Earthless

Earthless is a mostly instrumental psychedelic rock band from San Diego, California consisting of guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton and drummer Mario Rubalcaba.

Earthless
From left to right: Mike Eginton, Mario Rubalcaba, and Isaiah Mitchell
Background information
OriginSan Diego, California, United States
GenresInstrumental rock, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, blues rock, hard rock, occult rock[1]
Years active2001—present
LabelsGravity, Tee Pee
Associated actsRocket From the Crypt, Nebula, Hot Snakes, Off!, Golden Void, The Black Crowes, Poseidotica
MembersIsaiah Mitchell
Mike Eginton
Mario Rubalcaba

The band formed in 2001 and released their first album, Sonic Prayer, through Gravity Records in 2005. Their second album, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, was released in 2007 through Tee Pee Records.

Mitchell sings occasionally, but the band's music is mostly instrumental and features long semi-improvised songs drawing on classic rock, psychedelic rock, jazz and krautrock.

History

Formation and early years

Drummer Mario Rubalcaba moved back to his native San Diego to join Rocket from the Crypt, and eventually encountered future Earthless bassist Mike Eginton.[2] Guitarist Isaiah Mitchell had been playing with a band called Lions of Judah when he met Eginton.[3] Mitchell, Eginton and Rubalcaba discovered they all enjoyed Japanese psychedelic rock and German krautrock.[3]

Eginton suggested the name Earthless,[3] inspired by a song titled likewise by a 1960s American rock group called the Druids of Stonehenge. The trio accepted the name for its "psychedelic ring" and ambiguity,[4] but by then they had already been together for at least three months (five rehearsal sessions and one live show) without one.[3] At the group's earliest rehearsal, they played songs from Led Zeppelin[5] and Black Sabbath[3] interspersed between lengthy improvisations;[5] at their second session the band only played their own material. They played their first live show together at the Casbah, a venue in their native San Diego, but in general they found it difficult to come together for rehearsals or shows owing to Rubalcaba also playing drums for Rocket from the Crypt at the time.[3] He also played in Hot Snakes for a time, but after both groups disbanded, Rubalcaba and his Earthless bandmates had more free time to devote to their new project.[2]

Earthless' debut album, Sonic Prayer, was released in 2005 and won the 2007 Best Hard Rock Album award at the San Diego Music Awards,[6] where their second album, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, was also nominated for the same award and the band themselves were nominated for Best Hard Rock Artist.[7]

Live at Roadburn and hiatus (2008-2011)

Earthless performed at the thirteenth Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the Netherlands on April 18, 2008.[8] They were originally only scheduled to play to 250 people in the smallest room of the event as the main act, but were invited at the last minute to perform as the last act on the main stage to 2000 concertgoers instead,[2] as the scheduled band Isis had only performed for half of their two-hour slot.[9] Earthless performed for about an hour and a half,[10] [11]and were not aware the performance had been recorded,[9] but did not object when Tee Pee Records requested they release an album based on the performance,[4] liking the recordings themselves.[2][12] The result was released on October 7, 2008 as Live at Roadburn, which Rubalcaba described as "the most honest representation of [Earthless] that you're gonna get on a record".[12] He said that if listeners did not like the album they would not like to see the band perform live.[2]

In February 2009, Earthless toured with Witch in North America.[13] The band toured in Europe and the UK with Russian Circles in April 2010,[14] in the US in support of Baroness from November to early December,[15] and in Australia for the first time from December 2010 to January 2011.[16]

As the band members continued with their rigorous touring schedule, they became increasingly involved with side projects (Rubalcaba with Off! and Mitchell with Howlin' Rain)[4] and Mitchell moved to Northern California,[17] which reduced the available time to rehearse as Earthless, much less record another studio album (even though some of the material on Live at Roadburn was intended for the next album). As an act, Earthless eventually entered into a period of inactivity by default, but not by intention.[4]

Touring and From the Ages (2012-present)

After two years of not touring, Earthless came to Australia for a series of concerts in December 2012, and released a limited edition vinyl single to coincide with the tour.[18] Earthless were again nominated for Best Hard Rock Artist at the 2013 San Diego Music Awards,[19] and From the Ages won their second Best Hard Rock Album award the following year.[20]

Earthless toured in support of From the Ages along the western coast of the United States in October 2013,[21] and with the Shrine in Australia from December 2013 to January 2014,[22] and the east coast of the US in August 2014.[23][24] They are embarking on a tour of Europe in October 2014,[24] and have rescheduled a tour of Japan with Eternal Elysium that Earthless had to cancel to tend to ill family members; the tour will take place in January 2015.[25]

In 2016 Earthless, together with Harsh Toke, released a split-record each with a single track on it.

On 16th March 2018, the band released their album 'Black Heaven'.

Musical style

Earthless consider themselves most strongly influenced by krautrock[5] and psychedelic bands from Japan.[4] Eginton has identified such Japanese groups as Blues Creation, Flower Travellin' Band, High Rise and White Heaven as being inspirational for Earthless,[4] and for krautrock, Rubalcaba has named Guru Guru and Amon Düül II.[5] Classic rock has also influenced the group, as they also share an interest in Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.[5] Eginton has also said the earlier work of Miles Davis has impacted the band, along with other modal jazz players, as the band often choose a key or mode and almost never play outside it even regardless of what the guitar solo becomes.[4]

Although typically labeled a stoner rock group, they reject the term,[26] and the band have stated they do not use marijuana;[17][27] rather, they drink coffee[5] or iced tea.[17]

The band alternate between writing their songs out and improvising them on the spot, repeatedly playing the improvised parts in their live set to the point that the parts become features of the song.[4] Rubalcaba has noted the distinction between improvisation and jamming; he argues that improvisation differs from jamming in that improvisation is more focused and has a purpose, while jamming does not.[5]

As Earthless are primarily an instrumental band, their music has no vocals by default, although Mitchell has sung vocals for the group on the few songs that need them (such as "Cherry Red" and "Woman with the Devil Eye"). Other than that, the group do not intend to hire a full-time vocalist, despite all the offers they have received over the years.[17]

Personnel

Discography
Main article: Earthless discography

Studio albums

Live albums
  • Live at Roadburn (2008)
  • Live at Freak Valley (2015)
  • Live at Tym Guitars, Brisbane Australia (2015)
  • Earthless From The West (2018)

References
  1. Paliwal, Vidur. "REVIEWSREVIEW: Earthless – "Black Heaven"". Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. Leitko, Aaron (February 25, 2009). "Q&A: Earthless". Washington City Paper. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  3. Solis, Eddie (May 6, 2009). "Earthless". Thrasher. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  4. Tucceri, Daniel (December 22, 2013). "AMH Network Interview with Earthless » AMH Network". AMH Network. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  5. Marchese, David (October 9, 2013). "Journey to the Center of Earthless: A Heavy Chat With the Psych-Rock Gurus". Spin. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  6. "San Diego Music Awards - 2007 Winners". San Diego Music Awards.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. "Cattle Decapitation Nominated In Two Categories At San Diego Music Awards". Blabbermouth.net. August 12, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  8. Live at Roadburn (inside sleeve). Earthless. New York City: Tee Pee Records. 2008. TPE-089.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Sanford, Jay Allen (October 22, 2008). "Road Luck". San Diego Reader. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  10. Treppel, Jeff (March 2009). "Live at Roadburn - Review". Outburn #47. p. 78.
  11. "Ep170: Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless, OFF!, Hot Snakes, Rocket From the Crypt, Clikitat Ikatowi)". Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal. 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  12. Guyre, Jen (February 23, 2009). "Interview with Earthless: Cosmic Nodding". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  13. Hughes, Josiah (January 8, 2009). "Witch Announce North American Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  14. Sciarretto, Amy (April 5, 2010). "Earthless European Tour Dates With Russian Circles". Noisecreep. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  15. "Baroness announces headlining tour". Lambgoat. September 4, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  16. Lee, Samantha (December 12, 2010). "Earthless Australian Tour". Faster Louder. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  17. Weiderhorn, Jon (September 26, 2013). "Earthless's "Equus October" Is Just Another Example of Why They're the Best Sober Stoner Band on Earth". Noisey. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  18. Giffin, Brian (December 16, 2012). "Earthless: Out of This World". Loud Online Magazine. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  19. King, Anthony (August 2, 2013). "San Diego Music Awards nominees released". San Diego Uptown News. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  20. "San Diego Music Awards - 2014 Winners". San Diego Music Awards.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  21. "Earthless Streaming New Album "From The Ages"". Theprp.com. October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  22. "Earthless Confirm Australian Dates". theMusic.com.au. October 28, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  23. "Earthless And The Shrine Plan August East Coast US Tour". The PRP. June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  24. "Earthless Tour!". Tee Pee Records.com. July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  25. "ヘヴィ・サイケデリックの新世代支配者アースレス、初来日公演が実現". Yahoo! Japan. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  26. Hamlin, Andrew (October 16, 2013). "Rub my sticks". San Diego Reader. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  27. Lothspeich, Dustin (January 13, 2016). "Earthless: Homecoming Kings". NBC San Diego. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
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