Trumans Water
Encyclopedia
Trumans Water is an indie rock
band from San Diego
, California
formed in 1991. They have released over a dozen full length recordings over their career, wherein they collaborated with acts in genre, including Azalia Snail
, Chan Marshall and Thurston Moore
.
Captain Beefheart
, Wire
, The Boredoms, Sun City Girls
, Pavement
and Sonic Youth
have all been identified as influences, and during the course of the band's history Trumans Water has produced experimental indie rock
, often with a substantial element of improvisation
. Kevin Branstetter described the band's approach in 1993: "The spirit of the thing is what we want to capture, mess things up, like totally skewing everything, destroying everything and still making it totally listenable" and their recording process: "We record everything live, all play at the same time".
Disc jockey
John Peel
effectively shot the band to indie stardom in the UK when he played their debut LP, Of Thick Tum
, uninterrupted and in its entirety during an edition of his BBC Radio One show. The band subsequently recorded three sessions for Peel's show.
Brothers Kirk Branstetter and Kevin Branstetter relocated to Portland
, Oregon
in 1994 without Galloway and are the only current original members still active in the band. Galloway took on the Glen Galaxy moniker to record as Soul-Junk
, an experimental Christian
rock outfit, before returning to the band in 1998. Kevin Branstetter subsequently moved to France in 1995. The two brothers being on different continents for the last several years has curbed their musical output but by no means stopped them. They have managed to put out six albums since the geographical separation.
Trumans Water has recently added bass player Mike Coumatos after over a decade touring and recording as a three piece (two guitars and drums). A new drummer, John Schier, has been added as well.
Trumans Water have been cited as an influence by several bands including The Cribs
.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
formed in 1991. They have released over a dozen full length recordings over their career, wherein they collaborated with acts in genre, including Azalia Snail
Azalia Snail
Azalia Snail is an American avant-garde singer-songwriter and musician. She is a multi-instrumentalist active in psych folk and indie rock, and played a prominent role in the 1990s lo-fi music scene She was later dubbed the "Queen of lo-fi"....
, Chan Marshall and Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
.
Background
The band was formed by brothers Kirk and Kevin Branstetter in San Diego in 1991, after they were given a guitar and bass by a friend's father. They advertised for a "lead singer, brain optional", and recruited Glen Galloway as a result. Other members of the band have included Ely Moyal, Andres Malinao, and Kevin Cascell.Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
, Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
, The Boredoms, Sun City Girls
Sun City Girls
The Sun City Girls were an American experimental rock band, formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981 the group consisted of Alan Bishop , his brother Richard Bishop , and the late Charles Gocher . Their name was inspired by Sun City, Arizona, an Arizona retirement community...
, Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
have all been identified as influences, and during the course of the band's history Trumans Water has produced experimental indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, often with a substantial element of improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. Kevin Branstetter described the band's approach in 1993: "The spirit of the thing is what we want to capture, mess things up, like totally skewing everything, destroying everything and still making it totally listenable" and their recording process: "We record everything live, all play at the same time".
Disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
effectively shot the band to indie stardom in the UK when he played their debut LP, Of Thick Tum
Of Thick Tum
Of Thick Tum is the first album by Trumans Water. BBC disc jockey John Peel heard this album and was so impressed by it that he played it in its entirety on his show. The band initially self-released a small pressing of this album on vinyl in 1992, with each copy in a hand-made and unique jacket...
, uninterrupted and in its entirety during an edition of his BBC Radio One show. The band subsequently recorded three sessions for Peel's show.
Brothers Kirk Branstetter and Kevin Branstetter relocated to Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in 1994 without Galloway and are the only current original members still active in the band. Galloway took on the Glen Galaxy moniker to record as Soul-Junk
Soul-Junk
Soul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock / hip hop group from San Diego, California.-Background:The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Trumans Water...
, an experimental Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
rock outfit, before returning to the band in 1998. Kevin Branstetter subsequently moved to France in 1995. The two brothers being on different continents for the last several years has curbed their musical output but by no means stopped them. They have managed to put out six albums since the geographical separation.
Trumans Water has recently added bass player Mike Coumatos after over a decade touring and recording as a three piece (two guitars and drums). A new drummer, John Schier, has been added as well.
Trumans Water have been cited as an influence by several bands including The Cribs
The Cribs
The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group...
.
Albums
- Of Thick TumOf Thick TumOf Thick Tum is the first album by Trumans Water. BBC disc jockey John Peel heard this album and was so impressed by it that he played it in its entirety on his show. The band initially self-released a small pressing of this album on vinyl in 1992, with each copy in a hand-made and unique jacket...
, 1992 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were... - Spasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & AssSpasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & AssSpasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & Ass is the second album by Trumans Water. It is their first double-album and was released in 1993 on Homestead Records in the United States and Elemental Records in the UK. There is also a Japanese re-release of the album with a radically different tracklisting...
, 1993 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were... - Godspeed the PunchlineGodspeed the PunchlineGodspeed the Punchline is an LP by Trumans Water. It was released in January 1994 by Homestead Records in the United States and Elemental Records in the UK. This album was preceded by three other "Godspeed" albums--Godspeed the Static, Godspeed the Vortex and Godspeed the Hemorrhage--all of which...
, 1994 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were... - Godspeed the StaticGodspeed the StaticGodspeed the Static is a vinyl-only album by Trumans Water. It was released in 1993 by Drunken Fish Records and is the first in a series of three "Godspeed" albums, all featuring improvised music...
, 1994 release via Drunken Fish - Godspeed the Hemorrhage, 1994 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...
- Godspeed the VortexGodspeed the VortexGodspeed the Vortex is an album by Trumans Water. It was released on vinyl in 1993 and on CD in 1994 by Negative Way Out Records, and is the second in a series of three "Godspeed" albums, all featuring improvised music...
, 1994 release via Way Out Sound - Milktrain to PaydirtMilktrain to PaydirtMilktrain to Paydirt is an album by Trumans Water. It was released in August 1995 by Homestead Records. It was their first studio album without Glen Galloway , and their first album with Kevin Cascell on drums. It was also their last release on the Homestead label. The song "Off-Peak Arson"...
, 1995 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were... - The Peel SessionsThe Peel Sessions (Trumans Water album)The Peel Sessions is a 1995 album by Trumans Water, released on the Strange Fruit label. It collects all of the songs recorded during their three appearances on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 program.- Tracklisting :11 May, 1993:...
, 1995 release via Strange Fruit - Action OrnamentsAction OrnamentsAction Ornaments is a 1997 album by Trumans Water, released by the Runt Records label. It features guest appearances by Azalia Snail and Chan Marshall .- Tracklisting :# "3 Straps Nose to Rear" 3:29...
, 1996 release via Runt - ApistogrammaApistogramma (album)Apistogramma is a 1998 Trumans Water album released by Justice My Eye/Elevated Loin. It features a cover of the Sun Ra song: Rocket #9. Ron Paulos plays sax on #4,#5,and #7.- Track listing :# I've Been Here Before Though I Don't Remember It...
, 1997 release via Justice My Eye / Elevated Loin - Fragments of a Lucky BreakFragments of a Lucky BreakFragments of a Lucky Break is a 1998 album by Trumans Water. The CD was released on the Emperor Jones label and the vinyl was released on the Infinite Chug label. It was their first album in several years to feature Glen Galloway after he left the band in 1994 to form Soul-Junk...
, 1998 release via Emperor Jones - Trumans WaterTrumans Water (album)Trumans Water is a 2001 album by Trumans Water. The CD version has a slightly different tracklist than the LP .- Tracklisting :CD tracklist:1. "Miss Spaceship" 4:04...
, 2001 release via Emperor Jones - You are in the Line of Fire and they are Shooting at YouYou are in the Line of Fire and they are Shooting at YouYou are in the line of fire and they are shooting at you is a 2003 album by Trumans Water, released on the Homesleep label.- Tracklisting :# "Rock of Gibraltar" 2:51# "Some Things Feel Rough" 1:51# "Fire vs...
, 2003 release via Homesleep Records - The Singles 1992-1997The Singles 1992-1997The Singles 1992-1997 is a compilation of 7" single and EP releases by Trumans Water, issued in 2002 by No Sides Records. Not included in this collection is "Jubileeeee" , which was already re-released in the bonus tracks for Godspeed the Vortex...
, 2003 release via No Sides - Rosolina Mar meets Trumans Water (2007) release via Robotradiorecords - split with Rosolina Mar
- O Zeta ZunisO Zeta ZunisO Zeta Zunis is an album by Trumans Water. It was released on August 24, 2010 on the Asthmatic Kitty label.- Tracklisting :# "Since Yesterday" 2:27# "Bev Toxin" 4:16# "Ammunition" 1:12# "Last Time" 2:42# "Ur-Cod" 1:35# "Greased Water" 4:08...
, 2010 (Aug 24) release via Asthmatic Kitty Records
Singles & EPs
- Our Scars Like Badges 7" EP, 1992 release via Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...
- Laugh Light's Lit 7" EP, 1992 release via Drunken Fish
- Jubileeeee 7" EP, 1992 release via Way Out Sound
- "Hey Fish" 7", 1993 release via Drunken Fish
- 10 x My Age10 x My Age10 x My Age is a 1993 EP by Trumans Water, released by Elemental Records. It was released as a CD and as a 10" record pressed on white vinyl.- Tracklisting :1. "Empty Queen II" 3:402. "Second Bass Drum" 2:143. "Enflamed " 2:394. "Paid Squat" 1:33...
CD EP/10", 1993 release via Elemental RecordsElemental RecordsElemental Records is an American independent record label originally created in 1992. From its original inception, the label then headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. Original founders included Jonathan Boldt. In 1999, the label restructured under the new ownership of Cassandra and Aaron Thorpe and... - Have You Got It Yet? (Live in London) 7", 1993 release via Fear & Loathing zine, Dirter Promotions and Elemental Records
- "Skyjacker" 7", 1994 release via Sympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
- Spazz Rockdance Inferno 7" EP, 1994 release via Clawfist
- The First Dead Man of Diluvia 7" EP, 1995 release via Howardian/WantageWantageWantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
- The Great Flood 7" EP, 1996 release via Footprint Records
- "Miss Spaceship"/"Radar 1941" 7", 2000 release via Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
Cassettes
- Santee Busbill cassette, 1993? release via Destroy All Music
- Couch of the Spastics cassette, 1994 release via Chocolate Monk
- Cough Forth Such Dilemmas cassette, 1995 release via Union Pole
- No Dead Space cassette, 1997 release via Union Pole