The Gersch

Last updated
The Gersch
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, US
Genres Experimental rock, doom metal, hardcore punk
Years active1996–1999, 2006-2007, 2013
Labels Tortuga Recordings, Polterchrist Records, Shock Value Records
MembersJustin Sosnovski
Graham Hick
Bryant Clifford Meyer
Brian Lynn
Past membersJonathan Ruhe
Website

The Gersch is a band founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1996. They have been on extended hiatus since 1999 with the only activity since that time being the 2006 release of their self-titled album, mixed and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and Bryant Clifford Meyer, as well as a reunion performance on June 22, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.

Contents

Biography

Guitarists Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and B. Clifford Meyer got together in 1996 in Allston, Massachusetts to form a rock band. They eventually hooked up with drummer Jonathan Ruhe who performed with them throughout their original incarnation and also plays on their self-titled album.

In 1997 a 7-inch single of two songs by The Gersch was released by Tortuga Recordings. "Bloodbottom" b/w "Listwish" was release number 001 for Tortuga Recordings,. [1]

In 1998 and 1999 The Gersch appeared on a Polterchrist Records compilation titled "Benefit For El Chupacabra", as well as a Tortuga Recordings compilation, "Metal Is A Tough Business". During these years Justin, and then a year later, Graham, left Boston and so had to leave the band . Clifford and Jonathan performed into 1999 as a two piece, but finally put it on hiatus when Clifford joined Isis (band) and Jonathan joined the Boston-based Ho-Ag.

On June 6, 2006, they released a 45-minute CD titled "The Gersch" on Tortuga Recordings. It was released on LP by Shock Value Records under exclusive license from Tortuga Recordings on December 21, 2007. It was mixed, edited and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and Bryant Clifford Meyer, and put together from different recording sessions from the late 1990s. Nick Zampiello of New Alliance Studio in Boston mastered the album for CD and LP.

Reunion

The Gersch ended their long hiatus by performing at The PRF "Excellent Italian" BBQ 2013, a four-day music festival in Chicago Illinois on June 22, 2013. This was their first public performance in 15 years. The lineup included original members Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and Bryant Clifford Meyer (ISIS, Red Sparowes, Taiga, Palms) on vocals and guitars, with Brian Lynn (Indian, Behold! The Living Corpse) on drums. The PRFBBQ is an annual underground music festival put together by an international collective of musicians and artists who congregate around the Electrical Audio studio web forums. [2]

Genre

Their sound is a combination of classic rock, punk rock, hardcore, metal and noise. They are commonly labeled doom metal, avant garde, post-metal, drone-metal and sludge-metal. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] They have borrowed and helped to evolve a sound pioneered by the likes of Black Sabbath, Sleep, Kyuss, Neurosis, High on Fire and even Black Flag. [4] [5] [6] [7] Some reviews have also compared their sound to the roster of bands that appeared on the Minneapolis-based label Amphetamine Reptile during the 1990s. [3]

Members

Past members

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keelhaul (band)</span> American metal band

Keelhaul is a four-piece progressive mathcore/sludge metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. The members are Aaron Dallison, Dana Embrose (guitar), Will Scharf (drums), and Chris Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final (band)</span>

Final is a project of English musician Justin Broadrick, creator of the band Godflesh, which he started when he was 13 years old. Unlike Godflesh, Final is primarily electronic in nature, taking on a space-like, dark ambient sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isis (band)</span> American post-metal band

Isis was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997 by guitarist and vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Jeff Caxide, vocalist and electronic instrumentalist Chris Mereschuk and drummer Aaron Harris. After a demo and the EP Mosquito Control were recorded by the original lineup, Mereschuk was replaced by Jay Randall in 1999, who joined the group alongside guitarist Michael Gallagher. Jay Randall would later be replaced by guitarist and keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer after the recording of Red Sea. With roots in hardcore punk and doom metal, the band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins, reforming only once in 2018 as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to Caleb Scofield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Sparowes</span> American post-rock band

Red Sparowes is an American, Los Angeles-based post-rock band, comprising current and former members of Isis, Marriages, The Nocturnes, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced experimental rock, with an otherwise uncommon extensive use of a pedal steel guitar.

Gang Green is an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year, and the band experienced numerous lineup changes until its dissolution for the second time in 1992. Doherty has been the band's only constant member and has kept Gang Green active from 2005 onwards. The band was influential in the formation of the East Coast hardcore punk scene, and went on to become one of the forerunners of crossover thrash and speed metal in the late 1980s.

<i>Live.01</i> 2004 live album by Isis

Live.01 is Isis's first live release, recorded on September 23, 2003, at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California, USA. It is sourced from an audience bootleg recording and, as such, does not sound professionally recorded. The fan who made this performance did not properly record the first song and thus this release is not totally complete.

<i>Sawblade</i> (Isis EP) 1999 EP by Isis

The Sawblade EP is a handmade CD-R made by Isis for their tour with Neurosis and Candiria, limited to 200 copies. It was sold at these shows at a limit of 15 per night, and the leftover copies were given to friends of the band as a year-end "thank you" gift. The vinyl run of this release was limited to 250 copies. As such, Aaron Turner doesn't consider this an 'official' Isis release, describing it as “more like a special artifact for us and the few converts we had at the time”.

Dianogah is an American indie rock band formed in 1995, noted for their use of two bass guitars. Members include Kip McCabe, Jay Ryan, and Jason Harvey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydra Head Records discography</span>

This is a complete discography of Hydra Head Records releases. Hydra Head Records was an independent record company based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1993 by Aaron Turner. It had two imprints, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialises in experimental and noise music, and another entitled Tortuga Recordings.

<i>Live.04</i> 2006 live album by Isis

Live.04 is Isis's fourth live release and the first to be composed of recordings from several different sources and eras. Many of the tracks are from audience bootleg recordings, and as such do not sound professionally recorded. The exception is the first track, recorded for WMBR Radio Boston. As with the rest of the live series, the CD version was self-released. The vinyl edition was handled, in this instance, by Robotic Empire.

<i>Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun</i> 2006 studio album by Red Sparowes

Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is the second studio album by post-rock band Red Sparowes, released in September 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Made Out of Babies</span> American sludge metal band

Made Out of Babies was a sludge metal band from Brooklyn, New York formed in 2004 that disbanded in 2012.

<i>Clearing the Eye</i> 0000 American film

Clearing the Eye is the first DVD release by the Los Angeles post-metal band Isis. It features live videos, the "In Fiction" music video, photo galleries, lyrics for all songs featured, a complete discography, and a 20-page booklet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isis discography</span>

Isis was an American post-metal band, active from 1997 until their disbandment in 2010. They released five full-length albums, five extended plays (EPs), seven live albums, two singles, and have collaborated with other artists on numerous other projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Caxide</span> American bassist

Jeff Caxide is an American bassist, best known for his time with post-metal band Isis, of which he was a founding member and present until its dissolution in 2010. He was also a founding member of Red Sparowes, but left after the release of their first full-length. He also contributed to side-project Spylacopa. Prior to his time in Isis, he was a touring member of the Boston metalcore band 454 Big Block. He also helped found Connecticut-based metalcore band Cable, for whom he played bass. His stay with the band as a musician was brief, but he did return in order to produce 1999's Gutter Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryant Clifford Meyer</span> Musical artist

Bryant Clifford Meyer is a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his tenure with Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis. He was with the band since its debut full-length, Celestial, in 2000. Previously, he was a formative member of Boston-based rock band The Gersch. He is also a member of post-rock side projects Red Sparowes, Windmills by the Ocean and a solo project named Taiga.

<i>Wavering Radiant</i> 2009 studio album by ISIS

Wavering Radiant is the fifth and final full-length album by American post-metal group Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings in 2009 and produced by Joe Barresi. The band split just over a year after its release. The album continues Isis' history of lengthy songwriting, yet presents a slight departure from the soft-loud dynamics and post-metal aesthetic which characterized previous releases.

Roadsaw is an American rock band, formed in 1994. To date, the band has released six studio albums.

<i>Temporal</i> (Isis album) 2012 compilation album by Isis

Temporal is a compilation album by American post-metal band Isis, containing various demo recordings, unreleased tracks and remixes from throughout the band's history. It was released on November 6, 2012, by Ipecac. The compilation includes demos and alternate versions of songs from Oceanic, Panopticon and Wavering Radiant. It also features songs originally from Sawblade EP and Melvins / Isis. The compilation also includes a DVD of all the band's music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palms (band)</span> American metal supergroup

Palms is an American post-metal supergroup that formed in 2011. The group features Deftones' vocalist Chino Moreno and three members of the post-metal band Isis: bassist Jeff Caxide, drummer Aaron Harris and guitarist Bryant Clifford Meyer.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tortuga Recordings: Releases".
  2. BBQ, PRF. "The PRF Excellent Italian BBQ 2013". The PRFBBQ. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Phoenix, Boston. "Review of The Gersch". Boston Phoenix. Retrieved June 29, 2006.
  4. 1 2 Wharton, Bryer. "Review of The Gersch". Slug Magazine. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  5. 1 2 Tobey, Mike. "Review of The Gersch". Delusions Of Adequacy. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2006.
  6. 1 2 Batty, Roger. "Review of The Gersch". Musique Machine. Retrieved June 28, 2006.
  7. 1 2 SOS, Mike. "Review of The Gersch". The Music Appraisal. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  8. "Tortuga Press Materials".* The Gersch full length LP. December 21, 2008. Shock Value Records