| The Drones | |
|---|---|
Gareth Liddiard |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Perth, Western Australia (early years) Melbourne, Victoria |
| Genres | Alternative rock, punk blues, garage rock |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | ATP Recordings In-Fidelity Records Bang! Records Spooky Records |
| Website | The Drones official website |
| Members | |
| Gareth Liddiard Fiona Kitschin Dan Luscombe Mike Noga |
|
| Past members | |
| Warren Hall James McCann Steve Joines Brendan Humphries Rui Pereira Christian Strybosch |
|
The Drones are an Australian rock group who rose to prominence during the early 2000s. They are influenced by a variety of bands and soloists including Neil Young, The Velvet Underground, Bad Brains, Suicide, Green on Red, The Birthday Party, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone.
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Musically the band does not fit easily into conventional rock music categories. While some of their material is based on conventional rock sounds and song structures, they also venture into the noisy, atonal, blues-based music that Tom Waits brought to a wider audience. The Drones also explore the music of the Australia bush made popular in Australia by Weddings Parties Anything. The Drones left Australia in 2005 to concentrate on the European market, where a larger market would make it easier to support their unconventional sound. However, they eventually returned to Australia to find a groundswell of interest in them—generated by acclaim and publicity both at home and abroad. Lead singer Gareth Liddiard is known for his thick Australian accent and political lyrics.
The first incarnation of The Drones formed in Perth in 1998 and included a varied line up over the next few years. The mainstays of the band, Rui Pereira and Gareth Liddiard, had previously played together in the 'Gutterville Splendour Six', with musicians in the original Perth incarnations including Warren Hall (Moth, Gutterville Splendour Six) on drums and guitarist James McCann (Harpoon, Nunchukka Superfly, Lowdorados, Gutterville Six).[1] Steve Joines (The Kill Devil Hills, Gutterville) replaced McCann when McCann relocated to Sydney. In early 2000, Liddiard and Pereira headed to the east coast to accelerate their progress. Initially they met with little success and endured tough conditions including an extended stay in a decrepit Victorian caravan park,[2] and sleeping on an old mattress found on the roadside. Guitarist Brendan Humphries (Sweeney Todd and His Elephant Men, Gutterville Splendour Six, The Kill Devil Hills) was included among the first of the Melbourne lineups, and later Fiona Kitschin (also from Perth) was recruited on bass. Christian Strybosch (Stunt Car Drivers) replaced Hall on drums, Humphries returned to Perth, and the lineup of Liddiard, Pereira, Kitschin and Strybosch went on to record in one day an EP. The ‘self-titled' EP was released in mid 2001 and instantly found The Drones receiving air-play on public radio, and a considerable amount of coverage in the street press. Voted as the “best new local talent” in 2001 by Patrick Donovan, music editor for The Age newspaper. Sophie Best, a respected freelance journo for Beat Magazine, The Age and her own webzine Back Porch by the end of that year was talking up “The Drones” and they made her top ten as well.[3]
The band then signed to Spooky Records, releasing their debut album, Here Come The Lies in August 2002.[4] Two further 7" singles, "The Cockeyed Lowlife of the Highlands" and "Bird in a Church", were released in 2002.
Sessions for what would become their second album Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By were undertaken during 2004. But once the album was completed, the band had legal problems that stalled the release for over a year. Influential Melbourne indie music figure Bruce Milne's In-Fidelity label eventually released it in early 2005,[2] to enthusiastic reviews from the underground music press. The album was also nominated for Triple J's inaugural J Award prize in 2005 (which was eventually won by Wolfmother), and topped many Australian critics' end-of-year Top 10 lists. Furthermore, Triple J put the album tracks "Shark Fin Blues" and "Baby²" on medium rotation. During an extensive six month tour encompassing Europe and the US, All Tomorrow's Parties issued Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By outside of Australia towards the end of 2005. Strybosch left around this time to join Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, and Mike Noga (Sandro) took his place.[2]
In 2006, a record of outtakes from Here Come the Lies and Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By called The Miller's Daughter was released by Bang! Records (a Spanish label which has many other underground Australian bands on its roster). Later that April, up against other notable bands such as Wolfmother, The Go-Betweens, TZU, The Devastations, The Mess Hall, Tex, Don & Charlie and Ben Lee, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By won the inaugural Australian Music Prize. The Drones continued to tour throughout the year, including a support slot on You Am I's Australian tour in July.
In September 2009 Wait Long... was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.
In a poll of contemporary Australian songwriters organised by Triple J, "Shark Fin Blues", was voted by as the greatest Australian song.[5]
The Drones third studio album Gala Mill was recorded in an old mill at Gala Farm in Cranbrook, Tasmania. It was released in September 2006. The album was also nominated for the 2006 Australian Music Prize. The Drones were also nominated as 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist' at the 2006 inaugural AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) Chart Awards.[6]
In late 2006, Liddiard announced that Rui Pereira had left the band, to be replaced by Dan Luscombe[7] (The Blackeyed Susans, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, Stardust Five). Luscombe debuted for The Drones at the 2006 Meredith Music Festival.
On 15 November 2006 The Drones, through the American label, Spaceland Recordings, released a live album recorded at Spaceland an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
In 2007 The Drones toured with the Big Day Out before undertaking a four month tour around Europe (with shows in Norway, France and Italy), commencing in April with a performance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in the UK, curated by The Dirty Three. The band's European tour was followed by a national tour of Australia, with Snowman. 2007 also saw the release of the band's first DVD, Live in Madrid, a live performance by the band at the Gruta 77 club in Madrid.
In July 2008 The Drones released a digital/12" EP featuring new songs "The Minotaur" and "Nail It Down", the first songs from their next album, Havilah. Havilah was released 20 September 2008 in Australia, with a worldwide release following in February 2009. The band undertook a national tour to promote the album in November, performed at the Falls Festival in December and toured Australia in February 2009 as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
More European and American dates are confirmed for 2009 including a performance at the All Tomorrow's Parties New York Festival in September.
At the fourth annual AIR Awards held on 22 November 2009 The Drones won two awards, 'Best Independent Album of the Year' for Havilah and 'Independent Artist of the Year'.[8][9]
At the inaugural Australian Rolling Stone Awards, held in Sydney in January 2010, The Drones won the 'Best Live Act' award.[10]