Greater California

Long Beach, CA, quintet Greater California combines the psychedelic sounds of Odessey & Oracle-era Zombies with the late-night atmospherics of contemporaries like Society of Rockets and Low. Formed in the summer of 2000, the band consists of multi-instrumentalists Terry Prine, Nick Benich, Chris Berens, Kari Prine, and Paul Sakry. Their first album, 2002's Little Pacific, debuted in the CMJ Top 200, resulting in much critical adulation and a string of tour dates with notable bands including the Kingsbury Manx, Jesse Sykes, and Calexico. The warm and melancholic Somber Wurlitzer, recorded between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. with an emphasis on their recently acquired piano of the same name, followed in March 2005. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi