The Bloody Heads

The Bloody Heads were a band from San Luis Obispo, California. The group formed in late 2004 and was at first a duo consisting of Caleb Nichols (vocals and guitar) and Jameson Swanagon (guitar). In 2005 drummer Josh Barnhart was added and the group became a three-piece; two guitars and a snare drum. The trio played a bunch of local shows in San Luis Obispo, 'toured' around California, and home recorded an album called "Picking Up Your Pieces", which they self-released in late 2005. "Picking Up." is streaming in its entirety on this page.

In 2006, the group added bassist Giacomo Merega, a Boston, MA bassed musician whom Jameson met while attending the New England Conservatory. During this period the band was separted by the continent; Jameson and Giacomo lived in Boston, Caleb and Josh lived in California (on various couches). Despite the physical separation, The Bloody Heads continued working. The band self-released a short album called "Bill Collector" (which they recorded while on separate coasts, via email), and toured California twice.

In the fall of 2006, Caleb and Josh joined Van Pierszalowski's then two-piece folk project Port O'Brien, at first in a casual capacity, then later towards 2007 as the official rhythm section with Caleb on bass and Josh on Drums. When Port O'Brien began touring in the later part of 2007 Josh and Caleb were still on board, and the Bloody Heads went on hiatus.



In Fall 2008, the founding members, Jameson Swanagon and Caleb Nichols, started a new project called Grand Lake, based in the Bay Area of California.

The last Bloody Heads show was in February 2008, at Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo.

Caleb - Fall 2008



Picking Up Your Pieces (2005)



Bill Collector ep (2006):



Press for the Bloody Heads:

"Theatric, energetic, at times campy, but always engaging. Nichols' voice is an elastic thing, fascinating in its imperfections. The guitar solos can be messy and erratic but, again, mesmerizing in their frenetic qualities." -- New Times, SLO



"A bouncy west-coast pop outfit that does not sound nearly as scary as their name (they sound real good)." -- North Coast Journal, Humboldt



"With their quirky stories and rag tag and bobtail garage pop, Bloody Heads bring to mind Hot Hot Heat, The Violent Femmes with a dash of Jonathan Richman thrown in for good measure." -- Besttuna.com

"You couldn't really leave a show like that and not want to form your own band." -- East Bay Express, Oakland



"These tunes call to mind quirky storytellers such as Jonathan Richman, Microphones' Phil Elverum or Morrissey even." -- Aquarius Records, SF