For More Info On Melbourne Band Iowa Check out www.iowasounds.net
www.myspace.com Iowa: a place, sure, but also a state of mind. It’s a place somewhere between shoegaze and psychedelia, a spacious soundscape of reverb, feedback and dirty, dirty fuzz that could have provided a home for everyone from Spacemen 3 to the Jesus & Mary Chain. And it’s a state of mind shared by the Melbourne three-piece of the same name.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The band has had over 40 members since then, but its driving force and main songwriter is Anton Newcombe. Other prominent members have included Matt Hollywood, Dean Taylor, Jeff Davies, Brian Glaze, and Joel Gion. Their sound is heavily influenced by the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s, but also carries influences from shoegaze, jangle pop, garage rock, and lo-fi sonorities.
Warpaint is a jammy, psychedelic dreamy riffage indie all-girl quartet from Los Angeles. The group has gone through many line-up changes, including actress Shannyn Sossamon and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. The group currently consists of Jenny Lee Lindberg (vocals / bass), Emily Kokal (vocals / guitar), Theresa Wayman (vocals / guitar) and Stella Mozgawa (drums). The band weaves intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia and intimacy.
The Silent World are an instrumental quintet from Perth, Western Australia. Equally inspired by experimental post-rock, noise and new wave, the band's sound has evolved considerably over its brief history, refined through a series of demo recordings and intense live shows. The past year has seen The Silent World share the stage with local experimental heavyweights Tangled Thoughts of Leaving and Eleventh He Reaches London, represent UWA in the National Campus Bands Competition and go on to play in the State Final alongside some of Perth's finest young bands after only a handful of shows
Soft and lush, atmospheric and melancholic, sometimes driven, sometimes driving, music to make you fall asleep then wake you up. Hopes began as the musical outlet of two Newcastle, AUS residents: Carlin Mclellan, and Mark Whittaker in 2010, the most recent title for a string of their collaborative efforts. Their performances picked up collaborators along the way since, and their sound evolved into a rich lo-fi pastiche of 90s shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Pale Saints), slow-core (Low, Codeine), & various local Australian underground heroes (Alps, Decoder Ring, Art of Fighting).
Sounds Like Sunset's music is a mix of simple songs taken on sort of a wild ride - freely moving in directions led by huge guitars and feedback, and drawing on influences such as BailterSpace, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and the gloomier side of The Beach Boys in equal measure. The band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1997 with David Challinor (vocals, guitar), David Hobson (bass) and Rohan Geddes (drums).
Sky Parade is Tommy Dietrick (ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre/Smallstone) with Matt Lindgren, Bobby Bones and Dan Allaire. Sky Parade is influenced by such bands as Love and Rockets, The Church, Primal Scream, The Stone Roses and Spiritualized. Forming as a recording project between Jason Anchondo (the Warlocks/BJM) and Tommy Dietrick in 2004, songs from the debut album Fire In The Sky have received radio play both in the States and abroad.
Swervedriver are a 1990s British guitar band initially associated with "shoegazing", however their heavier rock & roll style also related them to the grunge genre coming from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Some music writers considered them to be Britain's answer to this sound. Regardless of labels, the band's mix of storming and swirling guitar experimentation often crossed into psychedelia, coupled with mystical lyrics that often praised the nihilism of sports cars, racing and the open road.
History
Early years
Their origins sprung from Oxford, United Kingdom in 1984 with the formation of a group called Shake Appeal, named after a song from one of their main influences, The Stooges. Consisting of vocalist/guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, lead vocalist Graham Franklin (Adam's brother), bassist Adi Vines, and drummer Paddy Pulzer; Shake Appeal went ahead reproducing the sounds of American garage rock of the late 60's and early 70's. The group wrote what would become Swervedriver's first classic "Son of Mustang Ford," however after a few years the band began to fall apart when both Graham and Paddy left.
The remaining three members drafted drummer Graham Bonnar, but by this time the group's sound mutated significantly under the influence of re-invented guitar music by American bands like Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth. So with a new lineup and new sound came a new name, Swervedriver. Their hometown colleagues from fellow shoegazing group Ride passed their re-recorded demo of "Son of Mustang Ford" to Alan McGee of Creation Records; who, as legend has it, played the tape for the first time while cruising the inner streets of Los Angeles in a limo. The experience caused him sign the band immediately.
First album and possible breakup
Merging the whirling qualities of the shoegazer genre with heavy distorted guitars, and lyrics often featuring cars and escapism, the group debuted with a series of EPs; "Son of Mustang Ford," "Rave Down" and "Sandblasted," before issuing their full-length album debut "Raise" in 1991. Then after a U.S. tour in support of Soundgarden, Bonner left the band; the departure of Vines followed shortly afterwards. Bonner and Vines would eventually go on to form a new group called Skyscraper. Swervedriver's final release with the original lineup, 1992's "Never Lose That Feeling" EP, appeared to be the group's last.
Release of Mezcal Head
But in 1993, Swervedriver re-emerged with the core of Franklin and Hartridge along with newly recruited drummer Jez, and released their landmark album "Mezcal Head." If "Raise" was a product featuring a love of Americana, escapism and the open highway, then "Mezcal Head" was all that, but broadcast in IMAX with Dolby surround sound. Production and sound were greatly improved, and the album gave them their most successful single "Duel," hailed as one of the premier songs of the shoegazer genre. The album clearly forged a permanent link with their American fans, and made them more popular there than in their own native Britain. During this era, the fabled b-side "The Hitcher" found a release on the "Last Train to Satansville" EP. "The Hitcher" is widely considered to be a fan favorite.
Ejector Seat Reservation & Britpop
1994 found the band adding new bassist Steve George, along with extensive touring of the U.S. (supporting The Smashing Pumpkins), Japan and Europe. However by then the shoegazing genre in Britain was dead, replaced by the more mainstream Britpop movement hi-lighted by bands such as Oasis and Blur. The massive rise of Britpop caused Creation Records to drop the band just one week after the U.K. release of 1995 album "Ejector Seat Reservation." It was never released in the U.S. where they could have capitalized on the momentum of "Mezcal Head." ESR was another leap forward for the band, incorporating a wider number of influences from Elvis Costello to Bob Dylan. It saw the group grow into rebel visionaries and received the highest critical acclaim; however without any record company support it was doomed to be their poorest selling venture. This began a period of protracted record label problems for the band which fans dubbed the Swervedriver label curse.
Final years
In 1996, Swervedriver signed on with Geffen Records with a multi-record deal, and promptly began recording their fourth album. However their contract was terminated when their A&R (Artists & Repertoire) representative was fired in a corporate downsizing. Once the legal dust settled the band was awarded their own recording studio along with the finished album, however it was still a major setback. Their fourth and final album "99th Dream" was finally released in 1998 after signing on with Zero Hour Records of the U.S., and it continued the evolution that began with "Ejector Seat Reservation." Drawing less from their earlier ‘grunge' sound, the band never the less maintained their swerving, pyschedelic guitar rifts coupled with Franklin's magical lyrics and droning vocals, and was another brilliant body of work. The group continued to draw on a broader range of musical influences; for example the title track "99th Dream" was written as a prequel to Bob Dylan's song "115th Dream." Despite this album easily containing a half dozen possible hit singles, and a successful tour of the U.S., Britain and Australia; they did not break out beyond their traditional cult following. The "Wrong Treats" EP released in 1999 would become the bands last body of work as an extant group; they announced a hiatus later that year that persists to this day. Adam Franklin continues to release albums under his new band Toshack Highway.
In 2005, Castle Music released a Swervedriver anthology album titled "Juggernaut Rides" which brought together 33 songs; including many only available on rare EPs, and four that were previously unreleased..
In Late 2007 the Creation Records web site confirmed Swervedriver was reuniting for a 2008 tour.
Origins of name
How Swervedriver settled on their name has been the subject of debate among their fans for many years. During interviews whenever questioned on this topic, the band would simply respond that it was just a name; as The Beatles were just a name (in reference to that band's simple response in many early interviews). However Adam Franklin had once mentioned the band liked the connotation of a speeding driver, swerving and ultimately losing control of their car.
Discography
Full length albums
* Raise (1991)
* Mezcal Head (1993)
* Ejector Seat Reservation (1995)
* 99th Dream (1998)
* Juggernaut Rides 1989-1998 (2005) - 2 CD set
Singles/EPs
* Son of Mustang Ford (1991)
* Rave Down (1991)
* Sandblasted (1991)
* Reel To Real (1991)
* Never Lose That Feeling (1993)
* Duel (1993)
* Last Train To Satansville (1993)
* My Zephyr (1994)
* Magic Bus (1994) - from Day Tripper movie soundtrack
* Last Day on Earth (1995)
* Swervedriver / Sophia Split (1996)
* 93 Million Miles From the Sun ... and Counting (1997)
* Space Travel Rock 'n' Roll (1998)
* Wrong Treats (1999)
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
The Duchesses sound is the manifestation of four musicians from very different backgrounds. Their broad spectrum of influences is evident in their atmospheric music, which transcends arbitrary genres. Not satisfied with following trends, the Duchesses have forged their own unique sound. Their debut album guides listeners through a dark sonic landscape of resonating guitars, bold rhythms and dynamic vocals, all surging into intricate and aggressive harmony.
There are 2 bands with the name Galaxie 500: 1) Galaxie 500 formed in Boston, MA in 1986 and comprised vocalist/guitarist Dean Wareham (a transplanted New Zealand native), bassist Naomi Yang and drummer Damon Krukowski, longtime friends who first met in high school in New York City before all three attended Harvard University. Wareham and Krukowski initially teamed in the short-lived Speedy and the Castanets, which split after their bass player experienced a religious conversion; upon re-forming, the duo recruited Yang to play bass, although she had no prior musical experience.