James Mercer is currently the lead singer/songwriter for The Shins and Broken Bells, a project with DJ Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, producer of Beck and Gorillaz). Prior to The Shins and Broken Bells, he was the lead singer/songwriter of Flake, which later became Flake Music. There is a rare solo recording on January 7, 2004 of Mercer doing some private recordings of hit songs by his band The Shins for a radio station.
There are two bands with the name Gyroscope. The first is a pop punk/alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia formed in 1997 by Daniel Sanders (vocals, guitar), Zoran Trivic (guitar), Brad Campbell (bass), and Rob Nassif (drums). They recorded their first demo cassette, First, as Gyroscope Sunday in 1998, and took up playing regularly on the Perth live circuit whilst also finding time for work and school commitments. The second is a psychedelic jazz outfit from Quebec, Canada.
Now residing in Sydney, Luke Dubs and Elgusto grew up in the Blue Mountains where they took up musical instruments at a young age. They’ve played together with Elgusto’s sister Aja in a funk/jazz group called Funk Injection since their early teens. Elgusto has DJ'd and played percussion with Paulmac and The Dissociatives... He’s also played with The Bird, Wes Carr, Explanetary, The Herd, Upshot and Paulmac. You can also check his DJing at various events and clubs.
1. Custard were a masterful band of pop craftsmen with an uncanny grasp of the two-minute-something single who seemed to have equal amounts of Devo, Pavement and, oddly, disco in their genetic makeup. They were also blessed with singer Dave McCormack, whose voice was innocent and boyish-sounding enough to get away with things that might ordinarily cause a fuss – from songs about speed labs to geeky dedications to Jim Henson and an infamous declaration that “music is crap”.
Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! are a indie rock group from Adelaide, South Australia. They feature David Williams (vocals/guitar), Sam Stearne (drums), Caitlin Duff (vocals), Nathaniel Morse (guitar), Art Zinoviev (synth) and Josh Flavel (bass). Formed in 2006 into the vapid whirlpool era of fluro dance-punk, the quintet has since been impossible to pin down to any one sound or genre, opting for distinct stylistic strides between releases.
A hardcore band from adelaide that has since broken up.
There are 7 Bands releasing under the name Error 1.) American Error released an EP in 2003 on Epitaph, the group was comprised of members from several other bands all working together to make something new and different from their other bands. The result was an industrial sound with elements of rock, punk and contempory electronica with an aggressive vocal style. Error comprised of:
Atticus Ross (of Nine Inch Nails/12 Rounds)
Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion)
Leopold Ross (of Nojahoda)
Greg Puciato (of The Dillinger Escape Plan)
Bodyjar was an Australian punk rock band based in Melbourne, that formed in 1994, when they changed their name from 'Helium'. Their song "Not The Same" was also featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Bodyjar have released 7 albums, 6 of which were recorded in studio and their latest which is a live recording entitled 'Is It Alive'. The band contained two of its original members, Cameron Baines (lead vocals/guitar) and Grant Relf (Bass) when they split.
Comprised of a world-class DJ and an equally as impressive MC, Koolism is a visionary collaboration. DJ Danielsan and MC Hau are that exceptional duo, supplying the noise from the hip hop group that reigns as Australia's most innovative and musically advanced. Formed in 1992, Koolism engineered their musicianship around a strong friendship and a mutual respect for each other's work. Being based in the Nation's Capital, Canberra, Hau and Daniel were able to utilise their isolation to create a sound like no other.
Shihad are a four-piece band from New Zealand, comprising Jon Toogood (guitar/vocals), Tom Larkin (drums), Karl Kippenberger (bass) and Phil Knight (guitar). Their style is best described as "hard rock", although they were described as "metal" in their formative years. Shihad were formed in 1988 in Wellington, New Zealand. They were briefly known between 2002-2004 as "Pacifier". During this time the band was attempting to break into the US market and it was decided that Shihad sounded too much like the arabic word 'jihad', thus the name change. Their major albums and EPs include: