David Grubbs

A legend in the Chicago underground music scene, David Grubbs is co-founder of heavily influential acts such as Squirrel Bait, Bastro and Gastr del Sol. Both Squirrel Bait and Bastro are among post-hardcore's initial breath (specially Bastro, some kind of artsier version of Big Black), while Gastr del Sol is some kind of subsequent canalized flow of artsiness from Bastro's members.

Since co-composing with genious music scientist Jim O'Rourke is surely ego demanding, parting ways was an expected step. The last Gastr del Sol's record, Camoufleur, is definitely mainly O'Rourke's, undoubtly different (better, as a matter of fact) from Upgrade and Afterlife. Not that the latter lacks of quality; it's their peak of conventional songwriting deconstruction - but obviously evolved from Mirror Repair and the first two, and obviously Grubbs' compositional trademark.

As a solo artist, Grubbs, at first, found himself as a lo-fi folk minimalist in 'Banana Cabbage, Potato Lettuce, Onion Orange', analog to some future Richard Young's Jagjaguwar albums (Sapphie, Making Paper and May). Later albums gradually became more unpretentious, specially in The Spectrum Between, a great example of what would became almost all of his Drag City records afterwards; Rickets and Scurvy and A Guess at the Riddle fit well to the style mentioned, while Off-Road and Act Five, Scene One are mostly experimental acts.

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Gastr del Sol

Unfortunely (or not) Gastr del Sol was kept restricted to a small number of fans. Probably, the band is nowadays referred to as Jim O'Rourke's main focus during the 90's; it is obvious, nevertheless, how present and influent the band was in its existence, from 93 to 98. As described afterwards, its formation gathers the best among Chicago's experimental scene, many of whom have their works released through labels such as Drag City and Thrill Jockey.

Originally named as Bastro, the band, formed by David Grubbs, Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise) and John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake), has had its influences going through post hardcore and noise rock. The later name change has symbolized a veer to focus more prominently on timbre, sound, ambience and minimalism. Jim O'Rourke teamed up after the release of The Serpentine Similar, debuting on the EP 20 Songs Less and on the amazing Long Play Crookt, Crackt, or Fly, which continues where John Fahey has stopped, producing a predominantly acoustic album, irresistibly minimal and hermetic.

The compositional duo Grubbs & O'Rourke solidified its magnificence as their last two records, Upgrade & Afterlife and Camoufleur, were released in 96 and 98, respectively. The first passes over the eruditism of John Cage and Morton Feldman, folk (the last track is an amazing John Fahey cover), ambient and minimalism. The latter, more straight forward, is an amalgam of Burt Bacharach, Tom Jobim and the omnipresent John Fahey, obviously in a more experimental approach; it is a superb album, and it has determined where would both Jim and David go to in their respective solo carreers since then.

It is worth it to remember the fact that The Sea and Cake was named after a Gastr del Sol song, "The C in Cake", from Crookt, Crackt, or Fly.

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Para bem ou mal, o Gastr del Sol ficou restrito a um relativamente pequeno e felizardo contingente de fãs. Quem sabe o grupo seja mais conhecido, atualmente, como o foco principal de Jim O'Rourke na década de 90; porém é claro o quanto foi presente e influente em sua época ativa, de 93 a 98. Como será descrito a seguir, sua formação tem a nata da música experimental de Chicago, muitos dos quais encontram-se espalhados em bandas de selos como Drag City e Thrill Jockey.

A partir do extinto Bastro, de David Grubbs, Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise) e John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake), originou-se o Gastr del Sol. Antes influenciada principalmente por pós hardcore e noise rock, a mudança de nome simbólica também foi uma tentativa de explorar mais o timbre, a sonoridade, a ambiência e o minimalismo. Jim O'Rourke, juntou-se ao projeto logo após The Serpentine Similar, estreando no EP 20 Songs Less e no impressionante Long Play Crookt, Crackt, or Fly, disco que leva a diante o trabalho de John Fahey, fazendo um disco predominantemente acústico, irresistivelmente minimalista e hermético.

O duo composicional Grubbs e O'Rourke consolidou a grandeza do Gastr del Sol nos dois últimos trabalhos, Upgrade & Afterlife e Camoufleur, de 96 e 98, respectivamente. O primeiro perpassa influências que vão do eruditismo de John Cage e Morton Feldman, folk (o disco termina com um incrível cover de John Fahey), ambient e minimalismo. O seguinte, mais acessível, é um amálgama de Burt Bacharach, Tom Jobim e o sempre relido John Fahey, obviamente numa abordagem mais experimental; é um disco sensacional, além de ser a raiz da sonoridade que tanto Jim quanto David aderiram em seus discos solo desde então.

Vale lembrar a curiosidade de que o The Sea and Cake foi batizado a partir de uma piada com o nome de uma das músicas do Gastr del Sol, "The C in Cake", do disco Crookt, Crackt, or Fly.

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