The Giraffes (Brooklyn band)
Encyclopedia
The Giraffes is a Brooklyn
-based hard rock
band formed in 1998. The group's current lineup features guitarist Damien Paris, drummer Andrew Totolos, lead vocalist Aaron Lazar and bassist Jens Carstensen.
Drummer Andrew Totolos is the host of the DIY Network
's Sport Compact customization show "Tricked Out" and lends his voice to many TV commercials.
For some time, the band was managed by rock impresario Calvin Cherry, whose relationship with the band ended after his extradition to Greece
on fraud
charges.
The Giraffes have toured alongside Eagles of Death Metal
as well as The Vacation, Skeleton Key, Local H
, The Means and others.
In July 2010, their song "Done" off of the album Prime Motivator
was released by Ozone Entertainment as downloadable content
on the Rock Band Network
.
A show at Mercury Lounge
on February 5, 2011 was billed as the last with Lazar as lead singer. At the beginning of the band's two-hour set, Lazar declared, "If we don't make it big by the end of this show, I quit."
joined soon after. Kent was replaced in 2002 by John Rosenthal. Rosenthal was then replaced by current bassist Jens Carstensen in 2008.
From 2002 to 2003, the Giraffes recorded two self-produced albums, Helping You Help Yourself and A Gentleman Never Tells. They recorded the albums in their home studio in Brooklyn
, which was conveniently located under a Hasidic dry cleaner. In 2002, Damien Paris was shot in the leg by a fire marshal at a White Castle
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
.
In 2004, they signed to Razor & Tie
and released their self-titled label debut
the following year.
In early 2005, Aaron Lazar suffered two heart attacks. The first occurred while driving over the Manhattan Bridge with his girlfriend. After being rushed to the hospital, he was outfitted with an implanted defibrillator, which allegedly he is in six figures of debt for. The second attack occurred three months later during a live show. He is now doing fine and continuing to perform in top form, not letting the attacks slow him down.
After finishing up with Razor & Tie
, The Giraffes signed with Crustacean Records
. In 2008, the band released the album Prime Motivator
with the label. In 2010, they released a live concert film
Show as a Deluxe DVD+CD. A second album, Ruled
, was released on May 10, 2011.
consumption and the audience throwing objects, such as ice or bottles, at the band members. The band embraces this and retaliates by throwing the objects back at them while continuing to play.
In 2009, the band performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
.
In 2010, a DVD+CD Show was released by Crustacean Records
showcasing one of the band's performances in their hometown of Brooklyn
, New York
.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-based hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band formed in 1998. The group's current lineup features guitarist Damien Paris, drummer Andrew Totolos, lead vocalist Aaron Lazar and bassist Jens Carstensen.
Drummer Andrew Totolos is the host of the DIY Network
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
's Sport Compact customization show "Tricked Out" and lends his voice to many TV commercials.
For some time, the band was managed by rock impresario Calvin Cherry, whose relationship with the band ended after his extradition to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
on fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
charges.
The Giraffes have toured alongside Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Hughes stated that a friend was introducing Josh Homme to the death metal genre...
as well as The Vacation, Skeleton Key, Local H
Local H
Local H is an American rock duo, formed by Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas in Zion, Illinois in 1987. Local H's 1996 album, As Good as Dead, includes the top 10 hit "Bound for the Floor" Author, rock critic and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Kot and the Chicago Tribune named the band its 2008 Chicago...
, The Means and others.
In July 2010, their song "Done" off of the album Prime Motivator
Prime Motivator
Prime Motivator is the fourth full-length LP by The Giraffes. It was recorded and mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton.On July 25, 2010, the song "Done" was released by Ozone Entertainment as downloadable content on the Rock Band Network for Xbox 360. On August 3, 2011, the first...
was released by Ozone Entertainment as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
on the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
.
A show at Mercury Lounge
Mercury Lounge
The Mercury Lounge is a club/music venue, in the Lower East Side section, of New York City. The structure, at 217 East Houston Street, housed the servants to the Astor Mansion, connected to it by an underground labyrinth of tunnels...
on February 5, 2011 was billed as the last with Lazar as lead singer. At the beginning of the band's two-hour set, Lazar declared, "If we don't make it big by the end of this show, I quit."
Background
The Giraffes were formed in 1996 by guitarist Damien Paris and drummer Andrew Totolos. Singer Aaron Lazar and bassist Tim KentTim Kent
Tim Kent is a contemporary representational painter, known for his elaborate paintings of interiors as well as for figurative works that tend toward darker themes. Kent was also the original bass player for the hard rock band The Giraffes from 1997 - 2002...
joined soon after. Kent was replaced in 2002 by John Rosenthal. Rosenthal was then replaced by current bassist Jens Carstensen in 2008.
From 2002 to 2003, the Giraffes recorded two self-produced albums, Helping You Help Yourself and A Gentleman Never Tells. They recorded the albums in their home studio in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, which was conveniently located under a Hasidic dry cleaner. In 2002, Damien Paris was shot in the leg by a fire marshal at a White Castle
White Castle (restaurant)
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
.
In 2004, they signed to Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie is a New York-based corporation founded in 1990 by Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam. The company encompasses a record label with major label distribution , a home video company, a media buying company, a music publishing business, a marketing, promotion and sales team, and a direct...
and released their self-titled label debut
The Giraffes (album)
The Giraffes is the third full-length album by The Giraffes and their first for the Razor & Tie label. The track "Honey Baby Child" was written by and recorded in memory of Pierre Michel.-Track listing:...
the following year.
In early 2005, Aaron Lazar suffered two heart attacks. The first occurred while driving over the Manhattan Bridge with his girlfriend. After being rushed to the hospital, he was outfitted with an implanted defibrillator, which allegedly he is in six figures of debt for. The second attack occurred three months later during a live show. He is now doing fine and continuing to perform in top form, not letting the attacks slow him down.
After finishing up with Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie is a New York-based corporation founded in 1990 by Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam. The company encompasses a record label with major label distribution , a home video company, a media buying company, a music publishing business, a marketing, promotion and sales team, and a direct...
, The Giraffes signed with Crustacean Records
Crustacean Records
Crustacean Records is a record company from Wisconsin, United States, founded in 1994.-History:The label was founded by current majority owner Chris Langkamp. The debut release was Fetus by Crab Shack, the band Chris Langkamp played bass with, and was cassette only...
. In 2008, the band released the album Prime Motivator
Prime Motivator
Prime Motivator is the fourth full-length LP by The Giraffes. It was recorded and mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton.On July 25, 2010, the song "Done" was released by Ozone Entertainment as downloadable content on the Rock Band Network for Xbox 360. On August 3, 2011, the first...
with the label. In 2010, they released a live concert film
Concert film
A concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
Show as a Deluxe DVD+CD. A second album, Ruled
Ruled
Ruled is the fifth full-length LP by The Giraffes. Drums, bass and principle guitar tracks recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY. Vocals and additional guitars recorded at Strangeweather in Brooklyn, NY. Mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton. Mastered by Julian Silva at On Air...
, was released on May 10, 2011.
Live performances
The Giraffes are known for rowdy live performances. Their shows usually involve heavy alcoholAlcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
consumption and the audience throwing objects, such as ice or bottles, at the band members. The band embraces this and retaliates by throwing the objects back at them while continuing to play.
In 2009, the band performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was held June 11–14, 2009 at a farm in Manchester, Tennessee, . There were roughly 75,000 people in attendance....
.
In 2010, a DVD+CD Show was released by Crustacean Records
Crustacean Records
Crustacean Records is a record company from Wisconsin, United States, founded in 1994.-History:The label was founded by current majority owner Chris Langkamp. The debut release was Fetus by Crab Shack, the band Chris Langkamp played bass with, and was cassette only...
showcasing one of the band's performances in their hometown of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Band members
- Aaron Lazar - VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Damien Paris - Lead GuitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Jens Carstensen - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Andrew Totolos - DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Studio albums
- Franksquilt (1998) Apesauce Records
- Helping You Help Yourself (2002) Apesauce Records
- A Gentleman Never Tells (2003) Apesauce Records
- The GiraffesThe Giraffes (album)The Giraffes is the third full-length album by The Giraffes and their first for the Razor & Tie label. The track "Honey Baby Child" was written by and recorded in memory of Pierre Michel.-Track listing:...
(2005) Razor & Tie Media - Pretty in PukePretty In PukePretty In Puke is the fifth recording and third EP by The Giraffes. Recorded and mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton, it contained four new songs and a new recording of "I'll Be Your Daddy" which had previously appeared on the EP Helping You Help Yourself in a different...
(2006) Apesauce Records - Prime MotivatorPrime MotivatorPrime Motivator is the fourth full-length LP by The Giraffes. It was recorded and mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton.On July 25, 2010, the song "Done" was released by Ozone Entertainment as downloadable content on the Rock Band Network for Xbox 360. On August 3, 2011, the first...
(2008) Crustacean Records - RuledRuledRuled is the fifth full-length LP by The Giraffes. Drums, bass and principle guitar tracks recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY. Vocals and additional guitars recorded at Strangeweather in Brooklyn, NY. Mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by Joel Hamilton. Mastered by Julian Silva at On Air...
(2011) Crustacean Records
Official bootlegs
- Farewell, Fat Astronaut (2011) (Limited Release) Apesauce Records
