Album Notes

From the beginning, the Groove Pigs had a different way of doing things. Spawned from successful San Francisco area bands during the mid-‘90s, the Pigs began getting together on off-nights to get in more playing time and torture unsuspecting vocalists. This no-pressure environment enabled the band to develop a fun and unique musical style punctuated by the almost musical sound of vocal disorientation.

Although the core-members of the band, including “Arena” Joe Heavey on drums, Dan Jewett on bass and Darren “Brian Fast” Whittaker on guitar and vocals, never intended to reveal their hideous creation to the public, history had other plans for the porcine pals. Finally, on one fateful night in 1993, it happened and the band stumbled out into public like a drunk tourist after one too many umbrella drinks.

It didn't take long for the band to get their collective snout in the door and soon the Groove Pigs were everywhere. After playing more than one-hundred shows and local parties, a scene which the Pigs dominated for several years, and writing even more songs, including gems such as “When Jerry Garcia Dies” and “Ravin’ for Jesus,” the Groove Pigs had become living legends. Around this time the band mascot, the PigChicken, made its first appearance on a damp cocktail napkin and, more importantly, Dave Kaplowitz joined the band, also making his first appearance on a cocktail napkin.

Unique Groove Pigs publicity stunts soon followed and it wasn't long before large Groove Pigs posters began commandeering San Francisco billboard locations. The Pigs also earned some press (the hard way) when they sent a demo tape wrapped in bacon to Leah Hennen at BAM Magazine (May 1, 1992) who wrote: “By the time it (the demo tape) reached the BAM office, however, little Wilbur was rancid and oozing slime (Ok, Ok, - it did get our attention, but please, no one else try this; it was really, really gross).” Actually, the Groove Pigs urge everyone else to go ahead and try sending merchandise to magazine editors wrapped in the pork product of your choice... if something is funny once, the Pigs have found that it is often funny again.

The Groove Pigs also helped to pioneer the Internet and, unable to fit bacon into a modem, formed a partnership with the upstart Santa Cruz-based Internet Underground Music Archive where the Pigs are a favorite among busy office staffers. In October 1994, the Groove Pigs headlined IUMA’s first anniversary celebration in Santa Cruz. The Pigs very large drummer, Joe Heavey, told the S.F. Bay Guardian (Oct. 12, 1994) about the event and the benefits of bands going on-line long before it was cool to be wired but shortly after it became no big deal.

More recent Groove Pigs events include the follow-up to Ravin’ for Jesus entitled The Russian Hill Sessions containing some of the band's finest work with early vocalist John “Naked” Crites. Later, talented Stunt Vocalists Richard P. Prasch and Jason P. Carlson, LLP, were added and given the Porkrophone.