Music:
Member Since: 10/29/2004
Band Website: gfemusic.com
Band Members:
The Girlfriend Experience's Heyday Records debut LP. 13 epic tracks featuring the production and engineering talents of Sylvia Massy (Tool, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Love & Rockets, Johnny Cash), Rich Veltrop, Justin Phelps (Cake, Chris Isaak, Mr. Bungle) and Bill Cutler (Spike 1000). Order yours today!
When In Rome...Do As The Lions
HEY081-2......$11.99
No Paypal Account? You can also buy
the album w/ a credit card...
We also have snazzy new t-shirts .
These classic 100% cotton t's are available in fashionable black, the ever popular stylish black, and of course, festive black. Please specify your size at checkout. Shipping times depend on stock on hand, Please allow up to 1-3 weeks for delivery. To inquire about size availability, e-mail us at [email protected] .
GFE T's (s,m,l,xl,xxl)
GFE-T-1......$11.99
BOOKING:
Wicked Annabella Productions
Influences:
Sounds Like: "San Francisco’s The Girlfriend Experience has a few tales to tell and they’re laid out in all their gory detail on the band’s first full-length release, When In Rome ... Do As The Lions. The band’s vocalist, Tobias Hawkins, actually has such a robust, roaring voice that it’s very easy to cling to his melodies and the timbre of his voice while overlooking the words of some of these songs.
The lyrics on the album’s seventh tune, however, are pretty hard to ignore: “I’m told of your scabs / And your foul stink,†Tobias growls, before he frighteningly screams the song’s title in the chorus — “Gonorrhea!†The band can go from a short, intense, punked-out tune like this, to more of a Soundgarden-esque, dirge-like feel on “Death Of the Elephant.†They even go all wacky and experimental with some back-masked guitar and sick, spoken tales of animal abuse over a bass-driven rock groove on the title track. Sample confession: “My friends used to shoot nails into cats with slingshots just ‘cause they wanted to see them bleed.†And on the six-minute “Coke Buddha,†the band flirts with Sonic Youth-like guitar arpeggios and simple drum patterns for a little while before crashing into a hardcore/death metal scream-fest. These are the exceptions that keep the disc quirky and interesting.
Most of the album, however, aims for the musical mainstream of hard rock, echoing mainstays like the Foo Fighters while keeping the vocals heavy and the melodies mostly catchy, but not too precious. This is a band with lots of testosterone and an appreciation for solid riffs and clean production, not to mention shock value."
- Michael Fortes, West Coast Performer (9/07)
"Kicking off with jerky, new wave
guitar rhythms, The Girlfriend
Experience's debut EP,
It Felt Like
a Kiss, quickly launches into larger-
than-life, melodic, atmospheric rock
reminiscent of early '90s alternative
on "Thumb". Singer Tobias Hawkins'
deep voice smoothly fits into the mix
of precise, rhythmic instrumentation
from guitarist Ty C. Gerhardt,
bassist James Maize and drummer
Jeff Left. The standout track on the
EP, "Minus", is another booming
guitar opus on this meticulously
recorded release."
- Seamus Williams, Mesh .
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Live Review: Cafe du Nord 2/2/2006 "If you ever wanted to cheat on your
significant other, Cafe du Nord is an
excellent venue to romanticize the whole
affair. Appropriate heavy red curtains
and the lights down low, with little
nooks and crevices just right to spy on
said affair (and even enough space in
the ladies' room for a catfight confront-
ation). The scarred tables belie its other
raison d'etre: a fabulous versatile bar
with a sense of style to watch a local gig.
Immediately launching into a snarling set
with no introduction, Hawkins sounded
like Johnny Rotten meets Jefferson
Airplane, leaving most of the audience a
little stunned before applauding their
approval. A performance led by the
precise, almost marching band style of
drummer Jeff Left, The Girlfriend Exper-
ience were shock rock without the
shock. Hawkins' androgynous vocals
were the perfect complement to their
tribute to the quintessential glam rock-
inspired Velvet Goldmine's Curt Wild as
well as Iggy Pop with cover "Gimme
Danger." A breath of fresh air to bar
bands, or rather a shot in the arm of
glam, punk, as well as psychedelia,
The Girlfriend Experience is a gritty,
been-there, done-that, still-rockin' it
kind of band."
- Bernadette Harris, The Owl Mag .
**************************
"Moody, memorable alternative rock.
Sophisticated...and cool."
- Brad Kava, San Jose Mercury
**************************
"The Girlfriend Experience should
appeal to anyone who misses early
'90s alt rock or thinks that modern
bands just don't wail hard enough
or talk about the stuff that matters..."
- California Aggie
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Mix Magazine article .
GFE pictured with Radiostar Studios engineer Rich Veltrop.
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GFE donate a guitar to the
Acchord Music Mentorship
program in Eugene, Oregon.
Click HERE to play the clip
that appeared on NBC.
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GFE invade Nor Cal airwaves
in Chico, CA on 106.7 Z Rock
Tune in to THE CRED SHOW.
10-10:30pm Thursday nights.
And in Redding, CA on Rachel's
show on 106X Redding's Rock .
GFE was featured as The End's
New Band of the Month
for March, 2005:
Request The Girlfriend Experience here
or call the station at either (206) 421.1077 or 800.423.1077
Request The Girlfriend Experience in Seattle, Washington
at KEXP - (206) 903.KEXP
Request The Girlfriend Experience in Eugene, Oregon
at KWVA - (541) 346.0645
Request The Girlfriend Experience
in Portland at KPSU - (503) 725-5945
and listen to Dave Cusick's Post Modern Rock show on Fridays from 7-9pm.
**************************
Call and request The Girlfriend Experience
in the bay area...
KALX 90.7 fm
DJ Studio Phone: (510) 642-KALX
http://kalx.berkeley.edu
(for webcast)
******
KFJC 89.7 fm
Requests: (650) 941-2500
******
KUSF 90.3 fm
Requests: (415) 751.KUSF
http://kusf.org/index.shtml
******
KZSU 90.1 fm in Palo Alto at Stanford
Requests: (650) 723.9010
KZSU
******
KDVS 90.3 - Davis / Sacramento
Requests: (530) 752.2777
KDVS
Record Label: Heyday Records
Type of Label: Indie
