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Van Gogh's Ear

Crowned with a golden pineapple slice

About Me

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Van Gogh's Ear came to life in 1985 at Wesleyan University, an ivory tower of learning in Middletown, Connecticut. Frank Randall (guitar), Bob Ryu (drums), and Mike Joo (bass) got the ball rolling early in 1985 when they recorded several songs on a four track recorder in a subterranean band room on campus. These primitive, yet memorable tunes included cover versions of "Surfer Joe", Aztec Camera's "Down the Dip", and the VGE's first original thrash rock song "Drivin' Down the Sidewalk of Your Love." GS Han (vocals), having returned from a year "studying" in Japan, joined the trio in the fall of 1985, and shortly thereafter the group became known as Van Gogh's Ear. Early influences were the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, and other bands from Mike's hometown of Minneapolis.
If asked, Frank, Bob, and GS would certainly agree that being in Van Gogh's Ear (VGE) was the highlight of their senior year. Gigs can be recalled much more clearly than any classes or lectures. "We were friends first", recalls Bob when describing how well the group got along. In fact, as VGE matured, friendships grew much stronger. VGE began tentatively, playing predominantly cover songs to small audiences. But within half a year, VGE was performing original tunes such as "Overwhelming Stench" and "Let's Go to Sri Lanka" in the manner of a confident pop punk garage band, albeit still to small audiences. Brian Moore (guitar), a high school buddy of GS, joined VGE and helped to create a fuller sound.
After graduating in 1986, Van Gogh's Ear reunited periodically, but less often as the years passed. In the summer of 1987, VGE got together in a studio in Greenwich Village and recorded a number of songs, the best of which was Frank's "Lives of Kings", which depicts the raucous lifestyle of Brian Mulhern and Brian Moore in their NYC apartment. Frank, in fact, remained the most commited to honing his musical skills. While living in New York, he befriended fellow musicians Mark Lerner and Mark Donato, among others. Much later (in 2006), along with Wesleyan alum Chris Erikson, they would record the album the "Good Loser Club."
In 1988, Bob and GS were in graduate school in Cleveland and Chicago, respectively. Mike graduated from Wesleyan and pursued a career in the art world. Brian was living like a "king" in NYC. Frank, with Mike's encouragement, moved to the Twin Cities. Two years later, Frank would form the Sycamores with drummer Dave Downey. In the summer of 1989, Frank and GS travelled in Europe and wrote a number of songs (including "Way South" and "Cowboy Toast") which would eventually be recorded in the studio.
During the 1990s, Bob, Frank, and GS managed to reunite in Minneapolis (a few times), Cleveland, and Chicago, having fun and continuing to write and record original songs. Without drums, VGE's style turned to folk, pop, and mirth in the spirit of the Young Fresh Fellows and Jonathan Richman. Shortly before the new millenium, Bob, Frank, and GS met in Minneapolis and recorded original songs which would eventually be featured on VGE's CD, "Ono." The band was ably assisted by Mike Wisti (of the Rank Strangers) who recorded VGE in his Albatross Studio.
Since 2000, the musical reunions have been infrequent. In 2001, GS and Frank got together in the Third Ear Recording Studio in the Twin Cities and recorded a number of songs inspired by their Europe trip and GS's interest in Hawaiian music. In October 2005, Frank, Bob, and GS were joined by VGE-super-fan-turned-band-member Steve Kaback (keyboards, guitar) in the Third Ear Studio to record several old and new original VGE songs. There are plans for a VGE reunion in 2007. There is also some discussion about making a CD for kids.
Over the years, Van Gogh's Ear has been very fortunate to record with such talented folk as Chris Erikson (guitar), Mike Wisti (guitar), Jon Duncan (keyboards), Karly Christensen (vocals), Connie Song (violin), and "borrowed" Sycamores Heath Henjum (bass), Jim Johnson (pedal steel guitar), and especially drummer Dave Downey, who VGE has adopted as one of its own.
Over twenty years have passed and yet VGE manages to stay together. How can this be? For VGE it is simple; music and friendship are closely intertwined. In 1996, Frank sang at GS's wedding in Los Angeles. In 2002, Bob and GS returned the favor at Frank's wedding and jammed with the wedding band, Betty Drake. Though the simple college days have now been replaced by family life, birthday parties, and homework, VGE's music still continues to reconfirm and strengthen friendships. Music is the spark for creativity and will always be a great reason for getting together.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/7/2006
Band Website: soundclick.com/bands/vangoghsear
Band Members: Frank Randall (the Sycamore): guitar, vocals, bass, harmonica.

Bob Ryu (the Wine Enthusiast): guitar, vocals, bass, drums.

GS Han (the VGE Historian): vocals, ukulele, toy piano.

Steve Kaback (the Physicist): keyboards, guitar, vocals.

David Downey (the Golfer): drums, percussion, vocals.

Other important musical contributors over the years: Mike Joo (bass), Brian Moore (guitar), Chris Erikson (guitar), Jim Johnson (pedal steel guitar), John Duncan (keyboards), Heath Henjum (bass), Mike Wisti (guitar).
Influences: The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Husker Du, the Sycamores, the Gear Daddies, REM, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, the Ramones, Camper Van Beethoven, Young Fresh Fellows, Presidents of the United States of America, Frank's rockabilly albums (Gene Vincent, Robert Gordon, and others), Jonathan Richman, NRBQ, the Minutemen, the Monkees, Don Ho.
Sounds Like:
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Type of Label: None

My Blog

Four New (but old) Songs

    Has it really been nine months since I last uploaded songs?  Sorry for the inactivity!  Here are four new songs to listen to (beside our standard-bearer, "King of Paradise...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:50:00 PST

NY Post Article

Here's a humorous article from the NY Post written by VGE contributor Chris Erikson and featuring VGE guitarist Brian Moore.  Cheers!http://www.nypost.com/seven/11012007/entertainment/th e_swill_o...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:06:00 PST

Four new songs to check out!

Brief song descriptions:Lovely Hula HandsMany of you may have heard this classic hapa-haole song.  Our version is a bit more folksy than Hawaiian, especially with the drums.  We kept things ...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:18:00 PST

Nearing 2500 plays and 500 friends!

Haven't had much time lately to search through Myspace bands and request new friends, but I very much appreciate the steady flow of friend requests from all over the world.  This Myspace Music si...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Wed, 02 May 2007 12:03:00 PST

Beautiful Photos of Tahiti

When you play our song "Where's My Tahiti?", you may notice a lovely photo of a Polynesian paradise.  This photo, as well as many others, can be found on the website of talented photographer Dane...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:26:00 PST

The story behind the songs

For those of you who are wondering what we are singing about, here are some brief descriptions of our songs:King of ParadiseBob wrote this song in the mid-nineties when we were living in West LA. ...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:11:00 PST

1000 total plays and 200 friends!

It's been three months since Van Gogh's Ear have been on Myspace Music, and I'm pleased that our songs have been played over 1000 times!  We have certainly gotten more traffic and exposure here t...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:43:00 PST

Van Gogh's Ear at 20: Recollections

Blogging is new to me.  My purpose in setting up a site for Van Gogh's Ear on Myspace Music is to share our music with others.  Also, I wanted to allow others easy access to our music in a w...
Posted by Van Gogh's Ear on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:32:00 PST