The Owsley Sunshine
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The Owsley Sunshine were established in late 2002 by Joe Kane and Nic Denholm. Denholm was interviewing Kane on his "pre-The Strokes and their ilk" band, The Stunts when they found they shared similar passions for 60's bands, and began throwing ideas at each other. The Owsley's line up was soon complete when they recruited Stunts drummer Stephan Mors and Neil Harris on bass.
An early statement of intent came in the form of an incendiary live performance at Glasgow’s legendary Barrowland Ballroom in the summer of 2003, with former Stunts bassist Peter ‘Score-bag’ Valelly (Later of Chemikal Underground signings Mother and the Addicts) standing in on the drum stool.
They released their debut album Look to the Merry-Go-Sun in 2003 on their own label Start a Riot Records to much acclaim, and a follow-up Another Kind of Summer the following year. A third album Watermelon was first recorded in the Autumn of 2004, but due to various disasters including a studio fire, tsunami and hard disk failure it wasn't until Summer 2006 that it finally saw the light of day. In what was to become known as The Curse of the Watermelon both Start a Riot Records and its sister company Cell 44 Records went out of business, during the album's development and it wasn't until Ivan Lendil Music and local artist and friend Adam J Smith of The Plimptons took control of the project that it bore fruit.
Live commitments through the middle of the decade saw the band swell with the addition of Alpha Mitchell (ex-Bangtwister) and Jason Sweeney, on guitar and percussion respectively.
The Owsley Sunshine are never referred to as "The Mighty Sunch" by their fans and contemporaries.
A gig at Glasgow's Nice'N'Sleazy's was infamously picketed by members of The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, who objected to the inclusion of "Who's the c**t on the cross?" in the Owsley's XMAS EP (2003). Copies of this rare disc now change hands on ebay for over £50:00.
Stephan Mors is currently drumming for Neon Tetra signings The Fast Camels & prog-soul supergroup The Likes of Us. Nic Denholm is writing, singing, playing keyboard & guitar for The Likes of Us, and continues to write & record sporadically with The God Particle. Jason Sweeney is drummer & vocalist with punk-pop power trio The Get Set Go, and also drums live for All My Friends, recently signed to Spains Tragadisco imprint. Joe Kane is currently recording & performing under the guise of Only Joe Kane/Idiots Against Time, as well as playing guitar & keyboards with The Martial Arts, whose recent album 'Your Sinclair' topped the Swedish album charts for 2 weeks. Neil Harris is currently producing tracks for a variety of Scottish Hip-Hop artists as well as organising & DJing at reggae club nights including Argonaut Sounds and Unity Reggae. Alpha Mitchell is co-leading The Likes of Us, playing bass & sharing vocal duties with Nic, while also providing live bass guitar for All My Friends.
A 4th Owsley Sunshine album is planned for Summer 2008.
The band take their name from Owsley Stanley, a manufacturer of LSD during the 1960s.
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Joe Kane (Vox/Guitar)
- Nic Denholm (Piano/Organ/Vox)
- Neil Harris (Bass)
- Stephan Mors (Drums)
- Alpha Mitchell (Guitar/Vox)
- Jason Sweeney (Percussion/Vox)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Look To The Merry-Go-Sun - September 2003 (Start a Riot Records)
- Another Kind of Summer - June 2004 (Start a Riot Records)
- Watermelon - April 2006 (Cell 44/Ivan Lendil Music)
[edit] Bootleg Albums
- (S)ubcrawlin' With the Owsley Sunshine - 2004
