Jack Frost (band)

Last updated

Jack Frost
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock
Years active
  • 1990 (1990)–1991 (1991)
  • 1995 (1995)–1996 (1996)
Labels
Past members

Jack Frost were a short-term Australian rock band, a side project for Grant McLennan (of the Go-Betweens) and Steve Kilbey (of the Church). They released two albums, Jack Frost (1991) and Snow Job (1996). Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, determined their material, "ranged from romantic ballads to tough rock, with the two singers' voices fitting together well."

Contents

History

In July 1990 Steve Kilbey (of the Church) contacted Grant McLennan (of the Go-Betweens), "he's interested in the idea of them writing a song together. Grant says 'Come over and bring your 12-string' and offers to bake some cookies." [1] Kilbey on lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and drums and McLennan on lead vocals, guitar, keyboards and bass guitar formed Jack Frost in Sydney in 1990. [2] [3]

The pair wrote enough tracks for a self-titled album, which was released in 1991, via Red Eye Records/Polydor Records. [2] [3] The album was recorded in three weeks, [1] [4] with Pryce Surplice on drums, synthesiser and as co-producer; [2] [3] plus "special guests" including Karin Jansson on backing vocals. Mclennan said, "Whatever you hear is the only version of that song musically. We didn't do three or four versions to choose from. We didn't plan it at all. Everything was written in the studio on that day. [5] Lisa Waller of The Canberra Times reported in November 1990 that, "[the duo] are doing a couple of live acoustic performances in Sydney and Brisbane but will wait to see how the album is received before making more commitments to their new found partnership." [1]

Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described Jack Frost as, "[the songs] ranged from romantic ballads to tough rock, with the two singers' voices fitting together well." [2] Jonathan Romney in Q Magazine called the album "a mix of mannered intensity, detached fol-krock cool and - occasionally downright wiseacre-hood." [6] The album provided two singles, "Every Hour God Sends" (November 1990) and "Thought That I was Over You" (April 1991) before the members resumed their solo careers and main band projects. [2] [3] Waller's colleague compared their styles, "Kilbey writes with a lush opulence. The ambience of the songs is as important as the lyrics. McLcnnan writes with a more subtle sound, where the lyrics are as demanding as the arrangements." [7]

Kilbey and McLennan resumed the Jack Frost project in late 1995. [2] They had recorded new material back in 1993 and were joined in the studio by Kilbey's brother Russell on backing vocal, organ and blues harp, Tim Powles (from the Church) on drums and percussion and Jamie Pattugalan on drums (on the track, "Pony Express"). [8] [9] McFarlane noticed, "The resultant album, Snow Job, came out to little fanfare and duly sank without a trace." [2] It was co-produced by the Kilbey brothers and McLennan. [2] [3] Woroni 's Brett Leigh Dicks described how "[it] is a reflection of a unique teaming. But whereas Jack Frost's first endeavour relied heavily on programming, the mechanics of this recording is based upon a very different texture." [9]

By 1996 the pair resumed their separate musical careers. [2] [3]

Grant McLennan died in May 2006 of a heart attack.

Discography

Albums

TitleDetails
Jack Frost
Snow Job
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Karmic Hit
  • Format: CD

Singles

TitleYearAlbum
"Every Hour God Sends "1990Jack Frost
"Thought That I Was Over You"1991

Related Research Articles

The Crystal Set were an Australian indie rock group formed in March 1983. By 1987 the line-up was Russell Kilbey, Phillip Maher, Davey Ray Moor and Tim Seckhold (drums). In April 1988 Moor was replaced by Craig Hooper, who was replaced in turn by Luke Blackburn, in May 1989. The group issued two studio albums, From Now On and Almost Pure, before disbanding later that year. Russell Kilbey is the younger brother of the Church's mainstay, Steve Kilbey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Kilbey</span> Anglo-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist

Steven John Kilbey is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the rock band The Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has released 14 solo albums and has collaborated on recordings with musical artists such as Martin Kennedy, Stephen Cummings and Ricky Maymi as a vocalist, musician, writer and/or producer. Ian McFarlane writes that "Kilbey's solo recordings [are] challenging and evocative. They ran the gamut of sounds and emotions from electronic and avant-garde to acoustic and symphonic, joyous and dreamy to saturnine and sardonic".

<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."

The Sports were an Australian rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew Pendlebury on lead guitar and vocals, and Martin Armiger on guitar. Their style was similar to both 1970s British pub rock bands and British new wave. The Sports' top forty singles are "Who Listens to the Radio", "Don't Throw Stones", "Strangers on a Train" and "How Come". Their top 20 releases on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart are Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra.

Smudge are an Australian rock and indie pop trio formed in 1991 by Paul Duncan on bass guitar, Alison Galloway on drums and Tom Morgan on guitar and vocals. Morgan is known outside Australia as a song writing collaborator of Evan Dando and his band, the Lemonheads. In 1994 Duncan was replaced on bass guitar by Adam Yee and in 1997 Pete Kelly joined on guitar. Smudge signed with Half a Cow to issue four studio albums, Manilow (1994), Hot Smoke and Sassafras (1994), You Me Carpark. .. Now (1996) and Real McCoy Wrong Sinatra (1998), before going into hiatus from late 1999. Since 2002, Smudge play a few times a year. There has been no new music since 1998.

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

The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout its existence. Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. Vickers was replaced by John Willsteed in 1987, and the quintet lineup remained in place until the band split two years later. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new lineup that did not include any previous personnel aside from them. McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and the Go-Betweens disbanded again. In 2010, a toll bridge in their native Brisbane was renamed the Go Between Bridge after them.

Underground Lovers, are an Australian indie rock and electronic music band. The founding mainstays are Glenn Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso who had formed the group as GBVG, in 1988. By May 1990 the duo were renamed as Underground Lovers and joined by Richard Andrew (drums), Maurice Argiro and Philippa Nihill.

The Bhagavad Guitars were an indie-rock band which formed in 1985 as Inner Circle in Canberra by Jeremy Butterworth on guitar and vocals, Kynan Hughes on bass guitar and Matt Kerr on drums and John Kilbey on guitar and vocals. Hughes was replaced successively by Adrian Workman and then by Tony Locke. They recorded three 12 inch extended plays for Red Eye before recording a studio album, Introversion, in 1991 which was shelved due to record company disputes until July 1996. Meanwhile, they issued their first album, Hypnotised, in May 1992 via Karmic Hit/Shock, and disbanded in 1998. The group reformed in 2008 to record a new album, Unfamiliar Places, released in May 2011.

<i>No. 4 Record</i> 1998 studio album by You Am I

#4 Record or You Am I's #4 Album is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band, You Am I, which was released in April 1998. It reached No. 1 on the ARIA albums chart. It was the group's third consecutive album to debut at No. 1, a then-record by an Australian band. Its third single "Heavy Heart", is one of their well known songs and has been covered by different artists, Paul Kelly, Ben Lee, Lisa Mitchell, TZU, Courtney Barnett, and the Supersuckers.

<i>Persia</i> (EP) 1984 EP by The Church

Persia is the fourth extended play by the Australian psychedelic rock band the Church, which was released in August 1984. It was the follow-up to their earlier 1984 EP Remote Luxury, and continued in a similar stylistic vein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant McLennan</span> 20th and 21st-century Australian singer

Grant William McLennan was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977. In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, he issued four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997). He also undertook side-projects and collaborations with other artists. McLennan received a number of accolades recognising his achievements and contributions as songwriter and lyricist. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time. McLennan died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 48.

Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. She was the violinist of Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens (1986–1989): recorded on their studio albums, Tallulah (1987) and 16 Lovers Lane (1988). Brown has also worked as a session musician and, since 2000, as a screen music composer. She won the AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in 2020 for Babyteeth (2019) and also Best Original Music Score in a Documentary for Brazen Hussies (2020). At the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards of 2009 she won Best Music for a Documentary for Sidney Nolan: Mask and Memory (2008) and Best Music for a Television Series or Serial for The Secrets She Keeps at the 2020 ceremony.

<i>Sometime Anywhere</i> 1994 studio album by The Church

Sometime Anywhere is the ninth album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in May 1994.

<i>The Other Side</i> (1927 album) 1990 studio album by 1927

The Other Side is the second studio album by the Australian pop rock band 1927, which was released in July 1990. It peaked at number three on the ARIA Albums chart and reached No. 50 on its Australian Year End Albums Chart for 1990.

<i>FOC</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Far Out Corporation

FOC or Far Out Corporation was the only studio album released by Australian collaborative rock group, Far Out Corporation, in October 1998. Its title is an initialism of the group's name. It is the sole album from the group, which was produced by Tim Whitten and the FOC at Airlock Studios, East Brisbane, via Polydor Records.

Richard John Ploog is an Australian drummer, songwriter, producer and singer who was a member of rock band The Church between 1981 and 1990. Ploog also drummed for Beasts of Bourbon in 1983, Damien Lovelock in 1988 and with fellow The Church member Peter Koppes in 1991 for an album and tour. He is the father of Irie Ploog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cattle and Cane</span> 1983 single by The Go-Betweens

"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached No. 4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.

Curious (Yellow) was a pop, alternative rock band formed in 1987 by Swedish-born Karin Jansson, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, formerly of feminist punk band Pink Champagne. Curious (Yellow) had releases on Red Eye Records – an EP, I Am Curious and an album Charms and Blues. Both were produced by Steve Kilbey of The Church, who was Jansson's domestic partner. The band's name and that of their first release are references to the 1967 Swedish cult film I Am Curious (Yellow).

The Plunderers were an Australian band which formed in May 1984 in Canberra. The group's founding mainstays were Nic Dalton on bass guitar and vocals and Stevie Plunder on guitar and vocals. The group issued three mini-albums, Trust Us, Sarah's not Falling in Love, and Home Movie (1992); a live album, 13.7.91 Live! Live! Live! (1991); and three albums, No Era Is Safe (1986), Half A Cow (1986), and Banana Smoothie Honey (1992). Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their sound as "a punky brand of power pop that mixed frantic guitar riffs, sharp harmonies and diamond-hard pop melodies" before starting to "explore a more tripped-out kind of psychedelic revivalism". In 1989 Dalton and Plunder and their drummer, Geoff Milne, formed a side project, Hippy Dribble, playing their more psychedelic songs. In December 1990 the trio also formed Captain Denim to play "more laid-back songs mostly ... influenced by the likes of Buffalo Springfield, Country & Western and folk rock". Both these groups issued material including a split album, Silver Apples/Fade in 1994. In 1992, Dalton joined US band The Lemonheads and former Plunderers' keyboard player Andy Lewis and Plunder formed The Whitlams with Tim Freedman. Plunder died on 25 January 1996, at the age of 32 years and Lewis died on 12 February 2000, at the age of 33 years.

<i>Goodbye Tiger</i> 1977 studio album by Richard Clapton

Goodbye Tiger is the fourth studio album by Australian rock music singer-songwriter, Richard Clapton. It was released in August 1977 via Infinity Records/Festival Records and was produced by Richard Batchens. It peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In October 2010 it was listed at No. 15 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Waller, Lisa (29 November 1990). "Music: Cooking up Some Fun". The Canberra Times . Vol. 65, no. 20, 320. p. 26. Retrieved 2 September 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Jack Frost'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 7 August 2004.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Jack Frost". hem2.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. Nichols, David (2011). The Go-Betweens. Verse Chorus Press. p. 180. ISBN   9781891241901.
  5. Scott Howlett (5 December 1990). "Which one's Jack?". On The Street.
  6. Romney, Jonathan (5 March 1991). "Jack Frost review". Q Magazine. 55: 74.
  7. "Good Times. Two Distinctive Styles of Seasoned Writers". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 347. 27 December 1990. p. 37. Retrieved 2 September 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  8. Jack Frost (1996), Snow Job, Karmic Hit Records [England]: Licensed to Beggars Banquet Records , retrieved 2 September 2019
  9. 1 2 Dicks, Brett Leigh (8 May 1996). "Steve Kilbey—Inside the Church". Woroni . Vol. 48, no. 4. p. 32. Retrieved 2 September 2019 via National Library of Australia.