Gerty

about

Gerty was an indie-rock three-piece from Baltimore, MD, came together in 1996. Guitarist David Koslowski had grown tired of playing with Liquid Bike while his girlfriend Shirle Hale had taken a break from playing bass for the riot grrl act, Womyn of Destruction. Hale had done some recording on her own, and luckily Koslowski found the tape. He was so impressed by the emotional depth of these tracks, he encouraged Hale to call upon their old friend Miyuki Furtado. Furtado knew Hale from their days of playing in Jag. In mid-1996, the trio was in the studio recording seven new tracks. Hale tagged the project Gerty after the name of her moped, but the name goes back to Hale's undying love for Gertrude Stein. Gerty braced themselves for their debut release in fall 1996. The Raggedy Aneurysm EP appeared on Merkin and Gerty's solid, indie-pop sound was in full effect. Their studio full-length Carload of Scenic Efforts was released the following year. Gerty hit the road in support of the record. While touring the Southeast, Gerty made a decision. They had fallen in love with the countryside of Chapel Hill, NC and considered making a move. The music scene was also thriving and that gave the band an extra push to uproot their Baltimore foundation. In spring 1998, Gerty permanently planted themselves down South. Furtado wasn't around for long, for he had fallen in love and moved to NYC with his girlfriend. Gerty was supportive of Furtado's change, but opted to keep Gerty going. Furtado