Gregor Samsa UK Tour

January 9, 2009, 12:02 PM

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Gregor Samsa, the Brooklyn based indie band, make their long-awaited return to the UK this month as part of their extensive European tour. UK dtes are:

23.01 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
24.01 – Hull, Adelphi Club
25.01 – Sheffield, Corporation
26.01 – Birmingham, Rainbow Pub
27.01 – London, The Luminaire

Gregor Samsa

The history of the band, in their own words…

Gregor Samsa started as a project eight years ago by Champ and Nikki. A year or so later we grew into a proper band — the first of many transformations (little did we know our namesake would take on such a literal meaning). In our infancy we took on many shapes and sizes, most of which were utterly awkward and embarrassing, yet one could say they were still admirable in some way. Our first proper show was at a festival in Harrisonburg, VA in 2000. There were a lot of people there and we recall being quite nervous.

In the next three years we played a lot of shows, released two EPs and one nearly full-length album called 27:36. Around this same time, our label ran out of money and we did, too. Things started to slow down, but we managed to find someone who agreed to book us a European tour. After Europe, we came home and recorded a new full length album called 55:12 and soon after put out a split 12″ with the band Red Sparowes.

Again, with no label and no money, 55:12 sat around for a year before we finally decided to put it out. Things started looking up again and we did another Europe tour which went off quite well. In between this time we also did a few short tours in the US.

Over the years, more than thirty people have come and gone from the line-up, including, but not limited to, members of Spokane, Labradford, Kayo Dot, Ghastly City Sleep and Engine Down. Today, Champ and Nikki remain the only original members. Incidentally, it was for this reason they decided to marry in September 2007.

Most of us now reside in Brooklyn, NY where we record and rehearse, while the others are spread out on the east coast and Chicago. The current line-up consists of Champ’s brother William and their cousin Jeremiah, along with Cory (Antlers), Mia (Kayo Dot) and Toby (Kayo Dot). We have just finished a new record called Rest. It was written through email and then recorded over a period of 8 months or so in NYC. The record will be released in May on Kora Records in North America and Own Records in Europe.

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