Brother Brick

Last updated

Brother Brick
Brother Brick Stranded in the Nineties.jpg
Front cover of Brother Brick comp cd
Background information
Origin Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock, punk rock
Years active1991–2000
Labels Dog Meat Records Bang! Records Estrus Records
Members
  • Stewart Cunningham
  • Mikey J Stephenson
  • Kurt Anderson
  • Craig Jackson
  • Scott Nash
  • Jason Curley
  • Ashley Thomson

Brother Brick were an Australian punk rock band formed in the city of Sydney, New South Wales in 1991. Led by Stewart (Leadfinger) Cunningham, the band released many 7" vinyl singles and 1 album in its time and contained members of many other successful Australian bands. [1]

Contents

History

The original line-up of Brother Brick was formed following the demise of The Proton Energy Pills from Wollongong and The Horny Toads [2] from Sydney and featured former Protons guitarist Stewart Leadfinger Cunningham [3] and former Horny Toads bass player Kurt Anderson and Drummer, Mikey J Stephenson. The Horny Toads were originally formed in Brisbane but moved to Sydney in 1988 and over the next 2 years they played many gigs with The Proton Energy Pills at venues such as The Lansdowne Hotel, The Journos Club and the Hopetoun Hotel. Both bands were 5-piece 'rock' bands and had much in common musically being inspired by many of the same seminal acts Radio Birdman, Blue Öyster Cult and The MC5. [1] Other members of these two bands also went on to play in The Dubrovniks, Tumblweed and Leadfinger.

After previously playing in classic 5-piece 'Detroit' style rock bands the 3 founding members of Brother Brick made a conscious decision to play a different style of music to their previous bands. Keeping to the stripped back line up and inspired by bands such as X, The Eastern Dark, The Saints, Motörhead, The Wipers and Hüsker Dü all three members shared vocal duties and contributed to the songwriting. They sought out a more edgier and original style of rock that also took in elements of punk and 1960s blues rock such as Cream and Hendrix. They played live regularly in Sydney mostly at smaller pub venues like The Evil Star, The Lansdowne Hotel, The Vic on the Park Hotel and the Manly Vale Hotel but were ignored by the bigger venues and booking agents. Brother Brick made the long trips to Melbourne and Brisbane many times playing with like minded bands such as The Powder Monkeys, Freeloaders, Splatterheads and Asteroid B-612 and scoring support spots with the likes of Nomeansno, Deniz Tek, The Hitmen and The Celibate Rifles. This line up of Brother Brick had built up a solid live reputation and a reputation for no holds barred attitude but split up in 1994 following the release of a CD EP and two 7" singles, most notably the 'Chokito Bar' 7" on Dog Meat Records.

The following year Cunningham resumed Brother Brick with a new line up that included Scott Nash Asteroid B-612 on Bass and Craig Jackson on Drums. Continuing with the 3-piece format but with Cunningham taking over all vocal duties, this line-up of the band did not play live very often and instead focused on preparing to record what would become Brother Brick's only album, the prophetically titled A Portable Altamont. The album was recorded on a shoe string budget at Powerhouse Studio in Waterloo, Sydney but the release delayed whilst Nash and Cunningham focused on their duties with Asteroid B-612 - Cunningham having officially joined that band following the demise of the original Brother Brick. Further delays were caused when first Nash and then Jackson both left the band and the subsequent loss of the master CD of the album stalled the existence of the band completely in 1997. It was not until almost 2 years later when Cunningham found a cassette copy of the master CD that the band reconvened with Jay Curley (Tumbleweed, The Proton Energy Pills) on bass and Ashley Thomson (The Kelpies, The Panadolls) on drums. There had been considerable interest in the band from Europe and US during the unfortunate hiatus and this gave the band new life and enabled the release of the album and a bunch of singles in the US and Europe. This final line up of Brother Brick failed to record but played live regularly in support of the new releases. They supported touring bands like Dead Moon, Zeke, Jad Fair and played with local acts like The Powder Monkeys, The Onyas and The Bloodsucking Freaks. A Portable Altamont was well received by critics and fans, with a few of the songs that were written back in the first lineup of the band finally seeing a proper recorded release. Brother Brick played their final gig in June 2000 at the Zetland Hotel in Sydney.

In 2006, Melbourne-based record label Off the Hip released a double CD retrospective on the band that included all of their studio recordings and many unreleased demo's, live recordings and extensive liner notes. The release was titled Stranded in the Nineties, a phrase taken from the game of Cricket that refers to a player almost making a century but running out of time and batting partners, it was chosen to reflect the bands status as terminal underachievers, a virtually unknown group playing a distinctly Australian style of high energy rock'n'roll that failed to register a blip in Australia during a decade that was overrun by imported grunge, slacker rock and Nirvana wannabes.

Personnel

1991–2000: Stewart Leadfinger Cunningham (guitar, vocals)

1991–1994 : Kurt Anderson - Bass, Mikey J Stephenson – Drums

1994–1996: Scott Nash – Bass, Craig Jackson – Drums

1998–2000: Jay Curley – Bass, Ashley Thomson - Drums

Discography

Compilations

Related Research Articles

The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other Side, Nanker Phelge, and Deep Reduction. The New Christs line-up since 2011 is Younger with Jim Dickson on bass guitar, Dave Kettley on guitar, Paul Larsen on drums and Brent Williams on guitar and keyboards. Over their career the group have issued five studio albums, Distemper (1989), Lower Yourself (1997), We Got This! (2002), Gloria (2009) and Incantations (2014). Three former members have died: Stevie Plunder in January 1996, Mark Wilkinson in December 2012 and Christian Houllemare in June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Crover</span> American musician (born 1967)

Dale Crover is an American rock musician. Crover is best known as the drummer for Melvins and has also been the drummer for Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, Crystal Fairy and, for a brief time, Nirvana. He is also guitarist and vocalist for Altamont. He has toured with Fantômas, Off!, and Redd Kross. In 2016, Rolling Stone listed him as the 69th greatest drummer of all time.

Tumbleweed are an Australian rock group formed in 1990 in Tarrawanna. Three of their studio albums appeared on the ARIA top 50: Tumbleweed (1992), Galactaphonic (1995), and Return to Earth (1996).

Electric Frankenstein is an American punk revival band from New Jersey, founded by Sal Canzonieri in 1990. The band relocated to North Carolina in 2021. Their style is a mixture of punk rock, hard rock, garage rock, glam, and heavy metal. Their style is called High Energy Rock & Roll in the USA and in Europe it is called Action Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime & the City Solution</span> Australian rock band

Crime & the City Solution are an Australian rock band formed in late 1977 by singer-songwriter and mainstay Simon Bonney. They disbanded in 1979 leaving only bootleg recordings and demos. In late 1983, Bonney travelled to London and in 1985 he formed a new version of the group in the U.K. which included members of the recently disbanded The Birthday Party; later they transferred to Berlin, where they issued four albums – Room of Lights (1986), Shine (1988), The Bride Ship (1989) and Paradise Discotheque (1990) – before disbanding again in 1991. In 2012, Bonney reformed the band in Detroit with two veterans of its Berlin era and a handful of new members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeon (band)</span> Australian power metal band

Dungeon was an Australian melodic power metal band based in Sydney, considered by some as one of Australia's leading metal bands. The group existed from 1989 to 2005, released six full-length albums, and toured heavily both throughout Australia and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dirtbombs</span> American garage rock band

The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs were formed by Mick Collins as a side project and started recording songs by 1995.

God were an Australian punk rock band formed in 1986 by Sean Greenway on guitar and vocals; Tim Hemensley on bass guitar, drums and vocals; Joel Silbersher on guitar and vocals; and Matthew Whittle on bass guitar, drums and vocals. All four were 15-16 at the time. Their signature song, "My Pal", was released as their debut single in January 1988. Their sole studio album, For Lovers Only, appeared in December 1989 after the group disbanded. Sean Greenway died of a heroin overdose on 21 January 2001, aged 30. Tim Hemensley also died of a heroin overdose, on 21 July 2003, aged 31. Whittle curated their 2× CD compilation album, GOD, in February 2010.

Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Richard Grossman on bass guitar and Jeff Clayton on rhythm guitar recorded their debut album, Short Note, which peaked at No. 14 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. The title song, "Short Note", peaked at No. 33 on the related Singles Chart and became a standard on Australian radio stations. Grossman was later a member of Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. On 13 August 2003 Moffit died in his sleep, aged 46. From 2006 Prior has continued Matt Finish with various line-ups.

78 Saab were a rock band from Australia that consisted of Ben Nash, Jake Andrews, Garth Tregillgas and Nicholai Danko. The band has stated that it was influenced by acts such as the Rolling Stones, R.E.M. and The Church. After forming in Canberra, Australia, during the summer of 1995–6, they relocated to Sydney in February 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lords of Altamont</span> American rock band

The Lords of Altamont are a rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band mixes the sounds of '60s garage and psychedelic rock, American punk rock, British rhythm and blues and glam combined with B-movie biker exploitation imagery. Past and present line-ups of The Lords of Altamont have included members of The Bomboras, The Fuzztones, The MC5 and The Cramps. As of 2017 the band has released six albums on various labels including the newest, To Hell With Tomorrow, Lords Are Now, on Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Pod People are a doom metal band from Canberra, Australia that formed in 1991. The band has recorded six releases, playing a blend of stoner and sludge traits, with lyrics on themes of cannabis in their earlier works, to topics thematically based around The Divine Comedy. The band released one EP and several demo tapes with the original line up. The founding members later left the band during 1993–1996, which drastically altered the make up and sound of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Dole & The Scabs</span>

Johnny Dole & the Scabs were an early Australian punk rock group formed in 1976 by Terry Walsh on lead vocals, Dave Berry on bass guitar and vocals, Peter Mullany on guitar and Greg Morris on drums and vocals. They disbanded mid 1979. A compilation album, Scab Animal 1977, was released in 1996. Terry Walsh died on 9 August 1987, aged 33.

Bang! Records is a Spanish record label from the Basque Country, which was formed in 1998 by Gorka Munster and Juan-Mari Iturrarte. The label has a primary focus on artists from Melbourne, Australia, and New York City's swamp, noise and punk blues music scene. Acts among the Bang! Records roster include The Beasts Of Bourbon, The Scientists, Rowland S. Howard of The Birthday Party, Brian Henry Hooper, The Drones, The Gun Club and Jeffrey Lee Pierce.

Asteroid B-612 were an Australian hard rock band, which formed in 1992. By the following year the line-up was Michael Gibbons on guitar, Grant McIver on lead vocals, Scott Nash on bass guitar, Darren Pierce on drums and John Spittles on guitar. They released four studio albums, Asteroid B-162 (1993), Forced into a Corner (1994), Not Meant for this World and Readin' Between the Lines (2000), before disbanding in 2004.

<i>Workin on a Groovy Thing</i> (Neil Sedaka album) 1969 studio album by Neil Sedaka

Workin' on a Groovy Thing is a 1969 studio album containing the works of American pop singer Neil Sedaka. The album was recorded while Sedaka was touring Australia in late 1969; he recorded it on a one-off basis for the Sydney, Australia-based label Festival Records; by that time his career had slumped, and his contract had not been renewed by his former label in the USA, RCA Victor. It was recorded in Festival's studios in Sydney, Australia. It was co-produced by Sedaka and Festival house producer Pat Aulton, with John Farrar taking care of the musical arrangements. The LP featured many notable Australian session players of the period including guitarist Jimmy Doyle and veteran jazz musician John Sangster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leadfinger</span> Australian rock and roll band

Leadfinger(pron: Led-finger) are an Australian guitar rock band formed in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, in 2006 by Glasgow-born singer/guitarist Stewart 'Leadfinger' Cunningham. The band has released six albums to date, with the most recent coming out in February 2022 through Golden Robot Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Proton Energy Pills</span>

The Proton Energy Pills were an Australian punk rock band formed in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales in 1986. The band released two vinyl singles and a vinyl EP in its time and is considered a very seminal and influential group as its members went on to play in many successful Australian bands over the next 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Yes-Men</span> Australian rock band

The Yes-Men were a high energy rock band from Melbourne Australia formed by Sean Greenway in 1995. Musically the band played a powerful Australian style of rock’n’roll, very close to the pulse of Radio Birdman and Sonic's Rendezvous Band but with a harder edge and more full-on production. Sean Greenway died unexpectedly in January 2001 and with his passing The Yes-Men ceased to exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moffs (band)</span>

The Moffs were a psychedelic rock band formed in Sydney in 1984. They are perhaps best known for their 1985 song Another Day in the Sun, that attracted local and international underground attention. Led by Tom Kazas, they incorporated many styles during their five-year career: psychedelic rock, progressive rock, blues rock, early post rock, atmospheric rock, 1960s and 1980s pop, free improvisation, impressionistic lyrics, Greek folk music styles, experimental composition and repetitive minimalist structures. The band's name was invented by misspelling the word 'moths'.

References

General

Specific

  1. 1 2 McFarlane, 'Tumbleweed' entry. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  2. The Horny toads, entry. on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  3. Stew Cunningham Interview. "NKVD Noise for Heroes Interview". NKVD. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2014.