Grand Opening and Closing

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Grand Opening and Closing
Grand Opening and Closing cover
Studio album by Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Released October 30, 2001 (original)
September 5, 2006 (re-release)
Recorded 1999-2001 at Polymorph Recording, Oakland, California
Genre Avant-rock
Length 59:08 (original)
1:16:56 (re-release)
Label Seeland/Chaosophy (original)
The End Records (re-release)
Producer(s) Dan Rathbun & Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

Grand Opening and Closing is the debut album by Oakland, CA based avant-rock group Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. It was recorded at Polymorph Recording, Oakland, CA, and produced by (as well as recorded, mixed and mastered by) the band's bassist Dan Rathbun. Other members of the band helped co-produce the album alongside Rathbun.

The album was released on October 30, 2001 by Seeland Records in conjunction with Chaosophy Records. Since the band signed to The End Records in January 2006, this album has been re-released on September 5, 2006 with 3 previously unreleased tracks.[1]

This album has an eclectic collection of music, ranging from progressive metal ("Sleep is Wrong", "1997", "Powerless") to creepy ballads ("Ablutions") and peaceful, sparse instrumentals ("The Miniature", "Sunflower"). The eclecticism of this album may be the result of several different songwriters contributing, each one with their specific style. Concept-wise this album is different from its follower, Of Natural History, since it has no continuous underlying theme.

This is also the only SGM album to feature David Shamrock on the drums before he left the band. Frank Grau came therein, and he even features on this album, playing the drums on "The Stain".

Like with Of Natural History, some of the album's lyrics are inspired by different authors and poets. For example, the track "Sleep is Wrong" quotes a section of a poem by Dylan Thomas,[2] while "Sleepytime (Spirit is a Bone)" is inspired by William T. Vollman's The Rainbow Stories and phrenology.[3]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 2001 version

  1. "Sleep is Wrong"
  2. "Ambugaton"
  3. "Ablutions"
  4. "1997 (Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's...)"
  5. "The Miniature"
  6. "Powerless"
  7. "The Stain"
  8. "Sleepytime (Spirit is a Bone)"
  9. "Sunflower"

[edit] 2006 version

  1. "Sleep is Wrong"
  2. "Ambugaton"
  3. "Ablutions"
  4. "1997 (Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's...)"
  5. "The Miniature"
  6. "Powerless"
  7. "The Stain"
  8. "Sleepytime (Spirit is a Bone)"
  9. "Sunflower"
  10. "More Time"
  11. "Flinch"
  12. "Powerless (live)"

[edit] Personnel

  • Carla Kihlstedt - Electric Violin, Percussion Guitar,[4] Autoharp, Pump Organ, Voice
  • Dan Rathbun - Bass Guitar, Slide-piano Log, Pedal-action Wiggler, Thing, Autoharp, Voice
  • David Shamrock - Drums, Piano
  • Frank Grau - Drums on "The Stain"
  • Moe! Staiano - Percussion, Metal, Pressure-cap Marimba, Spring, Spring-nail Guitar, Popping Turtle, Food Containers, Tympani
  • Nils Frykdahl - 6 and 12 string guitars, Tibetan Bells, Autoharp, Voice

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.theendrecords.com/label/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=490&Itemid=44.
  2. ^ "From a poem by Dylan Thomas, used by at least one mother to taunt sleep-resistant children" (Grand Opening and Closing, liner notes, p. 112, note 5).
  3. ^ "Hospital color-lines inspired in part by William T. Vollman's The Rainbow Stories" & "Spirit is a bone is the motto of the phrenologists, 18th century skull-readers." (Ibid., notes 6 & 7, respectively.)
  4. ^ If some of these instruments seem unusual, the reason is that SGM uses a lot of homemade instruments. See the main article about the band for more information.
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