Two Gallants (band)

Two Gallants
Two Gallants performing in Paris, 2007
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Indie rock Lo-fi Folk rock Blues rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Saddle Creek Alive Records ATO Records MapleMusic Recordings (Canada)
Website	Two Gallants
Members	Adam Stephens Tyson Vogel

Two Gallants are a guitar/drum duo from San Francisco, California. Consisting of Adam Stephens (guitar, harmonica, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Tyson Vogel (drums, guitar, vocals), the band formed in 2002. Two Gallants are often described as punk and blues-infused folk rock, with the band's sound developing deeper into rock and roll on later releases. The band has released five studio albums, two EPs, and several singles since 2004 as well as touring extensively.

Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel became friends while growing up in San Francisco, meeting first at the age of five and becoming friends when they were twelve years old. Each had received a guitar around the same time, and the two soon began making music together. Initially covering heavy metal bands and the exploding grunge sound of the 1990s, the two discovered blues music independent of each other when they were around eighteen. The blues would make a lasting impression on them and their desire to make music.

Stephens and Vogel played various instruments in various bands both together and separately throughout high school, but parted ways after graduation, with Vogel attending art school in Portland, Oregon. Around 2002, when they were about twenty-one, the pair decided to just make music together, plugging Stephens' guitar into Vogel's bass amp in order to play bass lines with melodies. The name Two Gallants was chosen after a short story of the same name from James Joyce's Dubliners, as both were reading the book at the time and the name "seemed obvious". With Stephens on guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals and Vogel on drums and vocals, Two Gallants began playing house shows around the Bay area and busking outside BART subway stations, particularly the stop at 16th and Mission.

Two Gallants released their debut album, The Throes, on Alive Records in the summer of 2004. Recorded in only nine days,The Throes was a critical success, with Pitchfork's Jonathan Zwickel calling the album "an electric, unforgettable listen," saying further, "Suffering only in its somewhat understated production, The Throes could be considered a masterpiece of new American roots music. It's a heavy emotional investment, a struggle of the most fulfilling kind," and giving it a rating of 8.5 out of 10.The Throes showcases Stephen's songwriting style, writing lyrics with influence from the blues. Songs on this and future albums would touch on social and personal issues such as domestic violence, suicide, abandonment, alcoholism, and references to fables of the Old West and antebellum South. The band released a 7" vinyl single, "I'm Her Man", and expanded touring to support The Throes.