ROX talks to The Giraffes vocalist Aaron Lazar

 ROX Alive meets The Giraffe’s vocalist Aaron Lazar.

The Giraffes are a cult band from Brooklyn that plays a signature mixture of heavy rock, punk, metal, surf and whatever else they find interesting. Loud, agile, dangerous, funny, sick, complex and satisfying, the Giraffes have been thinking people’s hedonistic soundtrack of choice since 1996. 

Lead singer Aaron Lazar and guitar wizard Damien Paris form the core focus of the band, with support from the locomotive rhythm section of maniac drummer Andrew Totolos and the latest Giraffe Hannah Moorhead on bass. The band has just completed recording their 8th full length album “Cigarette”

The Giraffes have a well earned reputation for mayhem. Trouble has seemed to follow the band from day one. Guitarist Damien Paris was shot in the leg outside of a White Castle late one night in Brooklyn by an off-duty fire marshal. The bullet is still lodged in his knee. Singer Aaron Lazar has suffered multiple Sudden Cardiac Death events. He has a defibrillator implanted in his chest. During a show at Chicago’s legendary Double Door It sent 700 volts directly into his heart 3 times in 30 seconds (he finished the set).

The Giraffes’ live shows are characterized as dangerous affairs. Combining fierce musicality and unbridled audience participation Giraffes performances have generated an intense and extremely dedicated fan base that often travels great distances to attend. They have toured alongside acts such as Local-H, Eagles of Death Metal, The Vacation and Skeleton Key, sharing the stage with Interpol, Fishbone, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, the Strokes. And have played festivals like Amsterjam, Voodofest, Monolith, SXSW, and Bonnaroo, SXSW, CMJ, Northside and more. Giraffes music can be found in video games like Guitar Hero and heard in movies like the 2017 Sundance Festival winner “I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore” and the Forthcoming Toxic Avenger remake by famed indie auteur Macon Blair. 

The Giraffes were formed in 1996 by Damien Paris, Andrew Totolos, and bassist Tim Kent. The band cut its teeth playing in the NYC underground with contemporaries the Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and Interpol and more. In 1998, they released their debut album FRANKSQUILT, however it was not until singer Aaron Lazar joined in 2000 that the band found its true shape.

HELPING YOU HELP YOURSELF, released in 2002, is a raw testament to the explosive energy of the foursome, blending Paris's ferocious riffage with the bellowing croons of Lazar's tongue in cheek lyrics. It marked a period of activity where the band would stake its claim as the most unbridled and fun-loving Brooklyn live act. 2002 also saw the departure of Kent from the band and introduced John Rosenthal on bass. With Rosenthal, the band started touring nationally and released four studio albums in rapid succession. Starting with the spaghetti western E.P.: A GENTLEMAN NEVER TELLS in 2003, the band quickly signed to Razor and Tie records releasing their self-titled album THE GIRAFFES in 2005. Unfortunately, the record deal stalled as leadership at the label was in flux.  In response the band quickly wrote and recorded a second E.P. PRETTY IN PUKE and 2007 was busier than ever. A formal exit from their contract allowed the band self-release the thunderous PRIME MOTIVATOR in 2008, touring extensively and growing their fan base nationally. By the end of 2008, Rosenthal had left the band and was replaced by Jens Carstensen on bass. More touring followed and 2009 saw the band release a live concert album and DVD combo entitled THE GIRAFFES: SHOW on Crustacean Records. Filmed at the Brooklyn institution Union Pool it also contains extensive interviews with the band and their cohort from this period. The following release, an epic concept album titled: RULED (2010) proved to be Lazars' swan song as the road took its toll and band members began to explore other projects. Lazar played his ‘final’ show with the Giraffes in February of 2011 declaring: “If we don't make it big by the end of this show, I’m fucking quitting.”

The Giraffes operated without Lazar by releasing an album of rarities and B-Sides: FAREWELL FAT ASTRONAUT (2012) and later the eclectic TALES OF THE BLACK WHISTLE (2013), which featured the vocal talents of Brianna Wanlass and Kimberly Paige Valor.

2014 brought reunion concerts with Lazar back at the helm of the band. Sold-out shows in Brooklyn and Denver reunited fans from across the continent and, bolstered by their support, the Giraffes began developing new material. Carstensen left the band in 2014 and was replaced with Candy Darlings and Beauty Supply alum Josh Taggart on bass. In 2015 the newly reconstituted band released its sixth full-length on Silver Sleeve Records entitled USURY to critical acclaim following it up with a handful of shows across North America. 

2019 saw a new record FLOWER OF THE COSMOS nd a new lineup as bassist Joshua Taggart was replaced by the formidable Hannah Moorhead (Netherlands / Twenty Two’s) on bass guitar. FotC gained mythic status among the giraffe faithful containing several favorites including the  angular and tumbling Fill up Glass which was remixed by the backpack rap and longtime friend Blockhead. Another remix sees the song Bubblescum reinterpreted by Adam Franklin of Swervedriver into something less rock and roll and more atmospheric and shoegaze. 

2024 marks a transition to a new era of the band with Moorhead anchoring the bass position and contributing more in songwriting and backup vocal duties. The Giraffes have completed their 8th studio full length titled CIGARETTE which was recorded in their own studio and mixed at several locations including the legendary Studio G in Brooklyn. With the line up no longer in flux and the band members settling comfortably into the role of grizzled lifers of the Brooklyn scene the focus is now being placed squarely on songwriting. CIGARETTE is full of surprises and takes new risks in subject matter and composition all while maintaining the intensity and dexterity fans know and love.

Bio taken from their website 

Let’s get to know each other shall we? First off, who is currently in the band?

Damien Paris - guitar

Andrew Totolos - drums 

Hannah Moorhead - bass 

Aaron Lazar - vocals 

How would you describe your music?

I have taken to calling something like "Dirtbag Prog" or "Hessian Surf" - we used to call it "Sex Metal". It's all goofy little non-sequitur things like that. Essentially bullshit. Genres are kinda stupid to us. We exist at the intersection of about fifteen different genres so it's hard to sum it up in a quick little soundbite. Obviously someone out there will come up with something better. Maybe you can?

What are your musical influences and songwriting inspirations?

Our influences run a wide gamut. Heavy stuff - Earthless, Sabbath, Dick Dale, QotSA, Iggy, Ziggy, Biggie, Erkin Koray, Helmut, Jesus Lizard, Minute Men, Nick Lowe, Bill Moss, Underworld, Cure, all sorts of stuff. Our instrumentation is a filter through which we gather a bunch of disparate melodies and rhythmic stuff and it comes out as some form of "rock n roll".  

 

When did you form The Giraffes?

Damien and Drew started playing together as the Giraffes in 1996. I joined in 2000 I think?

Were any of you in bands before?

Damien was in the Tarts, Mimi Ott, Paul Banks, War Tortoise, he also does weird toy instrument / electronic recordings under the name Dodo, he is also playing in the new death jazz band called Last Meal, he contributed guitar to the Toxic Avenger remake score and soundtrack, Blockhead, Baby Dayliner and more.

Drew was in Vasdeferens, War Tortoise, Tarts, Fumes, Friends of Entropy, Skumbl, Ass Crack Dracula, Ministers of Hell, Mutorcs, Rocket Fuel, Stale, The Invincible Unthinkables, The Controls, Subtech, Joberg & Gurner. 

Hannah was in the Twenty Twos, Battershell, the Netherlands, Louis Schefano and more. She is a performer, writer and co-producer on an upcoming record by Scott McCloud.

I (Aaron) was in art school... I wanted to be an "artist" until I met these guys. Since the giraffes opened up my music brain I have recorded solo under my name as well as Rumanian Buck, and D'NT (pronounced Don't) 

You’ve gone through a few lineup changes over the years. How has that developed your sound to the band we hear now?

The Giraffes have always functioned more or less democratically which means that any member can veto an idea, which can sometimes be very frustrating. On the plus side though it diversifies our sound. A lot.  Every member has brought a different feel and flavor to the songs and the songwriting process. Hannah is our most recent member and she has been bringing a professionalism and care to song writing that is super refreshing - she services the song 100% of the time, every time. This has allowed us to develop our ideas further and in a much better way that is taking us to new dimensions. Sometimes she will completely recompose things also, forcing an inversion of how we typically function. We are at our song writing best right now. 

Generally the process goes like this:

1. Damien writes a magnum opus that's very beautiful, complicated and long. 

2. He brings it to Drew who learns and accents the whole thing. 

3. Hannah gets her hands on it and starts accenting and supporting and sometimes completely changing and recomposing the thing.

4. They bring it to me who chops it up without mercy, pity or sentiment (I am hated for this). If I do a good job they like it enough to start playing it more. 

5. We record it and then that starts a round of reinterpretation all over again. 

6. We play it live and it starts to change again. I feel confident that our versions of older songs that we play now are far superior and quite distinct from the versions we recorded years ago - but what do I know?  

You’ve got quite a reputation on the live circuit too. You’ve certainly earned your stripes. What do you love most about playing in front of an audience.?

We do not perform for an audience, we perform with an audience. The audience has a huge impact on every performance so I strive to involve the audience in every possible way I can manage while still serving the music. Sometimes that means crawling on people. Sometimes that means feeding people drinks. Sometimes that means leading a sing along. Sometimes that means sitting down for a chat. Sometimes that means burning a flag. Results may vary. There is a rather infamous story where I was defibbed on stage and finished the set. We can save that for another time though. 

You’ve just released two single - “The Shot' and 'Pipes". Tell us about them.

The Shot was the first single off of the new record. It's a slinky epic of sorts. Starting in a spaghetti western sort of place and travelling through a huge prog rock wormhole on its way back to contextualize the intro and load the listener up with as much groove, sex and doubt as possible.  It's about the massive inferiority complex that gen X is shouldered with and the seemingly impossible climb it has become to achieve the american dream and through that self actualization. No wonder we are a depressive lot. 

Pipes is an angry protest song about the state of our water here in the USA which is one of the real things that our complete lack of any political power has left us with. We've been sold out by everyone with a title and left to grow sicker, weaker, stupider and angrier. It's a very angular and driving song - almost hardcore with a big psychedelic freak out in the middle. I did the video at home with a plug and play scope attachment for my phone, very old pipes, a healthy dose of pent up rage  and what the good lord gave me. 

What can you share about your upcoming album “Cigarette “. What can people expect to hear on this record?

Cigarette is the culmination of our new songwriting process with Hannah so it's like previous Giraffes records but a little more so. Stylistically it runs the gamut from punishing punk or hardcore noise to a 9 part vocal harmony on top of acoustic guitars and synth pads. The subject matter is what I have been going through in my life since our last record - which includes the pandemic and post pandemic world, having growing, fierce, feral children. Watching the American empire transition from nominal feel-good democracy to mask-off fascist oligarchy. You will dance. You will head bang. You will waltz. You will sing along. You will try and figure out a chord that makes no sense. You will go places. 

 

Has a change in crew and being recorded at Studio G changed your music from your previous album “Flower of the Cosmos “?

It has allowed us to be more experimental in our songwriting. We are doing principal recording in our own studio now and we then bring the tracks into G (or elsewhere) to mix. That way we can get thye sheens and tones we like but we dont have to be so programmatic about what constitutes the songs and the song structures. 

What were the inspirations for the new album and why the title?

The title "Cigarette" sort of sums up the feel. It's a terrible horrible bad drug that is of an older age where people were less aware and less careful but still it's fucking deliciously sexy. 

What’s your plans for gigs?

We are releasing the record on september 28th at TV Eye here in NYC. Get there- it will be spectacular. We are aiming to play the entire record once. This is a sort of tradition for us. Usually we play the entire record only once - then choose the party anthems for future shows - so if you find yourself loving songs like The Shot - this may be your only chance to hear it played live as Xenu intended. 

Do you have any embarrassing tales from the road?

I could fill your entire blog with embarrassing stories. There was the time Damien got angry and went on a rage-induced skinny dip in a pig farm runoff river in Ohio at 3 am. There was the time we slept through a riot at a gas station in Minnesota. There was the time we were stranded on the navajo reservation without heat or a bed and just slept on the concrete floor of a half finished motel in 20 degree cold. There was the time we left our bassist in the van in Florida and thought he cooked. There was the time in LA when Damien soloed with his penis and was ejected from the venue. There was the time in Chicago when I poured a bunch of whiskey on underage kids and was ejected. There was the time where we went to a rooftop after party in DC and someone who I believe to be Stephen Miller was doing coke out of a shoe box. There was the time Jens soloed in the ladies room of a pizza restaurant in Visalia. There was the first time we were denied at the Canadian border. There was the second time we were denied and threatened with arrest at the Canadian border because Damien tried to say he "knew a guy named.... Tom?" who worked there. There was the time I passed out after drinking too much on the set of a super conrey TV show. There was the time we had to talk our way of getting arrested by pretending to be a christian rock band in Georgia. There was the time we got into a meat fight with the owner of the bar in Des Moines after the show closed. There was the time Damien got shot. There was the time Damien was convicted of a felony for getting shot. There was the time I was attacked on stage by a guy on acid. There was the time I lit a flag on fire on a boat and received death threats. There was the time I was kicked off of another boat for the story of lighting a flag on fire. There was the time that Lady Gaga opened up for us and no one remembered it happening at all. There was the time I was sprayed with sardines, spotted dick pudding, cherry pie filling and taco meat. There was the time I had a hot glass of piss splashed in my face while in the crowd. There was the time (shortly after that) when I quit the band. There was the time when I looked over at the bar and found myself drinking with metallica? There was the time our lawyer did 'substances' in the plane bathroom and almost got the flight diverted. There was that line that could've been coke or could've been ketamine... jury is still out. 

Pick 5 songs that are always on your devices to play 

for me lets go with the below (though it will change in ten minutes):

1. Bolero -Maurice Ravel

2. Computers - Clown Core 

3. Kingdoms (G) - Sunn O)))

4. Legacy of Ashes - Tim Weiner

5. I Don't Need Anyone - Hamilton Leithauser

Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans out there?

Hi. You're beautiful. Buy our shit so we can retire. 

 Are you? Of course you are! And so you should!
Get on over to their website then!