The Owsley Sunshine

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The Owsley Sunshine

Background information
Origin Glasgow, Scotland
Genre(s) Psychedelic Pop
Alternative rock
Years active 2002–present
Label(s) Start A Riot Records
Ivan Lendl Music
Website [1]
Members
Joe Kane
Nic Denholm
Stephan Mors
Neil Harris
Alpha Mitchell
Jason Sweeney

The Owsley Sunshine are a cult psychedelic pop group, from Glasgow, Scotland.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The Owsley Sunshine began in late 2002 when, student at the time, Nic Denholm was interviewing Joe Kane on his "pre-The Strokes and their ilk" band, The Stunts. Realising they shared a passion for debauchery and 60's psychedelic pop, they began to share their ideas and soon decided to start a band of their own. The two quickly formed a writing relationship based heavily on trying to outdo one other, resulting in a large amount of songs being writing in a very short period of time. Realising the potential, Kane quickly recruited The 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’ Vallely (Later of Chemikal Underground signings Mother and the Addicts) standing in on the drum stool. Since then, the band has gone on to receive much acclaim for their vibrant live performances, supporting bands such as The Zutons, The Electric Prunes, and being specially invited by industry mogul Alan McGee to perform at his trendy Death Disco club night, in London.

They released their debut album Look To The Merry-Go-Sun in 2003 on their own label Start a Riot Records to international critical acclaim, from the likes of Rolling Stone Magazine[1] and The NME, who later would choose them as one of their 50 Top Bands of 2004. Most notable was the fact that the album was recorded and produced entirely by Kane in his basement at the time. The rich sound they achieved was to cement their use of home recording with Kane at the forefront, eager to improve his production knowledge and methods.

The band soon followed-up their debut success the following year with Another Kind of Summer, which was also well received by critics.

In 2005, combining their love for music with their love for anarchy, The Owsley Sunshine hosted two shows under the title "The Owsley Sunshine Variety Spectacular" - a cabaret of sorts, with various acts performing, including stand-up comedy, plate spinning, ventriloquism, hypnotists, magicians and culminating in a rather inebriated performance by the band themselves. Both shows were notoriously well-regarded at the time, and are still considered legendary by those who attended.

The Owsley Sunshine playing at the 13th Note, Glasgow in 2006
The Owsley Sunshine playing at the 13th Note, Glasgow in 2006

Recording had already begun on third album in the Autumn of 2004, but due to various disasters including a studio fire, the tsunami and hard disk failure, it wasn't until Summer 2006 that the epic Watermelon finally saw the light of day. In what was to become known as The Curse of Watermelon, Start a Riot Records and its sister company Cell 44 Records both went out of business. 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 began to bear fruit.

Live commitments and more ambitious projects have seen the live band swell from four members to six, with the addition of close friends Alpha Mitchell (ex-Bangtwister) and Jason Sweeney, on guitar and percussion respectively.

The Owsley Sunshine are sometimes referred to as "The Owsleys", or "The Mighty Sunch" by their fans and contemporaries.

A 4th Owsley Sunshine album is planned for Winter 2007.

The band take their name from Owsley Stanley, a manufacturer of LSD during the 1960s.

[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

[edit] Bootleg Albums

  • (S)ubcrawlin' With the Owsley Sunshine - 2004

[edit] Current related bands/projects

[edit] References

  1. ^ Well Hung at Dawn: Alanis Morissette : Rolling Stone

[edit] External links