San Cisco

San Cisco is an Australian indie pop band that formed in 2009[1] under the original name of King George,[2] in Fremantle, Western Australia.[1] The band are a three-piece, and currently consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals) and Scarlett Stevens (drums, vocals). All members, except Stevens, share duties on keyboards. In November 2011, the band was signed by Albert Productions,[2] but moved to Island Records for the release of its debut album. In October 2012, the band described its 'vibe' as "squelchy, crispy, streamlined, hairy, indie". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Dance Release for the album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.

This article is about the band. For their self titled album, see San Cisco (album).

San Cisco
San Cisco live at the Bakery, 2012
Background information
OriginFremantle, Western Australia, Australia
GenresIndie pop, indie rock, indie folk, psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, jangle pop
Years active2009–present
LabelsAlbert Productions, Island Records
Associated actsThe Flairz
The Real Life Animators
Ghetto Crystals
Websitesancisco.com
MembersJordi Davieson
Josh Biondillo
Scarlett Stevens
Past membersNick Gardner
Jennifer Aslett

History

Formation

The three male members of San Cisco attended the same high school, Christian Brothers College in Fremantle, whilst Stevens attended nearby Iona Presentation College.[3] Singer/guitarist Davieson and drummer Stevens have known each other since early childhood. At only thirteen Davieson's first band was The Real Life Animators.[4] The band formed in early December 2005, with Albert Loss on lead guitar and vocals, Davieson on rhythm guitar and vocals, Bill Lawrie on drums, and Theo Campbell on bass guitar. The band played around Fremantle, supporting other bands such as the Watts and the Flairz. Stevens' first performances were in December 2003, at age eleven, as the drummer for the rock trio, the Flairz, together with Dion Mariani and John Mariani. Meanwhile, Biondillo and Davieson also bonded over a shared interest in skateboarding, the water, and music. Stevens is the daughter of Phil Stevens, who co-founded Jarrah Records with both the John Butler Trio and The Waifs, two bands that he also manages.[5][6] Biondillo has explained, "I started playing guitar when I was in high school, about year 8 or 9, but it was mostly just playing music in my bedroom. So I did that until I met Jordi and then we started jamming together."[7]

In late 2009, Davieson, Stevens, and Biondillo started playing music together and were later joined by bass guitarist Gardner. Initially called King George, the band changed its name to San Cisco after surveying friends and fans. According to the band, "there is no link between the city San Francisco and our name San Cisco. .... The reason we went with San Cisco was because it is nothing; like a blank canvas which we were able to sculpt into whatever we wanted".[8]

2010–2011:Golden Revolver

In 2010, San Cisco recorded their debut EP Golden Revolver at Blackbird Studios, in Perth, Western Australia. The EP's five songs were co-produced by Little Birdy drummer Matt Chequer and veteran engineer/producer Steven Schram (Little Birdy, The Waifs, Cat Empire, Little Red). "Golden Revolver", the EP's critically acclaimed lead single, received heavy airplay on national Australian radio station Triple J. XFM London DJ Mike Walsh said of "Golden Revolver"; "If this song was brought to me as the next Vampire Weekend single, I would not be disappointed".[9]

The music video for "Golden Revolver" shows the band sailing along Western Australia's Margaret River on a makeshift boat.[10] The group's second single "Girls Do Cry" and a cover of Perth band Tame Impala's 2010 single "Solitude is Bliss" are also featured on the EP. Prior to the release of Golden Revolver, San Cisco was profiled in a December episode of Triple J Unearthed.[11]

San Cisco performed at numerous festivals throughout 2011, such as Adelaide's Fuse Festival, BIGSOUND in Brisbane, the Melbourne, Victoria leg of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival, the Pyramid Rock Festival on Victoria's Phillip Island, Peats Ridge Festival in New South Wales' Glenworth Valley, and the Western Australian stops of the Big Day Out and the Groovin' the Moo festivals.[12] The band has also supported established Australian acts, such as The Grates, Jebediah and Architecture in Helsinki,[12] and made appearances on the Australian version of BalconyTV (filmed in Brisbane, Queensland)[13] and 3 News.[7]

In late 2011, the band was signed by Albert Productions, the home of major Australian acts such as AC/DC and Megan Washington—the label described San Cisco's sound as "rough, low-fi garage pop" mixed with "bright catchy hooks".[12] In September 2011, the band released "Awkward"[14] and became the band's first charting single. In an interview, Davieson said to song is "...a bit of a weird story about a stalker, involving me and Scarlett. It's completely made up". The song was voted number 7 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2011.

2012–2013: Awkward and San Cisco

In February 2012, the band's released their second EP, Awkward.

In September 2012, the band left Albert Productions to join the roster of United States (US) label, Fat Possum Records—a deal that was made in partnership with RCA Records—for the release of its debut album San Cisco in all territories, except for Australia, on 23 November 2012. Singles "Wild Things" and "Fred Astaire" were released from the album and featured in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2012. In December 2012, Triple J announced that the station's listeners had voted San Cisco into the No. 10 position in the "Listeners Top 10 Albums Poll".[15]

In March 2013, San Cisco appeared at the CMJ Festival in New York City. Writing for the Bullett website, Luke O'Neil presented the band's CMJ showcase in a positive light saying "Better off not planning to do anything and hope you accidentally stumble across something you didn't know you wanted to see and avoid disappointment. That's what happened last night ... I found an Australian band called San Cisco playing, and against all odds, their breezy indie charms—something of a cross between Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys, put the first smile on my face of the night."[16]

In May 2013, San Cisco recorded a cover version of the Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and N*E*R*D's "Hypnotize U" for Triple J's Like a Version segment.[17][18]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Pop Release for their debut album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.[19]

2014–2016: Gracetown

In October 2014, San Cisco released "Run",[20] the lead single from their second studio album Gracetown, which was released on 6 March 2015. The title of which was inspired by Gracetown a small coastal town in Western Australia. In early March immediately prior to the release of the album, bass player, Nick Gardner accidentally shot himself in the foot when rabbit shooting at a friend's farm near Collie. As a result, he missed the band's tour of the United States and Mexico, promoting the new album.[21]

2017–2019: The Water

San Cisco released their third studio album "The Water" on 5 May 2017.[22] The album was preceded with the singles"Slo-Mo" and "Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?".

To promote the album, the band commenced one of their biggest Australian tours on 18 May 2017. Visiting 21 shows in 46 days,[1] guitarist Josh Biondillo said ahead of the tour: "Yeah it's definitely a big one. I think it will be a good reintroduction to the fans and the crowd. The whole thing, I think, for me, is a lot more mature. Even though we're still doing the silly stuff that we've always done, but hopefully in the tour [you'll see our] maturity as songwriters and performers."[22] They played at the 2017 Splendour in the Grass festival.

2020: Flaws and Between You and Me

In March 2020, the band released the EP, Flaws.[23] In July 2020, the band announced the release of Between You and Me, released on 4 September 2020.[24]

Influences

The band has identified MGMT, The Flaming Lips and Vampire Weekend as influences on its songwriting and, as of January 2011, Stevens worked in a record store, a connection that the band members have explained "creates new influences and ideas, which we can apply to our own music."[8]

Other projects

Stevens is responsible for the backing vocals on the Bob Evans (Kevin Mitchell, of Jebediah fame) song "Go", from his fourth album Familiar Stranger.[25] She performed vocals on the single version of Australian rapper Illy's song Tightrope.[26]

She is the drummer for the Ghetto Crystals, a new post-grunge project featuring her and guitarist/vocalist Doug May (formerly of Abbe May).

Band members

Current members
  • Jordi Davieson – guitar, vocals, keys
    (2009–present)
  • Josh Biondillo – guitar, vocals, keys, synthesizers
    (2009–present)
  • Scarlett Stevens – drums, vocals
    (2009–present)

Touring members
  • Mitchell J Benson - bass, keys, vocals
    (2019–present)

Former members
  • Nick Gardner – bass guitar, keys
    (2009 - 2018)
  • Jennifer Aslett - bass, vocals
    (2018 - 2019)

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with release date, label, and selected chart positions shown
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[27]		 US
Heat
[28]
San Cisco 1716
Gracetown
  • Released: 6 March 2015
  • Label: Island City Records (SAN04)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 2—
The Water
  • Released: 5 May 2017
  • Label: Island City Records (SAN05)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 17—
Between You and Me
  • Released: 4 September 2020
  • Label: Island City Records (SAN06)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 3
[29]		—

EPs
List of EPs released, with release date and label shown
Title EP details
Golden Revolver
  • Released: 4 February 2011[30]
  • Label: Island City Records (SAN01)
  • Formats: Digital download, CD, streaming
Awkward
  • Released: 3 February 2012[31]
  • Label: Island City Records (SAN02)
  • Formats: Digital download, CD, streaming
Flaws
  • Released: 27 March 2020[23]
  • Label: San Cisco, Island City Records
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles
List of singles as lead artist, with year released, selected chart positions and certifications, and album name shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[27]		 BEL (FL)
[32]		 NLD
[33]		 UK
Sales
[34]
"Golden Revolver"[35] 2010 ———— Golden Revolver EP
"Girls Do Cry"[35] ————
"Awkward" 2011 3212474— Awkward EP
"Rocket Ship"[37] ————
"Wild Things"[38] 2012 57——— San Cisco
"Beach"[39][40][41] ————
"Fred Astaire"[42] 2013 89——90
"Get Lucky"
(Triple J Like a Version)[43]		 ———— Like a Version: Volume Nine
"Run"[44] 2014 67——— Gracetown
"Too Much Time Together"[45] 2015 98———
"Magic"[47] ————
"B Side"[48] 2016 ———— Non-album single
"SloMo"[49] ———— The Water
"Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?"[50] 2017 ————
"The Distance"[51] ————
"4Ever"
(Triple J Like a Version)[52]		 2018 ———— Like a Version: Volume Fifteen
"When I Dream"[53] ———— Non-album single[upper-alpha 1]
"About You"
(acoustic release)[55]		 2019 ———— Gracetown
"Skin"[56][57] ———— Flaws[upper-alpha 2]
"Reasons"[58][59] 2020 ————
"Flaws"[60] ————
"On the Line" ———— Between You and Me
"Messages"[54] ————
"Alone"[61] ————
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released.

Notes
  1. "When I Dream" was originally released as a non-album single, but is included on Between You and Me.[54]
  2. "Skin", "Reasons", and "Flaws" are all also included on Between You and Me.[54]

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
AIR Awards of 2012[62] "Awkward" Best Independent Single/EP Nominated
themselves Breakthrough Independent Artist Nominated

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. San Cisco has been nominated for six nominations.[63]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Lost to
2012 Awkward Best Independent Release Nominated The Jezabels - Prisoner
Best Pop Release Nominated Gotye - Making Mirrors
Breakthrough Artist - Release Nominated 360 - Falling & Flying
2013 San Cisco Best Independent Release Nominated Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Best Pop Release Nominated Guy Sebastian - Armageddon
"Fred Astaire" Best Video Nominated Samantha Jade - "Firestarter"

J Award

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
J Awards of 2011 themselves Unearthed Artist of the Year Nominated

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
National Live Music Awards of 2017[64][65] Scarlett Stevens (San Cisco) Live Drummer of the Year Nominated
National Live Music Awards of 2019[66][67] Jennifer Aslett (San Cisco) Live Bassist of the Year Nominated

References
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  3. Sas, Nick (9 March 2015). "San Cisco are livin' the dream". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. Collins, Simon (28 January 2012). "Freo's Next Big Thing Arrives". The West Australian. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. Krysty Symonds (3 June 2012). "San Cisco scoops pool at WAMI Awards". Perth Now – The Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  6. Daily Telegraph – Kathy McCabe Archived 19 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Ren Kirk (24 June 2011). "San Cisco interview". 3 News Best News. MediaWorks TV. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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