| Something for Kate | |
|---|---|
24 February 2008, Something For Kate at the Corner Hotel, Richmond, Victoria. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Alternative rock Post-grunge |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG New Found Frequency EMI |
| Associated acts | Scared of Horses, Sandpit |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Paul Dempsey Stephanie Ashworth Clint Hyndman |
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| Past members | |
| Julian Carroll Toby Ralph |
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Something for Kate are a rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Members include songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey, drummer Clint Hyndman and bassist Stephanie Ashworth. The group was founded in 1994, with Julian Carroll as the original bass player.
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Something For Kate (or SFK as they are also known) are one of the most popular and enduring Australian alternative/rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s, garnering nominations for 11 ARIA Music Awards[1] throughout their career. Something For Kate have a very dedicated fanbase, often seen more as a cult following.
In 1999 their second album, Beautiful Sharks was nominated for one ARIA Award while in 2001 their third album, Echolalia was nominated for six ARIA Awards and went on to double platinum sales. In 2003 they were nominated for four ARIA Awards for their fourth album The Official Fiction, which also attained platinum status. Their most recent studio album Desert Lights was released on 1 July 2006, and debuted at #1 on the Australian ARIA charts and by the end of the month was certified gold. In 2007 they released their first 'Best Of' compilation album, titled The Murmur Years: The Best Of Something For Kate 1996-2007.
Paul Dempsey has also produced two side projects, including a newly-released solo album.
Dempsey and Hyndman met at Padua College, Mornington Peninsula. Ashworth joined in 1998 after a distinguished career in the band Sandpit, turning down an offer to play with American band Hole. Ashworth, who has since married Dempsey, is the only current non-founding member.
Previous bassists include:
Touring members have included:
Early on they used the name "El Presidentè", before changing that to "Fish of the Day". The publican at their first gig suggested they change it. The new words were chosen from a shopping list, Kate being Paul Dempsey's Jack Russell terrier. The band's name is shortened to SFK (as per the band's official website).
Something for Kate and Paul Dempsey have played secret shows under pseudonyms. Some of the names used include:
Something for Kate's third album, Echolalia won the Australian Rolling Stone Readers Poll for Best album, Best band, Best single, Best male vocalist and Best rock album of 2001 while also topping the Triple J listeners poll for Best album of 2001. Their single Monsters from Echolalia came 2nd in the Triple J Hottest 100 songs of 2001.
From Elsewhere for 8 Minutes:
From Beautiful Sharks:
From Echolalia:
From The Official Fiction:
From Desert Lights:
From The Murmur Years:
Undone - A Tribute to Duran Duran:
The Power & The Passion - A Tribute to Midnight Oil:
Standing on the Outside - The Songs of Cold Chisel:
All music videos were directed by Bart Boghesi unless otherwise stated.
There have been two official video releases, a VHS only video titled Big Screen Television (also referred to as The World According to Bart) and a DVD titled A Diversion. The DVD features a short film with a soundtrack composed by Paul Dempsey, and 29 live video clips from various concerts.
The film clips from "Subject to Change" to "Whatever you Want", along with a live version of "Truly" (recorded at the UNSW Roundhouse), appear on Big Screen Television.
In 1998, Paul Dempsey released a project under the name Scared of Horses titled An Empty Flight, in which he wrote and recorded all the music, featuring vocals from a number of personalities from different indie bands. This album sold out of its pressings, and a physical copy is now extremely hard to find, but it is available on iTunes. In 2008, Dempsey began work on his first major solo album, completing recording in April 2009, releasing Everything Is True on 14 August 2009 through EMI.
In 2004, Something for Kate joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in its fight against animal cruelty.[2] As part of their involvement, the band produced an adverstisement protesting Kentucky Fried Chicken's (KFC's) alleged cruelty to animals.[3] Further, in 2007, the group signed PETA's petition calling for an end to Canada's seal slaughter.