The Gerbils began back in the early 90's in Ruston, Louisiana where Scott Spillane, John D'Azzo and
Will Westbrook all attended college together. Scott first teamed up with John in 1992 in the group
Smilin' Joe Fission, which also included violinist John Fernandes (later a member of
The Olivia Tremor Control). The first incarnation of the Gerbils also featured cellist Penny Burbank.
This line-up recorded their first demos but soon slimmed down to just a trio with Scott on guitar/vocals, Will
on bass/vocals and John on drums.
The first single was Grin released on Spare Me in 1996. It was followed by a second single,
Glue, on Hidden Agenda in 1997.
The 4 tracks from these 2 singles were included on their CD entitled Are You Sleepy? released
in 1998 on Hidden Agenda. The album also featured Jeremy Barnes ( Neutral Milk Hotel,
Marta Tennae). At the end of 1998, Earworm Records re-released Are You Sleepy?
on vinyl with different artwork in a limited edition of 750.
Their third single Lucky Girl was released in the UK by Earworm Records, and contained musical contributions
from members of The Olivia Tremor Control.
With wandering interests, the band eventually decided to go their separate ways and played a "final" gig in Athens in 1999. John moved
to California to pursue his career and Scott split his time between Athens and Texas (and of course was devoting
a lot of time to his involvement with Neutral Milk Hotel).
But there was an unfinished Gerbils album that Scott and Will continued to work on. Slowly over 2 years the album
came together in bits and pieces. In 2000, the bulk of the recording was completed at Radium Recording Studios in Athens. In February 2001,
Scott moved back to Georgia from Austin and shortly after that John D'Azzo also returned. And the band was reunited!
October 2001, their second album The Battle of Electricity was released on the label Orange Twin. The album
includes contributions from Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal), Bill Doss (Sunshine Fix, Olivia Tremor Control),
Peter Erchick (Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't, Olivia Tremor Control), Eric Harris (Olivia Tremor Control),
and Heather McIntosh (Japancakes, Great Lakes). The song "Are You Underwater" was co-written between John D'Azzo and J. Kirk Pleasant (from Calvin Don't
Jump).
Official web page: www.thegerbils.net
Other projects involving The Gerbils members:
Neutral Milk Hotel, Bablicon, Marta Tennae
| ALBUMS |
FORMAT |
LABEL |
RELEASE DATE |
| Are You Sleepy? |
CD |
Hidden Agenda
(AHA 006) |
1998 |
| Are You Sleepy? |
LP |
Earworm
(WORM 033) |
1998 |
| The Battle of Electricity |
CD/ LP |
Orange Twin
(OT 006) |
Oct. 2001 |
| SINGLES / EPs |
FORMAT |
LABEL |
RELEASE DATE |
| Grin b/w Crayon Box |
7" |
Spare Me
(SM 003) |
1996 |
| Glue b/w Is She Fiona |
7" |
Hidden Agenda
(AHA 001) |
1997 |
| Lucky Girl b/w Big White Limo |
7" |
Earworm
(WORM 014) |
1997 |
| COMPILATIONS |
SONG |
FORMAT |
LABEL |
RELEASE DATE |
| Counterattack Of U.S. Indie |
Lead |
CD |
Contact
(CR 001) |
July 1999 |
Emmaboda Festival
2001 Compilation |
Heartbeat
(Buddy Holly cover) |
CD |
Absurd |
May 2001 |
| More Tell-Tale Signs of Earworm |
Big White Limo |
2x CD |
Earworm
(WORM 70) |
2001 |
