Teen-Beat. Gastr del Sol.

Gastr del Sol was a Chicago band consisting, for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they put out seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock (the scene they were most associated with) to musique concrète. Grubbs, a former member of Squirrel Bait and Bastro, formed the band in Chicago in 1991. They released their first album, The Serpentine Similar, in 1993. This early lineup saw Grubbs joined by Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire, both members of Bastro's final incarnation, on bass guitar and drums respectively. In 1994 Brown and McEntire left to join Tortoise and guitarist, composer and producer Jim O'Rourke joined.

RELATED ARTISTS

BASTRO (David/Bundy/John)

SONIC YOUTH (Jim)

SQIRRELBAIT (David)

TORTOISE (Bundy)

GASTR DEL SOL The Serpentine Similar album

GASTR DEL SOL 20 Songs Less 7-inch vinyl 45

GASTR DEL SOL, band, David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourke

David, Jim [L to R]
Photo by [unknown]

David
Photo by [unknown]

GASTR DEL SOL, band, David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourken

Jim, David
Photo by [unknown]

ALSO

The band's own re-issue-focused imprint was called Dextr's Cigar.

RECORD LABELS ASSOCIATED WITH

Dextr's Cigar,
Drag City,
Teen-Beat

FILM

A WATERY KENTUCKY

Performed live at The Point, Atlanta, Georgia, September, 23, 1995.

URSUS ARCTOS WONDERFILIS

Performed live at The Point, Atlanta, Georgia, September, 23, 1995.

BIOGRAPHY

Gastr del Sol was the most prominent vehicle of indie rock stalwart David Grubbs, a former member of Squirrel Bait and Bastro. With Gastr del Sol, the Louisville, KY-born vocalist/guitarist/pianist's evolution from conventional rock music into more intricate and sophisticated tone patterns became complete; debuting with the 1993 EP The Serpentine Similar, the group -- a shifting aggregate of talents initially including bassist Bundy K. Brown and drummer John McEntire -- began exploring a new approach, taking off from often improvisational performances to embark on highly idiosyncratic sonic adventures. With the single "20 Songs Less," guitarist, composer, and tape manipulator Jim O'Rourke signed on, and following the departure of Brown, and with the decreased involvement of McEntire, Gastr del Sol became a kind of catchall tag for Grubbs and O'Rourke's many eclectic projects; the acoustic Crookt, Crackt, or Fly followed in 1994, as did the EP Mirror Repair. With 1995's The Harp Factory on Lake Street, Grubbs and O'Rourke composed a single 17-minute orchestral piece, while with 1996's Upgrade and Afterlife they returned to more more traditional dynamics to create their most beautiful and intriguing work to date. O'Rourke left Gastr del Sol in 1997, shortly after completing work on Camoufleur, which was released in January 1998.

- Jason Ankeny, All Music

DISCOGRAPHY

SINGLES

20 Songs Less
The Harp Factory on Lake Street
split single with Tony Conrad

ALBUMS

The Serpentine Similar
Mirror Repair
Crookt, Crackt, or Fly
Upgrade & Afterlife
Camoufleur

COMPILATIONS

Wakefield: Volume 1
Wakefield: Volume 3
Wakefield: The Teen-Beat Boxed Set
This Means War
The Christmas Album
Nova Feedback
Zehn
Ground-Zero - Conflagration
Unconditionally Guaranteed
Musique Facile Pour Gens Difficiles Volume 1
Rough Cuts 2

Bastro
Squirrelbait

SONGS

A Jar Of Fat
A Puff of Dew
A Watery Kentucky
Bauchredner
The Bells of St. Mary
Black Horse
Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder
The C in Cake
Crappie Tactics
Dead Cats in a Fog Horn
Dictionary of Handwriting
Dry Bones in the Valley
Each Dream is an Example
Easy Company
Eight Corners
Even the Odd Orbit
Every Five Miles
Eye Street
For Soren Mueller
The Harp Factory on Lake Street
Hello Spiral
Is That a Rifle When it Rains?
Mirror Repair
Mouth Canyon
Nani?
Our Exquisite Replica of "Eternity"
Parenthetically
Photographed Yawning
Rebecca Sylvester
The Relay
The Sea Incertain
The Seasons Reverse
Serpentine Orbit
Thos. Dudley Ah! Old Must Dye
Twenty Songs Less [1]
Twenty Songs Less [2]
Ursus Arctos Wonderfilis
Wedding in the Park
Why Sleep
Work From Smoke
The Wrong Soundings

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