Toiling Midgets

Toiling Midgets was formed in 1979 by drummer Tim Mooney, of The Sleepers and Negative Trend, and guitarist Craig Gray also of the local San Francisco band Negative Trend, guitarist Paul Hood from Seattle's punk bands Meyce and The Enemy, and bassist Nosmo King (aka Johnathan Henrickson). Initially an instrumental band, they added former Sleepers and Flipper singer Ricky Williams to its lineup in 1980. The album was described by Jordan N. Mamone in CMJ New Music Report as a "junkie-rock monument...beautiful, yet horribly-sick stuff". The album was included in Andrew Earles' 2014 book Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Williams and King left the band, with Aaron Gregory (bass, ex-Maggots) and Annie Ungar (guitar, ex-Gun Club) joining, this formation recording the instrumental Dead Beats album, released on Joe Carducci's Thermidor label in 1985. The new group released the album SON on Matador Records in June 1991, by which time Eitzel had left the band. In 2013 Ektro Records released a live album Toiling Midgets Live at the Waldorf 1982. Tom Mallon died in January 2014 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ektro Records put out the career retrospective double LP A Smaller Life in 2015 and an accompanying cassette A Smaller Tape in 2017. In 2019 the Midgets toured Europe with Simon Bell on bass and vocals along with of on drums. In Sept of 2019 the LP Sea of Tranquility was released on Green Monkey Records. Simon quit the band just after the LP release and was replaced by Kevin Kuhn from the band Die Nerven. The Toiling Midgets released a new EP in Summer 2022 and toured the West coast of the US. In 2023 a full length LP record will be released by the Clouds Hill label, including special guest musicians Chris Eckman (The Walkabouts), Kevin Kuhn (Die Nerven), Zar Monta Cola (Jumbo Jet) and Chris Cacavas (Green On Red, The Dream Syndicate) and Eugene Robinson (Oxbow) and more is scheduled for 2023, along with aEuropean tour. Their latest line-up consists of 4 people living in 6 countries: a Czech singer and clarinet player from London, a German drummer from Thessaloniki, Greece who joined the two original members, Craig Gray from Vancouver, Canada and Paul Hood from Seattle, USA. In 2023 they changed their name to Lazy Giants. ==Members==

Current • Craig Gray - guitar, vocals • Paul Hood - guitar, vocals • Daniel Benyamin - drums, vocals • Daniel Cerny - vocals, clarinet, electronics, bass Former • Tony Sales - drums • Mark Sullivan - keyboards • Erich Werner - bass • Nosmo King - bass • Tim Mooney - drums (deceased) • Ricky Williams - vocals (deceased) • Aaron Gregory - bass (deceased) • Tom Mallon - drums (deceased) • Annie Ungar - guitar (deceased) • Mark Eitzel - vocals • Joe Goldring - bass • Joanna Hood - viola • David Ripley - vocals • Carla Fabrizio - cello on "Son" • Lisa Davis - bass on "Son" • Simon Bell - bass and vocals • Kevin Kuhn - bass and vocals == Discography ==

Albums ;Studio: • Sea of Unrest (1982), Instant/Rough Trade USA – re-released in 1994 on Fistpuppet Records • Dead Beats, (1985), Thermidor • Son (1992), Matador • Sea of Tranquility (2019) Green Monkey Records • Three Things (2022) ;Compilations, demos, live, etc.: • Four Track Mind (A Retrospective Of Home Recordings, 1980-1983 (1983), Mogul Home Recording • 1982 vol. 1 (2012) • Live At The Old Waldorf, July 21, 1982 (2012), Full Contact • ''God's Man'' (2013), Toiling Midgets Media – a demo from 1989-90 recorded by Tom Mallon • 3rd Brain (2013) • Mark Has Left The Building! - Live at the IBeam SF 91 (2015) • Do the Incendiary: 1980 Demos (2015) • Deadbeats EP (2015) • A Smaller Life (2015) • A Smaller Tape (2017), Ruton Music Singles • "Golden Frog" 7" (1991), Matador • "Faux Pony" (1992), Hut • "Sticky Sun" (2023) Clouds Hill • "She is the Rain" (2023) Clouds Hill ==References==