"Under the Influence of Giants" (sometimes abbreviated UTIOG) is a musical group from Los Angeles, California. Aaron Bruno and Drew Stewart formed a band called Home Town Hero and signed to the now defunct Maverick Records from 2002-2004. In 2004, after several member changes and label woes, the band went on hiatus. Around this time, Bruno and Stewart reconnected with childhood friend and former Audiovent drummer Jamin Wilcox and began to play music together. All three had experienced turmoil with major record labels and wanted to create music on their own terms.

While the band was still called HomeTown Hero at this point, they felt the evolution of the music did not fit the name so they dropped the name. The band continued under the name "Under the Influence of Giants", a name meant to reflect of their continuous struggle to operate free of authority.

They recruited keyboardist Katie Logan and bassist David Amezuca and began to play shows in the Los Angeles area in mid-2005. In 2006 Katie Logan decided to amicably leave the band and created the duo Katie and Katie with a friend.