Formed in the mid-90s in New York City, 8HEAD founding members Ethan Piper (lead guitar, vocals) and David Moore (drums, percussion, vocals) collaborated on an acoustically-driven hard rock sound, incorporating a variety of classic (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix) and contemporary (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden) influences. The result—sonic bodies of music with compelling stories and distinctly original tones and flavors.
8HEAD (the CD) is an awesome snapshot of Piper and Moore capturing stripped-down, acoustic versions of their best material. Electric rockers at heart, both pursued acoustic arrangements with the intention of gigging in many different configurations, ranging from a duo—a la Local H and The White Stripes—to a full, two-guitar rock assault. Most importantly, Piper and Moore realized that if the songs rocked acoustically, how great would they sound with revved up electric guitars and bass?
Felix Chen, who played on the band's 1999 demo, came aboard to record bass for the project. Upon completion, 8HEAD and producer Craig Randall buckled down and took on editing, mixing, and mastering the acoustic elements while carefully blending in some of 8HEAD's heavier and edgier works.
Subsequently, 8HEAD spawned Noize Merchant Records (www.noizemerchant.com) after a very successful test of their song "Ground Zero" on the now defunct MP3.com. In one week, 8HEAD generated over 4,000 hits for the song, and buckets of fan mail came in from as far away as Japan and Brazil. Noize Merchant Records is handling the CD distribution of 8HEAD, which is currently available through Amazon.com, CD Baby, Tower Records, and CD Street.
Now joined by guitarist Alex Gomez (aka AB Gomez, formerly of L.A.'s Your Mom—a band on the 2001 Warped Tour), 8HEAD is prepared to rock it unplugged and most definitely plugged. This featured song, "Everafter," along with the other electric songs on the CD, are representative of what to expect in the future. The song's lyrics were inspired by the inevitable heartbreak of romantic relationships; the story is told from a woman's point-of-view, wondering why her partner is unable to exert the effort to make the relationship work.
The band is currently working with producer Peter Levin, who has been busy capturing the band's live performances on a Power Mac G4/Pro Tools setup, recording overdubs, and mixing these aural truffles for your discerning musical palette. For more info about the band and to hear more music, check out 8HEAD's Web site.
