Grails

Grails is an American instrumental rock band from Portland, Oregon. Initially going by the name "Laurel Canyon", guitarist Alex Hall, drummer Emil Amos (also of 'Holy Sons') and second guitarist Paul Spitz garnered positive reactions following their first show, played on a whim. Portland musicians Timothy Horner (violin) and Bill Slater (piano/bass) later joined the group to record their first EP. The band then released two self-financed EPs in 2000 and 2001. Paul Spitz left the US to travel in Turkey and Zak Riles joined as guitarist, often playing more of an acoustic role. In 2002 Hall sent a promotion CD to Neurot Recordings who were convinced of the band's potential. In 2003,just before the release of their first full-length album, the band changed its name to Grails. They adopted a louder, more aggressive style, often switching instruments with each member writing songs that saw them branching out to increasingly disparate styles. By the time the Black Tar Prophecies series was released Timothy Horner left and the band carried on with only 4 players. The group often picks up an extra musician for tours, allowing Amos to switch between guitar and drums and expanding the live instrumentation. Recently, Randall Dunn and Dave Abramson have joined the group live.

In their early years, Grails only toured Europe but have switched to focusing on the East Coast of the United States in the last few years. Despite living in Portland, the band rarely plays live shows in their hometown. The various members stay busy with several different projects. Hall has played guitar with Steve Von Till of Neurosis in Von Till's project Harvestman , Amos has played drums with Jandek, produced for Yellow Swans and releases solo records under the name 'Holy Sons', and Riles has toured as 2nd guitarist for M. Ward. Wikipedia