Pajama Club

Last updated

Pajama Club
PajamaClub.jpg
Pajama Club at the Richmond Hotel, Melbourne 15 June 2011
Background information
Origin Auckland, New Zealand
Genres Indie rock
Years active2011
LabelsLester
Associated acts Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, The Mullanes, 7 Worlds Collide, The Grates
Website pajamaclubmusic.com
MembersSharon Finn
Neil Finn
Sean Donnelly
Alana Skyring

Pajama Club are a rock band from Auckland, formed in 2011. They consist of Neil Finn, Sharon Finn, Sean Donnelly, and Alana Skyring.

Contents

After recording their first album with Neil Finn on drums (as well as guitars, keyboards and vocals), drummer Alana Skyring (formerly of The Grates) was added to the line-up as an official fourth member to play on live dates. [1] They toured Australia in June 2011, East Coast USA in June and July 2011 and West Coast USA in August 2011. [2]

These live dates all took place before the release of their album. Pajama Club's self-titled debut was released in September 2011 (9 September in Australia/New Zealand, 13th in North America and 19th in Europe). Since that time, Pajama Club has been inactive, though no formal announcement as to the band's current status has been made.

Background

After Sharon and Neil Finn's children, Liam and Elroy, left the family home to pursue their own musical careers, the parents wondered what to do to fill the time left open by their children's absence. [3] The two decided to repair the music room in their Auckland home and begin making music of their own: "We've had a bit more time on our hands since the boys left home, and we just decided to make a record. It was as simple as that. We called the group Pajama Club, because we were dressed in our pajamas when we started." [3] (The group was in fact originally called Pajama Party, but was changed very early on due to another group having the same name.) [4]

With Pajama Club, Sharon began to play the bass guitar, while Neil sat behind the drum set, despite the fact that neither had played either instrument before. Neil commented that "We found ourselves locking into these grooves which were incredibly fun to play...We naturally gravitated towards being 'funky'," drawing influence from South Bronx band ESG. [3]

With Pajama Club, Neil employed a different style of songwriting, adding words to instrumentals as opposed to Crowded House's method of writing instrument parts after the lyrics. He felt energized by the experience: "It was all new to me, it felt like starting over. When you've been doing something for as long as I've been writing songs, you can feel like you've exhausted your reservoir of ideas. Discovering new methods, new angles on songwriting, was very exciting." [3] The music takes influence from dub, disco, and funk, and uses motorik-style beats. He stated "Some people aren't gonna get it; it's not as 'songy', in a traditional way, as Crowded House...I like what happens when you keep yourself open to new things happening. It keeps the music fresh and alive." [3] Pajama Club also features vocals from Sharon, who previously sang backing vocals on a number of Crowded House songs.

Discography

Related Research Articles

Crowded House Pop rock band

Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn, and Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod. The current line-up includes Finn's sons Elroy and Liam and the American keyboard player Mitchell Froom. Neil Finn and Nick Seymour have been the sole constant members of the group since its formation.

Neil Finn New Zealand musician (born 1958)

Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and musician who is a member of Crowded House and Fleetwood Mac.

The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.

Tim Finn New Zealand musician and founder of Split Enz

Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn Brothers.

SJD (musician) Musical artist

SJD, or Sean James Donnelly, is a musician from Auckland, New Zealand. His music is a mix of pop-rock, soul, and electronic music. The name SJD also refers to Donnelly's touring band when not performing solo.

<i>Woodface</i> 1991 studio album by Crowded House

Woodface is the third studio album by New Zealand-Australian band Crowded House. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and Neil Finn and was released by Capitol in July 1991. It features five singles "Chocolate Cake", "Fall at Your Feet", "It's Only Natural", "Weather with You", and "Four Seasons in One Day". Woodface was a major hit in Australia and New Zealand as well as giving the band their first top ten hit album in the UK. It was listed at No. 3 in the book 100 Best Australian Albums in October 2010. It was voted number 80 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

The Grates

The Grates were an Australian indie rock band that formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 2002. They were brought to national attention when a demo of their single, "Trampoline" in 2004, which received airplay on radio station Triple J. Their first two albums, Gravity Won't Get You High (2006) and Teeth Lost, Hearts Won (2008), both reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 10. Hodgson and Patterson were also proprietors of Southside Tea Room, a cafe and bar, in Morningside; the couple also married in November that year.

ESG (band)

ESG is an American funk rock band formed in the South Bronx in 1978. Trouser Press called it "one of the most dynamic bands that New York could offer at the top of the '80s." ESG has been influential across a wide range of musical genres, including hip hop, and dance-punk. The band's track "UFO" is one of the most sampled songs in history.

<i>Crowded House</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Crowded House

Crowded House is the debut album by Australasian band Crowded House. Produced by Mitchell Froom, it was released in August 1986 and was certified platinum in four countries. The album includes the hit singles "Don't Dream It's Over", "Something So Strong", "Mean to Me", "World Where You Live" and "Now We're Getting Somewhere".

Liam Finn New Zealand musician (born 1983)

Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn. He married his long-term partner Janina Percival in June 2015.

<i>Time on Earth</i> 2007 studio album by Crowded House

Time on Earth is the fifth studio album by the pop-rock band Crowded House. Tracks have been produced by both Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite and the album was released on 30 June 2007 in Australia, 2 July in the United Kingdom and 10 July in North America. Time on Earth is the band's first studio album since 1993, and marks the reunion of the band eleven years after they disbanded and features new drummer Matt Sherrod in place of the original drummer, Paul Hester, who took his own life in 2005.

Dont Stop Now

"Don't Stop Now" is the first single from Crowded House's fifth studio album Time on Earth. It was released in Australia on 16 June 2007; in the United Kingdom, it was released digitally on 18 June 2007 and physically on 25 June 2007.

Into Temptation (song)

"Into Temptation" is a 1988 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the third single from the group's second album Temple of Low Men. The single peaked at #59 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in January 1989.

Matt Sherrod American drummer

Matthew Sherrod is an American drummer, musician, and a former member of the band Crowded House. Sherrod first became known as a musician playing drums for rock artist Beck. In 2007, following the 2005 death of Crowded House's drummer, Paul Hester, Sherrod was selected as a member of the band's reunion.

She Called Up

"She Called Up" is the second single released from Crowded House's fifth studio album Time on Earth, released on 17 September 2007.

<i>Intriguer</i> 2010 studio album by Crowded House

Intriguer is the sixth studio album by alternative rock group Crowded House, released on 11 June 2010. It is the band's follow-up to the group's 2007 reunion album Time on Earth. The first single for the album, "Saturday Sun", was released to radio and the video clip released to the internet in April 2010.

<i>Pajama Club</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Pajama Club

Pajama Club is the eponymous 2011 debut album by Pajama Club, the band formed by Crowded House songwriter Neil Finn, his wife Sharon Finn, and keyboard player Sean Donnelly. The album was released in Australia and New Zealand on 9 September 2011, 13 September in North America and 19 September in Europe.

<i>Goin Your Way</i> 2013 live album by Neil Finn and Paul Kelly

Goin' Your Way is a live album collaboration recorded by Neil Finn and Paul Kelly during a performance at the Sydney Opera House on 10 March 2013. It was released on 8 November as a stand-alone 2× CD, Blu-ray or DVD; or in a Limited Edition Deluxe version with all three formats. From 18 February to 18 March, Finn and Kelly undertook a joint tour of Australia, they performed tracks from their respective careers, including re-interpreting each other's work. The CD album peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart while the DVD reached No. 1 on the related Music DVD Chart.

<i>Dizzy Heights</i> (Neil Finn album) 2014 studio album by Neil Finn

Dizzy Heights, released in February 2014, is the third solo album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn.

References

  1. Official website
  2. "Crowded House frontman starts Pajama Club". 8 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chick, Stevie (25 August 2011). "No more Crowded House: Neil Finn's new band, Pajama Club". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  4. "Neil Finn: Pajama Club - Artists - The Music Network". www.themusicnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
  5. http://zobbel.de/cluk/111001cluk.txt [ bare URL plain text file ]