
In early 1998, Saunder Jurriaans replaced Brandon Clemmens on bass guitar. Erik Nilsson left school to become a full-time saxophonist with the band, and Ethan doubled on trombone. With a full-fledged horn section, the band wrote songs for the album Sound Soldiers, while reworking the songs on Breakfast All Day and the Fetus EP. The result was Cromagnetic, considered by the band as more of a compilation than a full-fledged album.[5] In 1999, Grüvis Malt released Sound Soldiers, an album many consider to be their musical "starting point".[6] After rigorous regional touring throughout 1998 and 1999, Grüvis Malt went on a month-long tour around the US in 2000.
After the US tour, Ruzzano and Jurriaans resigned from the band and were replaced by Steve Geuting and Justin Abene respectively. Reed Wallsmith joined the band in 2001 on alto saxophone. The band began work on
In 2003, Grüvis Malt recorded
In 2006, Justin Abene,
Gavin Castleton has released several solo records and was a member of The Dear Hunter until 2021.
The members of Grüvis Malt always valued the integrity of the music more than the publicity they received for it; thus, they preferred to remain unsigned[7] and advertised predominantly using a "grassroots" marketing scheme.[8]
Band line-up
- Gavin Castleton – Keyboard/Vocals
- Brendan Bell - Vocals/Percussions
- Erik Nilsson – Saxophone
- Scott McPhail – Drums
- Justin Abene - Bass Guitar
- Steve Geuting - Guitar
Past members
- Saunder Jurriaans - Bass Guitar
- Ethan Ruzzano - Guitar, Trombone
- Steve Martinka - Bass Guitar
- Brandon Clemmens - Bass Guitar
- Josh Hutchins (Johnny Longburns) - Turntables
- Reed Wallsmith - Saxophone
- Rich Hall - Percussion
Discography
LPs
- Cromagnetic (Integers Only, 1998)
- Sound Soldiers (Integers Only, 1999)
- Lakeshore Records, 2002)
- Simon (Integers Only, 2004)
- VISMAL - Volume Zero: Cover Girls (Integers Only, 2005)
- Maximum Unicorn(Integers Only, 2005)
EPs
- Breakfast All Day (Solid Pimpz LLC, 1996)
- Fetus EP (Solid Pimpz LLC, 1997)
- Backout Smiling (Integers Only, 2000)
- VISMAL - Volume 1: A Correspondence Course in Best Friendship (Integers Only, 2003)
Tour credits
Grüvis Malt toured the United States several times[9] from 1995-2004. During tours, Grüvis Malt would rarely play their newly released music, usually playing unreleased material or remixed material,[10] "to keep fans on their toes."[11] Some of the bands that they performed with include the following.[12]
- G Love & Special Sauce, Luscious Jackson, Atmosphere, Buck 65, De La Soul, Sugarhill Gang, Wilco, Karl Denson, The Slip, Evil D, Rustic Overtones, Mike Doughty, Brother Ali, Common, Ray LaMontagne, 12 Rods, Black Moon, Maceo Parker, Marcy Playground, The Amazing Crowns, Custom, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Dropsession, Edon, 3rd Eye Blind, Zox, Grand Buffet, State Radio, John Scofield, The Slip, Karl Denson, Paranoid Social Club, Awol One, Sage Francis (as support and backup band), Facing New York, Monty Are I, Shootyz Groove, 2 Skinnee J's.
Awards and recognition
- 1997 - #1 Unsigned Band - WBRU Listener Poll - winner[8]
- 1998 - Rhode Island College Rock Hunt - Winner[7][8]
- 1998 - #1 Unsigned Band - WBRU Listener Poll - winner[8]
- 1998 - Best Breathrough Act - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - winner
- 1998 - WBRU Rock Hunt - finalist
- 1998 - Rhode Island College Rock Hunt - winner
- 1999 - Best Alternative Act - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - winner
- 2000 - Best Jam Act - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - nominated
- 2000 - Fourth Annual Jim Beam Rock Band Search - finalist[7][8][13]
- 2001 - Jim Beam Rock Hunt - finalist
- 2001 - Best Category-defying Act - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - winner
- 2002 - Best Song - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - winner
- 2002 - Best Album - Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll - winner
References
- ^ [1] Archived February 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "CD: Gruvis Malt's '... With the Spirit of a Traffic Jam ...' - Arts - the Justice". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2761021_ITM>.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help)[dead link] - ^ "Grüvis Malt Biography". Sing365.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Welcome integersonly.com - BlueHost.com". Integersonly.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Welcome integersonly.com - BlueHost.com". Integersonly.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ a b c [2][dead link]
- ^ a b c d e "Local Anesthesia". Providencephoenix.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Phoenix Bandguide - Local bands and band resources". Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ [4][dead link]
- ^ "Gruvis Malt Biography - ARTISTdirect Music". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Providence Journal | Rhode Island news, sports, weather & more". Projo.com. 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
External links
- Gruvis Malt on Myspace
- Gavin Castleton on Myspace
- Integers Only, Gavin Castleton and Gruvis Malt's self-run independent label