The Wheel Works profile picture

The Wheel Works

Alien rock stars melt human faces!

About Me

From Houston, the true "gas pumping" heart of Texas, and Austin, the live music capital of the world, come the improbable, cerebral sounds of the Wheel Works. Simply put, the Wheel Works are an indie space rock experiment that have been described as a "strange and otherworldly drama," 1 reminiscent of Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Pink Floyd, the Doors, and the Secret Machines.The Wheel Works' music derives from the blending and clashing of different musical personalities. Individuality is always welcomed in crafting material, yet simultaneously all of the music is a collective creative process, ultimately yielding a unique, diverse, and organic sound. The band holds jam sessions, which are recorded, fine-tuned and consistently worked into their set. Steven Higginbotham sings with a passion that evokes "Thom Yorke and Morrissey", 2 while the music has "breathtaking depth ... that washes over the listener in waves." 3Four years ago, the Wheel Works packed their hopes and dreams into a duffle bag and made the move to Austin. They played there live for the first time during the 2001 SXSW festival. In early 2002, after several months of gigging around Southeast Texas, they took an extended break from playing live shows to record their first album. The resulting self-titled debut, "The Wheel Works", was released on India Records to critical acclaim in 2003, described in the San Marcos Scene as "euphoric" and "refreshing," and "hauntingly beautiful" by Impact Press .With their release of "How to Fly a Washing Machine" in October 2004, the Wheel Works give the listener a glimpse of the more spontaneous side of the band previously seen only in a live performance. This latest effort is described in Delusions of Adequacy as a "gloriously chaotic jazzy mash-up" and "shoegazey psychedelic endeavor." All eighty minutes are improvised, and were recorded live in their rehearsal space from 2001-2003.The Wheel Works have just finished their most recent effort, considered by many to be their best, titled, "Audios." It is a double CD, featuring 34 for songs and is now available for mass consumption...

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/20/2004
Band Website: thewheelworks.org/mp3s.htm
Band Members: Steven Higginbotham - Vocals, Violin, Keys, Guitars;Giuseppe Ponti - Bass Guitars;Chad Fontenot - Guitars;Nathan Maness - Drums, Cymbals;Chris Maness - Guitars, Vocals
Influences: Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc.
Sounds Like: Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc.
Record Label: none
Type of Label: None

My Blog

COMPLETE WHEELWORKS DISCOGRAPHY NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE!!!

By clicking on this link, or visiting the website listed on our homepage on the left-hand side, you can now download every album The Wheel Works put out for FREE!  The only thing we ask in return...
Posted by The Wheel Works on Thu, 02 Mar 2006 02:30:00 PST

Video!!!

We have a video!?!  This cool guy recorded a live show of ours over a year ago.  I thought we had no hope of ever seeing anything, but out of the blue, he emailed me to let me know he'd put ...
Posted by The Wheel Works on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST

Do it yourself is best

Well, I finished printing out all the artwork.  My awesome friend Allison designed it.  It turned out wonderful.  Now I just have to assemble 200 CDs to mail out.  They'll be on th...
Posted by The Wheel Works on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST

Free CDs!

I'm back in H-town.  I'm going to be working at a local high school teaching US History, Sociology, and Psychology.  I'm looking to get the word out on our new record.  I'm giving away ...
Posted by The Wheel Works on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST