Steam Powered Giraffe is an American musical project formed in San Diego, California in 2008, self-described as "a musical act that combines robotpantomime, puppetry, ballet, comedy, projections, and music".[2][3] Created and led by twins David Michael Bennett and Isabella Bunny Bennett, the act combines music and improvisational comedy on-stage, with their studio works focusing primarily on music.[4][5]
Steam Powered Giraffe (sometimes abbreviated as "SPG") has its own fictional mythology, in which the characters portrayed on-stage and on-record are a troupe of robot musicians constructed in the late 1890s. This fictional universe, influenced by the steampunk subculture, has been explored and expended in the band's albums and on-stage performance, on official web pages, and via comics primarily written and drawn by Isabella Bennett. The band has undergone several line-up changes, but its primary focus is on a core cast of robot characters portrayed via makeup and pantomime by the Bennett twins and a third performer (although the original line-up featured four robots), with several "humans" assisting with music, comedy, and dance throughout the act; additional robot and (fictional) "A.I." characters have variously been portrayed using puppetry, voice acting, and on-screen visuals.
Since its conception, the band has performed at venues including the San Diego Zoo, Legoland California, Downtown Disney, and numerous science fiction, fantasy, anime, and steampunk conventions. As of November 2024, the group has released six studio albums, three live albums, one DVD, and several live concert videos, webcomics, audio stories, and a themed card game. Their work has also been used in video games, with the group providing the soundtracks for the 2015 video game SteamWorld Heist and its 2024 sequel, as well as an official single for the 2016 video game Battleborn.
Career
2008-2011: Formation and early career
The Jon, Rabbit, and The Spine in 2011
Several of the members of Steam Powered Giraffe met while attending Theatre Arts courses at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California, particularly the pantomime classes of Professor Jerry Hager (26-year Seaport Villagemime "Kazoo"[6]). The original four performers—twins David and "Bunny" Bennett, Jonathan Sprague, and Erin Burke—began busking as quirky robot characters on January 22, 2008 in San Diego's Balboa Park. For their first public performance, the group was entitled Steam Powered Giraffe Presents: Peoplebots. Later that month they shortened the name to simply Steam Powered Giraffe.[7]
The original four robot characters were "The Spine" (David Bennett), "Rabbit" (Bunny Bennett), "The Jon" (Jon Sprague), and "Upgrade" (Erin Burke).[8]
David Michael Bennett has stated on the twins' podcast, The Bennettarium, that losing his job in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis spurred him to begin producing the band's first album and subsequently turn Steam Powered Giraffe into a full-time career.[9]
In January 2009, the group began performing alongside backing musician Michael Philip Reed. In May, the band released its first single, "On Top of the Universe", and announced that it would be included on their upcoming first album.[10]
In October 2009, the band released their first album, Album One. Initially only available at the October 30 album release show, the album was released online (first as a physical CD and then digitally via iTunes) in November of that year.[11]
The group performed semi-regularly at Balboa Park throughout 2008, 2009 and 2010, with their final performance in the park in January 2011.[12]
2011-2012: San Diego Zoo, The 2¢ Show, and lineup changes
In early 2011 the band released a single, "Honeybee", announcing that it would be on an upcoming second album.[13]
Erin Burke left Steam Powered Giraffe some time in early 2011 to pursue a career in acting. The group later re-released Album One in September 2011, removing Burke's vocals and replacing the track "I Am Not Alone" (which featured Burke as the lead singer) with "Ice Cream Parade".[14] The original 2009 version of Album One would not be officially available again until 2017.
In May 2011, the band announced that they would be performing as part of the San Diego Zoo's "Nighttime Zoo", running from June through September;[15] they would subsequently return for Nighttime Zoo in 2012 as well. During their initial few weeks at the zoo in 2011, San Diego musician Jesus Gonzalez—a friend of Jon Sprague—filled in as the band's backing musician in place of Michael Reed.
The Bennett twins have stated that the intense repeated performance schedule of the San Diego Zoo shows—every day for 10 straight weeks— was "maddening", but was helpful in honing the group's discipline in live performance;[16] they have also said that despite the exposure and popularity they afforded the group, the early zoo shows were "a poor version of the act", and did not represent their own vision for Steam Powered Giraffe going forward.[17]
In late 2011 the band released a "live" album entitled Live at the Globe of Yesterday's Tomorrow,[18] with editing and crowd noise added over audio from sound stage recordings of the band. Three of the songs from these sound stage recordings would eventually be released as music videos on the band's YouTube channel, while the rest would eventually be released in May 2011 as part of a DVD entitled Steam Powered Giraffe: The DVD (and the Quest For the Eternal Harp of Golden Dreams). [19]
Steam Powered Giraffe's second studio album, The 2¢ Show, was released in May 2012.[20]
On September 24, 2012, the band announced on their Tumblr page that Jon Sprague would no longer be a part of the group.[21] On October 1, it was announced that Sam Luke, then the group's drummer, would become the new robot in the band, "Hatchworth".[22] On November 2, 2012, Hatchworth made his stage debut with the group at Youmacon in Detroit, Michigan, with Mike Buxbaum of A City Serene filling in on drums. Matthew Elton Smith was later named as the group's new official drummer.
2013-2016: MK III, The Vice Quadrant, and Quintessential
on July 18, 2013, Steam Powered Giraffe hosted their own one-day convention, Walter Robotics Expo 2013, with vendor tables and appearances by fellow steampunk performers Professor Elemental and The League of S.T.E.A.M..[23][24]
On August 9, 2013, the band announced the title to their third album, MK III. The album released on December 3, 2013.[25]
Beginning in 2013, Steam Powered Giraffe introduced several new characters to the act. The first of these were the Walter Workers (initially referred to as "Walter Girls"), white-skinned and blue-haired characters who initially started out manning the band's merchandise table at shows, but gradually were integrated into the stage performances. Within the fictional mythology of Steam Powered Giraffe, the Walter Workers are "blue matter engineers" employed by Walter Robotics (the fictional company which owns and operates the robots) and are responsible for maintaining and repairing the robots during live performances. Also added to the show around this time was GG the Giraffe (sometimes spelled G.G.), a robotic baby giraffepuppet (voiced and puppeteered by Isabella Bennett). GG first appeared in the YouTube video for the band's cover of Rihanna's "Diamonds", released in June 2013. Also introduced during this time were two "A.I." characters, Beebop and QWERTY, which appeared in the band's live performances until 2020 and were voiced by the band's sound engineer Steve Negrete.
At the beginning of 2014, the character of Rabbit officially became female, coinciding with performer Isabella Bunny Bennett's own public transition as a transgender woman.[26] Isabella Bennett, long referred to by the nickname "Bunny", legally changed her name to Isabella on January 22, 2016—the band's 8th anniversary.[27]
On March 18, 2014, it was announced that backing musicians Michael Reed and Matt Smith would no longer be performing members of Steam Powered Giraffe. The Bennett twins stated on their podcast The Bennettarium that this was to focus more on the theatrical elements of the act and to reduce the cost and logistics of touring.[28]
In September 2014, Steam Powered Giraffe gave their first international performance, playing at the Grand Canadian Steampunk Exposition in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. They returned for the 2015 Exposition to do a collaboration show with Professor Elemental.
On September 1, 2015, Steam Powered Giraffe released The Vice Quadrant: A Space Opera, a two-disc space operaconcept album containing 28 tracks across two discs (with the iTunes release being two separate albums). The album featured the band's first collaboration in a studio album, with vocals provided by Professor Elemental on the song "Sky Sharks".
In December 2015, the video game SteamWorld Heist was released for the Nintendo 3DS. The game's soundtrack was composed and recorded by Steam Powered Giraffe, whose robot characters appeared in-game as non-player characters. The band also released an album entitled Music from Steamworld Heist, which included six original songs and six re-recordings of existing Steam Powered Giraffe songs, as well as the game's instrumental main theme.[29]
The video game Battleborn by Gearbox Software released on May 3, 2016, and included an unlockable theme song created by Steam Powered Giraffe for the character of Montana; the same day, the band released the song on digital platforms as a single.[30]
On August 31, 2016, Steam Powered Giraffe released their fifth studio album, Quintessential.[31] It has been described as "the end of an era", with songs which had been put on hold while working on other projects, and were put on the album because otherwise the band "[would have been] done with them".[32]
2017-2019: New member & 10th anniversary
On December 19, 2016, Steam Powered Giraffe announced that Samuel Luke would be leaving the group to focus on his independent work as an artist and musician. At the same time, it was announced that actor/musician Bryan Barbarin—a long-time friend of the Bennett twins who had performed improv with them in college—would be stepping in as a new robot character, Zer0. This announcement also coincided with the release of Zer0's first song with the band, a cover of Bing Crosby's "A Marshmallow World".[33] The next episode of the Bennett twins' podcast The Bennettarium, released two days after the announcement, featured the Bennett twins, Luke, and Barbarin discussing the transition, among other things.[34] Zer0's first live show occurred on February 18, 2017, at The Center Theater at The California Center for the Arts in Escondido, California,[35] a frequent location for the band's performances.
In May 2017, the band announced their first vinyl record, a re-release of Music from Steamworld Heist.[36] The band would subsequently re-release The 2¢ Show on vinyl in 2019.[37]
On July 20, 2017, the band performed a show during San Diego Comic-Con with former member Michael Philip Reed joining them on stage. Reed subsequently joined the band for most shows up until February 2020.[citation needed]
On January 27, 2018, Steam Powered Giraffe celebrated the band's 10th anniversary with a special concert at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. The event featured all current and previous members of the band, including past robots Hatchworth, Upgrade, and The Jon (reprised by performers Sam Luke, Erin Burke, and Jon Sprague respectively), and backing musicians Michael Philip Reed and Matt Smith. The concert was later released as a live concert film on Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital video.[38]
On April 18, 2019, the band announced the production of their next album, the first to feature Zer0 and the first since MK III to include Michael Reed. In the run-up to the album's release, the band stated they would release singles and music videos every few months.[39]
2020-present: 1896, Music from SteamWorld Heist II and The Seventh
On March 3, 2020, the band announced that Michael Reed was leaving the band to move out of the country.[40] Reed had provided contributions to the band's then-upcoming sixth studio album prior to his departure. In July 2020, the band announced that due to inappropriate interactions with fans which had come to light after his departure, Steam Powered Giraffe would not be working with Michael Reed again. Live show sound technician Steve Negrete also resigned from the band in July 2020 due to conduct (not directly related to the Reed allegations) which came to light at the same time.[41]
On November 9, 2020, Steam Powered Giraffe released their sixth studio album, 1896. The album features 22 songs across two discs, with the second disc consisting of ten acoustic versions of songs.[42][43]1896 was re-released on vinyl in 2021 after a Bandcamp crowdfunding campaign.[44]
On October 4, 2022, the band announced that their seventh album, simply titled The Seventh, is being worked on and would be coming "in the not too distant future."[45]
On August 8, 2024, the band released their newest album, Music from SteamWorld Heist II, a two-disc album featuring 15 songs (with the second disc being instrumental versions).[46] Following a successful Bandcamp crowdfunding campaign in late 2024, the album will also be re-released on vinyl.[47]
The Spine (David Michael Bennett) is a futuristic silver robot who wears a wide-brimmed black fedora, and is often the "straight man" in the band's comedic skits. Originally a plain silver color, he eventually gained a more segmented, paneled appearance, with silver "stegasaurus fins" on his back.
Rabbit (Isabella Bunny Bennett) is a steampunk clockwork robot, typically the zaniest and most chaotic of the trio during performances. Prior to 2014, Rabbit appeared as a skeletal copper Victorian man with silver accents, a short top hat, and goggles; in 2014 Rabbit's new female design added glowing blue (occasionally red) boiler vents and a corseted waist. Since 2014 Rabbit's appearance has varied significantly, with different makeup designs, costume elements, hats, and wigs; as of November 2024 Rabbit has an oxidized copper and white-paneled face, purple and magenta hair, and a short top hat with goggles.[49]
Zer0 (Bryan Barbarin) is an art deco-inspired robot, often portrayed with a naïve demeanor and a child-like sense of wonder. He has a gold face with silver panels and a black beard, and has variously had either short locs or an afro. His costume previously featured a large metal chain with a glowing blue pendant, but as of November 2024 instead features a large silver zipper pull.[50]
Upgrade (Erin Burke) was a female robot with a pink face and a demeanor which varied between serious and silly. She was one of the original four members, and left the band in early 2011.
The Jon (Jonathan Sprague) was an art deco robot with a paneled gold face and a whimsical personality, who wore a stovepipe hat, red suspenders, and a bow tie. He was one of the original four members, and left the band in September 2012.[21]
– lead and backing vocals, guitar, mandolin, bass, drums (2008-2012; guest: 2018)[38]
Hatchworth (Samuel Luke) was an art deco robot with a swirling bronze and copper/gold accented design, portrayed as quirky and naïve. His costume included a glowing blue chest hatch and a bowler hat with a steam pipe. He left the band in 2016.[51]
– lead and backing vocals, bass, guitar (2012-2016; guest: 2018)[38]
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