Draft:The Heavy Eyes

The Heavy Eyes are a heavy psychedelic blues rock band founded in Memphis, Tennessee. Forming in 2010, this quartet (previously a trio) perform a mix of heavy blues, stoner rock, and modern rock, drawing inspiration from 1970's, 1990's and many modern acts.

History
Since forming The Heavy Eyes have released four studio albums, two of which with German label Kozmik Artifactz. Along with the albums the band has released several EPs, splits, digital singles and a live album. The band's name was conceived by Tripp Shumake after reading a couple different books that made allusions to a giant set of eyes in the sky watching over the actions of the different characters, most notably The Great Gatsby and Moon Palace. He thought it was an interesting literary concept and couldn’t get it out of his head. The band was also formed while all three members were working multiple jobs to make due and noted tired baggy eyes from friends and vice-versa.

The Heavy Eyes would form in 2010, initially as a four-piece jam band known as Indian Sweat Lodge but opted to change their name once the band's song structure started developing more and drifting away from freeform jamming, along with the passing of the original drummer and one of the guitarists resigning. The band would be founded by Tripp Shumake, Wally Anderson and Eric Garcia. The band's earliest known show on 8 October 2010.Following release of an EP entitled 1 and an eponymous demo, the eponymous The Heavy Eyes would see release on 22 August 2011 to positive reception as the band would gain more of a following in the Memphis scene.

The Heavy Eyes would sign with German label Kozmik Artifactz, who would issue the first album on vinyl. The band would begin work on a follow-up, with Maera seeing release on 29 December 2012 (and later on Vinyl in March 2013) to positive reception from the likes of Blues Rock Review, Guitar Ingenuity, Rock Freaks and The Sleeping Shaman among others.

The Heavy Eyes would perform several marquee shows to support both albums, notably in 2014 appearing at SXSW and Freak Valley Festival. The respective members of the band would move to different parts of the United States but would still maintain work on a third studio album. He Dreams of Lions would see on 27 November 2015 via Kozmik Artifactz, attaining positive reception from the likes of Echoes and Dust, Metal Temple, Blues Rock Review, Ghost Cult Magazine and New Noise Magazine to name a few.

Notably along with performing at several festivals to support the album including appearances at Electric Funeral Fest, Monolith on The Mesa, Okanagan Tattoo Festival and Planet Desert Rock Weekend. Notably the band's longtime engineer Matt Qualls would join the band as a second guitarist. In 2018 the band would unveil a live track entitled Home and a live album entitled Live in Memphis. The band had largely taken a hiatus due to living in different cities but would begin work on a fourth album in 2019, announcing details on it circa January 2020.

Love Like Machines would see release via Kozmik Artifactz on 27 March 2020 to critical acclaim the likes of Blues Rock Review, Under The Radar Magazine, Distorted Sound Magazine and The Obelisk. The band were intended to appear at various festivals such as Stoned and Dusted, Keep it Low and Up in Smoke but plans would be halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band would begin work on new material in the summer of 2020.

Studio Albums

 * The Heavy Eyes (2011, Self-Released; 2012, Kozmik Artifactz)
 * Maera (2012, Self-Released; 2013, Kozmik Artifactz)
 * He Dreams of Lions (2015, Kozmik Artifactz)
 * Love Like Machines (2020, Kozmik Artifactz)

Other Releases

 * 1 (EP) (2010, Self-Released)
 * The Heavy Eyes (Demo) (2011, Self-Released)
 * 2 (EP) (2012, Self-Released)
 * Maera (Single) (2012, Kozmik Artifactz)
 * Live Split (Split with All Them Witches) (2013, Soul Patch Records)
 * One Hand On The Buffalo (Digital Single) (2013, Kozmik Artifactz)
 * Heavy Eyes / Werwulf (Split with Werwulf) (2014, Soul Patch Records)
 * Long Hot Summer Night [Redux] (Digital Single) (2016, Self-Released)
 * Home (Digital Single) (2018, Self-Released)
 * Live in Memphis (Live Album) (2018, Kozmik Artifactz)

Members

 * Tripp Shumake - Guitar, Vocals (2010 - Present)
 * Wally Anderson - Bass (2010 - Present)
 * Eric Garcia - Drums (2010 - Present)
 * Matt Qualls - Guitar, Vocals (2016 - Present)