Event
The Drones
The Drones
with special guests
Mannequin Men
and
Underculture
The Drones are an Australian rock group who rose to prominence during the early 2000s. They were influenced by an eclectic bunch 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.
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. Like other Australian bands such as The Triffids, The Go-Betweens, Nick Cave and The Dirty Three, 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 ground swell of interest in them - generated by acclaim and publicity both at home and abroad. Lead singer Gareth is known for his thick Australian accent and politically driven 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 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.
Gareth Liddiard - vocals, guitar
Fiona Kitschin - bass
Dan Luscombe - guitar
Michael Noga - drums
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LocationThe Frequency
121 W. Main St.
Madison, WI 53703
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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Contact
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