Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack, Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Smith in 2010. Thirsty Merc have released one extended play, First Work, and five studio albums: Thirsty Merc, Slideshows, Mousetrap Heart, Shifting Gears, and Celebration. The band have sold over 200,000 albums, toured extensively around Australia, and received national radio airplay for their tracks.
Rai Thistlethwayte is an Australian rock, pop and jazz musician and songwriter. Thistlethwayte is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He is the lead singer and primary songwriter in the Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc. From 2004, Thirsty Merc released a string of hits in the Australian charts including "In the Summertime", "Someday, Someday", "20 Good Reasons", "Emancipate Myself", "My Completeness", "When the Weather Is Fine" and "Mousetrap Heart". He is currently based in Los Angeles. As a solo artist, Thistlethwayte performs under the name 'Sun Rai'.
The 19th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 23 October 2005 at the Sydney SuperDome at the Sydney Olympic Park complex, thus continuing the previous year's innovation of televising the awards on Sunday evening. A varied cast of presenters included Merrick and Rosso, stand-up comic Dave Hughes, Gretel Killeen and David Hasselhoff.
First Work is the debut EP release by Australia rock band Thirsty Merc released in 2003, which appeared on the ARIA Charts top 100. It features early versions of songs that the band re-recorded for their studio album Thirsty Merc.
Thirsty Merc is the debut studio album release by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc released in 2004.
Slideshows is the second studio album release by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc. It was released on 21 April 2007, through Warner Music Australia. Six singles were released from the album. The first single "20 Good Reasons", became Thirsty Merc's first single to peak in the Top 10 on the Australian Singles Chart. The second single from the album was "The Hard Way", followed by "Those Eyes", which was released as a digital download in December 2007, only later to be released on CD in April 2008. "Homesick" was released as the fourth single digitally, making available for the first time a single mix of the track. This was followed by a double radio release of singles five and six, "The Whole World Reminds Me of You" and "Crying in Denial", both of which garnered highly successful airplay runs in a radio edit form.
"20 Good Reasons" was the first single from Thirsty Merc's second album Slideshows. It was released on 17 March 2007 and is to date the band's highest-charting single, reaching number four on the Australian Singles Chart and number seventeen on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The song was nominated for 'Song of the Year' at the 2008 APRA awards. The single was also the number one most added track to radio across Australia in March 2007.
Karl Robertson is the drummer for Australian rock group Thirsty Merc. As a founding member from 2002, he has performed on all their releases from First Work in September 2003 to the single "The Whole World Reminds Me of You" in December 2008.
"In the Summertime" is a song by Australian rock group Thirsty Merc, released on 11 April 2005 as the third single from the band's self-titled debut album (2004). The track is a tribute to the Australian summer and is a reflection of the laidback Aussie lifestyle. The song reached number 43 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and is used as the theme song for the Australian television program Bondi Rescue. It was the band's first song to chart in New Zealand, where it peaked at number 12.
"Wasting Time" is a song by Thirsty Merc, released as their debut single in 2003. It was featured on their debut EP, First Work. Its radio success led to release of the band's debut self-titled album, Thirsty Merc, on which the track was featured. The track's accompanying one-shot video was also a huge hit.
"When the Weather Is Fine" is the fourth and final single released from Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc's debut album, Thirsty Merc (2004). The song only appears on the 2005 re-packaged version of the album.
"Someday, Someday" is the third single released from Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc's debut album, Thirsty Merc (2004). The song was released on 22 November 2004 and reached number 19 on the Australian Singles Chart in January 2005.
"The Hard Way" was the second single from Thirsty Merc's second album Slideshows. It was released on 15 September 2007, charting at a disappointing sixty-three on the Australian Singles Chart. It is maintained, however, that this came about due to high album sales upon the release of Slideshows.
Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and has been producing professionally since the early 1980s. He is best known for his work with David Baerwald, Faith No More, Maroon 5, O.A.R., The Replacements, and Train.
"Emancipate Myself" is a song by Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc. It was released as the second track from the band’s debut EP, First Work, and as the band's first official commercial single from their debut self-titled album, Thirsty Merc. It achieved mainstream success, earning healthy radio airplay, and reaching number 37 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The music video for "Emancipate Myself", which involved the band playing in a corporate office, wearing suits and ties, followed in the footsteps of its predecessor Wasting Time in garnering huge support.
"My Completeness" was the second single released from Thirsty Merc's debut album Thirsty Merc. Reaching number two on the Australian Airplay Chart, the single was the most successful single for the band at the time of its release. It performed considerably better than predecessor, Emancipate Myself, peaking at #27 on the Australian Singles Chart, while highlighting the musical depth and sincerity of the band that secured them a reputation as one of the world's premier alternative acts.
Mousetrap Heart is the third studio album by Australian rock band Thirsty Merc. It was released on 18 June 2010, through Warner Music Australia. The title track was released as the first single on 21 May 2010. The album marks the band's first release with guitarist Matt Smith, since joining the band just after the departure of Sean Carey earlier in the year.
Matt Smith is an Australian jazz guitarist. He is most widely known as the guitarist in the Australian rock pop band Thirsty Merc but also plays guitar for Sydney afrobeat/reggae band The Strides. He joined Thirsty Merc in January 2010 after helping record the band's third album, Mousetrap Heart, in Los Angeles in late 2009.
Carmen Smith is an Australian singer/songwriter who rose to prominence after appearing in the first season of The Voice Australia.
The Fabulous Caprettos is an Australian supergroup consisting of Dave Gleeson, Jack Jones, Russell Morris and Rai Thistlethwayte. The band formed in 2020, when they began rehearsing and recording. Gleeson replaced original member Daryl Braithwaite in mid-2023.
