Ex-Gin Blossoms Ready To Unleash Gas Giants

08/12/1999 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(8/12/99, 4 p.m. PDT) - Former Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson has regrouped with drummer Philip Rhodes to form a new band called Gas Giants. The band will be using the Internet to promote, market, and distribute its new album, Beyond The Back Burner, through Atomic Pop. The album will be available both as a CD and as a digital download on Oct. 12.

Gas Giants were actually formed in 1997 by Wilson, Rhodes, and their longtime friend, guitarist Daniel Henzerling. Wilson tells LAUNCH that the band had its album ready for release in 1998, but it was forced to the back burner in the wake of the A&M and Interscope merger.

"I was very depressed, and I was very bummed, and there was a lot of tension and anxiety waiting for Interscope to decide our fate," Wilson says. "I'll tell you, we couldn't have been more pleased when we found out that they were going to let us go, because nobody wants to be looked at as some bastard stepchild. We spent all the money A&M gave us building our own recording studio. So that puts us in a position to capitalize on Atomic Pop's business model that much more, because we can make our records for a lot cheaper than most other groups."

The first single from the album is "Quitter," which was released today in the Gas Giants' hometown of Phoenix. The band also takes a long look at today's music culture with "I Hope My Kids Like Marilyn Manson." Other songs on the album include "Mayberry," "Stinking Up The Charts," and a cover of Tracey Ullman's hit "They Don't Know," which was written by Kirsty MacColl.

Features on the Gin Blossoms and Marilyn Manson are available on LAUNCH.com.

-- Darren Davis, New York

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