Tripod (band)

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Tripod

Tripod after Brisbane show at the Tivoli. 1 December 2007.
Background information
Origin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres Acoustic rock, comedy rock
Years active 1997–present
Associated acts Kind of Pluto, Scott Edgar and the Universe & 7cm of Alex Lamberton
Website www.3pod.com.au
Members Scod
Gatesy
Yon

Tripod is an Australian musical comedy act that specialises in improv, parody and satire. As its name suggests, the band is a trio; it comprises Scod (Scott Edgar), Yon (Simon Hall) and Gatesy (Steven Gates). The trio covers a wide variety of performance styles, from soft ballads to hard rock, performing these songs with only the aid of Scod (and, at times, Gatesy) playing acoustic guitar.

History

Tripod formed when the three members were attending university, with Yon and Scod meeting in 1995 at Monash University.[1] During their shows, they have made passing references to their history of busking in Melbourne malls. The band got their first break appearing on Hey Hey It's Saturday's "Red Faces" contest, where they performed a parodic medley of Oasis hits that demonstrated similarities between the songs.[2]

Radio segments

The band gained further fame making various radio appearances. On the Triple J drive-time show Merrick and Rosso, they had a weekly spot where they were challenged to write a song in an hour, with the topic and style chosen by the hosts. The Song-in-an-Hour Challenge continued from 2002–2004 on the Triple J Breakfast show[3] with Wil Anderson and Adam Spencer. Two CDs containing some of the finest examples of these sessions have been released, each also including recordings taken from live Song-In-An-Hour challenges featured in Tripod's Pod August Nights concerts. In late 2005, they moved to Fox FM where they could be heard on Peter Helliar's weekly Friday morning show, Pete's Show.

TV Appearances

Tripod were a feature act in Network Ten's 2003/2004 sketch comedy television show skitHOUSE, performing skits and songs as part of the core cast. They performed on Rove/Rove Live in 1999, 2003, and 2004, and were guest programmers of Rage in 2004.[4] They were also core cast performers on the 2007 ABC variety program The Sideshow, and performed a number of their songs on the show, including "Gonna Make You Happy Tonight", "Krap Karate", and "Snapshots". They made frequent musical appearances on Network Ten's Good News Week from 2009 to 2011, and have appeared on various ABC1 programs, including Spicks and Specks (May 2011), and Adam Hills Tonight (May 2013).

Tripod also composed the theme song for SBS One's Australian television comedy history show ADbc in 2009,[5] and performed during Microsoft's keynote address at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show.

Live shows

Tripod perform nationally in Australia and are regular performers at music festivals[6] and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. However, one of their earliest shows, Lady Robots, was first previewed at the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Festival before it was performed at the MICF later that year. The show was a musical comedy telling the story of three men who are hurled into space where they come across a planet populated only by Lady Robots. Tripod performed a modified version of the show, Lady Robots v1.1 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2005. Both versions of Lady Robots have toured Australia since 2002. No recordings are known to exist.

Tripod toured with the show Tripod are Self Saucing in 2004, and again at the 2006 MICF. They recorded a live album of the show in April 2006 entitled Songs from Self Saucing, which was nominated for Best Comedy Release at the 2007 ARIA awards.

Tripod's first DVD was also released in 2006: a live recording of their 2005 show "POD August Nights"; it is regarded as a showcase of "the Best of Tripod". The DVD includes numerous special features including a music video for their song "Gonna Make You Happy Tonight" from their 2004 album, Middleborough Rd. Tripod's 2001 show, "Tripod tells the tale of the Adventures of Tosswinkle the Pirate (Not Very Well)" was also released on DVD in 2006, following the original 2001 VHS release.

Tripod released a Christmas album in 2010, entitled For the Love of God, and toured nationally with the songs, performing in the Sydney Opera House that year.[7]

In 2009, Tripod released a DVD of a live performance at the Woodford Folk Festival. This DVD featured never-before-seen bonus footage consisting of a bootleg recording of their 2007 show How to Train an Attack Dog from Scratch, a show whose narrative was loosely based around an examination of the fictional history of musical comedy.

On 30 January 2010, Tripod held the world premiere of their comedic musical Tripod versus the Dragon at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Massachusetts, United States. Elana Stone co-starred in the production in the role of "The Dungeon Master/Dragon" after Megan Washington, who had been co-writing a haunting ballad for the production, declined the role due to scheduling conflicts. The production is based on the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game.[8] Tripod went on to perform this show at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010. They released a CD of songs from the musical, as well as a DVD with easter eggs and special features on 2 March 2011.[9]

In January 2013, Tripod joined forces with Australian performer Eddie Perfect to create Perfect Tripod, a show of classic Australian songs arranged in four-part harmony, inspired by their cover of Meet Me in the Middle of the Air performed on The Sideshow on October 13, 2007. They also performed in the 2013 MICF with a show entitled Men of Substance,[10] also releasing an audio CD with a digital download option in March 2013.[11]

Online presence

In late 2009, Tripod had begun posting video-logs and behind-the-scenes Tripod versus the Dragon tour videos on their YouTube account, tripodtele, including recurring segments like "Ask Tripod Your Questions!" and "Tripod versus the Dragon versus the World", in order to provide extra content for those awaiting their upcoming shows. Most of the logs were typical Tripod sketches, reminiscent of their older DVD extras and Skithouse performances.

Tripod also dabbled in live-streaming in mid-2011, interacting with fans during live online performance via Ustream.[12]

In early 2013, they began the segment, "Tripod: Men of Answers", a segment whose title paralleled that of the upcoming show, "Men of Substance." In November 2013, Tripod published a music video for their song "Gay Bar" from Men of Substance, which they had presumably animated themselves.

Style

Tripod's musical and comedic styles vary. At times they use humorous sounds, such as in "Yon and his Flute" from the Open Slather album, but they are extremely skilled with their voices and instruments, and write in a range of musical genres. Their particular brand of humour stems from the lyrics of their songs and the comedic timing between the three men, often relying heavily on facial expression and/or including scripted bickering on stage. The lyrics are often satirical, or use off-beat humour. Topics have included movie-style martial arts, stalking, interesting Shakespearean-era words, and counter-terrorism.

Tripod are self-professed geeks, and also reference video games and Star Wars in many of their songs. They were also honoured with a reference in the Star Wars novel Force Heretic II; on page 223 of the paperback version, the names Yon, Gaitzi and Scod were used, as well as the name Tripod.

Members

  • Scott "Scod" Edgar - vocals, lead guitar (1997–present)
  • Steven "Gatesy" Gates - rhythm guitar, vocals (1997–present)
  • Simon "Yon" Hall - vocals, miscellaneous instruments, trumpet, harmonica (1997–present)

Discography

  • Box Set (1997, out of production)
  • Open Slather (April 2000)
  • Open Slather Special Christmas Edition feat. Tripod Live April 2000 (November 2000, out of production)
  • Tripod tells the tale of the Adventures of Tosswinkle the Pirate (Not Very Well) (2001) (VHS)
  • About An Hour of Song-In-An-Hour (2002)
  • About An Hour of Song-In-An-Hour ... Again (2003)
  • Fegh Maha (2004)
  • Middleborough Rd (2004)
  • Pod August Night (2006) (DVD)
  • Tripod tells the tale of the Adventures of Tosswinkle the Pirate (Not Very Well) (2006) (DVD)
  • Perfectly Good Songs (Mini Album) (2006)
  • Songs from Self Saucing (2006)
  • For The Love of God!: A Tripod Christmas Album (2008)
  • Live At Woodford (2009) (DVD)
  • Tripod Versus The Dragon (2010)
  • Men of Substance (2013)

Awards

  • 2003 Australian Comedy Awards: People's Choice Award; Award for Outstanding Comedy Recording (Songs In An Hour)[13]
  • 2005 ARIA Awards: Best Comedy Release (Middleborough Rd).[14]
  • 2008 Green Room Award: Best Original Songs in a Cabaret Performance (How to Train an Attack Dog from Scratch).[15]

References

  1. ↑ Bonnie Malkin, A funny thing happened on the way into orbit..., "The Sydney Morning Herald", 4 December 2003
  2. ↑ Seven Unusual Things Happening to Tripod, "Everguide.com", 5 April 2013
  3. ↑ , 2009
  4. ↑ , 2009
  5. ↑ ADbc: Full Cast and Crew, "Internet Movie Database"
  6. ↑ , 2009
  7. ↑ , 2009
  8. ↑ MASS MoCA Event page for Tripod versus the Dragon
  9. ↑ Tripod vs the Dragon on DVD from 2nd March, "3pod.com.au", 24 February 2011
  10. ↑ Cameron Woodhead, Tripod: Men of Substance, "The Sydney Morning Herald", 3 April 2013
  11. ↑ Men of Substance Digital Album Bandcamp.com, 28th March 2013.
  12. ↑ Introducing: Tripod's Golden Stream, "3pod.com.au", 14 March 2011
  13. ↑ Australian Comedy Awards,TheAge.com.au, 26 November 2003
  14. ↑ 2005 ARIA Awards Nominees and Winners
  15. ↑ 2009

External links

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