Erik Pertl: Vocals, Bass, Artworks
Bill Baldwin: Guitar
Seth Guge: Drums, Percussion
Boyd Raveling:
Alto Saxophone (1994-95)
Josh Trevino: 2nd Guitar at various shows.
Influences
Here is a list of bands that the members of GLV (individually or collectively) were into during their existence. Some bands were more influential to the Groovy Love Vibes sound than others: Drop Acid/7 Seconds, Monster Magnet, The Black Crowes, White Zombie, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Helmet, Dinosaur Jr., Sebado, The Wedding Present, Swervedriver, The Wonderstuff, My Bloody Valentine, Curve, Cathedral, Funkadelic/Parliament, Black Sabbath, Ohio Players, Bootsy Collins/Praxis, Shudder To Think, Napalm Death, Gruntruck, Mountain, Blue Cheer, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Grand Funk, Hawkwind, Primus, Melvins, Morbid Angel, Eddie Harris, Archie Shepp, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Down By Law/Dag Nasty, They Might Be Giants, Weather Report, John Zorn/Masada, Cheer Accident, Morphine, Godflesh, Herbie Hancock, Jawbreaker, Seam, Descendents/All, Deicide, Rollins Band, Montrose, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, Maceo Parker/Horny Horns/JB's, Defunkt, Rick James, Die Kruezen, Autopsy, Porno for Pyros/Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Danzig, Prong, Man Or Astroman?, Captain Beyond, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Budgie, Van Halen, War, Buddy Guy, Gentle Giant, Klaatu, T-Rex, Zapp/Roger, Eric Clapton, ACDC, The MC5, Thin Lizzy....
And bands that GLV played shows with: Apocalypse Hoboken, The Smoking Popes, Tommyrot, The Hidden, Lost Soul(helgin), Stumble Block, Hog Lady, Trenchmouth, Zen Guerilla, Soulfood, International Hoodwink, SlugBug, Vegas Witchcraft, Resin, Judge Nothing, Voodoo Glowskulls, Downset, MadBall, Wickerman, Schlong, Thought Industry, Malhavoc, Well of Souls, Body Bag, The Handsome Family, Crash Black, Flowers, Rocketship Arnold, Geyser, Violent Youth Assembly, Morgue, Dayezero, Flue, The Mudflaps, Mount Shasta, Big'n, The Skimmingtons, Full, Usherhouse, Thud, Sidekick Kato, Slapstick, The Bollweevils, Screeching Weasel....
Other influences: Personal experiences (people, situations, opinions, etc.), the art of Jack Kirby (silver age era in particular), the poster art of Stanley Mouse, black lights/liquid lights/op art/super 8's, the artworks of Simon Bisley, Jae Lee, Sam Kieth, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Kieth Giffen, Marc Hansen, Stephen Platt, HR Giger, Joe Coleman, Alphonse Mucha, Pushead, Rob Zombie, John Kricfalusi...., and of course, the engineering expertise, open-mindedness, and overall great personality of the late Phil Bonnet (1960-1999).
Groovy Love Vibes got going during the summer of 1992. Bassist/vocalist Erik Pertl, feeling that the three bands he was involved in had run their courses, wanted to drop everything and start something new. He began talking to co-worker and guitarist Bill Baldwin about this project. Enthusiastic about the idea, Bill suggested they start jamming with drummer Seth Guge. The first practices went very well; and within the first month, the band had five solid songs and their first demo was recorded.
The name of the band served as a sort of contradiction to many of the lyrical topics of the songs, which were basically a study in attraction, rejection, disappointment, anxiety, frustration, and anger. The vocal delivery and the lyrics were a harmonious clash of machismo, rage, and despair. The guitar sound was huge; augmented by Bill's signature guitar leads and Erik's solid bass lines. Seth's drumming had a kind of bouncing heaviness to his beats and accents that made people want to rock out.
The first several shows were played in people's back yards, garages, barns, and lofts. All of these performances were met with positive reactions by attendees; which encouraged the band to forge ahead. The momentum continued as Groovy Love Vibes became a regular draw at the Turner's Club in Elgin, and eventually the "Third Floor Loft". The band played several shows in Chicago as well; including such venues as: The Czar Bar, The Avalon, The Fireside Bowl, The Beat Kitchen, and The Metro. They also made two out of state excursions to Iowa and Indiana.
As time went on, Groovy Love Vibes' music and concepts evolved and changed. The band started experimenting more with improvisation and different song structures, lyrics became more abstract, and sci-fi/fantasy topics were explored. By 1994, the band's sound was almost completely transformed when they added saxophonist Boyd Raveling, and dropped the vocals completely with a whole set of instrumental songs. This didn't seem to go over very well at the shows where many of the attendees were caught up in the pop punk/ska punk/emo/indie rock trends of the time. Alienation went both ways. Groovy Love Vibes eventually broke up during the summer of 1995.
After thirteen years apart, Bill, Seth, and Erik have been re-visiting Groovy Love Vibes to play a handful of shows.
Damn it! Why do I always have to be out of town when you guys play? I even found my old groovy love vibes shirt. I think I wore clothes much bigger back then. :)
Hey Erik! Let me know what you want me to do with the disc of GLV photos. I can drop it at your Mom's if you're going to be stopping there anytime soon. Let me know!
Everything's good here! Hope everything's been good with you, it's been a long ass time! Hopefully I'll see you on the 11th, that's kick ass that you guys are playing again!
