Whirled Peas
Encyclopedia
Whirled Peas is a surf music
band formed in 1992, in Austin, Texas
. They took their name from a bumper sticker reading "Visualize World Peace", which they twisted into "Visualize Whirled Peas". This led to bumper stickers with this phrase on it instead. The band released two albums in the mid 1990s, and played the Austin, TX music scene before breaking up in 1996.
James started first band, Rattletrap, in 1992, playing bass. He moved to Austin in October 1992 from Huntsville, Alabama. James was a huge fan of Surf Music, a style made popular in the 1960-1965 time frame by such artists as Duane Eddy
, The Ventures
and Dick Dale and the Deltones.
James brought several arrangements to the band, and they began working on such tunes as Dick Dale's Misirlou. Coincidentally that tune was used to open Quentin Tarantino
's movie Pulp Fiction
. The band hoped that releasing this song as a single would lead to some local success, but initial cassette and vinyl releases were met with little fanfare.
James was the songwriting force behind the band, bringing in the basic chord sheets and working out leads. Hembrook & Pestana arranged their own parts. Hembrook took on the role of frontman, introducing the songs and providing chatter between songs, while changing instruments or tuning, etc.
Studio work began on the first recording. This was released on cassette in 1993 as "Visualize Me Baby!" The recording was done by Hembrook, using rented equipment in a spacious North Austin practice space. The initial run of cassettes was sold at local gigs and attempts were made to get them on the shelf at local indie record stores.
In 1994, the band went to Snooty Fox Studios in South Austin to record ten songs for what would become "War and Peas." War and Peas was recorded on 16 track ADAT, with 4 tracks for drums, one each for bass and guitar (dry) with additional tracks open for guitar effects and vocals. Jennifer Summers was featured on a vocal arrangement of the Daniel Johnston
song "Walking the Cow."
War & Peas also did not make a splash in the Austin Music Scene. Whirled Peas continued to gig in Austin, supporting various members of the instrumental/surf/ska-punk scene.
In March 1995, Pestana moved to Dallas. James & Hembrook decided to call it quits. James went on to found such instrumental bands as Squid Vicious, Johnny Vortex and currently The Nematoads. Hembrook & Pestana reunited in 1998 to form the rhythm section of Id, Ego, Superego which played South By Southwest in 1998 and then broke up soon after. Pestana later played on and off with James, and currently sits the kit with The Nematoads.
Thinline Telecaster
Paul Reed Smith
Hembrook handmade instruments
Handmade instruments made by Hembrook himself in 4, 5, and 6 strings
Mark VI Head
Peavey 2x15 cabinet
Dean Markley Head
Carvin Pro Bass 500 Head
Hartke
1x15/1x5 cabinet
Drums & Pedals;
Zildjian cymbals;
unknown Roto-toms;
Remo heads
Various sticks & brushes
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
band formed in 1992, in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. They took their name from a bumper sticker reading "Visualize World Peace", which they twisted into "Visualize Whirled Peas". This led to bumper stickers with this phrase on it instead. The band released two albums in the mid 1990s, and played the Austin, TX music scene before breaking up in 1996.
History
Members of the band first met at an Austin, Texas apartment complex in the summer of 1992. Robert Hembrook had just finished his service in the Army and was moving into Sandstone Apartments east of the University of Texas Campus in Austin. George Pestana was living in the apartment complex, and offered to help Hembrook move in. Part of Hembrook's belongings included a bass guitar and amplifier. Pestana noted that he was a drummer and knew a guitarist, Christoph Borst. Pestana suggested they all meet up to play & start a band. Hembrook had access to the Geology 100 Lecture hall on UT Campus, so that became their rehearsal space through late 1992. The style favored more metal, led by Borst. These early efforts, along with attempts to add a second guitarist, did not gel, so Borst suggested the rhythm section continue with another guitarist, Ted James who might fit better stylistically.James started first band, Rattletrap, in 1992, playing bass. He moved to Austin in October 1992 from Huntsville, Alabama. James was a huge fan of Surf Music, a style made popular in the 1960-1965 time frame by such artists as Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
, The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
and Dick Dale and the Deltones.
James brought several arrangements to the band, and they began working on such tunes as Dick Dale's Misirlou. Coincidentally that tune was used to open Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's movie Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
. The band hoped that releasing this song as a single would lead to some local success, but initial cassette and vinyl releases were met with little fanfare.
James was the songwriting force behind the band, bringing in the basic chord sheets and working out leads. Hembrook & Pestana arranged their own parts. Hembrook took on the role of frontman, introducing the songs and providing chatter between songs, while changing instruments or tuning, etc.
Studio work began on the first recording. This was released on cassette in 1993 as "Visualize Me Baby!" The recording was done by Hembrook, using rented equipment in a spacious North Austin practice space. The initial run of cassettes was sold at local gigs and attempts were made to get them on the shelf at local indie record stores.
In 1994, the band went to Snooty Fox Studios in South Austin to record ten songs for what would become "War and Peas." War and Peas was recorded on 16 track ADAT, with 4 tracks for drums, one each for bass and guitar (dry) with additional tracks open for guitar effects and vocals. Jennifer Summers was featured on a vocal arrangement of the Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
song "Walking the Cow."
War & Peas also did not make a splash in the Austin Music Scene. Whirled Peas continued to gig in Austin, supporting various members of the instrumental/surf/ska-punk scene.
In March 1995, Pestana moved to Dallas. James & Hembrook decided to call it quits. James went on to found such instrumental bands as Squid Vicious, Johnny Vortex and currently The Nematoads. Hembrook & Pestana reunited in 1998 to form the rhythm section of Id, Ego, Superego which played South By Southwest in 1998 and then broke up soon after. Pestana later played on and off with James, and currently sits the kit with The Nematoads.
Guitars
FenderFender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
Thinline Telecaster
Paul Reed Smith
Paul Reed Smith
Paul Reed Smith , is a luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars.Smith is originally from Bowie, Maryland. He made his first guitar while at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and continued to build guitars after he finished college, making them one at a time, one a month...
Hembrook handmade instruments
Bass Guitars
Westone 5-stringHandmade instruments made by Hembrook himself in 4, 5, and 6 strings
Amplifiers
PeaveyPeavey Electronics
Peavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
Mark VI Head
Peavey 2x15 cabinet
Dean Markley Head
Carvin Pro Bass 500 Head
Hartke
Hartke
Hartke is a brand of electronics best known for their bass guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets. They also produce amplifiers and speakers for keyboard and acoustic guitar, as well as effects pedals, strings and other accessories.- History :...
1x15/1x5 cabinet
George Pestana
PearlPearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
Drums & Pedals;
Zildjian cymbals;
unknown Roto-toms;
Remo heads
Various sticks & brushes
Discography
- Visualize Me Baby (1993)
- War & PeasWar & PeasWar & Peas is the secondStudio album of American surf band Whirled Peas, released in the summer of 1994. The album was recorded in only three days, at Snooty Fox recording studio, in Austin, Texas.- Track listing :...
(1994)