The last ever GH tracks we recorded have finally come out in the form of a split LP with our friends the Young Offenders. We've got five songs on there and in our opinion they are some of the best we ever did. Not to mention the Young Offenders tracks which are amazing as usual. The record's been out for a while so you might have seen it in some distros but we have finally got around to putting up a link to buy it from us on our website and myspace page. It's $12 ppd in the USA. Outside the US please get in touch for shipping rates.

The Bay Bridged podcast chose us as one of their top 10 bands/interviews of 2006. You can listen to their year-end podcast by clicking here.

There's a wordy interview with us up at Cultpunk.com.

http://www.cultpunk.com/?p=115

Thanks to Oliver for the interview.

We had a great time this weekend. Right before we played in Bakersfield some kid who'd done his first hit off a gravity bong passed out right in front of the speaker. There was a full on circle pit in the living room when Loser Life played.
The next day drove down to LA, hitting Amoeba before heading to Cafe Kashmir in South Gate for the show. Gruk from Chico had been added to the bill, making it 7 bands. The owner of the cafe was a bit concerned that there would be no money, since everyone there was in a band. In the end more people showed up though. It was a weird situation. He wanted to cancel the show before it even started. Then, the toilet flooded during Thee Cannibals, and we had to persuade the owner again not to shut down the show. After that things went without a hitch and it was a really fun gig. Unfortunately Art the promoter's band Pull The Strings didn't get to play, but all the other bands were rad.
Sunday night we played Part Time Punks at the Echo. Atoms from San Diego played too. It was a great night and it was good to see all of the old friends who turned up.
Thanks to Panda & Loser Life, Art & all the bands from Saturday, Matt Average, Erin, & Henry, and the Part Time Punks folks - Michael, Benny, & all at the Echo. Good times.

some shit music gossip rags offered their worthless opinions on our latest records (and tape), here's what they had to say:


A REBIRTH OF OUR CITY 7" EP

"The title track is possibly my favorite Haystacks track to date; smart lyrics and a boatload
of hooks. In the sea of punk rock mediocrity, Giant Haystacks have always stood out from the pack,
if only because they sound like no one else. Sure there's elements of the Minutemen, Gang Of Four,
or the Big Boys, but really they just sound like... well, Giant Haystacks. Clean guitar, off kilter
bass lines, and Allan's Scots drawl coupled with clever and bleak lyrics that always remind me of
a Scottish council estate... only smarter. The recording is a little thinner than the full lengths',
but I really think these are some of their best songs, so they could have recorded them in a bathtub
and they would sound good. Hold on while I spin the title track again. Class." (TB)
MAXIMUMROCKNROLL ..282

"One good release after another for Giant Haystacks. The latest is a three song EP featuring
their sharp sound. Strong musicianship without any sense of pretentiousness and good melodies
and two of the three songs make observations about their city - the clash of cultures between
the gentrifiers and those still struggling. I've namechecked the influences before (M**men,
G**g Of F***). Yes, it's POST PUNK, there's familiarity, but when it's this well played, this
fresh-sounding, after a pile of soundalike records, it's welcome." - Al Quint

SUBURBAN VOICE



FCC VIOLATIONS Cassette

"Giant Haystacks are one of the Bay Area's finest bands, and this cassette tape, called FCC Violations,
compiles two radio appearances, one from May 2005 and one from March 2006 (with new bassist Alan, formerly of
Your Mother). This band has only gotten better and better, mixing excellent, thoughtful lyrics and art
with sometimes somber and sometimes playful (post-)punk. The song "Young Shavers" always gives me
chills when they play it live, and their newer stuff is among their best and most catchy yet. The
opening song, a noisy instrumental jam featuring guitarist Jer Reid reminds me a lot of The Ex,
who Giant Haystacks usually only call to mind peripherally. Anyway, I really love this band, and this
tape is no exception, but act fast 'cause there are only a hundred copies out there." (Golnar)

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL ..282



ARMEDALITE RIFLES/GIANT HAYSTACKS Split EP
"GIANT HAYSTACKS is one of my favorite local bands to see - they have this rad energy, which sounds
like lame-o hippie talk but I mean it in a smashed-block-on-the-dancefloor-mod-rocker way. Like
being up all night with a pile of early JAM 7"s and a bootleg video of THE MINUTEMEN. Allan's lyrics
are reallly incisive and cool - it's politics with a beat; I guess an easy reference would be the
first GANG OF FOUR 7" but I think they are looser than that with some BIG BOYS/MINUTEMEN style.
ARMEDALITE RIFLES are from New York and are going for a late-70s mod revival/power pop sound, but
they don't quite get there to these ears. I hear a definite STRIKE influence, but they are a
little more straight-up pop punk than I like anyway. But this is a great 7".
Totally recommended, and on clear vinyl too!" (LG)

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL ..280

"Giant Haystacks: Think Three Way Tie (for Last)-era Minutemen, sprinkled with Nomeansno. The initial knife-point blurts of their early work has been redirected to mid-paced, heart-felt, believable punk funk. That said; it didn't initially grab me as hard as the earlier material, but I have a feeling this'll grow on me. Armedalite Rifles: Reminds me of political and introspective, rough-hewn punk (pop and otherwise) of the '90s (Strawman, bits of Swiz, traces of Jawbreaker, the two songs of Fifteen that I can listen to until the self-righteousness chokes me). I rarely say this because I'm no sucker for fidelity, but their songs sound too hot, and I think these guys would totally benefit from clearer recording so their intricacies aren..t lost." ..Todd Taylor
RAZORCAKE

if you can help us find a show between Denver, CO and Denton, TX on Wednesday May 24th, please get in touch. Yeah, we know it's last minute.

We just got around to making our t-shirts available on our website. Go here to check them out and order.

Happy New Year from Giant Haystacks! 2005 was a mixed year for us - on the positive side, we put out our second album, and had two really fun tours (one UK, one US), a ton of shows with some great bands around here, and we met loads of amazing people and slept on their floors. On the down side, we lost our original bass player Daniel to NYC, and Nate and Allan both suffered broken bones in unrelated bicycle accidents. Back in the plus column, we found an excellent replacement for Daniel in Alan Kasameyer. Here we are in 2006 already, and we're looking forward to more gigs and more records. Thanks to everyone that booked a show, came to see us, bought a record, let us sleep on their floor, shared their equipment and their stages, or just hung out with us in 2005. Hope to see some of you at one of our upcoming gigs, or maybe later in the year if we come to your town on tour.

Got to see Smalltown twice this weekend. What a great band. If you missed them, you missed out. Friday's show with them was a lot of fun too. Young Offenders came out of the gate strong for a bunch of ageing chrome-domes. La Plebe rocked the house as well. So much energy from them and the crowd. The horn section sounded amazing! Balazo is a cool place. That's it for us for 2005... we're starting '06 strong though with a bunch of gigs in January. Hopefully we can continue to be that busy for the rest of the year. Thanks to everyone who came to the last couple of gigs, and we'll see you next year!

Hey, there's two people with similar names in the band now so when you write to one of us or post a myspace message you have to get it right! ALLAN, with the double-L, is the Scottish guy that plays guitar and sings. ALAN, with one pathetic L, is the American guy that plays bass and sings. Get it right!