Hoss (band)

Last updated

Hoss
OriginMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
GenresHard rock
Years active1990 (1990)–2019 (2019)
Labels
Past members

Hoss are an Australian hard rock band which formed in 1990 by Joel Silbersher on guitar and lead vocals (ex-God), Scott Bailey on bass guitar , Todd McNeair on drums (ex-Seminal Rats), Joel Silbersher on guitar and lead vocals (ex-God) and Michael Weber on lead guitar (ex-Seminal Rats, Slush Puppies). They released five albums, Guzzle (1990), You Get Nothing (April 1992), Bring on the Juice (August 1993), Everyday Lies (November 1995) and Do You Leave Here Often (February 1998). In 1992 McNeair was replaced by Michael Glenn on drums, who was replaced in turn in 1995 by Dean Muller. Michael Weber, who had been replaced in 1992 by Jimmy Sfetsos on guitar, died in January 1999, aged 32.

Contents

History

Hoss were formed in 1990 in Melbourne as a hard rock band with the line-up of Scott Bailey on bass guitar, Todd McNeair on drums (ex-Seminal Rats), Joel Silbersher on guitar and lead vocals (ex-God) and Michael Weber on lead guitar (ex-Seminal Rats, Slush Puppies). [1] Their name was chosen "because Joel likes monosyllabic names." [2] They signed with Au Go Go Records, which issued their debut single, "Green", and their first album, Guzzle. [1] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described it as "a rushed affair (recorded in one session, the day before the band played its debut gig), and consequently lacked appealing ideas." [1] Silbersher told Steven Corby of The Canberra Times that their sound was "stripped down, raucous rock 'n'roll." [2]

You Get Nothing, their second album was released in April 1992, for which McFarlane felt, "The band was at its best [as they] mixed Detroit rock action with Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones raunch." [1] By that time they were one of a string of 1990s hard rock bands on Melbourne's Dog Meat Records, alongside label mates, Powder Monkeys and Splatterheads. Just before the album's appearance McNeair and Weber had returned to Seminal Rats; they were replaced in Hoss by Michael "Captain Kaos" Glenn (ex-Joysticks, Forbidden Planet) and Jimmy Sfetsos (ex-Nice Girls from Cincinnati), respectively. [1]

For their third album, Bring on the Juice (August 1993), the group used Charlie Owen (of Beasts of Bourbon) on lap slide guitar and dobro for a track, "Lip from Lip". [1] Silbersher was the main song writer for the group, he also released a solo album, Melonman (1994) and has collaborated with Owen as the Tendrils to issue their self-titled album (June 1995). [1] He has toured as a backing musician with other acts, including Tex Perkins and with Dirty Three. [3]

In March 1994 Hoss issued an extended play, Gentle Claws, which was followed by their fourth album, Everyday Lies, in November 1995. [1] [4] Joachim Hiller of German magazine, Ox-Fanzine felt that Silbersher "muß in seinem jungen Leben schon verdammt viel Leid erlebt haben, denn sonst könnte er nicht mit so heiserer Bluesstimme seinen Schmerz herausbrüllen." (translation: "must have had a lot of suffering in his young life, otherwise he would not be able to rouse his pain with such hoarse blues.") [4] During 1995 Glenn was replaced on drums by Dean Muller (ex-Voodoo Lust, Macho Clowns). [1]

On their early albums, Hoss were influenced by 1970s garage and boogie hard rock such as Aerosmith, Blue Öyster Cult and The Stooges. However, by their fifth album, Do You Leave Here Often? (February 1998), they had developed a more complex sound, which continued to exhibit hard rock influences but also used more sophisticated arrangements reminiscent of bands such as the Afghan Whigs. McFarlane opined that they had "earned a solid reputation by consistently living up to audience expectations with well-honed songs and uncompromising gigs. By taking inspiration from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Kiss, The Stooges, AC/DC and Black Sabbath, Hoss came up with a near-perfect blend of melodic power chords, hyper-kinetic guitar riffs and hard driving rock beats." [1]

Hoss performed at the Meredith Music Festival in December 2010, they were described on the festival website as "Powerful, tough, natural-sounding rock’n'roll with a brain as well as a rump. They don’t make videos, they don’t play very often (took them 15 years to go to Perth), they don’t compromise, and as far as I can tell they don’t care; they ain’t careerist." [5] They had previously played at the festival in 1992, 1993 and 1996. [5]

Band members

Discography

Album

Extended plays

Singles

Related Research Articles

Powder Monkeys were an Australian punk, indie rock band, formed in 1991. The founding mainstays, Tim Hemensley, on bass guitar and lead vocals and John Nolan on lead guitar were both ex-members of Bored!. Powder Monkeys released three studio albums, Smashed on a Knee, Time Wounds all Heels and Lost City Blues (2000), before they broke up in 2002. Tim Hemensley died on 21 July 2003, aged 31, of a heroin overdose.

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

The Screaming Tribesmen were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1981 by mainstay Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. With various line-ups they released three studio albums, Bones and Flowers, Blood Lust (1990) and Formaldehyde (1993), before disbanding in 1998. They reformed in 2011 for performances until June 2012. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how they, "fashioned a memorable brand of 1960s-inspired pop rock that combined equal parts existential lyric angst, melodic inventiveness and strident guitar riffs."

Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).

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.

Peter William "Pete" Wells was the founder and slide guitarist in Australian hard rock band, Rose Tattoo, from 1976 to 1983. He was previously bass guitarist with the pioneering heavy metal outfit Buffalo from 1971 to 1976. Wells also had a solo career and issued albums, Everything You Like Tries to Kill You (1991), The Meaning of Life (1992), No Hard Feelings (1993), Orphans (1994), Go Ahead, Call the Cops (1996), It's All Fun and Games 'till Somebody Gets Hurt (1999), Hateball (2000) and Solo (2002). In 2002 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, on 27 March 2006, Wells died of the disease, aged 59. Rose Tattoo were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 16 August of that same year.

Joel Silbersher is a musician from Melbourne, Australia, who was the singer and guitar player for rock and roll band, GOD (1986–1989). GOD had a minor but enduring hit with "My Pal," a song written by Silbersher. Since its release in 1988, "My Pal" has been covered by bands such as Dinosaur Jr, Magic Dirt, Violent Soho, Bonnie Prince Billy, Tide of Iron and Peabody. At the closing of Melbourne's Tote Hotel, Silbersher and The Drones played "My Pal" as the final song.

Tendrils were an irregular collaboration between two Australian guitarists, Joel Silbersher of Hoss and Charlie Owen of Beasts of Bourbon. The music of Tendrils is characterized by two chaotic yet complementary guitar parts and occasional stripped-back percussion. In 1995, billed simply as "Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen", they issued an album, Tendrils. It was produced by Spencer P. Jones and recorded at Atlantis Studios, Melbourne. Drums were provided by Greg Bainbridge on three tracks and Todd McNeair on one track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic Psychos</span> Australian punk rock band

Cosmic Psychos are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1982 as Spring Plains. Founding members included Ross Knight on bass guitar and vocals; Robbie Addington on guitar and vocals; and Steve Morrow on vocals. Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described their music as "arty kind of punk noise, somewhere between The Birthday Party and a more narcotic sounding Ramones". Late in 1984 the group was renamed as Cosmic Psychos. They issued their debut album, Down on the Farm, in December 1985. Several albums have followed and were backed by national tours and international tours to Europe and North America including festivals with Mudhoney, Nirvana, L7, Helmet and Motörhead. In 1990 Jones was replaced by Robbie Watts on guitar and vocals. By 2005 Walsh was replaced by Dean Muller on drums. On 1 July 2006 Watts died of a heart attack, aged 47, and the band continued with John McKeering joining.

For the American band with a similar name, see Blackeyed Susan.

Timothy Michael Hemensley was an Australian bass guitarist and singer. He was the front man of Powder Monkeys (1991–2002), a punk, garage and hard rock band. He had been a member of GOD (1986–89), Bored! (1989–91) and the Yes-Men. Hemensley was in his first band at age ten. In 1996 he played bass guitar for Peter Wells. Hemensley died of a heroin overdose on 21 July 2003, aged 31. Hemensley was the son of the poet, Kris Hemensley.

The Dubrovniks were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1986 as The Adorable Ones. Early in 1987 they changed their name to The Dubrovniks in acknowledgement to the birthplace of two founding members, Roddy Radalj, and Boris Sujdovic. Dubrovnik is a town in Croatia. Both Radalj and fellow founder James Baker had previously founded Hoodoo Gurus in 1981. All three had earlier associations in the Perth punk scene of the late 1970s. The group issued four albums, before disbanding in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seminal Rats</span> Australian band

Seminal Rats were an Australian punk, indie rock band which existed from 1984 until the death of their lead guitarist, Michael Weber, in January 1999. The band's members were vocalist Michael Harley, guitarist Ruebin Pinkster, bassist Dave Balsamo (1984–93), then bassist Ian Wettenhall (1993–98), and drummer Todd McNeair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Weber</span> Australian guitarist

Michael Peter Weber was the lead guitarist of Australian punk rockers Seminal Rats, from 1984 to 1988. Weber also worked as a technician at the Maton guitar facility. He was a member of punky power poppers Slush Puppies (1988), before joining hard rock band Hoss, between 1990 and 1992. He returned to Seminal Rats from 1992 until his death from an accidental heroin overdose, aged 32.

Charles Lothian Lloyd "Charlie" Owen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has been a member of The New Christs (1987–90), Louis Tillett and His Cast of Aspersions (1990), Tex, Don and Charlie, Tendrils (1994–99) and Beasts of Bourbon. His solo album, Vertigo and Other Phobias, was released in 1994 on Red Eye/Polydor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spencer P. Jones</span> Musical artist

Spencer Patrick Jones was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, Chris Bailey and The General Dog, Maurice Frawley and The Working Class Ringos, and Sacred Cowboys. He also issued ten albums as a solo artist. In May 2012 Australian Guitar magazine rated Jones as one of Australia's Top 40 best guitarists.

Moler are a power pop band which formed in 1993 as a three-piece with founding mainstays Helen Cattanach on bass guitar and lead vocals and Julien Poulsen on lead guitar. They featured a changing line-up of drummers and sometimes worked as a four-piece with a keyboardist. Their sole studio album, Golden Duck, was released in October 1997 via Infectious with Lindsay Gravina producing. They disbanded in 2001.

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.

Bored were an Australian punk band formed in Geelong in 1987. The original line-up was Grant Gardner on bass guitar, Adrian Hann on keyboards, Justin Munday on drums, John Nolan on guitar and Dave Thomas on guitar and vocals. In 1989 Gardner was replaced by Tim Hemensley. Both Hemensley and Nolan left in 1991 to form Powder Monkeys. Bored! released five studio albums by 1993 and disbanded later that year. Thomas briefly joined Magic Dirt and subsequently enlisted various line-ups for reformed versions of Bored! in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The Philisteins were a garage punk band formed in Hobart in 1985 as The Cheesemongers with a line-up including; Aydn Hibberd on guitar, vocals and harmonica; and Guy Lucas on guitar, vocals and organ. In 1986 Konrad Park joined on drums and they adopted a new name, The Philisteins. In late 1986 they issued their debut album, Reverberations, and soon after relocated to Adelaide and signed with local label, Greasy Pop Records. In December 1988 they released an eight-track extended play, Bloody Convicts, Ian Wettenhall on bass guitar and Nick Bruer on drums. They followed with a six-track EP, Some Kind of Philisteins, in November 1989, with Bruer replaced by Stewart Tabert. Their full-length album, Lifestyles of the Wretched and Forgettable, appeared in November of the next year on Dog Meat Records and they had moved to Melbourne. In September 1992 they disbanded and Lucas, Tabert and Wettenhall joined ex-GOD member, Sean Greenaway in a new group, The Freeloaders. Hibberd was a founding member of indie rock band, Powder Monkeys. In March 1998 Guy Lucas died of a drug overdose. A compilation album, A Savage Affection: 1986–1992, appeared in December 2007.

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

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.

References

General
Specific
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 McFarlane, 'Hoss' entry. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 Corby, Steven (25 February 1993). "Good Times: Fresh from Big Day Out". The Canberra Times . Vol. 67, no. 21, 135. p. 6. Retrieved 19 January 2017– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Inglis, Michael (22 November 2006). "Hoss: A million people seem to always be wrong". Faster Louder. Junkee Media. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 Hiller, Joachim (1996). "Reviews : Hoss / Everyday Lies CD". Ox-Fanzine (in German). No. 22. Retrieved 20 January 2017. muß in seinem jungen Leben schon verdammt viel Leid erlebt haben, denn sonst könnte er nicht mit so heiserer Bluesstimme seinen Schmerz herausbrüllen. Note: according to Google translate the quote is "must have had a lot of suffering in his young life, otherwise he would not be able to rouse his pain with such hoarse blues."
  5. 1 2 "Hoss | The Twentieth Meredith Music Festival". Meredith Music Festival. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Hoss (1992), You Get Nothing, Dog Meat , retrieved 20 January 2017
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.