Biography

Reviews of the Giraffes:

For a day of supposed evil, 6/6/06 felt a bit anticlimactic. No awe-inspiring explosions, no random fistfights, no satanic sacrifices. Just a couple of semi-ironic indie-metal bands playing to a sold-out crowd at the Bluebird Theater.

With desperate, ticket-seeking fans milling around the front of the venue, the air of privilege hung in the interior air. The Giraffes opened with an explosive set of ear-tickling anthems, at once bluesy, grungy and melodic. The Brooklyn-based mayhem enthusiasts are perhaps the only remaining band that's truly dangerous onstage, jumping into the audience, pouring entire bottles of whiskey onto their fans and generally enjoying their roles as rock figureheads.

Eagles of Death Metal played next, their sunglasses-clad lead singer unable to stop telling the audience how "awesome" and full of "hot chicks" it was. The pseudo-supergroup was diminished by the absence of drummer Josh Homme, whose regular gig in Queens of the Stone Age is a big factor in the Eagles' popularity.

The thinnest layer of irony separated the band's fans from an impromptu NASCAR rally, and that's certainly not good for the music. After The Giraffes, the Eagles' straight-up classic rock facsimiles were a middling disappointment. Too bad they couldn't take a lesson in rock from their boozy, able-bodied openers.

-John Wenzel -Denver Post

As the Giraffes took the stage (Mercury Lounge) after a quick changeover, it was amazing to see a crowd that had been sitting on the floor seamlessly morph into a wild, tattooed mob of Brooklynites. The lead singer, Aaron Lazar, looked over the raucous crowd while swilling from a pint of Jack Daniels. He stroked his handlebar mustache, passed the whiskey to the rest of the band, and proceeded to rip through a forty-five minute set that felt like it went by in less than ten. Lazar owned the crowd, taunting them to throw empty, ice-filled cups, and prompting a mass fist-pump with middle fingers outstretched.

The mutton-chopped, fu-manchued guitarist, Damien Paris, lurked and stomped around the stage with a frenzied energy, a perfect complement to Lazar’s menacing energy. If the band weren’t smiling at friends and obviously having such a great time, they would scare you to death. This was never truer than during the crowd pleaser “Having Fun with Assholes,” as Lazar tried to intimidate the audience with his verbal assault while trying to conceal his smile. The Giraffes followed that song with “You’re Going Out,” a ****-you style anthem, and then a track with a sneering, condescending chorus of “La La La’s.” The standing-room-only Mercury Lounge crowd was totally consumed, bobbing up and down to the music and chanting along.

As the Giraffes poured into “Million Dollar Man,” I couldn’t help but think that this is the group that would have been formed if Blutoi and D-Day from “Animal House” had started a band. If the Giraffes were to play a house party, any house party, that house would inevitably wind up trashed. After a minor bass string mishap, the band closed with their rock anthem “I Wanna Tell You,” and left the stage to a torrent of shouts and beverage cups. The Giraffes were pure power and whiskey, and owned the Mercury Lounge that night.

-Tom Yaps LooseRecods.com

There's still something to be said for word of mouth when it comes to discovering new music. While actually hearing music is the best way to decide whether or not you like it, it's best to have some kind of impetus to get you to hear it in the first place. Be it a quest to find new music on your own or a scour through a music publication such as Treble, something has to direct you toward it. But if you're the type to trust your peers about musical recommendations, word of mouth is most likely your first way of gaining access to bands you wouldn't otherwise pay any attention to. Case in point: The Giraffes. Treble writer Chris Pacifico had been emailing me about this weird band I had never heard of, and I figured he might be on to something, but I never actually felt motivated enough to actually seek out the band's work. After a few more mentions, he finally emails their record company to get them to send me a copy.

It turns out the **** was on to something. The Giraffes are a very unusual band to hear today, amidst endless Gang of Four soundalikes and David Byrne imitators. While those are both fine and good, they get tiresome. But The Giraffes take from inspirations extremely far from post-punk. Some reviews have mentioned Soundgarden, Corrosion of Conformity and The Butthole Surfers, to name a few. And I can't say that those are all that far off. But I would also mention Queens of the Stone Age and Alice in Chains.

Having recently delved into the heavier and more heroic entries in my music collection, I took to The Giraffes' self-titled debut pretty quickly. It's a throwback to a time when the line between "alternative" and "metal" was extremely blurry, for better or for worse. In the hands of many, this type of album could be dated and obnoxious. It could have even been outright terrible. But, luckily, The Giraffes rock adequately and with just enough of a smirk that their unholy ruckus is equally fun and menacing.

Mixing doo-**** vocals and Sabbath-y riffs in "Jr. At His Worst," shredding on Slayer-style guitar licks in "Wage Earner," veering into a boogie shuffle on "Sugarbomb" or revving up some Horton Heat-style psychobilly on "Million $ Man," The Giraffes find many unique ways to rock on this fireball of a record. Frontman Aaron Lazar even sports a mighty moustache as well, one that even Lemmy might consider enviable, though Lazar doesn't have any gnarly moles, as far as I can tell.

Sadly, I did not partake in the festivities at CMJ this year, though the word on the `net is that The Giraffes kicked some serious **** during their set at the giant New York festival. I imagine they'd be a sight to see. I'm not sure if I would like to see too many more bands like The Giraffes popping up, but that they exist makes us all the more fortunate. When more and more skinny kids learn how to play guitar like Andy Gill, it's refreshing to know that somebody learned to play like Kim Thayil.

-Jeff Terich- Treblezine.com

Doesn’t anyone remember Rock And Roll?! It may seem like an absurd question at first but hear me out. I found myself enjoying The Giraffes self-titled debut for Razor and Tie Records and decided people would enjoy it at a party. As it played, people were telling me that they liked it but at the same time were confused. Needless to say, these people listened to emo and punk-pop and were trying to pigeonhole The Giraffes into some genre that didn’t even exist like post-punk rockcore. It’s just fucking Rock and Roll, enjoy it!

Doesn’t the fact that this band can be compared to Monster Magnet and The Who intrigue anyone? It sure would arouse my interest. The Giraffes embody most of what makes rock so great. The singer sports a handlebar mustache and can belt out a powerful chorus with the best of them. The guitarist can actually play his guitar, which can be somewhat of a rarity these days. Songs like “Man U” are a prime example of what the band can accomplish. The song is about a soccer riot by Manchester United fans and contains a catchy chant of “You’re going home in a fucking ambulance.” If that wasn’t enough, the video is simply two members of the band punching each other in the stomach endlessly while the rest of the band drinks beer. How rock and roll is that?

If the video and song for “Man U” has caught your interest, this is an album made for you. It contains some of the best guitar solos and shredding I have heard in years, i.e. the guitar solo in “Sugarbomb”. The drums barrel through over the bass and establish a fast tempo which maintains throughout the entire album. No ballads here. There are very few weak points throughout the album. Some songs just don’t seem to snag your attention as much as others but that’s not to say they are bad. “Million $ Man” verifies that they can play ****-rock that actually has some balls.

I’d like to shake the hand of the man who signed The Giraffes to Razor and Tie. This is one hell of a fun album. With bands such as The Darkness and Death From Above 1979 using heavy rock influences and gaining incredible hype, it’s amazing this album hasn’t caught on. Why no one knows this band is beyond me. If this band had any push by the record label whatsoever, I could see them gaining a considerable following. I mean, who doesn’t love rock and roll?

-Decoymusic.com