Giant Squid

Giant Squid is an American post-metal and progressive rock band that originated in Sacramento, California in 2002. They were previously signed to The End Records, and have since been signed to Translation Loss Records. The current lineup contains founding members Aaron John Gregory (guitar, vocals) and Bryan Beeson (bass), as well as Jackie Perez Gratz (electric cello, vocals), Zack Farwell (drums), and Andrew Southard (keyboards, vocals). Giant Squid was originally found in 2002 in Sacramento, California, after the members, Aaron John Gregory (guitar, lead vocals), Bryan Beeson (bass guitar), Bill Hughes (guitar), and Aurielle Zeitler (keyboards, vocals), had been playing in Northern California under the monikers Koi and Namor. The band self-released its debut album Metridium Field in 2004 through its own record label, Tyrannosaurus Records. Metridium Field contained re-recorded versions of the songs "Revolution in the Water" and "Ampullae of Lorenzini", two tracks originally released locally in 2002 as a two-song CD under the band's previous name, Namor. Recording of Metridium Field started in February 2003, and now included Jason Divincenzo on drums. Giant Squid hired heavy music producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, High on Fire, Mr. Bungle, Melvins) to record and produce Metridium Field in Sacramento at the recording studio The Hangar. AJ Welham was the assistant engineer for the week-long session, and Brandon Oreno later recorded much of the vocals on the record. The album was mastered by Eric Broyhill at Monster Lab Audio in Sacramento. During the middle of the recording process, Aaron Gregory's father was killed in a motorcycle accident, which delayed the eventual release until April 2004. In 2005, Giant Squid self-released four-hundred hand made/assembled copies of an EP entitled Monster in the Creek, also under their own label, Tyrannosaurus Records. The EP was recorded mostly live and strictly analog to two-inch/sixteen track tape at the Hangar recording studio with engineer Eric Broyhill. It contained select songs about the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 with titles such as "Monster in the Creek" and the instrumental "Lester Stillwell", named after the 11-year-old boy killed during the attacks. Monster in the Creek featured Mike Conroy on drums and Andy Southard on keyboards and additional vocals, giving the band three lead vocalists for a short while. Relieved of her keyboard duties, Aurielle became a full-time guitar player in the band. A copy of Metridium Field came to the attention of employees at experimental music label The End Records resulting in a record deal in 2005. Because of the line-up changes since the recording of Metridium Field, and the fact that the hard drive containing the original session files for the album had locked up and thus made remixing the record impossible (which the band felt it needed before a worldwide release), Giant Squid decided to rerecord the entire album to reflect their progression in sound and songwriting. This new version features Mike Conroy on drums and Aurielle on both guitar and keyboards as well as a second vocalist. Mike Conroy's brother Tim plays trumpet on the tracks "Versus the Siren" and the twenty-one-minute final track "Metridium Field". Andy Southard, who had recently departed the band, made a guest appearance playing keyboards on the title track "Metridium Field". The band hired Billy Anderson again to engineer all the instrumental tracks in Sacramento at The Hangar recording studio. Robert Cheek was an assistant engineer and later recorded the majority of vocals on "Neonate" and "Revolution in the Water" at his private home studio. During the recording process, the band relocated to Austin, Texas. There they finished recording vocals and minor instrumentation with Jason Rufuss Sewell at his private studio, Nebulost Productions, in Bastrop, Texas. Sewell also contributed some minor instrumentation performances on the record before mixing and producing it. Eric Broyhill mastered the record again at Monster Lab Audio. The album was released as Metridium Fields (plural, although the digipak packaging still says "Metridium Field" on the spine) on The End Records, August 22, 2006, and found worldwide, critical acclaim. The band toured the east coast and into Canada in March 2006 with label mates The Gathering, with Jason Rufuss Sewell playing keyboards and Tim Conroy performing his trumpet parts live. The band then toured the Midwest and West coast in July 2006 with label mates Stolen Babies, a few select dates with friends Prize Country, as well as performing at the CD release of The End Records veterans Agalloch in Portland, Oregon. This time around, Tim Conroy took over keyboard duties as well as playing his trumpet parts live. Immediately following this tour, the Conroy brothers left the band and Austin. Giant Squid played a handful of Austin shows with Kimberly Freeman and Scott Sutton (both from Austin band, One-Eyed Doll) on keyboards and drums respectively. One of these first gigs included opening for Isis, at the Austin venue Emo's. Giant Squid played its last show as a local Austin band with this lineup at Room 710, October 20. Aurielle parted ways with the band in November 2006. Kimberly Freeman left shortly after to pursue One-Eyed Doll. Aaron and Bryan, returned to California in December 2006, bringing Scott Sutton along with them. Before leaving Austin, Giant Squid recorded Sutter's Fort, engineered and produced by Jason Rufuss Sewell at Nebulost Productions. It was the first recording featuring Scott Sutton on drums and the last collaboration between Aurielle and founding members, Aaron and Bryan. The song was released by The End Records in a limited edition (only 500 copies, 250 in beige, 250 in brick red) vinyl 7" split with San Francisco band, Grayceon, who contributed "The West". Grayceon featured future Giant Squid member, Jackie Perez Gratz. Jackie Perez Gratz, cello player of Amber Asylum fame, joined Giant Squid in January 2007 as both vocalist and cellist. As a four piece, Giant Squid embarked on a thirty one day tour (with only three days off) across the nation and into Canada. The first week of tour included San Francisco's Ludicra and Portland Oregon's Black Elk. At the Austin music festival SXSW, Giant Squid's sister band Grayceon joined the tour for the remaining three weeks. Later that year, Giant Squid toured the West Coast for eight dates with Australian doom-band, [Whitehorse]. In February 2008, Giant Squid entered Shark Bite Studios in Oakland, CA and recorded their first cover song, "Octopus" by Syd Barrett, for the Dwell Records tribute compilation, Like Black Holes In The Sky: A Tribute to Syd Barrett. Since Sutton was unable to relocate at the time from Eugene, OR in order to stay in the band, Zack Farwell of Grayceon stepped in for the studio session. The track was produced by Billy Anderson with assistant engineer, Adam Myatt. Giant Squid left The End Records after the label felt the band should continue to tour behind Metridium Fields, instead of writing and recording another record, something the band felt very strongly about. The band acquired San Francisco drummer, Christopher Melville Lyman, of local rock band, Turn Me On Dead Man (Alternative Tentacles). Giant Squid then entered Litho Room Studios in Seattle, WA, in August 2008 and Red Room Studios, also in Seattle, WA, in September 2008 to record their second album, The Ichthyologist, produced by Matt Bayles (ISIS, Mastodon, Botch, Pearl Jam). Giant Squid funded the entire recording, pressing, and promotion of the album. The Ichthyologist was self-released on February 3, 2009, via the band's Myspace and official website as a limited edition of only 1,000 copies, featuring exclusive packaging with imagery drawn by early twentieth century biologist, Ernst Haeckel. The Ichthyologist contains guest vocal appearances by Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering, Agua De Annique) and Karyn Crisis