Regurgitator is an Australian For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British rock band Rock Band is a series of music video games developed by Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo DS, iPhone, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 game systems. The series, inspired by Harmonix's previous efforts on the Guitar Hero series, allows up to four players to simulate the from Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has an approximate population of 2 million. A resident of Brisbane is commonly known as a "Brisbanite", currently consisting of lead singer/guitarist Quan Yeomans, bassist Ben Ely, drummer Peter Kostic and keyboardist Seja Vogel. A blend of rock and electronica Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing. The term was first used in the United States in the early 1990s with, they captured a devout following 1996 with their debut album titled Tu Plang.
The band are popular for their 3D 3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such images may be for later display or for real-time viewing animated videos which were created by Quan and his longtime partner (now ex-partner), Janet English (bassist and vocalist of Spiderbait). The band have released 6 albums and 5 EPs.
Contents |
History
Early years (1994–1995)
Regurgitator were originally a 3 piece indie rock Indie rock is a commonly used tag for rock music that is produced either by small, independent record labels, or by the artists themselves. The idea of rock music made independent of the major label establishment first started to gain prominence in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Although it is often thought of as a genre of band Rock Band is a series of music video games developed by Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo DS, iPhone, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 game systems. The series, inspired by Harmonix's previous efforts on the Guitar Hero series, allows up to four players to simulate the with Quan Yeomans (guitar and vocals), Ben Ely (bass and vocals) and Martin Lee (drums). The three had purportedly met on a bus in inner Brisbane. At this time, all three were already in several bands, some containing future members of The Resin Dogs, Wolfmother and George. Regurgitator at this time were not considered to be the main focus of any members, rather as a side-project to their other bands.
With the emergence of the Brisbane underground scene in the early 90s major labels, such as Warner Music Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of that corporation. It is also colloquially known as 'Warners' or 'the Bunny'[where?], based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons produced by the former animation division of the label's, generated interest in increasing their Australian music roster. A&R representative Michael Parisi initially pursued Pangaea, a popular and established band in Brisbane's underground that Ben Ely fronted. It wasn't until Parisi was supplied with a Pangaea demo tape by their manager Paul Curtis that he discovered Regurgitator, whose material had been dubbed on the b-side. Ironically, Parisi would push for the less established band to be signed because "it was the hook that Pangaea, for all the excitement they had generated on stage, had lacked"[1]. The band signed to Warner in 1995.
The release of their first self-titled EP led to a stirring of the Brisbane music scene that was well and truly interested by the time of the release of their second EP, New, which spawned the radio hits "Track 1" and "Blubber Boy".
Tu Plang (1996)
Following the success of their first two EP releases, the band made an unusual move by traveling to Thailand to record their first full-length album at 'Center Stage Studios' - a famed pop studio in Bangkok Bangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔːn]), or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep ( [listen]) (help·info), meaning "city of angels" for short, it was a small trading post. Martin Lee pushed to record in Thailand because it was cheaper than recording in Australia and would keep their record company happy with a bigger profit margin[2]. Calling the album Tu-plang (ฅู้พอลง Thai for 'Jukebox'), it largely featured a rock/hip hop Hip hop is a musical genre which developed as part of hip hop culture, and is defined by key stylistic elements such as rapping, DJing, sampling, scratching and beatboxing. Hip hop began in the South Bronx of New York City in the 1970s. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop, but hip hop denotes the practices of an entire subculture infusion, which was evident on the third single release "Kong Foo Sing". The band also experimented in a number of genres including techno Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan (USA) in the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988. Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built, musak Elevator music refers to the gentle instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators. The term is also frequently applied as a generic (and often derogatory), surf rock Surf rock, also known as "Surf Guitar" is a style of music that originated in the USA that mixes elements of surf music and rock music, and partially due to the number of Mexican immigrants in southern California, added elements of Spanish rooted melodies, as well as popular titles like "Mexico", "Baja", and " and dub Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960's, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by. Regurgitator had gained notoriety for songs, usually written by Yeomans, with obscene lyrical content. Amongst these, the controversial pop-rock tune "I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am" was attacked by Australian radio identity Alan Jones, who campaigned to have it removed from airplay[3]. Tu-plang was a smash hit, winning Best Alternative release and Best Debut album at the 1996 ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA). The event has been held annually since 1987 and encompasses the general genre-specific and popular awards (these are what is usually being referred.
Unit (1997 - 1998)
After their recording experience in Thailand, the band chose to record in the comfort of their hometown Brisbane. Lee championed the idea of setting up a make-shift studio in a condemned warehouse in Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley is a suburb of central Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The suburb lies immediately northeast of the Brisbane central business district, and is one of the hubs of Brisbane's nightlife, renowned for its nightclubs, bars and adult entertainment, affectionately named "The Dirty Room" by the band. In contrast with their rock-orientated works of the past, the band moved on with a more electronic and pop based sound on their second effort Unit. The band openly acknowledged their stylistic change with the album's opening track, ironically titled "I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff". The band released "Everyday Formula" as the first single, with Yeomans and Magoo later admitting it was a conscious decision to ease their fans into the new sound with a heavier track[4]. The single made a lacklustre impact compared with the following pop and keyboard style of the following singles, which were instant hits. From this album, "Polyester Girl", "! (The Song Formerly Known As)", and "Black Bugs" all gained significant amounts of airplay. Unit is Regurgitator's most commercially successful album, going platinum three times in Australia. Whilst it no doubt increased the popularity of the band, fans of their first generation of work are still divided in their responses to it[5][6][7]. It is also considered to be ahead of its time due to heavy 1980s referencing, well ahead of the popularisation of 1980s aesthetics which occurred post 2000. Unit won 5 ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA). The event has been held annually since 1987 and encompasses the general genre-specific and popular awards (these are what is usually being referred in 1998, including best album.
During the UnitShifter tour in late 1997 drummer Martin Lee had failed to appear at a second sold out show at the University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia. Established in February 1911, it is the only university in the state to be a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities. The University was established under and is governed by the University of Western Australia Act. After disappearing from a Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,659,000 (2009), Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average nightclub, he was found the next day, unconscious, and was taken to hospital where he remained comatose for a week. No-one, including Lee once he'd recovered, had any recollection of the circumstances that had landed him there. Jon Coghill of Brisbane rock band Powderfinger Powderfinger is an Australian rock band. The band formed in Brisbane in 1989, and since 1992 their line-up has consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill was his fill-in for the rest of the tour. Shane Rudken, who had contributed string arrangements on Unit, was added as a live session musician on keyboards.
Lee's departure & drop from Warner Music (1999 - 2003)
After a short break in 1998 working with respective side projects (Quan formed Happyland with Spiderbait's Janet English and Ben Ely reviving Pangaea Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration) the band moved into Wategoes Beachhouse at Byron Bay Byron Bay is a beachside town in the north of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is located 759 kilometres north of Sydney and 140 kilometres south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. The town has a population of about 5,600 people and is the nucleus of Byron Shire, on the New South Wales New South Wales , Australia's most populous state, is located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland, east of South Australia and encompasses the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe coast to begin recording their third album, ...Art. Having rebuilt "The Dirty Room" studio with the assumption it would be used for the recording, Lee felt undervalued when Yeomans made it clear he needed a change in working environment[8]. Since the Unit sessions he had felt excluded from the creative process as his material would rarely be used and he was often replaced by a drum machine in the studio[9]. After an extended absence during the album recording and a string of absences on the supporting tour schedule it was announced in late 1999 that Lee would be leaving the group due to 'creative differences'. He was replaced by Front End Loader and Hard-Ons drummer, Peter Kostic late 1999.
...art was followed by Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War on T-Wrecks in 2001, a hip-hop focused album that Yeomans and Ely recorded and produced in London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,. Despite the latter's musical proximity to Tu-Plang, both albums met criticism from many fans, who considered them lacking the creativity of the alternative and explicit Regurgitator from the mid-1990s[10][11][12]. At the same time, the albums did not perform as well as hoped on the charts despite their success in Japan. This led into a turbulent relationship with their label, Warner, who were unable to grasp the band's lack of motivation and refusal to compromise just for the sake of commercial success [13][14][15]. After the fourth album, discussions led to a mutual request to end the deal, and the compilation album Jingles (along with DVD Infomercials) was released - the title an obvious comment on the parallel of advertising and the focus on singles and their videos. Regurgitator signed to Valve Records in 2003.
Band in a Bubble & Mish Mash!(2004 - 2005)
Regurgitator created and participated in the Band in a Bubble project in 2004, a new reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors. The genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television , but has expanded significantly since the-inspired media stunt sponsored and broadcast by Australian music channel, Channel V Channel [V] International is flagship of the Channel [V] network. It was founded after MTV Asia parted ways with the STAR TV Network. It was produced and operated from Hong Kong from 1 January 1994 until 1 January 2002, after which operations were shifted to Malaysia with some aspects still operating in Hong Kong. Since 1 January 2008, Channel [V]. The band entered a small glass recording studio, built in Federation Square Federation Square is a cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises a series of buildings containing a public broadcaster, art galleries, a museum, cinemas, exhibition spaces, auditoria, restaurants, bars and shops around two major public spaces, one covered (The Atrium), the other open to the sky, and composed of two spaces in the centre of Melbourne The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River . The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known, to record their new album. Pedestrians could look into most rooms of the "bubble" and could watch the band work, or tune in to a 24 hour digital cable television channel and watch their work on that. Nobody could enter or leave the bubble, a la Big Brother Big Brother is a reality television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash prize by avoiding periodic evictions from. In addition to the three band members, their longtime Australian producer Magoo, engineer Hugh Webb and Channel V host Jabba were all also locked into the bubble with the band. This project resulted in 2004's Mish Mash!.
The first single from Mish Mash! was "The Drop" and the second was "My Friend Robot". In May 2005 they released the "My Ego" single, which contains three remixes created by Quan Yeomans in his new home in Hong Kong. They then released the "#?*!" (or Pillowhead) EP which contained b-sides from "Mish Mash!". Their album tour included a performance at the world's biggest short film festival, Tropfest, surrounded by 30,000 people.
Love and Paranoia & upcoming 7th Album
Regurgitator took a break during 2006, with Ben working on his project Jump 2 Light Speed and Quan working on his solo career. The band also licensed their Band in a Bubble concept to Initial TV in the UK. In 2007 Quan released an EP with Sydney based musician Spod called Blox.
Their 6th album, Love and Paranoia was recorded in Rio De Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, 6th largest in the Americas and receives more international visitors than any other city in the Southern Hemisphere, Brazil and was released in Australia on September 15, 2007. It features 80's style keyboard-driven poprock tunes, with new member Seja Vogel on keyboards. The first single from the album, titled "Blood and Spunk" received airplay on Triple J triple J is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station , mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). Music played on the station is generally more alternative than commercial stations with a heavy emphasis on Australian music and new music. Music videos for "Blood and Spunk", and the second single, "Romance of the Damned", have been released.
In 2008, Regurgitator released Love and Paranoia in the UK and Asia with a supporting tour. It was the first time in 5 years that the band had toured the UK. It was also their first visit to China where they played alongside New Pants, who had supported Regurgitator on their Australian tour in 2007. Simulataneously, Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans both launched solo projects with "Ben Ely's Radio 5" becoming his second solo project while Quan's album Quan: The Amateur was his debut solo album which was recorded in Hong Kong, where he lived until 2010. Quan played the Big Day Out 2009 tour in support of his album.
The group's Warner Music catalogue was made available on Australian iTunes in August 2009. In September 2009 it was stated on the band's website that the band were talking about recording a new album in 2010.
At the beginning of May 2010, Regurgitator announced on the news section of their website that they had begun work on their seventh album. It is also known that they are recording it in the heart of Melbourne.
Discography
Albums
- tu-plang - Warner (May 1996) (album title translates to "juke box" in the Thai language Thai (ภาษาไทย Phasa Thai [pʰāːsǎːtʰāj] ) is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai-Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively link the Tai-Kadai languages to any) (#3 Australia, #27 NZ)
- Unit - Warner (November 1997) (#4 Australia, #7 NZ) [re-released in October, 1998 as Unit Re-Booted, containing bonus Computer Multimedia (5 music videos from the album)]
- ...art - Warner (August 1999) (#2 Australia, #12 NZ)
- Generic City Pileup [Remix album - Japan-only release] (November, 2000)
- Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War on T-Wrecks Warner (July, 2001) (#7 Australia)
- Jingles: The Best Of - Warner (November, 2002)
- Mish Mash! - Valve Records (November, 2004)
- Love and Paranoia - Valve Records (September, 2007)
EPs
- Regurgitator (aka Hamburger) (October, 1994) (#45 Australia)
- New (March, 1995) (#30 Australia)
- Generic City [Vinyl only] (September, 2000)
- Crush The Losers (September, 2000)
- #?*! (aka Pretty Girls Swear or Pillowhead) (August, 2005)
Singles
- "Blubber Boy" (1995)
- "F.S.O." (January, 1996)
- "I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am" [Vinyl only] (1996)
- "Kong Foo Sing" (March, 1996) (#33 Australia)
- "Miffy's Simplicity" (October, 1996)
- "Everyday Formula" (June, 1997) (#41 Australia)
- "Black Bugs" (August, 1997) (#32 Australia, #113 UK)
- "Polyester Girl" (February, 1998) (#14 Australia, #16 NZ, #132 UK)
- "The Fourth Single from Unit" (September, 1998) (#28 Australia)
- "Happiness (Rotting My Brain)" (June 1999) (#16 NZ, #44 Australia)
- "I Wanna Be a Nudist" (November, 1999)
- "Freshmint!" (March, 2000) (#44 Australia)
- "Crush the Losers" (September 2000)
- "Fat Cop" (May, 2001) (#34 Australia)
- "Superstraight" (August, 2001)
- "Hullabaloo" (January, 2002)
- "Bong in My Eye" (July, 2004)
- "The Drop" (October, 2004)
- "My Ego" (early 2005)
- "Pretty Girls Swear" (2005)
- "Blood and Spunk" (October 2007)
- "Romance of the Damned" (2008)
VHS and DVDs
- Regurgitated [VHS] (1996)
- Regurgitator: Live at the Brisbane Festival Hall [VHS] (1998)
- Jingles: Infomercials The Best of Videos [DVD] (November, 2002)
- Nein Nein Nein Slumber of the Beast [DVD] (October, 2003)
- Band in a Bubble - The DVD (January, 2008)
Music videos
- "I Like it Like That"
- "Couldn't Do It"
- "Track 1"
- "Blubber Boy"
- "Kong Foo Sing"
- "F.S.O"
- "Miffy's Simplicity"
- "Everyday Formula"
- "Black Bugs"
- "Modern Life"
- "! (The Song Formerly Known As)"
- "Polyester Girl"
- "I Like Your Old Remix Better Than Your New Remix"
- "Happiness"
- "Freshmint!"
- "I Wanna Be A Nudist"
- "Crush the Losers"
- "Fat Cop"
- "Super Straight"
- "Hullabaloo"
- "C'mon"
- "Transformers Theme"
- "Bong In My Eye"
- "The Drop"
- "My Friend Robot"
- "Pretty Girls Swear"
- "The Game"
- "Blood and Spunk"
- "Romance of the Damned"
- "Destroy this Town"
Other "mini videos" exist for other album tracks as seen on "Regurgitated" and "Jingles (Infomercials)".
Chart positions
Albums
EPs
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June 1988. Prior to this, from mid-1983, ARIA had | |||
| 1994 | Regurgitator (aka Hamburger)
|
45 |
|
| 1995 | New
|
30 |
|
| 2000 | Generic City [Vinyl only]
|
- | |
| 2000 | Crush The Losers
|
- |
|
| 2005 | #?*!
|
- |
|
Singles
References
- ^ "Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden" By Andrew Stafford, Published by University of Queensland Press, 2004, p.274
- ^ "Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden" By Andrew Stafford, Published by University of Queensland Press, 2004, p.280
- ^ http://danny.oz.au/freedom/music/immedia-article.txt
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/media/s2409418.htm
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/regurgitator/unit/
- ^ http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/1567/Regurgitator--Unit.htm
- ^ http://www.ucc.asn.au/~tommo/unit.html
- ^ "Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden" By Andrew Stafford, Published by University of Queensland Press, 2004, p.288
- ^ "The Sell In" by Craig Mathieson, Published by Allen & Unwin 2000, p232
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/regurgitator/___art/
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Eduardo-Rodriguez-Wage-War-T-Wrecks/dp/B00005N9K6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1278376775&sr=1-1
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/regurgitator/eduardo_and_rodriguez_wage_war_on_t_wrecks/
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/28/1098667893066.html
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/18/1092765006375.html
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/regurgitator/2007/09/28/1190486522218.html
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Albums". ARIA The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June 1988. Prior to this, from mid-1983, ARIA had. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1997.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1998 Albums". ARIA The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June 1988. Prior to this, from mid-1983, ARIA had. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1997.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1999 Albums". ARIA The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June 1988. Prior to this, from mid-1983, ARIA had. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1999.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
External links
| This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (January 2007) |
- Regurgitator's official website
- Regurgitator's Myspace site
- An extensive Discography of the bands work
Categories: Australian rock music groups | Queensland musical groups | Musical groups established in 1996 Categories: 1996 establishments | 1996 in music | Organizations established in 1996 | Musical groups by year of establishment | ARIA Award winners