The Josh Davis Band came to the conclusion a change was needed.

The lineup was swapped, the record label was dropped and they adopted a new name — Bright Giant.

The group recorded its first EP in the exotic Jamaica, Iowa, at Sound Farm Studio & Recording Environment, grabbing Brandon Darner and Matthew Natera, of The Envy Corps, and Matt Sepanic to help produce the new project.

Bright Giant left Authentic Records and its management in April 2009 realizing it wasn’t right anymore. Soon after, it saw the band was thoroughly changing.

“We are definitely a new band,” said Josh Davis, member of Bright Giant. “With new members and what felt like an actual direction for once, we left the JDB behind and moved on to Bright Giant. A bar owner in Tulsa that has always been really good to us told me that our set didn’t sound as confused as it used to.”

Davis said the old material switched around through genres too much.

Bright Giant will take on several EP release shows over the weekend — Omaha on Thursday, Nov. 12, Ames on Friday, Nov. 13 at Headliner’s, 2430 Lincoln Way, and two shows in Des Moines on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Besides the actual Bright Giant band members, nearly all the members from The Envy Corps, Lincoln Rockhouse and many others contributed to the EP.

Darner and Natera have worked on several albums including Cashes Rivers and Radio Moscow.

“I enjoy helping out other locals and helping the local scene,” Darner said.

“[The Josh Davis Band] wanted to change [its] sound,” Darner said. He still tries to pay attention to other local bands and said, “I’m lucky to get to work with them.”

Davis said Darner was a help in the Bright Giant’s recreation.

“Brandon really helped us to focus on [a direction], too, and it really has made us a tighter band,” Davis said. “Of course that bartender in Tulsa may have just meant we weren’t as drunk as we used to be.”

Bright Giant

When: 10 p.m. Friday

Where: Headliner’s, 2430 Lincoln Way

Ages 21 and over