Under the Influence of Giants
Encyclopedia
Under the Influence of Giants (sometimes abbreviated UTIOG) is a musical group
from Los Angeles, California
. They released their major label debut album in August 2006, which was a number one hit on the Top Heatseekers
chart. Among their influences are the Beatles, The Who
, Led Zeppelin
, the Bee Gees
, Prince
, WHAM!
, Chicago
and Todd Rundgren
. UTIOG have performed on Last Call with Carson Daly
and Jimmy Kimmel Live
as well as opening for acts such as Aerosmith, Darrell DMC, Crowded House, and The Sounds.
and signed to the now defunct Maverick Records
from 2002-2004. In 2004, after several member changes and label woes, the band went on hiatus. Around this time, Bruno and Stewart reconnected with childhood friend and former Audiovent
drummer Jamin Wilcox and began to play music together. All three had experienced turmoil with major record labels and wanted to create music on their own terms. The music from these sessions would later be recorded and released free over the internet under the album title Bitch City. While the band was still called HomeTown Hero at this point, they felt the evolution of the music did not fit the name so they dropped the name. Since HomeTown Hero was still contractually obligated to Maverick, the label held the legal rights to HomeTown Hero's music. The members of the band quit the label, forced to leave their music behind.
The band continued under the name "Under the Influence of Giants", a name meant to reflect of their continuous struggle to operate free of authority. They recruited keyboardist Katie Logan and bassist David Amezuca and began to play shows in the Los Angeles area in mid-2005, selling out venues like the Roxy and Key Club several times. In the spring of 2006, after a short West Coast tour, Logan decided to amicably leave the band and created the duo Katie and Katie with a friend.
In the winter of 2005 they signed with Island Records. They released their debut in summer of 2006 on Island Records.
In November 2006, they headlined the halftime show at Major League Soccer
's MLS Cup
championship game at Pizza Hut Park
in Frisco, Texas
.
They have headlined and sold out numerous club tours in the US and UK. They have also gone on tour in the UK and Europe with The Sounds
, as well as opening for them on select dates in the United States.
Aaron Bruno is currently in the band AWOLNATION
who released their debut EP Back from Earth in 2010 on iTunes. Jamin Wilcox has released a solo album on iTunes. David Amezcua is currently in the band HOTSTREETS, who released their self tilted debut album in 2010 on iTunes. Amezcua is also the bass player in Awolnation.
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. They released their major label debut album in August 2006, which was a number one hit on the Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart. Among their influences are the Beatles, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, WHAM!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
, Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
and Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
. UTIOG have performed on Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
and Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
as well as opening for acts such as Aerosmith, Darrell DMC, Crowded House, and The Sounds.
History
Aaron Bruno and Drew Stewart formed a band called Home Town HeroHome Town Hero
Hometown Hero was a post-grunge band from Southern California active in the early 2000s. Founding members Aaron Bruno and Drew Stewart began playing together while attending Westlake High School, where their early project was known as the Ice Monkeys...
and signed to the now defunct Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
from 2002-2004. In 2004, after several member changes and label woes, the band went on hiatus. Around this time, Bruno and Stewart reconnected with childhood friend and former Audiovent
Audiovent
Audiovent was an American alternative rock band from Calabasas, California. Audiovent was formed in the early 1990s under the name Vent, and broke up in 2004.-History:...
drummer Jamin Wilcox and began to play music together. All three had experienced turmoil with major record labels and wanted to create music on their own terms. The music from these sessions would later be recorded and released free over the internet under the album title Bitch City. While the band was still called HomeTown Hero at this point, they felt the evolution of the music did not fit the name so they dropped the name. Since HomeTown Hero was still contractually obligated to Maverick, the label held the legal rights to HomeTown Hero's music. The members of the band quit the label, forced to leave their music behind.
The band continued under the name "Under the Influence of Giants", a name meant to reflect of their continuous struggle to operate free of authority. They recruited keyboardist Katie Logan and bassist David Amezuca and began to play shows in the Los Angeles area in mid-2005, selling out venues like the Roxy and Key Club several times. In the spring of 2006, after a short West Coast tour, Logan decided to amicably leave the band and created the duo Katie and Katie with a friend.
In the winter of 2005 they signed with Island Records. They released their debut in summer of 2006 on Island Records.
In November 2006, they headlined the halftime show at Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...
championship game at Pizza Hut Park
Pizza Hut Park
Pizza Hut Park is a soccer-specific stadium with a 21,193-seat capacity, built and owned by the city of Frisco, Texas. Its primary tenant is Major League Soccer team FC Dallas, which relocated from the Cotton Bowl in central Dallas to the fast-growing suburb...
in Frisco, Texas
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
.
They have headlined and sold out numerous club tours in the US and UK. They have also gone on tour in the UK and Europe with The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
, as well as opening for them on select dates in the United States.
Aaron Bruno is currently in the band AWOLNATION
AWOLNATION
AWOLNATION is an American alternative pop band, and is the solo project of Aaron Bruno, formerly of Under the Influence of Giants, Hometown Hero, and Insurgence...
who released their debut EP Back from Earth in 2010 on iTunes. Jamin Wilcox has released a solo album on iTunes. David Amezcua is currently in the band HOTSTREETS, who released their self tilted debut album in 2010 on iTunes. Amezcua is also the bass player in Awolnation.
As Home Town Hero
- Home Town HeroHome Town Hero (Album)Home Town Hero is the Debut album of Home Town Hero. The band attracted the attention of Maverick Records during the Van's Warped Tour, and heavily promoted by Warner Bros. Records. Their single "Questions" received significant airplay in major American radio markets...
LP (2002) - Bitch City LP (2004)
As Under the Influence of Giants
- Heaven Is Full EP (2006)
- Under the Influence of GiantsUnder the Influence of Giants (album)The self-titled album, Under the Influence of Giants is the second album of Under the Influence of Giants.-Track listing:#"Ah Ha" - 2:58#"Got Nothing" - 3:25#"In The Clouds" - 3:43#"Stay Illogical" - 4:16#"Mama's Room" - 3:52...
LP (2006) U.S. #134
Trivia
- The song "Robbers" from the Bitch City LP is featured in MVP Baseball 2004 by EA SportsEA SportsEA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
. - The song "Hi Lo" from the Bitch City LP was featured in the Season 1 Episode 2, "Credit Where Credit's Due", of Veronica MarsVeronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
. - A few songs from the Under the Influence of Giants album were played at a Halloween party scene in an episode ("The Middle-Earth Paradigm") of The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
- The song "Mama's Room" was covered by a cappella group After Dark (Washington University in St. Louis)After Dark (Washington University in St. Louis)After Dark is a co-ed a cappella group at Washington University in St. Louis specializing in contemporary rock and pop music.-History:After Dark has been singing at Washington University since September of 2001. The group was founded by former members Laura Butler, Cara Shugoll, Greg Hitt, and...
. The group's cover was runner-up for "Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement" and was the winner of "Best Mixed Collegiate Song" by the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. The song was also featured in an episode of "The Big Bang Theory" during Penny's Halloween Party.