- Giant Drag
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Giant Drag 
Annie Hardy (left) and Micah Calabrese performing as Giant Drag in 2006.Background information Origin California, USA Genres Indie rock Years active 2003–present Labels Kickball Records Website http://www.giantdrag.com Members Annie Hardy Past members Micah Calabrese
Dakota Floeter
Eli SmithGiant Drag is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formerly a duo, the band was founded in 2003 by Annie Hardy who continues to be the band's sole singer and songwriter.
Giant Drag has released an EP, Lemona, in 2005 and their debut album, Hearts and Unicorns, which was released in the United States on September 13, 2005, and February 27, 2006 in the UK. Hardy released the Swan Song EP on February 16, 2010 on Red Distribution.
Giant Drag have played live shows supporting The Jesus and Mary Chain,[1] Scissor Sisters, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Nine Black Alps, The Lemonheads and The Cribs, and were tipped by the NME for "big things in 2006". They also performed in the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2006.
Annie Hardy can also be heard on the song "Pink Cellphone" from the 2006 Deftones album entitled "Saturday Night Wrist".
Celebrity fans include Daniel Radcliffe.[2]
In December 2008, NME announced that she was suffering from muscle disorder fibromyalgia.[3] According to College News, her condition was later referenced in Paul Avion's (song "Fibromyalgia".[4]
On June 5, 2008, mixing and mastering for the Swan Song EP was completed, and a completed version of the song "Stuff To Live For" was uploaded to the band's MySpace page. Calabrese played drums on the EP.
In January 2010, fellow L.A. musician Paul Avion chose "Kevin is Gay" to kick off a series of articles about Africa for SPIN Earth.[5][6]
The Swan Song EP was released on February 16, 2010.[7][8]
As of December 2010, Hardy's Twitter mentioned a new full-length album had been completed, with no firm date set for release yet.[9]
Contents
Music
Giant Drag's sound has been described by several music publications as "nü-grunge". The band has also been compared to bands such as My Bloody Valentine, The Breeders, PJ Harvey, and Mazzy Star[10] although the band does not completely agree with some of the comparisons and Hardy has shown herself to be especially confused by Breeders comparisons.[11][12] It is suggested by Hardy[11] and another journalist[13] that most articles that have been written about Giant Drag are re-wordings of their press pack (which compared them to such bands).
Their song titles, which are known for their bluntness and black humor, include "Kevin Is Gay," "My Dick Sux," "High Friends in Places," and "YFLMD" - an acronym for "You Fuck Like My Dad". Live performances were often notable for Hardy's monologues in-between songs while Calabrese set up his synthesizer,[11] as well as hecklers in the audience asking Hardy to show her breasts to which Annie often said something back.[14] During performances in 2006 the duo covered Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game." Hardy jokingly introduced the song by telling a variation on the basic story that she wrote the song for Chris Isaak when she was 8, and that he stole it from her after a love affair, and that she saw him years later on MTV singing "her" song "rolling around in the sand with some hooker."[15][16] In the summer of 2007, this cover was used in the promos for Season 5 of the FX Networks TV show Nip/Tuck.
In 2007, Hardy posted a recording of Silver Bells on her blog from a recording session 3 years prior.
Discography
Albums and compilations
- Lemona (2003) Wichita Recordings
- Hearts and Unicorns (2005) Kickball Records
- Swan Song EP (2010) Roar Scratch
Videography
- "This Isn't It" (directed by G.J. Echternkamp)
- "Kevin Is Gay" (directed by G.J. Echternkamp)
- "Stuff to Live For" (directed by G.J. Echternkamp)
Other appearances
- The song "Kevin Is Gay" was featured in episode four, "Walls of Jericho", of the first season of the 2006 television series Jericho.
- The song "YFLMD" was featured in the television series The L Word, in the season three episode "Lifeline".
- The song "This isn't it" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Love Song for Bobby Long starring John Travolta and Scarlett Johanssen.
- The song "Blunt Picket Fence" was featured on a Nylon/Filter magazine compilation.
- The song "Smashing" was featured on the Filter/Urban Outfitters Katrina benefit CD.
- The song "Wicked Game" was featured as a promotion for the F/X series Nip/Tuck.[17]
- Giant Drag's version of "Oh Father" appears on the Madonna tribute record titled Through the Wilderness on Manimal Vinyl Records.
References
- ^ http://stereogum.com/5228/jesus_and_mary_chain_reunited_disinterested/video/
- ^ http://stereogum.com/2184/harry_potter_hearts_annie_hardy/news/
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/giant-drag/41521
- ^ http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/ear_candy/artist_to_watch_par_avion_082020096726/
- ^ http://paulavion.com/avion-in-africa.html
- ^ http://www.spinearth.tv/feature/Avion-In-Africa
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/news/37745-new-release-giant-drag-iswan-songi-ep/
- ^ http://www.sentimentalistmag.com/2010/01/28/giant-drag-return-with-swan-song-ep-in-february/
- ^ http://twitter.com/#!/AnnieHardy/status/6665415166001152
- ^ Giant Drag biography at the Allmusic
- ^ a b c Summer 2005 SFburning.com interview with Annie Hardy
- ^ the red alert interview with Annie Hardy
- ^ Drowned in Sound interview with Giant Drag
- ^ Redemption TV interview (YouTube) with Giant Drag
- ^ Wicked Game live introduction
- ^ Wicked Game live performance
- ^ Copy of Nip/Tuck Promo
External links
- Giant Drag official website
- Giant Drag forum
- Giant Drag fansite
- Giant Drag LiveJournal community
- Kickball Records
- Rolling Stone: Giant Drag page
- Through the Wilderness: a tribute to Madonna CD/LP
Interviews
Categories:- American indie rock groups
- Musical groups from Los Angeles, California
- Rock music duos
- Musical groups from California
- Musical groups established in 2003
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