Wood began as an idea among three high school friends, Lance West (guitar/vocals), Gary Niederhoff (bass/keys), and Phil Romero (drums). The idea was music that builds bridges rather than walls, which could unite humans of all backgrounds. That idea became sound in Phil's garage in November of 1991, and the sound was a mix of passion and angst. It started in the early 90's as jazz/doom fusion, heavily inspired by 70's riffy rock and roll, progressive rock, and jazz fusion with a side of funk. The first recordings were made in 1993 and released on a cassette entitled 'Citizen'. After another recording in 1994, the band changed its name to Livestock and released a few of the new recordings on another cassette called "Stoic." In 1996, the trio recorded another batch of songs, some of which appeared on a self-titled cassette, and one of which featured friend Benito Cortez on violin. There were approximately 50 tapes made for each of the three projects, which were sold at shows across the South Bay over those years. After various distractions sidelined the band, it came to a screeching halt. Jobs, health issues, and other projects took over.
With Phil living in Europe in the 2000's, Lance and Gary started a new project called Human Anomaly. After countless failed drummer auditions, Gary decided to pick up the sticks and play drums. The duo got back into the studio in 2007 and put out a CDEP called "Blind Juggler" on Life is Abuse Records. The recording served as a demo to prospective drummers and eventually brought drummer Bil Bowman into the fold. Soon after, Hank Chang joined on keyboards and the band hit the stage again before Bil departed and new drummer Nick Pack joined. This lineup played one show and recorded five songs at Gary's house in 2008 before the project fell apart.
In 2010, Phil returned and the original trio played some gigs in 2011 as Human Anomaly, performing material from the Blind Juggler EP. Other projects again took over, but the band managed to meet and jam at least once a year before deciding to reform for real in 2016. The idea was the same, but half a lifetime later, it emerged more polished and palatable. Slowly but surely, a set was formed, a gig was played, and in late 2019 the band entered the studio together for the first time in 23 years.
The band is proud and excited to present "Fly," thankfully not on cassette. All 7 songs are available for your enjoyment right here. Thanks for listening!