Biography
Earwig came together as underground indie rock heroes when singer/guitarist Lizard McGee launched the group in Columbus, Ohio, during the early 1990s. Bassist Jeff Perkins and drummer Chuck Palmer soon joined the founding member, and the resulting trio recorded the five-song EP Dead Slow Hoot in 1992. That release introduced the band’s melodic yet complex indie rock sound along with McGee’s heart-on-sleeve lyrical approach, and it became the inaugural title on their own independent label, LFM Records, which later issued the debut album Mayfeeder in 1994.
By 1996 the trio appeared poised for wider recognition as national attention focused on both the band and the Columbus music community at large. Several years and multiple personnel changes still lay ahead before a follow-up arrived. McGee, now joined by drummer Justin Crooks and bassist Rich Cefalo, issued Perfect Past Tense in late 1999. Shortly afterward he relocated from the Midwest to California, established himself in the Bay Area, and issued a broader edition of Perfect Past Tense in 2000. He began performing as a duo with drummer Raj Kapololu and also undertook several solo tours still billed under the Earwig name.
The lineup kept shifting while McGee remained the constant leader, and in 2006 the band released Center of the Earth, which included “Used Kids,” one of numerous tracks McGee composed after dreaming them. For the 2010 album Gibson Under Mountain he restricted the track list exclusively to songs drawn from dreams. In the early 2000s longtime drummer Justin Crooks departed, with George Hondroulis taking the drum chair and his brother Costa Hondroulis joining on bass. Alongside these siblings and new member James McGee-Moore, McGee started tracking what became the band’s fifth studio album in 2013. When George Hondroulis exited to tour with Lydia Loveless, drummer Nicholas Nocera entered the fold, rounding out the revised quartet that completed 2016’s Pause for the Jets.
By 1996 the trio appeared poised for wider recognition as national attention focused on both the band and the Columbus music community at large. Several years and multiple personnel changes still lay ahead before a follow-up arrived. McGee, now joined by drummer Justin Crooks and bassist Rich Cefalo, issued Perfect Past Tense in late 1999. Shortly afterward he relocated from the Midwest to California, established himself in the Bay Area, and issued a broader edition of Perfect Past Tense in 2000. He began performing as a duo with drummer Raj Kapololu and also undertook several solo tours still billed under the Earwig name.
The lineup kept shifting while McGee remained the constant leader, and in 2006 the band released Center of the Earth, which included “Used Kids,” one of numerous tracks McGee composed after dreaming them. For the 2010 album Gibson Under Mountain he restricted the track list exclusively to songs drawn from dreams. In the early 2000s longtime drummer Justin Crooks departed, with George Hondroulis taking the drum chair and his brother Costa Hondroulis joining on bass. Alongside these siblings and new member James McGee-Moore, McGee started tracking what became the band’s fifth studio album in 2013. When George Hondroulis exited to tour with Lydia Loveless, drummer Nicholas Nocera entered the fold, rounding out the revised quartet that completed 2016’s Pause for the Jets.
Albums
