Yawning Man
+ Elevant + Elephant Tree + Old Man Lizzard
Entry Requirements: 18+
Influenced by everything from the psychedelic to the folkloric, jazz, hard rock, roots punk, world music, the sound of this trio while hard to describe is visual and cinamatic , heavy and melancholy. driving & daydreaming. The Yawning Man song "Catamaran" was recorded by the influencial hard rock/ desert rock band Kyuss, on thier 3rd album "And The Circus Leaves Town". The first full length Lp from Yawning Man "Rock Formations" released in 2006 would come almost 20 years after the bands organic beginnings. With Gary Arce on guitars , Alfredo Hernandez on drums and Mario Lalli on Bass . The bands soulful cinematic sound even stronger after so many years. Other releases from the band include the Ep "Pot Head" with the addition of fellow desert musician Billy Cordell on Bass. The band is currently writing and recording their next full length record which will be released in 2014.
Yawning Man are quite a different musical beast from those they inspired. Drawing heavily from the SST roster of artists which set the world ablaze in the 1980s – Black Flag, Minutemen, Meat Puppets – their music is caught in the nexus of surf, psychedelia, Krautrock and the Spaghetti Western soundscapes of Ennio Morricone. Or, if you will, a missing link between the worlds of Dick Dale, Syd’s ‘Floyd, instrumental Black Flag and Pell Mell.
Closely aligned to both the stoner-rock scene which adores them (despite their total lack of ‘Sabbath-like riffery), and the SST family of artists which they are linked to .Their highly vocal fan base runs the gamut from stoners to avant-rockers to even Julian Cope (who mentions the band, in his new Japrocksampler book).
Now, well more than twenty years later, Yawning Man still is going strong; not specifically the band itself as a name, but as that which inspired and drove the members thereof to do what they do, which is an innate drive to create and connect landscapes of the real to surreal- the end result being the beautiful, swirling and other-worldly music you know as Yawning Man- and then some. There have been many off-shoots and side projects in the last couple decades, all different from the next, but all share the same lure of the Desert from which the band members hail- but with different textures and dreams within each project. One of note is the latest project consisting of YM founders Gary and Mario, called WaterWays, which arose from the 'Big Scenic Nowhere' demos, and features Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson) on drums and Abby Travis on vocals. If you love the dreamy and ethereal feel of Yawning Man be sure to check out WaterWays, who will no doubt very soon become as much of an icon of the Desert rock movement- and as well transcend far beyond that genre, as Gary and Mario always do.
Line Up
Yawning Man
"For a new band to deliver one record of the year is pretty commendable and rare, but three albums in three years of which two are included in our best of year list is pretty remarkable." - Shakenstir
"I am converted. The dynamic between guitarist/vocalist Michael Edward and bassist Hannah Lodge is electric, and when Edward thrusts his guitar into the hands of the crowd, falls to his knees and just screams while they flail away, you can't help but love it." - Bido Lito
"With their prog-like precision and constant genre hopping (which isn’t a case of awkwardly trying their hand at different genres until one clumsily fits; Every stylistic u-turn is fiendishly innovative and inescapably engaging) it’s no wonder the experimental DIY approach they apply to every aspect of their work, works so god damn well." - Gigslutz
"Elevant have made a revealing album that is raw and honest and open about the darkest parts of society and humanity." - Artrocker
"The three-piece more than possess the chops to convince, with the trio sounding far vaster than the sum of their parts. Anchored by Tom Shand’s pummelling Bonham-esque beats and Hannah Lodge’s interlocking bassline weaves, lead singer Michael Edward’s lung bursting Chris Cornell-style lead vocals and bludgeoning guitar work make the record sound like the work of a six-piece." - Bearded Magazine
Both hailing from the North of England, Jack Townley (Guitar) and Sam Hart (Drums) came together through work and a mutual interest in anything musically heavy. Early jam sessions, starting in August 2013, involved Jack taking up bass guitar duties while Sam took up the drums. Neither of them had much proficiency in their instruments and it was this approach that brought more focus to writing a catchy riff that would eventually turn out to be Attack Of The Altaica. While the sessions were going well, there was a long way to go before the pair would be ‘gig ready’, however after a chance meeting with Trippy Wicked front man Peter Holland the band would start to pick up steam, with Jack moving to a more natural role on the guitar and Pete picking up the bass. Before long the riffs, melodies and eventually songs of Theia were formed. The addition of Riley MacIntyre, initially as sitar player, brought yet another dimension to the sound and also a fresh approach to the writing structure the band had been focused on. By late June 2014 the band had booked to record their first EP Theia.
Spending two days at Sam Thredder’s (Slabdragger) Cro’s Nest Studio, seven tracks were recorded in total, ready for mixing before being sent to James Plotkin a few weeks later for mastering. Soon after uploading the finished tracks to Soundcloud, Mike Vitali contacted the band and negotiated the signing to Magnetic Eye records. This launched Theia into the world on vinyl, CD and digital formats while gaining enough traction to help secure a week long European tour with friends Bright Curse, which saw performances in France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany.
Following on from the success of their first EP, the studio time was booked and recording for the first long play, self-titled, album was booked and commenced in August 2015. Recorded over two weeks at The Church Studios, in Crouch End, London, the album took on a much more rounded and melodic sound, helped in no small part by the wide range of equipment available and Riley taking up the role of producer. This meant the dropping of the sitar gimmick, but in the long run that turned in the bands favour as the release, scheduled for April 2016, was met with a warm and glowing reception by fans and critics alike.
Moving forward into 2017 there are plans in the works to return to mainland Europe, armed with tracks from the latest release, as well as a few new numbers. The band have also been commissioned to write a track to accompany a scene in the widely anticipated and ambitious The Planet Of Doom feature length animation, with recording set to happen sometime late August / early September. If you would like to find out more about Elephant Tree then please don’t hesitate to send us a message/e-mail, or even better, come to one of our gigs and have a chat. We’re usually the ones propping up the bar…
