Gigolo Aunts are an United States power pop band, who formed in 1981.
Biography
Early history
The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs,
Phil Hurley, and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, United States, originally known as Sniper.
In 1986, their name changed to Gigolo Aunts (after the
Syd Barrett song, "Gigolo Aunt", from his 1970 album
Barrett) and became a staple on the Northern New York music scene, gaining a reputation for frenetic live sets that featured the close harmonies of the Hurley brothers and Gibbs.
In the summer of 1987 the band relocated to
Boston,
Massachusetts, and within a year were signed to Hoboken's Coyote Records (then home of
the Feelies and Yo La Tengo). Their first album entitled
Everybody Happy was produced by former
The Bongos bassist (and late version Velvet Underground member), Rob Norris, and released in 1988. After touring up and down the east coast, the band returned to Boston and began working on their follow up album with producer Paul Q. Kolderie. Early in the sessions, Coyote Records folded, and only a handful of songs were finished. After a year of slugging in out in the Boston clubs and recording new songs with Kolderie, the band completed
Tales from the Vinegar Side, which was released only in Spain on Impossible Records in 1990. The album produced a modest Boston area radio hit in "Down on Me".
Chart success
In fall 1991, the band released the "Bloom"/"Cope" 7 inch single on their own Summerville Records. The single garnered rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and heavy Boston area airplay, which led to a record deal with Fire Records in the UK.
An EP,
Full-On Bloom, was released in July 1993 and an album,
Flippin' Out, made with producers Mike Deneen and Adam Lasus, was released in the
United Kingdom in October 1993.
The band supported Suede and
the Cranberries on their first major U.S. tour and a tour of Japan. The band toured extensively in Europe in support of
Flippin' Out, opening for The Wonder Stuff.
After signing to RCA Records in the US early in 1994, the band released the slightly altered American version of Flippin' Out and spent the year supporting the record in Europe and America. Their biggest commercial success was the single, "Where I Find My Heaven", which featured in the soundtrack to the film Dumb and Dumber, and as the opening music to the British situation comedy Game On.
Later history
In the winter of 1995, drummer Paul Brouwer left and was replaced by Fred Eltringham, then of the Boston band, Jack Drag. In the fall of 1995, the band entered the studio with producer Fred Maher to record the follow-up to
Flippin' Out, tentatively titled
Ultraphonic. The subsequent recordings were never released and soon after Phil Hurley left the band and was replaced by 6L6 guitarist, Jon Skibic.
In 1996, after getting released from their RCA deal, the band began the long process of ending their relationship with Fire Records. In the meantime, they released an EP, Learn to Play Guitar, on the indie Wicked Disc label, which allowed them to tour extensively in support of the Wallflowers and Counting Crows.
After settling their contract status in 1998, the band signed a new deal with E Pluribus Unum Records, a subsidiary of Universal Records owned and led by Counting Crows singer, Adam Duritz.
The Gigolo Aunts played a few shows in 2023 including November 15, 2023 at Brooklyn Made, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Members
- Current Members
-
Dave Gibbs (vocals/guitar)
-
Steve Hurley (bass/vocals)
-
Fred Eltringham (drums, 1995-)
-
Jon Skibic (lead guitar/vocals, 1995-)
- Former Members
-
Phil Hurley (lead guitar/vocals, 1981–1995)
-
Paul Brouwer (drums, 1981–1995)
- Timeline
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id:rg value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_Guitar
id:b value:blue legend:Bass
id:d value:orange legend:Drums
id:alb value:black legend:Studio_Albums
id:ep value:gray(0.4) legend:Extended_Plays
LineData =
layer:back
at:06/30/1988 color:alb
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at:04/12/1994 color:alb
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at:02/09/1999 color:alb
at:06/30/1999 color:ep
at:04/08/2002 color:alb
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bar:Dave Gibbs from:start till:end color:v
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bar:Phil Hurley from:start till:10/01/1995 color:v width:3
bar:Jon Skibic from:10/01/1995 till:end color:lg
bar:Jon Skibic from:10/01/1995 till:end color:v width:3
bar:Steve Hurley from:start till:end color:b
bar:Steve Hurley from:start till:end color:v width:3
bar:Paul Brouwer from:start till:02/01/1995 color:d
bar:Fred Eltringham from:02/01/1995 till:end color:d
Discography
Albums
-
Better Than Fish (1987, Demo Tape)
-
Everybody Happy (US - 1988, Coyote Records)
-
Tales from the Vinegar Side (Spain - 1990, Impossible Records)
-
Full-On Bloom (UK - 1993, Fire Records), (US - 1993, Alias Records)
-
Flippin' Out (UK - 1993, Fire Records), (US - 1994, RCA Records/BMG)
-
Learn to Play Guitar (EP) (US - 1997, Wicked Disc)
-
Minor Chords and Major Themes (US - 1999, E Pluribus Unum Recordings)
-
Everyone Can Fly (EP) (US - 1999, E Pluribus Unum Recordings)
-
Pacific Ocean Blues (Spain/Japan - 2002, Bittersweet Recordings), (US - 2003, Q Division Records)
Compilation albums
-
Flippin' Out + Full-On Bloom (UK - 1995, Fire Records)
-
Where I Find My Heaven (UK - 1997, Nectar Masters, UK - 1998, Fire Records)
-
The One Before the Last (Spain - 2000, Bittersweet Recordings)
-
Where I Find My Heaven + Flippin' Out (UK - 2003, Fire Records)
-
The Pride Of Potsdam: 20 Years Of Sonic Splendor (2006, Love To Art)
Singles
-
"Bloom" (1991)
-
"I Am the Cosmos (Chris Bell Homage)" (1992)
-
"Cope" (1992)
-
"Bloom" (1993)
-
"Gun" (1993)
-
"Mrs. Washington" (1993)
-
"Shame" (1993)
-
"Where I Find My Heaven" (1993)
-
"Mrs. Washington" (1994)
-
"Cope" (Promo Single) (1994)
-
"Bloom" (Promo Single) (1994)
-
"Where I Find My Heaven" (1995)
-
"Where I Find My Heaven" (Promo Single) (1995)
-
"The Big Lie" (Promo Single) (1999)
-
"Everyone Can Fly" (Promo Single) (1999)
-
"The Girl From Yesterday" (Promo Single - Spain) (2001)
-
"Even Though (The One Before the Last)" (Promo Single - Spain) (2002)
Selected tracks from other compilations
-
"They Don't Know", Volume 10 (distributed by RTM/Pinnacle) Catalog Number: 10VCD10 (1994)
-
"Where I Find My Heaven", Dumb and Dumber OST (RCA Records) Catalog Number: 07863 66523 2 (22 November 1994)
-
"Mr. Woods", Safe and Sound: A Benefit in Response to the Brookline Clinic Violence (Mercury Records) Catalog Number: 314 534 067-2 (1996)
-
"Why Can't This Be Love?", Everybody Wants Some! (of Van Halen) (CherryDisc Records) Catalog Number: CH 5794-2 (1997)
-
"You'd Better Get Yourself Together, Baby", Wicked Good Sampler 05 (Universal Music) Catalog Number: UMG3P-21141 (1998)
-
"Alcoholiday", What a Concept!: A Salute to Teenage Fanclub (Not Lame Recordings) Catalog Number: NL-089 (2004)
-
"I'm Not the One", (Not Lame Recordings) Catalog Number: NL-102 (2005) attributed to Gigolo Aunts featuring Kid Lightning
External links
