The Purrs

There is no better feeling that the first tantalising taste of a new album of a band you’re already a pretty committed fan of. In this instance ‘She’s Got Chemicals’ by a band seemingly constantly on the cusp – The Purrs. The band are to release their second album The Chemistry That Keeps us Together in November following on from the brooding chiming jangle of their debut The Dreams our Stuff is Made of . The Purrs have been kicking about Seattle for a good few years and could best be described as almost anti rock’n’roll. No attention seeking spiralling egos and wanton lusty displays of decadence and tell-all books about being knee-deep in willing groupies here, instead the band and their lyrics are endearingly self-depreciating. These are just regular guys who are wading their way forward as best they can through the world. At times they drink too much and love too little. They believe in their music and soldier on playing it through good shows and bad braving mile after mile in a trusty old van.

A recent show is the best example of the turbulent and magnetic ability to attract trouble that the band endures. The band were selected to play at Seafair - a huge annual event in their home town of Seattle featuring hydroplane boats, the Blue Angels and a huge captive audience. It was a prime opportunity for the band to be exposed to a large potential new audience. They were even escorted around in golf carts! All was looking rosy until mid way through their set the band and their audience is sledged by a crazed man dressed as a shining silver fish. ‘Fish Baits Man’ – a particularly pun-prudent editor may have written as a headline. The band resolved the situation by giving the perpretrator a few more ‘hits’ of their own, and not the type that are counted on a singles chart.

So who the devil are this Purrs lot them?

The band began in 2000 and have plugged away ever since, touring largely and regularly around the pacific northwest of America. Things really started happening for The Purrs when Seattle radio station KEXP got behind them. They’re not really the type to go about big noting the band, just letting their music speak for themselves. Their achingly honest tour diary tells of numerous thankless dates and countless criminally under-attended shows and nights that all seem to descend into drunken defeat. Entries such as 2000’s “The band played decently in front of 3 or 4 people. We got paid $20.
Then the band proceeded to get very drunk.”. By the next year the Purrs’ fortunes are best summed up with “At some point, telling you we got real drunk and played in front of nobody in our own home town is going to be pretty boring. If I told you that at least the people who worked at the bar liked us would that alleviate the monotony? I didn't think so.” or the sympathy endearing and wallowing observation of:

“By the time we were ready to play, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. In fact, there wasn't an eye in the house of any kind.
All the eyeballs were gone.
And they had taken their bodies with them.
We played a great show, to no one, yet again.
Don't stop kicking me down....”

The Purrs first recorded mark on the world was the informatively titled ‘4 Songs EP’ in 2002. The follow up was the ‘No Particular Bar, No Particular Town’ EP two years later and it reflected the transient, alcohol fuelled nature of the band and its members and their frequent if at sometimes fruitless touring.

The band pieced together the songs that would form their debut album in their home studio over six months at the end of ’04 and the start of ’05. The resulting album was the 13 track, 74 minute careening delight knows as The dreams our stuff is made of. It ranges from bleak, brooding epics to the cripplingly infectious sheen of Loose Talk. The lyrical themes throughout tell of the gritty reality of a life lead on the wrong side of privelidge and luck – ‘She’s Gone’, ‘Taste of Monday’, ‘Don’t stop kicking me down’, ‘I’m leaving Today’ all seemingly based on the many dreary days of some down-on their luck lads – yet with The Purrs, melancholy has never been so deliriously melodic. There is also that particular perverse humour and undefeatable, chipper spirit that dryly defies and observes the foibles of folly and failure. Their song writing process summed up with “Most of our songs are about drinking and playing music‚ pretty straightforward and hooky. That is what we do and what we know, so that’s what we sing about, right?” The band member’s lack of fanfare and their decidedly staid and unfashionable ambitions allow lifetimes of late-night listened timeless albums to seep into the music. Songs formed from a studied patience and a deep well of musical knowledge played with painstaking precision on a range of fastidiously acquired instruments.

While the music industry and media regularly copulate for each others mutual benefit, not everyone willing play the game. With the world increasingly interested in the bands music, its proponents remained refreshingly honest and grounded. Responding to interviews with “You can compare me to a tree if it makes people want to buy our record.” So with the media clamouring for tales of rock’n’roll debauchery and angles to base their story on the band stoically profers: “Our mentality isn’t conducive to wild stories.”

The Purrs became the toast of the ‘net, being featured artist of the week on MySpace and labelled ‘artists to watch’ by various magazines, blogs, radio stations and street press in the US. They made the odd promotional appearance and toured widely, by the end of 2005 they were supporting the likes of Okkervil River and filling venues. The band were initially very DIY, selling and shipping their album and other goods and shackles from their website. All the interest and buzz saw the band signed to Sarathan records who remastered and re-released the album with seven of the 13 songs coupled with two tracks from the previous EP. The new push saw the band gain further prominence with glowing reviews and wider-ranging tours. The band completed a nationwide tour of the US in late 2006 – the completion of which they celebrated by finally living like rock stars by staying in hotel rooms and eating at proper restaurants.

2007 was spent writing and recording songs for the impending album "The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together” set for release November 6.

www.thepurrs.com
www.myspace.com/thepurrs

In the mean time enjoy some excerpts from the ever-endearing purrs tour diary.


We pulled into the special reserved parking area right behind the stage.
As we got out of the van the stage manager guy comes over and handed us our paycheck for playing the show.
Mission Accomplished!....Everyone hopped back into the van and we prepared to leave.
It was only because Jason begged us not to, that we decided to stay and actually play the show.
He was always the one with a soft spot for honesty.


It was then we were informed that we would not be allowed to bring beer onto the stage with us.

As we prepared to leave, Jason once again appealed to our sense of decency, so we unloaded the van a second time and scurried off to get beer before we had to hit the stage. Jason rewarded us by letting us know he'd brought along some Maker's Mark in a hollowed out chamber in the back of his Jazzmaster.

2002

• After some trouble with the PA we played a short but rocking set ourselves, then proceeded to drink a lot.

• On the way down Jim got all excited because there is a tour bus factory located on the I-5 just past Portland. Jim gets excited every time he sees a tour bus because seeing the outside of a tour bus is as close as he will ever come to fulfilling his rock and roll dream.

• We seemed to get a good response from the crowd although we did not play as well as they could have. You see…we were drunk. The problem seems to be all the hanging around with nothing to do that happens before a band is supposed to play. Finding ways to pass that time is difficult and finding alcohol free ways is doubly so.

• There was almost no one there to see us. I guess there must have been something good on television or something.

• The sound quality was good (we think), the alcohol was good (we know) so I suppose the evening was a success.

• February 24 2002:Seattle, WA, USA Ballard Firehouse Tonight The Purrs played one of their best sounding shows to date and NOBODY saw it.

2003

• After our blazing set, Sara was wisked away to a waiting limo and rushed to the airport. By the time we were done drinking for the night, she was halfway to the Hawaiian "clinic" where she will be spending an unknown amount of time "recovering" from "exhaustion".

• The Purrs set a new record in box office receipts! 125 bucks!

• This was the first time we have attempted to give away some free passes to see us play. We emailed everyone on our email list and said that the first 2 people to email us back would get on the guest list. Surprise, Surprise...we had NO takers! None! Not One........

• We end up playing super early in front of absolutely no one. Then there is nothing to do except drink a hell of a lot.

• Tonight also marks the first time the Purrs have stayed in a hotel. Craig commemorated the event by swimming naked in the hotel pool at 4 a.m. and Jason started a fight in the hotel lounge.

• We got paid nothing last night. Apparently charging admission is something we were supposed to do. Unfortunately we were on stage most of the time and therefore unable to charge anybody anything.

• The second we get done checking guys start lining up to buy Sara drinks. Apparently guys see her and have the overwhelming urge to fill her up with alcohol in the hopes of her lowering her standards enough to give them the time of day. It doesn't work. What they don't know is that she is so meth'd out of her mind that the puny effects of alcohol are no match for the titanic buzz she has going on. We play our set...There is a big jock looking dude standing right in front of me and Sara cheering his ass off at our every song. I tell him that I don't mind him staring at our guitar player if that is what floats his boat, but not to insult my intelligence by pretending to care about our music. This confuses him.

• By the time we were ready to play, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.In fact, there wasn't an eye in the house of any kind. All the eyeballs were gone. And they had taken their bodies with them. We played a great show, to no one, yet again. Don't stop kicking me down....

2004


• So I read in the latest issue of Men's Health magazine that chicks dig guys who drink bourbon because it makes the guy seem "dangerous" and chicks dig danger. So we were drinking bourbon. The problem is that The Hideaway pours their bourbon into white plastic cups so chicks can't see what dangerous drinkers we are.


• You want to hear about the booze and drugs and chicks, right? Well, there really wasn't much of that. Heck, there never really is.



2005


• Then we played to a totally sold out house. All I could see were heads, all the way to the back wall. Heads. After we finished, we packed up our gear and proceeded to get pretty drunk. Before I knew it, we were on our way home. I woke up the next day and realized I still wasn't a rock star.

• Playing Rock'n Roll in a museum goes against an entire lifetime of behavioural conditioning which taught me to be quiet in such places. Thankfully they had a bar. But they ran out of bourbon! Jason drained the bar of all the bourbon they had. How was he still standing?

• I kept walking around trying to figure out how the hell we ended up in such a nice place. Then it occurred to me that we are a kick ass band and that we deserved to be treated uber-nice for once in our 4 year history.

• If we were cooler we'd have gone to a party or something but we aren't, consequently we don't know about late night parties or after hours clubs or anything. I went home and had a bowl of cereal.

• We're playing last out of 4 bands on a Monday at Chop Suey. Well, it could have been worse I suppose.....I'm not sure how.

• My concept has always been that if the band name is short, and you put it on a flyer, and you put it in a bigger font, you can always see it—you can read it from farther away

• Rock n’ roll isn’t exactly rocket science, you know? (laughs) It isn’t exactly hard to be good. You just put some songs together, play them mildly competently, and you’re already 50 percent better than everyone else.

My Tim Rogers Interview

"Be prepared, be prepared, be prepared til the end…”

I have been a fan of his work for pretty much my entire adult life. I have seen him perform in various guises somewhere in the vicinity of 100 times. I own upwards of 20 recordings he has been involved with and even been introduced to him on a couple of occasions. I’ve had a day and a half to prepare for the interview. That morning the hilariously cheeky press release and a copy of the album Luxury of Hysteria arrived and I had spent a particularly enjoyable afternoon immersed in it, playing its ten stirring, pensive tracks more then five times through. Yet despite all this here was nothing that could have possibly prepared me for actually having to speak to Timothy Adrian Rogers.

It was more than just talking to a musician, it was meeting an idol. Not an idol in the modern starry-eyed over-preened fame seeking young musical hopeful way, idol as in someone that has had a lasting and substantial impact on your life and you constantly look up to and draw inspiration from.

“I have Tim here to speak to you, are you ready?” the publicist asked.

“Yes”, I answered in a deceptively confident manner.

Tim Rogers (TR): Hello

Andy Ryan (AR): *shakily* G’Day Tim, how you going?

TR: Oh about 6’2 & 1/2, 75 kilos, packed to the rafters.

AR: * apprehensive giggle that sounds horrendously and embarrassingly effeminate back through the tape *

AR: [partly as interview technique lessons recommend asking an off-topic, chatty, mood lightening question to ease both yourself and your subject into the interview, but mostly as I work with a bunch of insufferably fashionable, prissy and hip girls and guys who are ‘really into colours’ and rarely get the chance to talk about footy, and I like footy, me] You’d be a pretty happy Rooboy after the weekend too I take it?

TR: yep, got my tickets bought and heading over to Adelaide on Friday, yeah, it’s a roller coaster ride for sure.

AR: Reckon they’re going to go all the way?

TR: Um, look they’re just the kind of side where you never know what is going to happen, I’m not beating any drum about them, its just great to see them play for another week actually. But anything could happen.

AR [hesitates as he ponders putting forth the fact that the Kangaroos had in the previous two weeks achieved the biggest ever points turn around in finals history and have also inadvertently discovered numerous avenues to goal and attacking strategies after losing spearhead forward target Nathan Thompson in the pre-season, much like the Swans kicking 22 goals against Hawthorn a few weeks prior when Barry Hall was injured and imagine a good natured mutual jovial dig at the Hawks and the enjoyment of beating them…but instead figure I’d best get to the topic at hand and manage a semi authoritive sounding “so…” before descending into a pubescent squeaky “What were your initial aims and mind-set for this album?”

TR: I knew I wasn’t going to be satisfied approaching it the way I’d done things previously, and wanted to scare myself a little bit and go to outer reaches of what I can do in terms of music and writing, lyrically, just getting out of my comfort zone really. I did that and I really enjoyed it and I don’t think I want t go back.

AR: Do you think the final product ended up how you first envisaged it?

TR: Yes but just a lot better, absolutely, it’s a little different. When you are playing with other people you just use that opportunity to really play together and knock things off each other and really listen to the people you are playing with and work with it.

AR: TnT (bawdy side-project with Tex Perkins), was the first instance you actually wrote songs in collaboration with somebody - was that a huge step for you as a songwriter putting so much of yourself into the songs when someone else is involved?

TR: Absolutely, I just don’t really enjoy doing it [collaborations], the process of doing it, I find it quite confronting doing it often, so with this one I wrote pretty much the songs as they are t a point, you know a very basic melody and cord structures, and then send them to the people that I wanted to play on the record and then say “look what have we got, what can we get together?” and it all came crashing in.

AR: Do you think the process of collaborative song writing has improved aspects of your own song writing? Are there things you have taken from it that have affected your solo work since?

TR: Well, you hopefully get influenced by everything that you do, either because you’ve hated it or you’ve loved it, I just find with what I’m doing now, things have really got to start with me, it’s the only way I can do things with just my imagination and that’s got to gestate, like sit in a petrie dish, for a while. I could never get in a room with someone and think lets bash this out and think I can come away with anything good. I just don’t find that very satisfying. I like to test myself in my environs and push my imagination and endurance levels, I like to try and find something that really illuminates you and excites you and from then on it’s just whatever happens really. If you choose to use other people to arrange things for me then hopefully other things will come of it. I don’t know, it’s an odd little process. I don’t have a rule or a certain way I go about things.

AR: Have you developed skills in the arranging side of things due to diversity of musicians you’ve been involved with over the years?

TR: A little bit of that, I’m not schooled at it. I think I [only] possibly have an ear for whether or not things work or not. I think also a lot of it has got to do with working with people you have gotten to know, its not really of the same mindset, but you’ve got to bounce off each other and trust each other. You know I haven’t got much better at writing formal arrangements for someone but hopefully have learned something about writing a good song, I mean hopefully -the public may disagree - but, hopefully there’s something there.

AR: Did your experience playing with the Symphony orchestra open your mind to new possibilities musically?

TR: Yeah, things that id considered for 15 years, cause I consider the first 100 songs I wrote rubbish. There was always a lot on my mind that I though one day I would like to happen, like counter melodies, I like them. Just playing with symphonies and jazz groups and just being more demanding of myself. I need more abstraction to be satisfied. A couple of things I don’t want straight-ahead 4/4, here comes the chorus doesn’t interest me any more.

AR: the music you listened to, do you think your tastes have matured?

TR: I think I’ve gone the reverse, sometimes yah but I still love stupid Rock’n’Roll music, as long as its got some kind of kick to it, like punk, good electronic music, I don’t think its matured really at all, I think maturity and music are two words hat should be mutually exclusive.

AR: * awkward pause while making mental note never to use ‘maturity in an interview again *… Do you think your performance aspects playing music to people – when you are putting more into the song writing part of it, that it deserves more you when you perform it for people?

TR: Yep, I just demand that of myself, I just know if I put over some kind of performance that I feel I’m doing more than my best and I’m not going to be satisfied and my sleep…yeah I want to be better at what I do – but there’s no school to kind of do that – I’m sure there is, it seems that people could go and take music performance classes and they are good when you are doing formally written pieces, but my minds looser than that, its kind of just getting up there and playing these songs and its kind of odd cause you get better at that, just trying to write better songs helps, I don’t use darts or anything.

AR: is there any limits to the possibilities you have for the songs, had having the profile you have helped achieve them?

TR: The big limit and the most annoying thing is my own voice at the moment. It’s gone from scratchy to only getting worse, and I’ve got to find a place that can work, it’s not a very adaptable voice. Watching Daniel Johns sing last night or Bernard [Fanning] they can really throw themselves around vocally and I just haven’t got that I haven’t been at that vocal ability and so I would like to be able to write for someone that had that voice but it’s difficult giving other people songs, and hopefully that’s the only one. Id like to think I can do anything, but y’know there’s this fucking throat that I’ve got so y’know maybe writing for other people is the way to go, I’m not being self flagellistic or feeling sorry for myself its just the reality of it. I’ve just got to work with that and do the best things possible, and hopefully I’ll be able to get there somehow.

AR: It would just be such a huge step to write for somebody else, would there be any sort of point you would have to reach – would there be other considerations other than your voice to consider?

TR: I don’t know, I’ve got no idea; I just demand a lot of myself as far as writing songs. It would be easy to just write rubbish lyrics and highly structured music, but I know I want to be exhausted by the creation of the music I make and I need to push myself and be better than what I did before – and thankfully that’s not difficult.

* Kevin Arnold from the Wonder Years poignant hindsight voice over * [this may have been a particularly pertinent cue to delve deeper as to why Mr Rogers is so incredibly strict on his own work. He is such a hard marker in fact that after completing his band’s second – and arguably most crucial – album Hi Fi Way he was so convinced that he had blown the recording and made such a catastrophic disaster of an album he embarked on a particularly destructive three-day bender. But nope, I could only manage a meek laugh and ploughed edgingly onwards with the scattered, somewhat random assortment of questions…]

AR: The tour for this album sees you play a number of more shall we say… highbrow … [I think the word I was really looking for here was salubrious, oh how different this response, and for that matter, the rest of the interview could’ve been] venues like Bennett’s Lane, do you enjoy the more upmarket settings is it much to adapt to from your more standard pub gigs?

TR: I think the thing is over the course of 18 years of playing evert night, I’ve played somewhere that’s vastly different from the night before generally whether its with you am I or by myself or with any other band so generally no. I just want that night to be the best for everyone there. [angrily] It definitely wasn’t a thought of ‘let’s go high brow’, I mean these places are really fucking expensive to hire, I mean the National Theatre in Geelong and the Opera House, places like that, and it’s a foolhardy decision just to do something different, for myself and anyone who is interested in coming to see me. Bennett’s Lane for example isn’t highbrow, it’s a club run by people who are very passionate about music and that’s a real turn on. Just because they predominately have jazz, I mean it’s intellectual music, it’s real soulful music. I kind of resent the fact its looked upon that I’m going upmarket or something, it’s fucking not. Its an opportunity that people can generally go and hear something, when you play the pub a large percentage of people don’t give a toss what you are playing. You know that’s peoples prerogative, that’s fine, but I want every night to be different, I still play pubs, hundreds of times a year, I can tell you man, really, here or in Europe or the states, or wherever, but I like to try something different and get out of my comfort zone.

AR: Putting this album out on your own record label – Ruby Q Records – is that something you always wanted to achieve?

TR: Of course not, it’s a fucking pain. I’d love to have things done for me and have good looking promo people push your wares to radio stations and the like but we can’t do that and we wanted to have a situation where we wanted to put something out that we really feel very strongly about, and didn’t want to compromise any aspect of it, didn’t want to be told what to do for track listings etc, so the only way we could achieve that was to put it out on my own label. But no I have no aspirations at all to run my own label, I just didn’t want to compromise.

AR: Have you found having the freedom to control what you do outweighed the disadvantages?

TR: I’ll let you know in a couple of months time! At the moment it’s a lot of work and there is not a lot of certainty about what I am doing, y’know I made that decision and I borrowed a lot of money and y’know we’ll see how it works out. I do like not being answerable to somebody and when people suggest things and people telling me ‘well if you did this, you’d be successful’. Well look I mean really, come on, there’s a lot else I could do.

AR: If it does prove successful would it be an avenue you may want to pursue with You Am I? [Who have been signed by EMI for their latest album]

TR: No, we’ll soon be dropped by EMI, no problem. I’m not really sure, we do a lot of things by ourselves now anyway, I mean we are self-managed, and look after ourselves pretty well. I mean its great to be ignorant and stupid and let people do everything for you, we like the people at EMI and they are god people, but I mean Rusty and Andy both run their own labels, so it’s a possibility.

AR: Do you find nowadays you almost have two distinct personalities between your You Am I stuff and your solo stuff?

TR: No, there is not distinct personalities, its just that I’ve got different people around me, different friends I’m making a record with or playing with that week, that month, but they are not really distinct from each other. I’d like to think its me, and different parts of me that is all kind of in there, both bands have moments where the lines are blurred, I just like hanging out with both people. In order to hang out with them I’ve got to write songs for them so they can turn up at the show.

AR: Is there any overlap in terms of musical contributions people can make – are there some songs you think the You Am I guys could add this or the other guys could best contribute towards it…

TR: yeah there’s a little bit of that going on, it doesn’t happen a lot, Its not like I write for any particular band or think they’ll sound great playing these songs, but sometimes it happens for sure. But everyone in both bands are adaptable and I can swap lots of different things and they can play lots of different things and that is the exciting part about it.

AR: Performing solo, if you didn’t have the background of playing with a band first and started off solo there would have been a great difference in the way you perform and record?

TR: Very different, its been a long while just bashing around in a rock band al over the joint and getting used to just being hit with bottles, cans and spit. I’m always waiting for that moment when I’m playing by myself or playing something a bit more delicate and think I should wear a helmet.

AR: Everyone seems to offer you advice about success in hindsight –and how close you apparently came from getting huge -is this a frustrating point for you?

TR: Yeah, it sucks; I really don’t want to hear about why its happened and what happened. There is nothing I can do about it, I've just got to try and be as good as I can but that’s more, just to satisfy myself, rather than sell records. Y’know there is not a book on how to sell records, you could write books on it, but that’s ridiculous. If you go chasing success you are going to become quite consumed by that, and I don’t see then how you could give any other attention other than making interesting music, you strive to then make something challenging that is good and dense and then sometimes very light weight to try and replicate that same feeling you got from listening to something you love and trying to write it yourself, that is the intoxicating bit about it.
Look having money would be fantastic, and free drinks, free drugs, fantastic, that’s great, but y’know, you’ve got to live with yourself.

AR: Was there any ever glimmer of your more successful moments that sat comfortably with you?

TR: Well I can get into it as much as anybody, I mean I like people getting into my music, but then it becomes a trap. If you write something that becomes a hit then you’ve got to play it every night of your fucking life –or you’ll be asked to play it every night of your life whether you choose to or not. I’m in that situation where I can choose to do whatever I like. There is really intoxicating bits about fame and everything, that goes with other people, but there is also a lot of bullshit that comes with it. And I guess we’ve seen quite a bit.

AR: The Cat Empire is currently attempting to break You Am I’s record for selling out eight straight shows at the Metro in Sydney – do you have an opinion on that?

TR: Oh good on ‘em, I didn’t realise they were doing that, I mean they are probably just out there trying to sell out venues, but if they are putting up a challenge to us then I’ll meet them in the car park, but good on ‘em. They are obviously, great, I’ve never seen them but there is a lot to like about them. I hope they do, I honestly hope they do and then, I’ll come back with a record that is fucking incredible and people may actually get to hear it and we’ll sell it out for three months.

AR [sensing a significant lighting of the mood and thinking I’d best quit while I’m ahead] Alright – that’s all the questions I have for you (in reality that was about 6 questions ago and I was just coming up with the rest off the top of my head), it’s been a great pleasure to talk to you and I look forward to seeing you when you are playing in these parts.

TR: Dynamite – good to talk to you handsome.

The Stems

Line-Up :

Dom Mariani, vocals, guitar

Richard Lane, vocals, guitar

Gary Chambers, drums (first line-up)

John Scuttleworth, bass (first line-up)

Julian Matthews, bass (second line-up)

Dave Shaw, drums (third line-up)

The Story

Perth, Western Australia, the most isolated capital city in the world. Because of, or in spite of this, it has produced some of Australia’s most influential bands. Like the Scientists before them, the Stems bought garage rock bursting out of the underground in a paisley revolution that very nearly made its way into the national and international consciousness.

The band formed in late 1983 when Dom Mariani, formerly in the band the Go-Stars, was introduced with Richard Lane. Richard had seen Dom in the final few gigs of the Go-Stars and asked Dom for some guitar lessons. The lessons turned into jams, the jams into songs, and the decision was made to start the band. A friend, Gary Chambers was recruited to join the band on drums and bass player John Scuttleworth poached from another local band, the Pink Armadillos and some demo’s recorded. The bands debut gig was supporting the Saints and the Triffids at the Old Civic theatre in Perth. Their sound was influenced by 60’s garage acts ranging from the Electric Prunes, The Standells, The Chocolate Watch Band to the Easybeats. A local Saturday night residency at the Wizbah venue saw throwback covers and a growing list of original songs and a cult following for the band. The bass player decided to leave so a final gig for the band was arranged which drew a large crowd. The success of this gig and freshly written songs in the can saw the band recruit a new bass player, school friend Julian Matthews. Rehearsal and more shows followed. The band recorded their most requested songs and gained a contract with Sydney based label, Citadel Records – the first Perth band to do so.

The debut single “She’s a Monster/Make you Mine” was released in January 1985. The single reached the top of the independent charts and also sold 500 copies in England. The single was to be the 2nd highest selling independent single for Australia in 1985, second only to the Hoodoo Gurus – Like Wow Wipeout. A buzz developed about the band which saw them drive across the country (some 4,100 kilometers) to undertake an east coast promotional tour, beginning with a show in Sydney supporting the Painters and Dockers. Whilst in Sydney the band recorded another single – Tears me in Two and what would become the “Love Will Grow” EP at Trafalgar Studios with Rob Younger, formerly of Radio Birdman producing. The EP reached #1 in the national charts and the band played triumphant shows on their return to Perth.

The band, with a new drummer on board spent most of 1986 touring to promote their EP, including national tours supporting the Flaming Groovies and the Hoodoo Gurus, and also seeking a label deal. Mushroom Records signed the band and the band booked into Platinum Studios with producer Alan Thorne at the end of 1986. The recording process didn’t go smoothly and stretched from the planned one month to three, with a new producer bought in to complete the record. The albums release in 1987 saw the band embark on another national tour, but as the band were appearing on national television – including playing the final episode of Countdown and the lead single “At First Sight” making the Young Einstein soundtrack. The band seemed to have the world at their feet, an album which went on to become the third top Australian album of 1987 and a European tour beckoning. However tensions within the band, a perceived shift in direction away from their initial garage roots, the ego clashes that came with success and record advances, and unwillingness by some members to tour saw them break up, playing their last show 31 August 1987.

After the split, Dom continued to record, writing songs for The Someloves, a duo with Daryl Mather, previously of the Lime Spiders, the DM3 – a three piece power pop/garage band and most recently with the Majestic Kelp. Richard Lane went on to record with Gary Chambers in The Chevelles and later with The Rosebuds.

Renewed interest in the band saw a compilation of the early recordings - Mushroom Soup released and the band reform to play a national tour in March 2003. The band also toured Europe with many big festival appearances and a further Australian tour. A Stems and Dom Mariani compilation was released for the overseas market in 2005. The band is recording an album of new material due for release in 2006.

Discography

She’s a Monster/Make You Mine 7” – Citadel 011 - 1985

Tears Me In Two/Can’t Resist 7” – Citadel 01 - 1985

Love Will Grow – Rosebuds Volume 1 12” EP – Citadel 905 - 1986

At First Sight/Grooviest Girl In Town 7” – White Label Records K219 - 1987

At First Sight – Violets are Blue 12”LP – White Label Records L38735 - 1987

For Always/Mr Misery 7” – White Label Records K294 - 1987

Sad Girl/My Beach 7” – White Label Records K408 - 1987

The Great Rosebud Hoax 12” EP – Citadel CITLP512 - 1987

Dead-Weed Live + Demos (bootleg) Cassette - 1989

Let Your Head Rest/Don’t Let Me/Tears Me In Two 7” – Zero Hour 001 – 1990 (came with Stems the Illustrated Biography Book

Buds CD AUS Citadel CITCD512 1993

Killer Weed CD - Running Circle RUN0011 1996

Weed Out – The Stems Live at the Old Melbourne 18 April 1986 CD –House of Wax Records, HOWR8 - 1997

Mushroom Soup (The Citadel Years) CD AUS Citadel citcd555 2003

At First Sight + Bonus 2CD - Mushroom Records 336272 2003

Terminal Cool - A retrospective CD - Get Hip Records GH-1130 2005

www.thestems.com.au

You Am I

Band page written for muisc website in Brussels.

Line-Up :

Tim Rogers, vocals, guitar

Davey Lane, guitar

Andy Kent, bass

Russel Hopkinson, drums

Original line up included Mark Tulaney, Nick Tishler and Jaimme Rogers, Greg Hitchcock played with the band from 1996 to 1997

> Stalwarts of the Australian music scene, with six albums to date since forming in 1990 and a seventh due for release in 2006. You am I came out of the shadows of the grunge era and matured into a fierce rock’n roll combo. Their protaganist Tim Rogers, a gifted songwriter capturing the essence of daily life, loves and struggles with heart worn high and proud on his sleeve and a spirited frontman, channeling the energy and manic moves of Pete Townsend and seemingly more at home on a stage than anywhere else. They could do no wrong in Australia in the mid 90’s, three consecutive albums debuting at #1 on the ARIA charts, eight national ARIA. The band made numerous festival appearances, overseas tours, television appearances and a triumphant 6 night sell out stretch at Sydney’s largest venue. Yet the band has been unable to crack the big-time, seemingly destined to be hometown heroes, remembered as providers of a rollicking show every time they roll into town rather than a big selling, world-touring stadium band that they could so easily be. As one reviewer states: “A dozen or so of their tracks land a millimetre from the bullseye, but none connects cleanly or perfectly."

The rock ‘n ‘roll calling came for Tim Rogers at age 14, whilst having his teeth drilled at the mobile dentist, Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones came on and he instantly knew what he wanted to be and his first guitar bought soon after. His first band came whilst studying arts/law at university, a trio called The Pleasureheads. In second year of university, Rogers decides to return home, prompted by a call from a friend who was playing music with Tim’s brother. Tim, then aged 19 joined them and began to write songs. His initial discovery about songwriting was “that you didn't have to write stadium rockers. You could write very plaintive songs about how you felt." This was to be a theme throughout both the bands and Tim’s solo songs. Relationships laid bare, failings laid open as the reality of life on the road takes its toll on those left behind.

The band’s first live performance came in 1990 supporting Sydney band Box The Jesuit at a venue called the Cave and played anywhere they could. The band released a single and an EP and gained label attention, mostly due to thier live reputation. The band signed with RooArt, a label started by lawyer Chris Murphy, with a view of taking Australian alternative bands to the mainstream national and international markets, the first release was the Can’t Get Started EP. The band then set to work on another EP, recorded in New York with Sonic Youth’s Lee Ronaldo producing, who initially saw the band when they both played the Big Day Out Festival in 1993. The debut album - Sound As Ever -was released in November 1993, with single Berlin Chair proving to be the bands most recognisable songs, appearing in a Best 100 Australian songs of all time poll.

The band went from strength to strength with their next three albums debuting at number 1 in the national charts. Constant touring saw the band play many big Australian festivals including Livid and The Future Sounds of Sydney, and became near premanent fixtures on the large annual summer festivals Homebake, The Big Day Out and The Falls Fastival. The band made thier first overseas tour at the request of Soundgarden, who had them as support on a tour of America in 1994. On a second trip overseas in 1996, You am I played on the Lollapalooza festival, supported the Lemonheads in Amsterdam, America and Canada and returned to play the farewell concert for Crowded House on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. 1997 saw the band reach Europe, with shows at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium, the Reading Festival in England and the Lowlands Festival, Netherlands. The next year saw a tour of Japan and Hong Kong supporting Oasis, whose Liam Gallagher was quoted as saying of the band “so fookin’ good, I want to put ‘em on me mantlepiece” and US tours in May and December. The band was unable to break through in the international market, and it wasnt until 2002 at request of the Strokes, who had played support to the band in Australia, that the band made it back overseas. In fact many acts who have been invited to tour with You Am I have gone onto much bigger and better things, The Vines, Jet and Powderfinger have all supported the band, as have The Strokes, who the band bought out to Australia as unknowns, prior to their first album being released. In an attempt to capture the band’s live energy, a live album, “Saturday Night Round Ten” was recorded from a three-night stand at a warehouse in Melbourne in 1999. A new guitar player, Davel Lane joined the band in 2001, he came to the bands attention by the incredibly accurate transcribing of guitar tablature for the bands website and his performances in the band - The Pictures, which began as a The Who coverband.

The band produced some of their most critically and musically astute work with the Dress Me Slowly and Deliverance albums however their fanbase had seemingly moved on. The band members also were pursuing other interests, Tim releasing a solo album - What Rhymes with Cars and Girls and Ghost Songs/Dirty Ron double album with The Temperance Union, Russel Hopkinson starting a record lable - Reverberation, Davey concentrating on The Pictures and Andy becoming the manaegr for the band and also involved in Love Police, a merchandise and touring company. A best -of album - Cream and the Crock - and accompanying DVD was released in 2003, which proved to be their last for BMG (which had acquired the RooArt label). An album, Convicts was self recorded by the band and is to be released in May 2006 by EMI. Upon signing the band, the MD of EMI said “You Am I are one of the best Australian bands of all-time. Their body of work has left an indelible stamp on this country over the last decade and more – and they have influenced just about every artist of substance to have emerged since they started,”

Discography

Albums:

Limited initial pressings of a number of You Am I albums were 2CD sets contining the album plus bonus CD’s - noted in brackets

Sound As Ever CD, RooArt - rA 74321439652, Released: November 1993

Hi Fi Way CD (plus Someone else’s crowd bonus disc), RooArt - rA 4509994762, Released: February 1995

Hourly Daily (plus Beat party bonus disc) CD RooArt - rA2068300035, Released: July 1996

#4 Record CD(plus Radio Setee bonus disc) AUS: RooArt Catalog # 74321587182, US: Warner Brothers Catalog# 46875 Released: April 1998

Saturday Night 'Round Ten CD (plus Ignorance and Vodka bonus disc), RooArt, Released: November 1999

Dress Me Slowly CD BMG, (plus Temperance Union bonus disc), Released: April 2001

Deliverance CD, Greville/BMG, Released: September 2002

Cream & The Crock CD (Best Of) BMG 74321504262, Released: September 2003

No, After You Sir... CD TRANCD021 - UK only compilation, released 2003

Singles/EP’s

Snake Tide CD EP, Timberyard, Released: May 1995

Goddamn CD EP, Timberyard, Released: May 1992

Can't Get Started CD EP, RooArt, Released: October 1992

Coprolalia CD EP, RooArt, Released: April 1993

Adam's Ribs CD, Released: October 1993

Berlin Chair CD, Released: February 1994

When You Got Dry CD EP, RooArt, Released 1994

Jaimme's Got A Gal CD, Released: May 1994

Purple Sneakers CD, Released: June 1995

Mr Milk, Released: November 1995

Soldiers CD & 7”, Released: July 1996

Good Mornin' CD, AUS & UK version, Released: September 1996

Tuesday CD, Released: February 1997

Trike CD EP, RooArt #74321498482, Released: August 1997

What I Don't Know 'Bout You CD, Released: February 1998

Rumble CD, Released: April 1998

Heavy Heart CD, Released: August 1998

Damage CD, Released: October 2000

Get Up CD, Released: March 2001

Kick A Hole In The Sky CD, Released: July 2001

Who Put The Devil In You CD, Released: September 2002

Deliverance CD, Released: March 2003

The best of Myspace - March 2006

Arms - A delightfully charming looking lad, pictured looking with keyboard on a bed (which perhaps hasn’t seen all that much recent action), takes his shine from the more lyrically potent songwriter end of town, think Steven Merrit, or Morrissey, but brighter and bouncier songs.
http://www.myspace/armsongs

Harlem Shakes
Four piece from Brooklyn NY who my initial though was they are a bit like I Am Kloot in terms of a distinctively voiced singer -although with a less ‘proper’, more nasal sort of voice. The songs sort of buzz along, with a few goods and trinkets thrown in to zazz them up a xylophone beat or two, and even a whoo hoo hoo and other vocal melody mischief - plaintive + catchy = great. Currently with a 4 song demo and an older 2 song demo available for download at their site www.harlemshakes.com. The band are looking to play a heap of shows and record and release some tunes in the coming year.
http://www.myspace.com/harlemshakes

The Hong Kong
Once described as the ‘mystery band from New Orleans’ but now settling in Brooklyn, they are an at times stomping 5 piece, with chiming girl group walls of sound, an ominous blonde chanteuse up front and thumping rhythm propelling the songs along whilst keys and samples play back seat driver. Picking up prominent supports and opening slots in New York for the likes of Ric Oasek, the Raveonettes and Stellarstar a bit of press attention (a full pare write up in rolling stone no less from the strength of their live show) has come their way and could be poised for, as one site put it ‘crossover success’. An EP and full length album is out on Etherdrag . With regards to Catherine the singer ... I saw her first.
http://www.myspace.com/thehongkong
www.etherdrag.com/thehongkong/

Vanessa and the O’s

Their first friend is Scott Walker (their singer guests on his latest album), they feature an ex Smashing Pumpkin (but we wont hold that against them). The aforementioned singer is a sultry blonde French singing vixen with alluring inflection, with two previous drum&bass and electro type albums and who had also recorded a duet of ‘Sunday Morning’ with Lou Reed. Their music is infectious chamber pop type affair, treading between sophisticated and cute, it almost makes me want to reach for a phrase book for the French lyrics - but even if the lyrics are of the banal boy/girl variety, it just sounds so seemly it wouldn’t matter, its probably best not to know.

www.myspace.com/vanessaandtheos
www.vanessaandtheos.com

The Stabs
Angry, angry band from Melbourne, the type of album (which I was inspired to rush out and buy from the two songs featured herein) that you put on when you have reached an absolute exasperated state from the annoyance of others - so it gets played at around 9:03 am every work day for me - assuming I get in on time that is...
Screaming, wailing, gnashing both voice and guitars, its just inescapable, the sound coming through the headphones bolt themselves to your ears, grab you by the shirt and pulling you in to some strange dark place to be sonically berated, thrown out a back door into some strange dank alley wondering if you’ll ever walk the same again... or maybe not, it does get very boring here. Having just completed a brief east coast tour - the band are headed off to tour America, with shows supporting Mudhoney in Seattle and Portland before setting off to no doubt bigger and better things.

http://www.myspace.com/thestabs

My Best Friend
Down a notch or two is the comparatively balmy My Best Friend. Spacious songs, with slight electronic and psych flourishes, claiming Spiritualizes as one of their influences and its probably best to run with that. The voice reminds of Woods Themselves - and isn’t that just the height of music journalist wankery, comparing one obscure band with an equally-or more obscure one - but you really should have heard the Woods by now anyway... in that not in a hurry to get anywhere - soft but gruff feel - the songs just leisurely unroll rather than come out at you, would be the perfect soundtrack to a back yard tinnie and toke gathering.
http://www.myspace.com/mybestfiend

The Split Lips
Aptly named local punchy three piece. Making a bit of a name with shows in Sydney and a recent trip to Melbourne with more due for April. Sleazy, abrasive and sex crazed they choose to tag themselves. Their song ‘Got the Shakes’ is a corker - its optimum setting would be excessively late at a dingy club with sunrise imminent, benders ending, come downs and the ugly lights about to kick in - the urgent manic song feeding the last gasp attempts to not go home to an empty bed.
http://www.myspace.com/thesplitlips

Budge McGraw
Well this spiffingly splendid fellow invited me along to his page, and many others too by the look of the comments, and I’m jolly well glad he did. A man particularly imbibed with civic pride for his current home-town of London. A dip into doo-wap splits the landmark referenced ditties – one of which reminded me of that late show take off of ‘oh no we’ve just run out of Melbourne cliches’ err but in London. A rollicking country number to boot (scoot)- we have here a chap who seems to have an abundance of songs and talent at his disposal (as evidenced by two decades of being a session muso for a wide array of acts) and looks to be standing quite comfortably on his own two feet thank you very much – just a shame he’s a gunners fan.
http://www.myspace.com/budgemagraw

top 10 2005

copied from a top ten poll thing i filled out ...

1.the king khan & bbq show - king khan & bbq - rollicking twisted garage soul rocking blues from a manic indian soul star and his constantly hatted mate
2.miss alex white and the in the red orchestra - s/t - brilliant embarassingly talented fiery ginger lass (she's only 20) from chicago (with rhythm section from the clone defects) with 10 songs of hot love action sung with a voice that will stalk you
3.high dials - war of the wakening phantoms- a canadian, less mental, brianjonestownmassacre - back when they were real good
4.okkervil river - black sheep boy - solid & quality all the way through
5.the drones - wait long by the river... searing soundtrack to very late nights & regretted mornings
6.sounds like sunset - invisible - sweet sweet melodies doused in sharp & sour guitars - more than worth the 4 year wait
7.the deadly snakes - porcella - a band who found themselves and a scary array of noises out in a wood cabin in ontario to make a grand statement of life skirting the other side of the tracks
8. the ponys - celebration castle - perky robust rock from chicago
9.the national - aligator - the gruff voiced saviour of sooks
10. Iamkloot - gods and monsters - a voice part soothing tv presenter and part english eccentric

the Deadly Snakes

The band's latest album, Porcella represents a huge progression in sound from its previous efforts. The urgent white trash energy has been somewhat diluted and all manner of sounds replace the raucous cacophony and bawdy shantyiness. Strings, subtle melodies and all manner of surprising instrumentation pop up and by the end of its 13 tracks one is left with more hooks than Rex Hunt's tackle box. The band recorded the album over ten days in a remote log cabin in Ontario in the summer of 2004, and was produced by vocalist 'Age of Danger'.

The Ode to Joy album was my first introduction to the band, it was part of the soundtrack to my road trip up the west coast of America. It seemed almost fitting, the almost gospel-esque power and intensity was usually a welcome burst that helped me to keep on truckin along and alert when the caffiene couldn't.

The band seemed to have an "us against them all" attitude about it, and you can almost hear the snarling on some tracks. An outcast gang of six taking a stand against the bad times and broken hearts by banging away, plucking, strumming or making a din with any instrument or object they can get their hands on. Hailing from Toronto, having started as teenagers, formed to be the entertainment at a party and proving to be better than they or anyone could have thought, they've ridden this thing out over nearly ten years. With Porcella being a realisation that they were now a proper band and dammit they can write an album on their own terms and take any direction they please. It's a band who have developed musically to a point where they can use instrumentation to build a song rather than throw it all together to see what sticks. The desparation and teen angst outgrown, they've come out of the garage and embraced the world-

"I think we were ill suited in the 'garage' category since we started shaving.“

With lyrical concerns no longer small town life and woes, the songs reflect the success and experiences come from touring the world, having sold out shows in United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia as well as extensive shows across Canada and America.


The band are touring Canada in October supporting the Tangiers.

Porcella was released September 22 on in The Red Records.

Links:
http://www.thedeadlysnakes.com
http://www.intheredrecords.com/pages/deadly%20snakes.html

Band Members:

Age of Danger: Organ, Piano, Percussion, Drums, Voice
Andre Ethier: Guitar, Voice
Andrew Gunn: Drums, Guitar
Chad Ross: Bass, Guitar, Mandolin
Matthew Carlson: Trumpet, Guitar, Bass
Jeremi Madsen: Saxophone, Bass, Guitar, Percussion

Discography:
Albums-
Porcella - 2005 - In The Red Records
Ode to Joy - 2003 -In The Red Records
Im Not Your Soldier Anymore - 2001 - In The Red Records
Love Undone - 1999 -Sympathy For the Record Industry

Singles:
Real Rock 'n Roll Tonight - 1996 - Crazy Monkey Records
Proud Papa - split w/ the Spaceshits - 1997 - Sympathy For the Record Industry
I Can't Sleep at Night - 2004 - In The Red Records

the world of rock

Gigs I wish i was at but you may be lucky enough to get to:

03/03/2006 - Belle & Sebastian, the New Pornographers - Nokia theatre Times Square -1515 Broadway NY

27/01/2006 - Dramarama, The English Beat - House of Blues Anaheim 1530 S. Disneyland Drive
stumped for new years? - how about James freakin Brown!? BB King Blues Club NY
17/12/2005 - Psychadelic Furs, Death Cab For Cutie, Hot Hot Heat - Aragon Ballroom 1106 W. Lawrence Ave Chicago
15/12/2005 - The Donnas, the Sights - Irving Plaza 17 Irving Pl (15th) NY
15/12/2005 - Reverend Horton Heat, The Supersuckers - Southpaw 125 5th Ave Brooklyn
10/12/2005 - The Deadly Snakes - Maxwells 1039 Washington ST Hoboken NJ
09/12/2005 - French Kicks - Maxwells 1039 Washington ST Hoboken NJ
08/12/2005 - Mercury Rev - Shepherds Bush Empire London
08/12/2005 - Dead Meadow - Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delancey St NY
02/12/2005 - Dinosaur Jr - Irving Plaza 17 Irving Pl (15th) NY
01/12/2005 - Patti Smith - 30th anniversary of Horses - BAM!
30/11/2005 - Dinasour Jr. - Metro 3730 N. Clark Chicago
30/11/2005 - Super Furry Animals - House of Blues Anaheim 1530 S. Disneyland Drive
28/11/2005 - Ray Davies - The Supper Club 240 West St 47th st NYC
26/11/2005 - Bright Eyes,Feist, Magic Numbers - Landmark Loews Theatre - 54 Journal St New Jersey
25/11/2005 - Echo & The Bunnymen - Metro 3730 N. Clark Chicago
22/11/2005 - Crooked Fingers - Schuba's Bar & Tavern 3159 N. Southport Chicago
19/11/2005 - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (utterly smokin soul sista!)Southpaw - 125 5th Ave Brooklyn
19/11/2005 - Davy Jones (celebrity shortarse former moonkees crooner)BB King Blues Club 237 West 42nd NY
19/11/2005 - The Dials - Cactus Club 2496 S. Wentworth Ave Milwaulkee
16/11/2005 - Casiotone for the painfully alone, Dear Nora - Beat Kitchen 2100 W Belmont Avenue Chicago
14/11/2005 - Dandy Warhols, Out Crowd - Showbox, Seattle
11/11/2005 - Black Lips and King Khan & BBQ show - Magnetic Fields Brooklin
07/11/2005 - Magic Numbers - Crocodile, Seattle
06/11/2005 - Okkervil River, Minus Story - Abbey Pub 3420 Grace, Chicago
05/11/2005 - Jeff Tweedy, Glen Kotche - Orpheum Theatre, Madison Wisconsin
03&04/11/2005 - The Deadly Snakes, the Cuts - Hemlock Tavern 1311 Polk Street S.F
30/10/2005 - Rolling Stones, Motley Crue - Key Arena, Seattle
28/10/2005 - Clem Snide, Marah, Mark Waldoch - Onopa Brewing Company 735E. Center St Milwaulkie
21/10/2005 - Iron & Wine with Calexico - The Roseland Theatre
19/10/2005 - Nada Surf - Nuemo's, Seattle
17/10/2005 - The Dirty Three- Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delancey St, New York
14/10/2005 - Country Teasers, The Hospitals, Indian Jewellery - Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk Street San Francisco
13/10/2005 - The Warlocks, Gris Gris - Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delaney Street, New York
12/10/2005 - The New Pornographers -Webster Hall 125 E 11th St, New York
12/10/2005 - Johnathan Richtman - Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delancey St, New York
12/10/2005 - Martha Wainright - Triple Door, Seattle

the ponys

Hailing from Chicago and forming amidst a friendship and lots of beer in late 2000. The band started gigging as a three piece in August 2001, playing local Chicago venues and debuing at the Beat Kitchen. Their first recording in Sephamore Studios in Chicago saw two singles released, which bought the band to the attention of In The Red Records. A debut album was recorded with additional band members in the spring of 2003 produced by Jim Diamond in Detroit and it was released in 2004. The album gained press both in their native America and in England and even proper magazines 'Rolling Stone, Mojo and Spin, their debut album even got reviewed in the July 2005 issue of playboy, earning a 4 bunny review. The band did a countrywide tour, including Bloc Party supports in New York and Canada,played shows in England and Northern Europe, supporting the likes of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and playing the Roskilde Festival. The second album - Celebration Castle was recorded with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio and released in 2005.
Touring across the USA with Sleater Kinney in October 2005.

Discography:
Another Wounds - Sweet Nothing 7"/cdep
Wicked City/Little Creatures - Big Neck Records 7"
Solid Love Sex Doll - Contaminated 7"
Laced With Romance - In the Red
Creation Castle - In the Red

website: www.theponys.com