Since emerging from Boston's scrappy music scene in 1989, the Gigolo Aunts have survived more ups
and downs - both personal and careerwise - than a dockyard prizefighter. Rather than going down for
the count, the four piece has turned adversity into creative catalyst. Recent tours with Matthew Sweet
and Counting Crows showcased the Gigolo Aunts' raucous enthusiasm and trademark songwriting smarts,
which so impressed Counting Crows leader Adam Duritz that the brought them to E Pluribus Unum.
Their album, Minor Chords and Major Themes, (their first full-length release since 1994's Flippin' Out
on RCA), documents the Gigolo Aunts' tenacity in all its battle-scarred glory. "It's about coming to
terms with painful relationships of different types," admits lead vocalist Dave Gibbs, "and finding the
strength to move beyond them." The Gigolo Aunts launch the album with an appropriately blasting opening
track, "C'mon C'mon," inspired by a friend's fumbling attempts to woo a female fan after a show. "C'mon
C'mon" kicks off a dozen songs full of crafty melodies and unabashed openness. Among the standouts is
"The Big Lie," an upbeat rocker with a bittersweet edge featuring guest vocals by Adam Duritz and
longtime friend Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne.
Elsewhere, Minor Chords and Major Themes ranges from quiet introspection to hard-hitting fare. "Simple
Thing," "Residue" (with Hurley on lead vocals) and "Everyone Can Fly" all benefit from a sparse and
gentle touch. The beautifully dreamy "You'd Better Get Yourself Together, Baby" was featured in an
October 1998 episode of the television show "Felicity."
The band's heavier side is evident in the eerie crunch of "Fade Away" and the tempestuous riffing of
"Super Ultra." The latter demonstrates a biting yet sympathetic situation: "The song is more about a
fascination with the strangeness of personal ads than actually ridiculing them," says bassist Steve
Hurley. "Fred worked at a paper taking in personal ads, and some of the lyrics are taken from actual
entries; they're sort of sad, funny, desperate and hopeful all at once"
Regardless of the topic, the band aims for clarity over cunning. "Cleverness is an overrated commodity,"
explains Gibbs. "I appreciate irony, but not at the expense of honesty, so we keep our approach pretty
direct." This notion permeates the group's writing process, where Gibbs and Hurley come up with the
initial words and melody, and Skibic and Eltringham help stretch and reshape the ideas into fully
realized songs.
In ways, Minor Chords and Major Themes is the album the Gigolo Aunts were always destined to make.
"It's taken a lot of trials and tribulations to develop as musicians to the point where we can play
with the kind of focus and simplicity this batch of songs demands," says guitarist Jon Skibic.
"Realizing what to leave out was more important than what to add in," adds drummer Fred Eltringham.
"Producer Mike Deenen (Aimee Mann, Letters to Cleo, Jen Trynin) was great, he encouraged us to
experiment a lot, but pushed us to only leave in the essential."
The band members (who hail from towns in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) met in Boston and have
recorded together extensively. Early independent releases including the EP's Gun and Full on Bloom as
well as Flippin' Out , exposed the bands music all over the world. A tireless touring schedule resulted
in a top-30 U.K. hit and TV theme song ("Where I Find My Heaven"), as well as chart success in Japan
and a fan base across Europe.
While suffering through a long-running contractual dispute, the band honed their craft by turning their
efforts towards film and TV, landing material in major projects such as Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do,"
"Dumb and Dumber," and "The River Wild," as well as smaller independent projects such as "Swimming With
Sharks" starring Kevin Spacey. 1997 saw the Gigolo Aunts roar back with a new EP Learn To Play Guitar,
released by the Boston-based independent label Wicked Disc. Heavy local airplay of the single "Kinda
Girl," and steady sales allowed the band to hit the road in earnest once again.
As the Gigolo Aunts look forward to the release of Minor Chords and Major Themes, they have maintained
their keen, self-depreciating sense of humor, reflected in the album's title. "It's a lyric from the
song "For a Moment," says Gibbs, "and it's sort of a joke within the band. We have some problems with
most really sentimental songs. And then we found ourselves making a record full of them!"
"This batch of songs seemed the most honest and they really hang together as a whole," adds Hurley.
"Most people have moments of longing and questioning where life is taking them," concludes Gibbs.
"Hopefully they will be able to see a bit of themselves in these songs."
>> Biography Taken From E Pluribus Unum Records - 1999.
Taking their name from the Syd Barrett song, the effervescent power-pop unit Gigolo Aunts first came together in 1981 in Potsdam, New York as Sniper. The group -- comprised of vocalist/guitarist Dave Gibbs, brothers Phil and Steve Hurley (on lead guitar and bass, respectively) and drummer Phil Brouwer -- went through a series of subsequent names like Marauder and Rosetta Stone before settling on Gigolo Aunts (a suggestion from Gibbs' father) and moving to Boston in 1986.
In 1988, the band issued its debut Everybody Happy to little notice, and receded from view until Gibbs began playing guitar with fellow East Coast popsters Velvet Crush, whom he joined for a U.K. tour. While overseas, Gibbs made a number of crucial contacts with the likes of Creation Records' Alan McGee and the members of Teenage Fanclub, and interest in the Gigolo Aunts began to build. A series of assured EPs -- Gigolo Aunts, Gun and Full-On Bloom -- appeared to strong reviews, as did 1994's full-length Flippin' Out. After Gibbs and Phil Hurley turned down offers to join the reunited Big Star, they issued the 1995 EP Where I Find My Heaven; shortly after its release, Phil Hurley was replaced by Jon Skibic and Brouwer was replaced by Fred Eltringham. Minor Chords and Major Themes appeared in 1999.
>> Biography Taken From Jason Ankeny at All Music Guide.
