Gyroscope (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gyroscope | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Perth, Australia | |
| Genre(s) | Post-grunge | |
| Years active | 1997–present | |
| Label(s) | Festival Mushroom Records (2003-present) Redline Records (2002) |
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| Website | Official website | |
| Members | ||
| Daniel Sanders Zoran Trivic Brad Campbell Rob Nassif |
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Gyroscope is a post-grunge rock band from Perth, Western Australia.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early years
Gyroscope started as Gyroscope Sunday in Perth, Western Australia in 1997 with Daniel Sanders on guitar/vocals, Zoran Trivic on guitar/vocals, Brad Campbell on bass/vocals and Rob Nassif on drums. They recorded their first demo cassette in 1998 and took up playing regularly on the Perth live circuit whilst also finding time for work and school commitments.
The band soon earned support slots for Unwritten Law, Millencolin, Toe to Toe, Reel Big Fish, 28 Days, The Living End and Jebediah. Two more independent EPs, Scalectrix and Means To An End were recorded in 2000, of which only the former saw a CD release. Both EPs were eventually released together on cassette in April 2001 (in four different covers) under the title Injuring Yourself Whilst Making Music. The cassette has long since been out of print.
Later that year, the band went on hiatus after Rob Nassif went to spend six months studying in Canada. On his return, Gyroscope signed a deal with Redline Records owned by fellow Perth rockers Jebediah and supported that band on an Australian tour. The band's first release for Redline was the Take Time EP in May 2002. In October of the same year, the now-defunct Juice Magazine named Gyroscope as one of the next big things along with the Vines, Jet and the Datsuns. At the end of 2002, Gyroscope won a WAMi Award for "Most Popular Local Original Punk Act".
Gyroscope signed with Festival Mushroom Records at the beginning of 2003. The band released two EPs in 2003, Midnight Express (containing the live favorite "Fire Away") and "Driving For The Storm/Doctor Doctor", and won wide airplay on Triple J radio across Australia, culminating in "Doctor Doctor" reaching #92 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for that year.
[edit] Sound Shattering Sound
2004, however, was to become Gyroscope's breakthrough year. On the touring front, they supported international visitors to Australia such as Blink-182, Thursday, Dashboard Confessional, Brand New, Sparta, Saves The Day and The Get Up Kids, whilst a new single, "Safe Forever", came out in April 2004 and earned Gyroscope more mainstream exposure.
Finally, their debut album Sound Shattering Sound, which combined newer material with tracks from their last two EPs and the "Safe Forever" single, was released on June 14, 2004. It debuted at its #37 peak on the ARIA mainstream album chart the following week - a culmination of seven years' work and a consolidating live following. The band commenced their first headlining tour of Australia after the album's release.
[edit] Are You Involved?
In May 2005, Gyroscope headed to Los Angeles to record their second album with in-demand producer and engineer Mark Trombino, best known for his work with Jimmy Eat World, Drive Like Jehu, Finch, The Living End and Blink-182. During the sessions, the band also took time out to film a video for the album-in-progress' first single "Fast Girl" in Death Valley. The resulting second album, titled Are You Involved?, was a giant step forward for the band, in that it saw them striding away from traditional rock templates and occasionally experimenting with drum machines, synth washes, lush harmonies and acoustic guitars. Are You Involved? was released on 25th September, and initial copies came with a bonus DVD featuring 'making of' documentaries for both the album and "Fast Girl" video.
Are You Involved? was to become an even greater success for Gyroscope, earning the strongest reviews of their career and just making the Top 20 in its first week on the ARIA chart. The album was also nominated for the inaugural J Award - Triple J's Australian album of the year accolade, with two singles "Fast Girl" and "Beware Wolf" making #29 and #62 on Triple J's Hottest 100.
The song "Beware Wolf" has been used several times in television shows such as the Australian soap Home and Away. "Fast Girl" was nominated for the 2006 ARIA Awards for Breakthrough Artist - Single and the band also received two WAMi Awards in 2006 for "Best Rock Act" and "Best Punk Act".
[edit] Band members
- Daniel Sanders on guitar and vocals;
- Zoran Trivic on guitar and vocals;
- Brad Campbell on bass and vocals; and
- Rob Nassif on drums.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
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[edit] EPs
- Scalectrix (2000)
- Means to an End (unreleased) (2000)
- Take Time (2002)
- Midnight Express (2003)
- Driving for the Storm / Doctor Doctor (2003)
[edit] Singles
- "Safe Forever" (2004)
- "Fast Girl/Beware Wolf" (2006)
- "Dream Vs Scream"(2006)
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Injuring Yourself Whilst Making Music (cassette-only release featuring Scalectrix and Means To An End EPs) (2001)
- Around The World In 16 Songs (split album with NSF, Wackykids and Turtlehead) (2004)
[edit] Trivia
- Whilst studying in Canada 2001, Rob made a television appearance on The Ricki Lake Show.
