Biography

Introduction

Giant Sand is an American rock band, based in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The name is shortened from the original Giant Sandworms, a reference to the creatures in the Dune books. Overseen by singer-songwriter Howe Gelb, its membership has shifted over the years—at times with each album. For a long while the band's rhythm section consisted of John Convertino and Joey Burns who left the band when their side project, Calexico, grew more widely known than Giant Sand and, as Gelb characterized it in 2004, Calexico "began to work against Giant Sand and eat away at what the band was".

Other members have included keyboardist Chris Cacavas (of Green on Red)^{[citation needed]}, bassist Paula Jean Brown (who was briefly a member of The Go-Go's and was married to Gelb at the time) and drummer Tom Larkins (later to become a Jonathan Richman sideman).^{[citation needed]}

Guest artists have included Victoria Williams, Neko Case, Juliana Hatfield, PJ Harvey, Vic Chesnutt, Steve Wynn, Vicki Peterson, Rainer Ptacek, M. Ward, Isobel Campbell nearly all members of the band Poi Dog Pondering, and regular cameos from Gelb and Brown's daughter, Indiosa Patsy Jean.

Discography

Valley of Rain (1985)
Ballad of a Thin Line Man (1986)
Storm (1987)
The Love Songs (1988)
Long Stem Rant (1989)
Swerve (1990)
Ramp (1991)
Center of the Universe (1992)
Stromausfall (1993)
Purge & Slouch (1994)
Glum (1994)
Goods and Services (1995)
Backyard Barbecue Broadcast (1995)
Build Your Own Night It's Easy (1997)
Chore of Enchantment (2000)
The Rock Opera Years (2000)
Unsungglum (2001)
Cover Magazine (2002)
Infiltration of Dreams (2003)
Too Many Spare Parts in the Yard Too Close at Hand (2003)
Is All Over the Map (2004)
Provisions (2008)
Provisional Supplement (2008)

Filmography

High and Dry: Where the Desert Meets Rock and Roll (2006) – a documentary about Tucson musicians which includes music and interviews with Giant Sand members
Drunken Bees (1996) – a documentary about Giant Sand by Marianne Dissard.