The Eastern Dark

Last updated

The Eastern Dark
Origin Australia
Genres Australian rock
Years active 1984–1986
Labels Waterfront, Half A Cow

The Eastern Dark is an Australian rock band who formed in the 1980s as an offshoot from another Australian band, The Celibate Rifles. [1]

The Celibate Rifles are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. They released their first album, Sideroxylon, in April 1983 on the Hot Records label. The band has toured both America and Europe extensively, and released their ninth studio album, Beyond Respect on 19 July 2004. In 1985 the group's style was described as post-Radio Birdman sound which is "a combination of fast, guitar-driven, hard rock and power pop". In November 1987 Sounds magazine's Roger Holland described their album, Roman Beach Party as showing the group's "sawn off rock potential all the way down to the bleached white of the bone, the lyrics reveal all the anger, insight and humour that makes [them] one of the most powerful rock bands in the world today". In April 1994 The Celibate Rifles issued Spaceman in a Satin Suit which according to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane "was [their] best studio album since Blind Ear". Lovelock has undertaken a solo career and issued two albums as well as becoming a TV sports presenter.

Contents

History

The band was formed in 1984 when then Celibate Rifles bassist James Darroch decided to leave and form his own band. [2] Darroch switched from bass to guitar and enlisted drummer Geoff Milne and former Lime Spiders backing vocalist Bill Gibson on bass. After some rehearsals the three became The Eastern Dark, named after a place in The Phantom comics. [2] The three piece began playing live in May 1984, quickly garnering local support and earning notoriety for their habit of opening each set with a different Ramones cover, working their way chronologically through the Ramones' discography. Their first single, "Julie Is A Junkie/Johnny And Dee Dee," was released on Waterfront Records in July 1985.

Bassist musician who plays a bass instrument

A bassist or bass player, is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments. Since the 1960s, the electric bass has been the standard bass instrument for funk, R&B, soul music, rock and roll, reggae, jazz fusion, heavy metal, country and pop music. The double bass is the standard bass instrument for classical music, bluegrass, rockabilly, and most genres of jazz. Low brass instruments such as the tuba or sousaphone are the standard bass instrument in Dixieland and New Orleans-style jazz bands.

Guitar fretted string instrument

The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that usually has six strings. It is typically played with both hands by strumming or plucking the strings with either a guitar pick or the finger(s)/fingernails of one hand, while simultaneously fretting with the fingers of the other hand. The sound of the vibrating strings is projected either acoustically, by means of the hollow chamber of the guitar, or through an electrical amplifier and a speaker.

Lime Spiders are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with founding mainstay Mick Blood on lead vocals. He was later joined by Tony Bambach on bass guitar, Gerard Corben on guitar, his son Tom Corben on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut studio album, The Cave Comes Alive! appeared in June 1987 and reached the top 60 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Their most successful single, "Weirdo Libido", was released in January that year and reached the top 50 on the related Kent Music Report Singles Chart. In April its music video was the first ever shown on Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV music series rage. The track was used on the 1988 feature film Young Einstein's soundtrack. The group disbanded in 1990 and in 1999 Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noted they had provided "raucous sound mixed screaming vocals and wild, fuzz-tone guitar riffs to arrive at a mutant strain of acid punk that bordered on heavy metal". The band have reformed for reunion shows and tours. In May 2016 the Lime Spiders catalogue was re-released for the first time ever digitally on platforms around the world.

With Rob Younger as producer [2] the band recorded the EP Long Live The New Flesh! in 1986. On 4 March 1986, days after finishing the EP, and en route to a week-long series of shows in Melbourne, the band's van went off the road; Darroch was killed, and Milne and Gibson were hospitalised. Long Live the New Flesh! was released posthumously later that year, and a collection of live recordings and demos was released as Girls on the Beach (With Cars) in 1989. A CD collection of the previously released material, Where Are All the Single Girls? was released on Half A Cow Records in 2000 (and re-released in 2010).

Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He is a founding mainstay of the punk rock group, Radio Birdman, and a pioneer of the local independent music scene. Radio Birdman, formed with Deniz Tek on guitar in November 1974, was one of the first punk rock bands ever formed in Australia, and is considered one of the most influential and crucial bands in Australian music history. Younger formed a short-term super-group, New Race, in 1981. He also formed New Christs in that year, who is still active today.

Discography

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References

  1. ↑ "allmusicguide.com". Allmusic Profile.
  2. 1 2 3 "australianmusiconline". Australian Music Online.


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