Gyroscope (band)

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Gyroscope

Gyroscope photo shoot
Background information
Origin Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres Alternative rock[1]
Pop punk
Post-grunge
Emo (early)
Years active 1997–present
Labels Warner Music Australia (2008-2009)
Festival Mushroom (2003-2007)
Redline (2002),
Island Records (2009 - present)
Website gyroscope.com.au
Members Daniel Sanders
Zoran Trivic
Brad Campbell
Rob Nassif
Past members Kim Pengilly

Gyroscope is an Australian rock band from Perth, Western Australia, that was formed in 1997. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist, Daniel Sanders, guitarist and backing vocalist, Zoran Trivic, bassist and backing vocalist, Brad Campbell, and drummer, Rob Nassif. As of 2012, Gyroscope has released four studio albums during its thirteen-year career, all recorded with the band's current lineup.

Gyroscope's first album, Sound Shattering Sound, was released in 2004, seven years after forming. The debut album peaked at number 37 on the ARIA charts. A year later, Are You Involved? was released, debuting at number 20 on the ARIA charts. The second album was followed by the release of the split single, "Fast Girl / Beware Wolf", both songs appeared on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2005. The band's rise in popularity continued, striking significant commercial success with their 2008 album, Breed Obsession, which peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart. The third album was released through Warner Music Australia and consisted of four singles, including "Snakeskin" (number 16 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007) and the anthemic "Australia". The band's fourth album Cohesion was released on 9 April 2010, with the singles "Some of the Places I Know" and "Baby I'm Getting Better".

History

Early years

Gyroscope started as Gyroscope Sunday in Perth, Western Australia in 1997 with Daniel Sanders on guitar/vocals, Zoran Trivic on guitar/vocals, Rob Nassif on drums and Kim Pengilly on bass, who later left and was replaced by current member Brad Campbell (bass/vocal). They recorded their first demo in 1998, the eight tracks were on a limited release cassette,[2][3] with only 500 copies made.[4] Following the release of the demo, Gyroscope took up playing regularly on the Perth live circuit whilst also finding time for work and school commitments.

The band soon earned support slots for Unwritten Law, Millencolin, Toe to Toe, Reel Big Fish, 28 Days, The Living End, Jebediah and Penelope. Two more independent EPs, Scalextrix and Means To An End were recorded in 2000, of which only the former saw a CD release. Both EPs were eventually released together on cassette in April 2001 (in four different covers) under the title Injuring Yourself Whilst Making Music. The cassette has long since been out of print.

Later that year, the band went on hiatus after Rob Nassif went to spend six months studying in Canada. On his return, Gyroscope signed a deal with Redline Records owned by fellow Perth rockers Jebediah and supported that band on an Australian tour. The band's first release for Redline was the Take Time EP in May 2002. In October of the same year, the now-defunct Juice Magazine named Gyroscope as one of the next big things along with The Vines, Jet and The Datsuns. At the end of 2002, Gyroscope won a WAMi Award for "Most Popular Local Original Punk Act".

Gyroscope signed with Festival Mushroom Records at the beginning of 2003. The band released two EPs in 2003, Midnight Express (containing the live favorite "Fire Away") and Driving for the Storm / Doctor Doctor, and won wide airplay on Triple J radio across Australia, culminating in "Doctor Doctor" reaching number 92 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for that year.

Sound Shattering Sound

2004, however, was to become Gyroscope's breakthrough year. On the touring front, they supported international visitors to Australia such as Blink-182, Thursday, Dashboard Confessional (lead singer Chris Carrabba insisted the band open for his upon hearing the band's album), Brand New, Sparta, Saves the Day and The Get Up Kids, whilst a new single, "Safe Forever", came out in April 2004 and earned Gyroscope more mainstream exposure.

Finally, their debut album Sound Shattering Sound, which combined newer material with tracks from their last two EPs and the "Safe Forever" single, was released on 14 June 2004. It debuted at its number 37 peak on the ARIA album charts the following week[5]—a culmination of seven years' work and a consolidating live following. The band commenced their first headlining tour of Australia after the album's release.

Are You Involved?

In May 2005, Gyroscope headed to Los Angeles to record their second album with in-demand producer and engineer Mark Trombino, best known for his work with Jimmy Eat World, Drive Like Jehu, Finch, The Living End and Blink-182. During the sessions, the band also took time out to film a video for the album-in-progress' first single "Fast Girl" in Death Valley. The resulting second album, titled Are You Involved?, was a giant step forward for the band, in that it saw them striding away from traditional rock templates and occasionally experimenting with drum machines, synth washes, lush harmonies and acoustic guitars. Are You Involved? was released on 25 September, and initial copies came with a bonus DVD featuring 'making of' documentaries for both the album and "Fast Girl" video.

Are You Involved? was to become an even greater success for Gyroscope, earning the strongest reviews of their career and just making the Top 20 in its first week on the ARIA chart.[5] The album was also nominated for the inaugural J Award - Triple J's Australian album of the year accolade, with two singles "Fast Girl" and "Beware Wolf" making number 29 and number 62 on Triple J's Hottest 100.

The song "Beware Wolf" has been used several times in television shows such as the Australian soap Home and Away. "Fast Girl" was nominated for the 2006 ARIA Awards for Breakthrough Artist - Single and the band also received two WAMi Awards in 2006 for "Best Rock Act" and "Best Punk Act".

Breed Obsession

Following a successful tour of South Africa, Gyroscope began recording their third studio album in Liverpool with mixing occurring in London (UK). Gyroscope toured Australia with Fall Out Boy, on the Friends or Enemies tour in September 2007. Later that month, the band announced that the album's title would be Breed Obsession, and that it was planned to be released in early 2008. The first single from the album, "Snakeskin", was released on 27 October 2007, debuting at number 30 on the ARIA singles chart,[5] was number one most voted on JTV, number one most requested song on Triple J's Super Request and was ranked number 16 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2007. The "Snakeskin" video was shot in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge, south of London. The video sees the band playing in the middle of a 200 metre crop circle that was made specifically for the video, in the same farm where the Led Zeppelin crop circle was made that featured on the cover of the Remasters compilation album.[6]

Gyroscope performed at the Big Day Out festival, which toured Australia and New Zealand in early 2008. On 12 February 2008 the band released the second single from the album, "1981". Breed Obsession was released in Australia on 8 March 2008 and debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Album Chart, the highest debut in the band's history and the first Australian number one in fifteen weeks.[7] In August 2008 the album was certified gold.[8]

On 19 May 2008 Gyroscope released a music video for their song "Australia". The video was filmed during May 2008 in Sydney, and was directed by Tom Sparks.[9] The song was then released as the next single from Breed Obsession, on 13 June 2008.[10]

In September 2008 it was announced that Gyroscope had been nominated for the 2008 ARIA Awards in the 'Best Rock Album' category.[11] In October it was announced that "These Days" would be the 4th single from the album.

Cohesion and "Best of" album

Following a national tour supporting The Living End, Gyroscope began the writing process for their fourth studio album, Cohesion. The band stated had 25 full songs and were preparing to take them into the studio. The album was their first on Island Records Australia. In August 2009 the band announced Gil Norton (Pixies, Maximo Park, Foo Fighters) would produce the new album. Gyroscope started recording the album at Rockfield Studios, which is located in Monmouth, Wales.[12][13] On 16 October 2009, in an interview with radio station Triple J, Daniel Sanders announced that the record would be completed by mid-November. He also went on to say that the band was considering a self-titled album name, stating
You have to do it (have a self titled album) at some stage.
—Daniel Sanders[13]
In December 2009 the band released a track from the album, "Live Without You", as a radio single and as a teaser on their MySpace page. The song was not the first single from the album, which was confirmed to be "Some of the Places I Know", which was to be released in February 2010.[12] It was also announced that the band had decided on an album name and that the album would be released in April 2010.[12]

On 28 January 2010 the band released a blog on its MySpace website stating that the video for the first single "Some of the Places I Know" would be released the following week, on 5 February. The single was released as a digital download on 19 March. The band also announced the "newly-christened" album title, Cohesion, with 9 April is being its official release date. The album debuted at number 3 on the ARIA charts.

On 22 April 2010, the band put up a blog on MySpace[14] which stated that Warner Music would be releasing a "Best of Gyroscope" album on 7 May, on iTunes, without the band's permission. In the blog, Gyroscope stated that they only found out about the compilation after hearing about it through their fans on Facebook.[15] The band issued a joint statement through their management, criticising Warner for not consulting the group.[15] The band stated "The song selection, artwork and everything about this release has been done without consultation with the band. Gyroscope are a band who have always put our fans first. In our opinion, the release of this album without consultation with the band, and without including any material from our new album Cohesion, does not represent good value for our fans." The album was released anyway. The album has since been removed from iTunes and recalled from stores.

Other projects

As of December 2011, Sanders and Campbell perform in a Nirvana tribute band called "Nirvanarama"; the band's other members are Chris Daymond (Jebediah) and Drew Goddard (Karnivool). Nirvanarama played its inaugural show at the Rocket Room venue in Perth, Australia, at the "Smells like Christmas Spirit" Christmas party.[16]

Business ventures

Nassif has purchased a rehearsal studio building in his hometown of Perth, Australia, and named it "Hen House Rehearsal Studios". The building is located in the suburb of Osborne Park and consists of 14 rooms. Originally called the RNR Rehearsal Rooms, the studios were the location where Gyroscope wrote all four of its albums. Nassif purchased the studios in May 2010 and presents the rejuvenated business as “a place where bands and musicians can hang out with friends, create amazing music and have fun.”[17]

Artists that have rehearsed at Nassif's rehearsal studios include Jebediah, Drapht, Kryptonics and Monument.[18]

Reflections

Nassif, as part of his ownership and management of The Hen House Rehearsal Studios, continues to update a section entitled "Ideas" on the business' website as of November 2012. Nassif has used the blog to provide advice for newer musicians and bands with reflections from his time with Gyroscope. In a post entitled, "Its not the most talented bands that make it. Its the most persistent!", Nassif explains that Gyroscope recorded its debut album seven years after formation and that a significant contributing factor to the maintenance of the band, as well as other bands, was the equal apportioning of songwriting royalties to all band members:

We made a decision in the early years of Gyroscope to split all the song writing credits equally. This meant all 4 of us earn’t 25% of every song we wrote. Irrespective of who wrote what. This idea wasn’t new. We followed bands like Metallica, U2 and Radiohead, who all do the same.

I think this is incredibly important for young bands because it sets the tone for everyones roles with in the band. It encourages the members who may not be contributing to the song writing to make sure they contribute in other areas. Such as running the facebook pages, sourcing the merch designs, booking gigs and organising the rehearsal studio.

It means picking up any slack, so that even if your not directly involved with the songwriting your still pushing the band forward with your other responsibilities. Great songs alone will not get your band to where you want to go unless your doing all the smaller things really well too.[19]

On 3 November 2012, Nassif uploaded a post entitled "3 Reasons Your Band Should Play More Live Shows!", in which he reveals that "Gyroscope has never earned a cent from any of our 4 album releases."[20]

Members

  • Daniel Sanders – guitar, vocals
  • Zoran Trivic – guitar, vocals
  • Brad Campbell – bass, vocals
  • Rob Nassif – drums

Former

  • Kim Pengilly - bass

Discography

Albums

Year Notes Peak chart positions Certification
(sales thresholds)
AUS[7]
2004 Sound Shattering Sound
  • Released on 14 June 2004
  • Label: Festival Mushroom
 37
2005 Are You Involved?
  • Released on 25 September 2005
  • Label: Festival Mushroom
 20
2008 Breed Obsession
  • Released on 8 March 2008
  • Label: Warner
 1 AUS: Gold[8]
2010 Cohesion 3

EPs

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certification
(sales thresholds)		 Album
AUS[21] Hottest 100[22]
2003 "Doctor, Doctor" 92 Sound Shattering Sound
2004 "Safe Forever" 65 97
2006 "Fast Girl / Beware Wolf" 43 29 / 62 Are You Involved?
"Dream vs. Scream" — —
2007 "Snakeskin" 30 16 Breed Obsession
2008 "1981" 67 85
"Australia" 99 —
"These Days" — —
2010 "Some of the Places I Know" 32 — Cohesion
"Baby, I'm Gettin' Better" 34 40 AUS: Gold[8]
"What Do I Know About Pain?" — —
2011 "Fifty500" — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
  • "Dream vs. Scream" was released as a radio single and as a digital download in June 2006
  • "Live Without You" was released in December 2009 as a radio single and preview for the 4th album. However, it was not the first official single

Miscellaneous

  • Gyroscope Sunday (cassette only release) (1997)
  • Gyroscope (Demo) (cassette only release) - Feeble Records (1998)
  • Injuring Yourself Whilst Making Music (cassette-only release featuring Scalectrix and Means to an End EPs) (2001)
  • Around the World in 16 Songs (split album with NSF, Wackykids and Turtlehead) (2004)

Other Appearances

Awards and nominations

Nominations

  • 2003 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Local Original Act'
  • 2003 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Local Original Indie Rock Act'
  • 2003 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Original Guitarist' (Zoran Trivic)
  • 2005 Triple J J Award - Are You Involved
  • 2006 ARIA Awards - Best Breakthrough Single - "Fast Girl"
  • 2008 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Live Act'
  • 2008 ARIA Awards - Best Rock Album - Breed Obsession
  • 2008 Channel V - Rock Artist of the Year

Awards

  • 2002 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Local Original Punk Act'
  • 2005 WAMi Award - 'Best Punk Act'
  • 2006 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Album' (Are You Involved?)[23]
  • 2006 WAMi Award - 'Most Popular Live Act'[23]
  • 2006 WAMi Award - 'Best Rock Act'[23]
  • 2006 WAMi Award - 'Best Punk Act'[23]
  • 2007 WAMi Award - 'Best Drummer' (Rob Nassif)
  • 2008 WAMi Award - 'Best Popular Single/EP' ("Snakeskin")
  • 2008 WAMi Award - 'Best Popular Music Video' ("Snakeskin")

References

  1. ↑ Chris True. "Gyroscope". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011. "Originally known as Gyroscope Sunday, Aussie alt-rock four-piece Gyroscope formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 1997." 
  2. ↑ "Gyroscope Demo". Australia Music Online. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2008. 
  3. ↑ "Gyroscope". WAtoday.com.au. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008. 
  4. ↑ Murfett, Andrew (2 July 2004). "Gyrating emotions". The Age. Retrieved 3 August 2008. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 australian-charts.com/ (2003–2012). "GYROSCOPE - SNAKESKIN (SONG)". australian-charts.com/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 September 2012. 
  6. ↑ Herald Sun - music review
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "ARIA Albums Chart search for: Gyroscope". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2008. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Gold & Platinum accreditations". ARIA. Retrieved 15 October 2008. 
  9. ↑ "Gyrocope - Australia". MyspaceTV.com. Retrieved 25 May 2008. 
  10. ↑ "Australia - Gyroscope". JB Hi-FI online. 
  11. ↑ "Emerging artists dominated 2008 ARIA Award nominations". ARIA. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Kachor, Kate (15 December 2009). "Gyroscope releases Norton magic". Eleven magazine. Retrieved 21 December 2010. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Gyroscope in the studio: new music early 2010". Triple J. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 
  14. ↑ "An important message from Gyroscope van GYROSCOPE op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2010-04-22. Retrieved 2012-03-23. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Collins, Simon (24 April 2010). "Album release angers band". The West Australian (West Australian Newspapers Limited). p. 11. 
  16. ↑ MuzikChik06 (10 December 2011). "Nirvanarama- Territorial Pissings (Rocket Room, Perth, 09/12/11)". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 5 October 2012. 
  17. ↑ Rob Nassif (2011). "Story". Hen House Rehearsal Studios. The Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Retrieved 24 August 2012. 
  18. ↑ Kevin Mitchell (2 June 2012). "Rehearsin...seems we ain't the only ones...KM". Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 5 September 2012. 
  19. ↑ Rob Nassif (30 November 2012). "Its not the most talented bands that make it. Its the most persistent!". The Hen House Rehearsal Studios. The Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Retrieved 30 November 2012. 
  20. ↑ Rob Nassif (3 November 2012). "3 Reasons Your Band Should Play More Live Shows!". The Hen House Rehearsal Studios. The Hen House Rehearsal Studios. Retrieved 30 November 2012. 
  21. ↑ "ARIA Singles Chart search for: Gyroscope". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 26 May 2008. 
  22. ↑ "Hottest 100 Countdown". Triple J. Retrieved 26 May 2008. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "WAMI Awards 2006 Congratulations". WAM. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008. 

External links

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