Gastr del Sol

Gastr del Sol (derived from a combination of the name of a race horse (Gato del Sol) and David Grubbs' previous band Bastro) was an American, Chicago-based band, consisting for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they released seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock (the scene they were most associated with) to musique concrète. Early line-up Grubbs, a former member of Squirrel Bait formed the band in Chicago in 1991 from the final line-up of the group Bastro, with Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire on bass guitar and drums respectively. The trio released their first album, The Serpentine Similar, in 1993, ushering in a quieter, less rock-oriented sound with the change of name. Brown and McEntire left to join Tortoise the following year, and guitarist/composer/producer Jim O'Rourke joined. Duo line-up At this point Gastr del Sol became mainly a collaboration between Grubbs and O'Rourke, joined by an ever-changing collection of guests. Though McEntire was no longer a full member, he continued contributing to many Gastr del Sol recordings and concerts. Most releases by this line-up were on Chicago's Drag City, beginning with the acoustic guitar-based Crookt, Crackt, or Fly in 1994. "Work From Smoke", the centerpiece of this album, fused Grubbs and O'Rourke's penchant for atonal guitar interplay with bass clarinet and Grubbs's increasingly surreal lyrics.