Scary Mother
Scary Mother (also styled as Scarymother) were an Australian rock band. They were formed in 1990 by Andrew Gillespie (vocals) Bruce Moulton (guitar and keys) and Tim Burcham (drums). Dorian West (bass) played on all 3 demos the band recorded between 1990-1992. Toby Messiter played keys and programmed for the final demo in 1992.After Bruce Moulton left the band to travel and complete his studies, they found Antony Brown for lead guitar and the line up was finalized. Dario Bortolin filled in briefly for the band while Dorian recorded and album for Boom Crash Opera in LA[1] They released a self-titled three-track extended play in August 1992 via Mushroom Records' distributor MDS.[1]
Scary Mother | |
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Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Rock |
Years active | 1990 | –1995
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Scary Mother supported Faith No More in April and May 1993.[1] The Australian group's first single, "Lord of the Flies", was issued to coincide with the tour and was produced by MARK OPITZ AND MIXED BYMatt Wallace (Faith No More).[1] It was co-written by Brown, Burcham and Gillespie.[2] They followed with their sole studio album, Tai Laeo (Thai for 'already DEAD') in May 1994.[1] It was produced by Rick Will for ATI/Mushroom Records/Festival Records.[1]
Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how, "[they] played a brooding, melodic brand of rock fleshed out by sweeping, atmospheric keyboard flourishes and barely restrained passion. Frontman Andrew Gillespie's vocals were likened variously to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and The Cult's Ian Astbury, which was a disappointing and lazy comparison, and description of the band especially in light of 2 members having studied jazz and the Sydney Conservatorium (West and Burcham) with another gaining scholarship to the Guitar Institute in LA (Brown) and finally groundbreaking programming and soundscapes crafted by Messiter. Gillespie, although having a voice in a similar range to the aforementioned singers, was a clever lyricist and pushed for some brilliant experimental vocals"[1] Brown, Gillespie and Messiter formed progressive rockers, Floating Me, in 2009, with Lucius Borich from Cog and Jon Stockman of Karnivool.[3]
Band members
- Dario Bortolin – bass guitar
- Tim Burcham – drums
- Anthony Brown – guitar
- Andrew Gillespie – vocals
- Toby Messiter – keyboards
- Dorian West – bass guitar
Discography
Albums
- Tai Laeo (May 1994) – ATI/Mushroom Records/Festival Records (D31157)[4]
Extended plays
- Scary Mother (1992) – MDS
Singles
- "Lord of the Flies" (1993)
- "Who are You?" (1993)
- "Looking Down" (1994)
References
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Scary Mother'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 9 August 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2016. Note: McFarlane gives drummer as Tim Buchanan not Burcham
- "'Lord of the Flies' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 12 August 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'
- Donnelly, Justin (4 November 2011). "Review >> Floating Me – Floating Me". The Metal Forge. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- Scary Mother (1994), Tai Laeo, ATI/Mushroom, retrieved 12 August 2018