Under The Influence Of Giants

Southern California in the early 2000s gave rise to Under the Influence of Giants, whose members drew inspiration from acts such as the Beatles, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, the Bee Gees, and Prince. Early praise arrived for the ensemble’s fluid fusion of rock and pop laced with funk grooves, particularly once the debut single “Mama’s Room” surfaced in mid-2006. Vocalist Aaron Bruno and guitarist Drew Stewart had composed material together since high school, though their first public recognition came as members of the Maverick Records rock band Home Town Hero. Drummer/keyboardist Jamin Wilcox, son of Hall & Oates/Utopia’s John “Willie” Wilcox and a former member of Atlantic Records act Audiovent, joined next and supplied the missing ingredient that crystallized the group’s hook-laden pop-soul identity. Bassist David Amezcua rounded out the quartet, after which the musicians tracked the Heaven Is Full EP. They circulated the recordings via the internet and live performances while leveraging the social-networking platform MySpace to expand their audience. The majority of that EP reappeared on the band’s first full-length album, both projects produced by Blind Melon’s Brad Smith and Christopher Thorn. A short seven-city tour alongside Mute Math took place in spring 2006, and the self-titled Island debut arrived that August.