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CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Heavy Creatures email listwatch the warmth of the deep red lights come your way.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"Band names are important. If you're named the Fluffy Princesses and sound like Brutal Knights there is certain to be a tragic disconnect. Then there is Heavy Creatures. They could be Dirty Animals or Sexy Beasts - essentially you'd just need an adjective to convey purringly thick swagger and a noun that remained as primitive as possible and you would get the idea. Heavy Creatures is fronted by two women who use classic 60s female harmonies in "Family Tree" as effectively as they combine their vocal power to create a primal drum circle feel in "Love Come Down." And the music - well, shit is heavy. It chuggs along beneath grandly gesturing keyboard and guitar lines while toying with the blues and psychedelic music so cleverly you're hard pressed to assign them a genre. These creatures understand the meaning of "momentum" and "build" and "crescendo" so well, you'd swear they were mounting a charge on all the mediocre bands in NYC. Heavy Creatures is the closest thing to Jefferson Airplane when they were interesting, sexy and just a bit creepy we've seen, so put on something beaded and dig." RDRD LBL^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"Heavy Creatures are sure to cause quite a stir and hopefully sometime soon. Borrowing
from the 60’s female rock artists that they so admire, and yet making it their own
in a way that is both fun and infectious, lead singers Kelley Vaughn (vocals and
guitar) and Sarah Blust (keyboard, vocals and percussion) made those who had arrived
early swoon and sway to their sultry collaborative whispers. These two have a cunning
ability to maintain their sensual and strong female presence while playing their
instruments with finesse and grace. Unlike many female artists who display their
music makers as cumbersome companions, Kelley and Sarah connect to their instruments
as an extension of themselves and their voices"KEXP^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"NYC's Heavy Creatures have developed their own special blend of organic rock reliant on viscous grooves and a sweeping ethereal spirit showcased on the quartet's latest eight-track excursion, The Cymbal and the Skull. There's an underlying darkness swirling through the Moog keyboards and Neil Young-esque fretwork that emits a kind of barren Midwestern farm night scene s like "Crimson Canyon," while the hypnotic shuffle of "Landing of the Fall" harkens back to the days of surf rock psychedelics as interpreted through the walls of a dank metropolitan rehearsal space. Meshing entrancing drone rock with a free love, make peace not war sensibility, the smoky vibes emanated by Heavy Creatures teeter on the brink of rock 'n' roll danger with a tribal swagger with an underscored riot grrrl grit leading the charge."Perpetual Toxins^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"So I wound up missing the first twenty minutes or so of Heavy Creatures' set, which is a shame. They play a decidedly retro brand of classic rock, fronted by two female vocalists (doubling s/floor tom and guitar, respectively). These guys had my head bobbin' and toe tappin' as they tore through an assemblage of nifty little riffs, plus their bassist was popping off some supercool John Paul Jones-esque melodies pretty much the whole way throughI especially enjoyed how many of their tunes crammed seemingly unrelated riffs right up against each other back-to-back, making the longer songs less gassy. Fun band."Tuddd's MudddMORE:ROCK INSIDERThe DELILe HIBOOY33BA^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"Trippy and quirky, this unencumbered quartet allow their various musical backgrounds to collide and make weird shapes as the unit Heavy Creatures, a band that relies on feel way more than technical prowess. On this eight-track offering, vibes of flower powered stoned soul permeate through keyboard led jams like "Launch of the Gelding March" and "Nightsteam", almost sounding like the soundtrack to a sojourn through the Southwest US with a ton of hallucinogens on hand. That's not to say there's no trace of swirling guitars and rumbling rhythms to be found here ("Ride of Unknown Return"), but there's miles of space between each interval, akin to driving through the desert at night and encountering an oasis which doubles as a circus in the middle of nowhere. Encompassing space rock surprises and sparse Americana-esque passages, Heavy Creatures have made an album that shares psychedelically with Sonic Youth as it does '60s garage and '70s prog. Somewhere Jim Morrison and Syd Barrett are smilng."Mike SOS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Heavy Creatures, a beautifully loud and fervent foursome, started making music together in 2004 in an old decayed factory in Brooklyn NY. They are still there - and are now on the verge of releasing their second album: The Cymbal and the Skull. Inspired by bands such as Shocking Blue, early-era Heart and Led Zeppelin, the double-female fronted band invokes a psychedelic sound and threads it through with their own personal influences, ranging from old Americana, sea shanty choruses and ROCK. The Cymbal and the Skull is a vibrant exploration of the band's quest for its own sound. Their debut album, Loaded Sky, (which was recorded live on an analog 8-track in their practice space by engineer & boutique pedal designer John Schumann) was released in the fall of 2006. That album hints at elements of psychedelia and late 60s inspired riffage but it's The Cymbal and the Skull that is clearly bringing the Creatures into their own. For this album, the band recorded analog again at Brooklyn's Metrosonic Studio with engineer George Dugan, who has recorded other off-the-fringe bands such as Yoke, The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band and New York Howl. Each song style on this recording is unique, and has a different story to tell; almost as if they are a collection of short stories in a large volume. With subject matter that explores different paths of intensity stemming from basic human emotions, it is easy to relate to each story. Sarah and Kelley, both lead vocalists, take turns singing with the softest of harmonies and the loudest of melodies and each contributes her own particular energy to the band's sound. The first track, "Family Tree" is a wall of solid droning keyboard and bass sound with intricate guitar lines that are fast becoming a Vaughn trademark. With vocals by Sarah, "Family Tree" describes a lover's efforts to convince the object of her affections to give up the chase. "Crimson Canyon", with vocals by Kelley, is a seven minute epic, and tells the story of a duel between two forces of nature; an ocean and a mountain. It being a fight song, "Crimson Canyon" speaks of how equally matched opponents will lose everything once they decide to pit their strength against each other. "Nightwitches", a sonic exploration that describes the phenomenon of female Soviet fight pilots in WWII, features Pat's fluid and explosive drum beats, a consistently driving presence throughout the album. "Honey", a song written and recorded in the studio in just a few takes, flows directly from Chris's bass line and is a prime example of his role as the foundation upon which Heavy Creatures resides.Heavy Creatures hails from a wide musical background. Kelley Vaughn-Kauffman (guitar-vocals) is from a family of Southern gospel piano players and this is her first musical project. She, a former graphic designer first picked up the guitar at 28. Sarah Blust (keyboard-vocals-percussion) (also ex-Marmalade) has been in a cornucopia of musical projects since her days at Oberlin College. She is also currently in the political marching band The Rude Mechanical Orchestra and plays drums with the band Flaming Fire. Patrick Kauffman (drums) is also an accomplished songwriter who completed his own stellar solo release, On The Mysterious Other in 2004. Patrick, a tube amp technician at Brooklyn's Main Drag Music has also been drumming for The Big City Stompers and studying drums with Jim White of the The Dirty Three. Christopher Peifer (bass), who also plays with Another Saturday Nightand Grande, has earned his stripes on several international tours (last with The Kowalskis), and in the NYC music scene since opening for Soundgarden at CBGB in '89. “By day” Chris is a sound designer and composer for theatre.Heavy Creatures has played in and around New York City for the past 3 years and contributes its own powerful sound to the diverse music scene. Some of their favorite line-ups have included shows with Cochon Records/Too Pure’s Ill Ease, Social Registry's Artanker Convoy, Your 33 Black Angels , and The Big Sleep.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hey! Our drummer Pat is famous! If you go to Pies-n-Thighs you can order a Mr. Pat to fill your belly. He eats there so much they named it after him. He is either at Pies-n-Thighs eating or at Main Drag fixing amps.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
