House of Large Sizes

Biography

House of Large Sizes is an alternative/punk rock band from Cedar Falls, Iowa. The current band members are guitarist/vocalist Dave Deibler, bassist/vocalist Barb Schlif and drummer/vocalist Brent Hanson. A number of different drummers have been in the band over the years, but Hanson has been in the band for over a decade. The band released their first recordings in 1987 and officially broke up December 20, 2003, though they played a few "reunion" shows in the Midwest in December 2007 and summer...

House of Large Sizes is an alternative/punk rock band from Cedar Falls, Iowa. The current band members are guitarist/vocalist Dave Deibler, bassist/vocalist Barb Schlif and drummer/vocalist Brent Hanson. A number of different drummers have been in the band over the years, but Hanson has been in the band for over a decade. The band released their first recordings in 1987 and officially broke up December 20, 2003, though they played a few "reunion" shows in the Midwest in December 2007 and summer 2009. Deibler and Schlif are married and have been the two consistent members of this power trio. Deibler is the band's primary songwriter.

House of Large Sizes, often abbreviated HOLS, plays a unique style of rock with a driving beat, lots of rhythmic changes, unexpected rests and false endings. Although their music was unusual it drew on common influences--punk rock, funk and heavy metal. Punk shows itself in the short length of many HOLS songs. The gut-level emotional energy of the music (largely attributable to Deibler's voice and guitar style) and the band's DIY ethic also show their punk roots. Deviating from the DIY standard, HOLS released one album, "My Ass Kicking Life," on Red Decibel/Columbia in 1993. Primarily, they have worked with small labels like WAR (What Are Records?) and Toxic Shock or released recordings on their own.

Funk can be heard in Schlif's bass playing and the throbbing, danceable rhythms of the music. Heavy metal elements are present in some of Deibler's powerful guitar technique and the short musical phrases the songs are constructed from.

Deibler and Schlif have continued to make and record music together since HOLS officially disbanded in 2003. The couple still live and are raising their children in northeastern Iowa. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.