The Girlfriend Experience's Heyday Records debut LP. 13 epic tracks featuring the production and engineering talents of Sylvia Massy (Tool, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Love & Rockets, Johnny Cash), Rich Veltrop, Justin Phelps (Cake, Chris Isaak, Mr. Bungle) and Bill Cutler (Spike 1000). Order yours today!
When In Rome...Do As The Lions
HEY081-2......$11.99
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"San Francisco’s The Girlfriend Experience has a few tales to tell and they’re laid out in all their gory detail on the band’s first full-length release, When In Rome ... Do As The Lions. The band’s vocalist, Tobias Hawkins, actually has such a robust, roaring voice that it’s very easy to cling to his melodies and the timbre of his voice while overlooking the words of some of these songs.
The lyrics on the album’s seventh tune, however, are pretty hard to ignore: “I’m told of your scabs / And your foul stink,” Tobias growls, before he frighteningly screams the song’s title in the chorus — “Gonorrhea!” The band can go from a short, intense, punked-out tune like this, to more of a Soundgarden-esque, dirge-like feel on “Death Of the Elephant.” They even go all wacky and experimental with some back-masked guitar and sick, spoken tales of animal abuse over a bass-driven rock groove on the title track. Sample confession: “My friends used to shoot nails into cats with slingshots just ‘cause they wanted to see them bleed.” And on the six-minute “Coke Buddha,” the band flirts with Sonic Youth-like guitar arpeggios and simple drum patterns for a little while before crashing into a hardcore/death metal scream-fest. These are the exceptions that keep the disc quirky and interesting.
Most of the album, however, aims for the musical mainstream of hard rock, echoing mainstays like the Foo Fighters while keeping the vocals heavy and the melodies mostly catchy, but not too precious. This is a band with lots of testosterone and an appreciation for solid riffs and clean production, not to mention shock value."
- Michael Fortes, West Coast Performer (9/07)
"Kicking off with jerky, new wave
guitar rhythms, The Girlfriend
Experience's debut EP, It Felt Like
a Kiss, quickly launches into larger-
than-life, melodic, atmospheric rock
reminiscent of early '90s alternative
on "Thumb". Singer Tobias Hawkins'
deep voice smoothly fits into the mix
of precise, rhythmic instrumentation
from guitarist Ty C. Gerhardt,
bassist James Maize and drummer
Jeff Left. The standout track on the
EP, "Minus", is another booming
guitar opus on this meticulously
recorded release."
"If you ever wanted to cheat on your
significant other, Cafe du Nord is an
excellent venue to romanticize the whole
affair. Appropriate heavy red curtains
and the lights down low, with little
nooks and crevices just right to spy on
said affair (and even enough space in
the ladies' room for a catfight confront-
ation). The scarred tables belie its other
raison d'etre: a fabulous versatile bar
with a sense of style to watch a local gig.
Immediately launching into a snarling set
with no introduction, Hawkins sounded
like Johnny Rotten meets Jefferson
Airplane, leaving most of the audience a
little stunned before applauding their
approval. A performance led by the
precise, almost marching band style of
drummer Jeff Left, The Girlfriend Exper-
ience were shock rock without the
shock. Hawkins' androgynous vocals
were the perfect complement to their
tribute to the quintessential glam rock-
inspired Velvet Goldmine's Curt Wild as
well as Iggy Pop with cover "Gimme
Danger." A breath of fresh air to bar
bands, or rather a shot in the arm of
glam, punk, as well as psychedelia,
The Girlfriend Experience is a gritty,
been-there, done-that, still-rockin' it
kind of band."
"Moody, memorable alternative rock. Sophisticated...and cool."
- Brad Kava, San Jose Mercury
**************************
"The Girlfriend Experience should
appeal to anyone who misses early
'90s alt rock or thinks that modern
bands just don't wail hard enough
or talk about the stuff that matters..."
The Girlfriend Experience has come out of the gate swinging with blistering live performances in the bay area and beyond. 2005 was a busy year. A 12 city 2 week Southwest Tour happened in September. Tours of the Pacific Northwest happened in March, June, and November. And there were a couple trips down to L.A. and San Diego in April and July. The "It Felt Like a Kiss" EP recorded with Justin Phelps at the legendary Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco is available at shows only. The EP was a warm-up for a full album recording with mega-producer Sylvia Massy Shivy (Tool, System of a Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Love & Rockets, Johnny Cash, et al) at RadioStar Studios.
In 2007, the GFE began a monthly multi-orgasmic blow-out party called Vaudeville a la Mode at The Uptown in Oakland. Click on the Vaudeville a la Mode icon in the top eight below to learn more or to get involved. And, of course, once again the GFE lube up their van for a 2007 SWxNW Tour this June through August. Check the tour dates above.
The Girlfriend Experience features Tobias Hawkins III on vocals (Laundry, Sling Shot Venus), Ty C. Gerhardt on guitar (Madness of Dean, ing, Taikonaut), James Maize on bass (Superlarry, Spore Attic) and Dave Kirk on drums (Cushion Theory, Stacked).
While The Girlfriend Experience's sound can be easily viewed as Modern Rock or Alternative, the band artfully draws influence from equal parts of Pop, No-Wave, Psychedelia, Stoner Rock and Mimimalism to create their signature sound.
haha, that monkey is totally you. how you doin? ty told me it was that time of year when he needs to barf in your car again..ahaahaha. I would be happy if we all met up for a drink in oakland soon, I will take the barfer home.
Hey guys! i miss you soo much!! so last night was homecomming and it was soo much fun but i think it would of been better if you guys played. how is everybody....i have been listning to you music alot and i love it!! well ttyl and have fun
BAH!!! I should've known the FEDs had something to do with the lower-than-expected turnout on my B-Day!!! JK Sarah and Ricci made me dinner. It was kickass even without you there :)
This is the official call for submissions for the 2008 Sex Workers' Art Show Tour! Anyone of any gender who has worked in the sex industry is encouraged to apply: porn stars, strippers, escorts, dommes, webcam models, hookers, etc.
THE SHOW: The Sex Workers' Art Show is a cabaret-style evening of visual and performance art created by people who work in the sex industry. The artwork and performances offer a wide range of perspectives on sex work, moving beyond "positive" and "negative" into a fuller articulation of the complicated ways sex workers experience our jobs and our lives. You can read more about the show at www.sexworkersartshow.com.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: Sex trade workers are in a unique position to observe the freaky dynamics of capitalism, desire, ownership, gender, and race. We are looking for hilarious, disturbing, challenging, entertaining, accessible work that addresses these issues. Or, you know, whatever else. You don't have to be an experienced performer to apply! We're interested in a range of mediums- spoken word, burlesque, music, video and performance art of all kinds.
THE DEAL: The tour is happening late January through early March 2008. It hits approximately 30 cities nationwide, in a bit over a month. More info about pay and logistics is available on our blog. Email or message us for info about how to submit, at info@sexworkersartshow.com. Submissions must be received by September 20th.
Yo, I have some of the pics from the first Yakima show up in my gallery. I did some touchups to make them look a bit more professional. Take alook at them and if you want you can take them for your profile. I will have more up later they are in the album "bands i promote".
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