Havalina

Havalina Rail Co. or just Havalina was an eclectic rock band from Long Beach, California. Many of Havalina's releases were regional concept albums. Although they were not a well-known band, their sound paved the way for later "post-rock" alternative bands such as The Arcade Fire and Animal Collective. According to the band's website, the band's name was inspired by the song "Havalina" by The Pixies. Havalina was active from 1992 through 2005. Havalina played their last show on March 17, 2005 at The Gypsy Lounge. Former members of Havalina are now involved in Matt Death and the New Intellectuals.

Albums

=Havalina Rail Co.=

Havalina Rail Co. released this self-titled album through important independent label Tooth and Nail Records (who have sold Gold-certified and mainstream chart-topping albums) in 1994. The album contains 19 tracks. In an interview for KPSU, Wignall commented that the first album was "this sort of finding our path and gravitating towards American sounds."

Band Line-Up

* Matt Wignall - Guitar, Banjo, Vocals
* Jeff Suri - Drums, Piano, Vocals
* Grady McFerrin - Trumpet, Washboard
* Mark Cole - Percussion, Extra Noises
* Orlando Greenhill - Upright & Electric Bass
* [http://www.brookerlaboratories.com Daniel Brooker] - Accordion
* Tatiana Simonian - Farfisa, Vocals

The Diamond In The Fish

About Diamond in the Fish, Wignall said, "We were experimenting with idea of like playing jazz, which incidentally, we kinda sucked at. And found out why most of the time all good jazz players are over fifty, 'cause it takes that long to get good at it."

Russian Lullabies

The band independently released this album through Wignall's Jackson/Rubio label. This was the band's attempt to produce Eastern European music without actually listening to Eastern European music, then making a pop music sound from that. The album is long out of print, however, Wignall uploaded the album to the band's website for free download.

=America=

Wignall described 'America' as "a musical road trip around America with the idea being to show our influences and what we like about American music while kinda re-defining the ideas if we had been there and done it our own way". The track "Let's Not Forget Hawaii" from this recording was featured on MTV's "The Real World" for the Hawaii season closer.Morgan, Laura. " [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271717,00.html Must-Hear TV] ". Entertainment Weekly issue #513. Published Nov 19, 1999.] Shapiro, Kelli. (1999). "Havalina Rail Co. on MTV". Originally published by [http://www.decapolis.com decapolis.com] . Available through the Internet Archive. [http://web.archive.org/web/20011207185306/www.decapolis.com/musicreviews/articles/1Q2000/havalina.shtml] ]

Space, Love, & Bullfighting

"Space Love & Bullfighting" (2002) was Havalina's final release with Tooth and Nail Records. This is the first album released under the name Havalina and not "Havalina Rail Co." Wignall described this album as songs about space, love, and bullfighting and various combinations of those themes. Song from this album were played on MTV's "Sorority Life".

Band Line-Up

* Matt Wignall - Vocals, Guitar
* Mercedes Stevens - Vocals, Guitar, Cello
* Orlando Greenhill - Upright Bass, Electric Bass
* David Maust - Farfisa, Moog synthesizer, Wurlitzer, Organ, Accordion
* Erick Nieto - Drums, Violin

Pacific

"Pacific" has not been released and it never will be released. Wignall made several songs intended from this album available for download at various times. These songs are "Devotion", "Murder" and "Summertime". Other material recorded from this album will be released by the band Matt Death and the New Intellectuals under the album title "Death on Pacific".

We Remember Anarchy

Described as "The Final Autobiography and Retrospective from the Last True Punk Band in America," this album is now available on the official Havalina website. Includes tracks from all 6 Havalina albums, as well as some previously unreleased material.

Other Releases

*"Sweet Family Music: Stryper Tribute (1996)
*"Surfonic Water Revival" (1998)
*"Havalina and the Creaky Old Bridge (Video)"
*"A Bullfighter's Guide to Space and Love EP"

References

*KPSU interview of Matt Wignall by [http://www.postmodernrock.com/ Dave Cusick]
*cite web | url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/artists/Havalina_Rail_Co/9365/ | publisher=Crossrhythms (UK) | title=Artist profile: Havalina | accessdate=2007-03-04
*cite web | url=http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=23&csid1=6115 | publisher="Exclaim!" (Canada) | accessdate=2007-03-04 | title=Album review: "Space, Love & Bullfighting" | date=22 August 2002

External links

* [http://www.havalinaland.com Official Havalina Website]
* [http://www.havalinaland.com/download.html Havalina download page, including "Russian Lullabies"]
* [http://mattwignall.com/ Matt Wignall's Photography]
* [http://www.ocweekly.com/music/music/coming-to-america/24070/ OC Weekly Article]
* [http://www.postmodernrock.com/interviews/ Radio interview with Dave Cusick]
* [http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/21h02.html Interview] @ In Music We Trust.com
* [http://www.cornerstonemag.com/pages/show_page.asp?51 Interview] @ Cornerstone Magazine
* [http://www.tollbooth.org/2001/features/havalina.html Interview] @ The Phantom Tollbooth.