The U.S. supergroup, featuring members of Alice In Chains (William DuVall), Dillinger Escape Plan (Ben Weinman), Mastodon (Brent Hinds), Dethklok (Pete Griffin) and The Mars Volta (Thomas Pridgen) have come together to form the long necked and hard rockin’; Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.
The band’s debut album, Broken Lines, will be released on 23 September 2016 via Party Smasher Inc/Cooking Vinyl. Broken Lines is available now for pre-order at iTunes. Brent Hinds explains the meaning behind their somewhat strange name: “During the time Mastadon was there (Australia) for Soundwave, I was at the zoo in Sydney, and was checking out the giraffes. They are amazing animals – one just grabbed a bunch of bananas from my hand with its tongue and peeled them with it as well – by the time the bananas got to its mouth, they were ready to be eaten. I saw Ben (Weinman) who was at Soundwave too and said ‘Man I think I found the name for our band,’ and told him the story.” Ben adds “That giraffe made it happen… like us, he figured it out.”
“Brent, William, and myself have all been friends for a long time,” says Weinman. “Finishing the GTO record with William completes the puzzle. He is a man of diverse talents, and this band gives him the opportunity to spread his wings.” Previously rumoured to be fronting the band, Juliette Lewis contributed backing vocals to several tracks. Also appearing on two tracks is Jon Theodore from Queens of the Stone Age.
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra will make their live debut at Reading and Leeds in the UK and will play a number of dates in the US toward the end of 2016. Each member will be on tour with his ‘other band’ throughout the summer and fall – with Alice In Chains hitting the road alongside Guns N Roses and headlining in North America through October, Dillinger Escape Plan playing dates in August throughout the US, and Mastadon performing abroad this summer.
