The Boat People (Australian band)
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| The Boat People | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Brisbane, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Indie pop |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Shock Records |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| James O'Brien Robin Waters Charles Dugan Tony Garrett |
|
| Former members | |
| Chris Pickering | |
The Boat People are an Australian four-piece indie pop band. The Brisbane based group consists of James O'Brien, Robin Waters, Charles Dugan and Tony Garret. They use instruments such as keyboard and tambourine mixed with 2-part harmonies, ironic lyrics and pop inspired melodies. They cite Crowded House, Jeff Buckley and The Beatles as their main musical influences.
The Boaties, as they're affectionately known, are currently managed by Rick Chazan.
Contents |
[edit] History
Going by the name 'Four on the Floor' at the time, the band formed whilst still attending high school in Warwick, Queensland. In 1996 they entered and won a $20,000 grant in the Nescafé Big Break contest and used it to fund their first self-titled album.
In 1997, they re-recorded a song from the album and entered it into Triple J's Unearthed competition, consequently winning within their region and receiving airplay of the single "Anime Girl".
The group took a break to study jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium which greatly influenced their later work. After changing their name to The Boat People in 2000, they signed a distribution deal with MGM Records and recorded numerous EPs. Extensive tours of Australia, particularly the East coast, saw the band support major international acts such as The Shins, David Byrne, Dogs Die In Hot Cars and Idlewild.
In August 2005, they released their first full-length album titled yesyesyesyesyes, released on Shock Records.
The band will hit the studio in June to begin recording the follow up yesyesyesyesyes. On board as producer is J. Walker of Machine Translations. The band have been in preproduction over recent weeks at Wavelength Studios in Brisbane, and have compiled over 20 new tracks which will be whittled down into an album.
In late April, the band released the first single from their forthcoming album Chandeliers by the name of 'Awkward Orchard Orchid'. It was accompanied by a video created by Paul Underwoord who has worked on previous videos from the band. In the video, the viewer is encouraged to find 52 bands amongst the visual hints given.
Their second full-length album Chandeliers will be released in July, 2008.
[edit] Members
- James O'Brien (vocals/bass)
- Robin Waters (vocals/keyboard)
- Charles Dugan (vocals/guitar)
- Tony Garrett (drums)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Four on the Floor (1997)
- yesyesyesyesyes (2005, Shock)
- Chandeliers (2008)
[edit] EPs
- The Boat People (2000, MGM)
- Squeaky Clean EP (2002, MGM)
- Three Pieces for a Small Ensemble (2003, MGM)
- Tell Someone Who Cares (2004, MGM)
[edit] Singles
- Supernova (2002)
- From The Corner (2002)
- Arms Length (2003)
- Tell Someone Who Cares (2004)
- Clean (2005)
- Unsettle My Heart (2005)
- Irony (2005)
- Awkward Orchard Orchid (2008)
[edit] Awards
- Belowground Music Video Awards, Best Indie Clip - single for "Tell Someone Who Cares"
- Q Song Awards, The Courier- Mail Peoples Choice Award - "Unsettle My Heart"
- Q Song Awards, The Song of the Year - "Unsettle My Heart"
