Parts of this article (those related to Section Other activity) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2016)
Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986.[1] The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and wordplay.
The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The original band members included Frank Reader (bass), Davy Hughes (guitar and vocals), George McDaid (guitar) and Paul Forde (drums). By late 1986/early 1987, the line-up had changed to include Paul Livingston (guitar), John Douglas (guitar) and Stephen Douglas (drums), along with Frank Reader moving to vocals and Davy Hughes to bass. While the band has included other members for short periods of time over the years, this is the line-up that would record the bulk of the Trashcan Sinatras' music to date.
Cake era
The band was spotted by Simon Dine in 1987 and quickly signed to Go! Discs. Using their signing advance, the band purchased a recording studio in Kilmarnock, naming it Shabby Road. Work began on their debut album, which was eventually released in 1990. Cake featured the band's largest worldwide hit single, "Obscurity Knocks" as well as a couple of other alternative music hits ("Only Tongue Can Tell" and "Circling the Circumference"). The band were often compared to The Smiths and the success of Cake in the United States, where it spent three months in the Billboard 200, led to extensive touring in both the UK and North America in support of the album.[2]
I've Seen Everything era
The follow-up record, I've Seen Everything was released in 1993. The song "Hayfever" made an appearance on the MTV animated series, Beavis and Butt-head. The band released two singles ("Hayfever" and "I've Seen Everything") and toured the UK, North America and Japan in support of the album.
A Happy Pocket era
The band's third album A Happy Pocket followed in 1996. AHP was released in the UK and Japan, but was unavailable in the U.S. after the band's American distributor declined to release the record. The band released four singles from AHP ("The Main Attraction", "Twisted and Bent", "How Can I Apply...?" and "To Sir, With Love", a cover of the 1967 Lulu#1 hit). The Trashcans did not tour in North America, only the UK and Japan.
Their record label, Go! Discs, had made a successful short film for the band Portishead and greenlit the production of Spooktime, a film of stories based on characters from The Trashcans' lyrics. The 15-minute film was to be shown in cinemas before screenings of Terry Gilliam's12 Monkeys.[3]
After their record company Go! Discs was acquired by Universal in 1996, the band was dropped from the label, and subsequently forced to sell their Shabby Road recording studio and declare bankruptcy. The Trashcans kept a low profile in the following years, not playing any concerts until early 1999 (in Japan and Ireland). The Japanese concerts occurred at the same time the band was recording a new single, "Snow" (a cover of the Randy Newman song), which was released by Sony Japan in December 1999.
Weightlifting era
In March 2000, the band set up camp in Hartford, Connecticut to record their fourth album. Between March and June, the band recorded around a dozen songs and played a handful of shows in the northeastern United States, their first shows in America since 1993. After returning to Scotland, the band decided to scrap the album as too dark and sombre (a reflection of their struggles over the previous few years), also feeling that the song writing was not really finished.[citation needed]
The band only performed four concerts in the UK in 2001, instead focusing on writing additional songs and recording demos for their fourth album. In March 2002, recording began at Riverside Studios in Glasgow. The band recorded a dozen songs on and off over the course of a year. In 2003, the band started to raise its profile by playing concerts and festivals in Scotland. They hired New York City based record producer and musician Andy Chase (of the band Ivy) to mix the new album tracks, which was completed by the end of the year.
With a new album ready for release, the Trashcans stepped up their activity in 2004. The band played in Spain and London, before heading to the United States in March. They appeared on the Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show with Nic Harcourt in March, the day of their sold out show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles California (their first appearance on the west coast of the U.S. in 11 years). From there, the band headed off to Austin, Texas for five appearances at the South by Southwest music festival. The Trashcans garnered quite a bit of press (Billboard staffers named the Trashcans one of the top 10 acts at SXSW[citation needed]) and record label attention, which led to a licensing deal with New York-based spinART Records.
The Trashcan Sinatras finally released their fourth album in August 2004. Weightlifting was warmly received by critics and the band completed a 25 date U.S. and Canada tour in September and October 2004. They had follow up U.S. tours in December 2004 and in April and May 2005, while also extensively touring Scotland, England, Ireland, Japan and Australia during 2004–2006. The Weightlifting album included the song "All the Dark Horses", which was featured prominently in the first episode of the ABC Family Channel series Wildfire.
In the Music era
The band's fifth studio album, In the Music, was recorded with producer Andy Chase between November 2007 and February 2008, at Stratosphere Sound in New York and in Martha's Vineyard. In July 2008, Carly Simon recorded backing vocals for the song "Should I Pray?"
A single, "Oranges and Apples", was released as a download-only single on 13 October 2008. The song was inspired by Syd Barrett, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd. The single was released in connection with The City Wakes, a festival in tribute to Syd Barrett that took place in Cambridge and London in October 2008.
The album was released (with bonus track "Astronomy") in Japan on 22 April 2009 (on Victor Entertainment), in the United Kingdom on 14 September 2009 (on Lo-Five Records) and 27 April 2010 in North America (also on Lo-Five Records, with digital distribution by Ingrooves and physical distribution by Fontana Distribution). The North American release includes eight live bonus tracks, which are live acoustic recordings taken from the band's November 2009 UK tour. Lo-Five also released a limited, numbered deluxe edition of the album in July 2009, which featured two additional bonus tracks ("I Can't Stand Tomorrow" and "I Just Don't Know How") and an in-depth booklet of liner notes, photos and a listing of everyone who pre-ordered the release.
The album received strong reviews from print and online media,[4] with The Guardian[5] describing it as "Gentle, grown-up popcraft that reveals more with each listen," and the BBC[6] calling it " . . . tender, affecting music which impresses with increasing listens."
The band supported the 2009 album release with nearly 40 concerts and promotional appearances in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom between July and November 2009, and with a follow-up tour of Japan in March 2010. On the follow-up Japanese tour, the band was supported by Japanese act Sunny Day Service, with whom they also recorded and released English-language and Japanese-language versions of the single "Town Foxes/yume iro no machide". The band also completed an 11 date USA promotional tour in June 2010.
A live acoustic album Brel (recorded in Glasgow in 2009), a follow up to the band's 2005's acoustic live Fez (recorded in New York City). Brel was released on 9 November 2010. This was set to be followed by the release of Earlies... a 4 album box set marking the 20th anniversary of the release of Cake, comprising the 3 Go!Discs albums and Weightlifting, digitally remastered with additional tracks and packaging including mementos reflecting the band's distinguished career. However, to date Earlies... has not been released.
Wild Pendulum era
In October 2014 the band announced through social media that it would begin recording its sixth album in the coming months and offered fans the opportunity to pre-order it through PledgeMusic, with a series of "exclusives" offering unique content, merchandise and updates throughout the recording process. On 21 October 2015, the first track, "Best Days On Earth," was released to the band's PledgeMusic supporters in a project update on the site. In the same update, the band confirmed that the new album would be titled "Wild Pendulum."
In an August 2015 project update, the band announced that the new album would be released in January 2016. A second track, "Ain't That Something," was later released to PledgeMusic supporters, and the album's release was pushed back. On a 1 March 2016 project update, the band announced that a digital download of the complete album would be made available to supporters on 22 April 2016, with the album's release on physical CDs and vinyl to follow.
Other activity
In 1996, the band contributed a cover version of The Smiths' "I Know It's Over" to the tribute compilation The Smiths Is Dead.
In 1998, the band recorded a song "Duty Free" under the pseudonym The Cat Protection League. The song was included on a compilation of local Kilmarnock/Irvine-area artists as part of a university music class project.
John Douglas wrote "Wild Mountainside", which was recorded by Eddi Reader for her 2003 album Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns. This song was later recorded by the Trashcans and released as an EP in 2005. John Douglas wrote two songs, "Should I Pray?" and "Prisons", which appear on Eddi Reader's 2007 album Peacetime. The Trashcans have also recorded these songs for In the Music. In 2013, Douglas and Reader were married, shortly after which he was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, ulcerative colitis, which necessitated surgery and a lengthy convalescence.[7]
30 May 2010 for the start of their 2010 tour The Trashcan Sinatras played in Mike Chandler's Portland OR living room. This was billed as an experimental show and gained much media attention with stories in USA Today, Wired Magazine's blog The Underwire FOX News and The Oregonian. Tickets sold out in less than 36 hours, purchased by 50 fans who traveled from all over the west coast. The band played for three hours and over 30 songs with several songs seldom heard live over the past 20 years.
In 2010 the Trashcan Sinatras recorded a version of the Beatles song "Hello, Goodbye" for use in a promotional video campaign by Narita Airport in Japan. The video is expected to run in the airport, on board aircraft, and on Japanese media for at least one year.
In 2018 and 2019, the band completed three-piece acoustic tours of North America. The 2018 tour featured songs from Cake and I’ve Seen Everything. The 2019 tour featured songs from A Happy Pocket and Weightlifting.[8]
Zebra of the Family (demos/alternate takes/unreleased songs) (2003)
Fez (live – unplugged) (2005)
Midnight at the Troubadour (DVD) (2006)
Live Series Radio Sessions Volume 1 (2009)
Live Series Radio Sessions Volume 2 (2010)
Brel (2011)
Related Research Articles
Cake is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum, and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan vocals, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including norteño, country music, mariachi, disco, rock, funk, folk music, and hip hop.
The Turtles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965 and best known for their 1967 hit song "Happy Together". They charted several other top 40 hits, including "It Ain't Me Babe" (1965), "You Baby" (1966), "She'd Rather Be With Me" (1967), "Elenore" (1968) and "You Showed Me" (1969).
Angra is a Brazilian power metal band formed in 1991. They have released nine regular studio albums, five EPs, and three live CD/DVDs to date. Led by Rafael Bittencourt, the band has gained a degree of popularity in Japan and Europe.
The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock.
Not Drowning, Waving were a musical group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1983 by David Bridie and John Phillips. Their music combined elements of rock, ambient music and world music; their lyrics dealt with characteristically Australian topics: word-pictures of landscapes and people, the seasons, and some political issues – such as Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. The group released six studio albums and two soundtracks until disbanding in 1994, they briefly reformed in 2001, 2003 and 2005–2006. From 2005 to 2007, they issued three compilation albums. Not Drowning, Waving won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 for Proof, their soundtrack for the 1991 film of the same name. In 1991, Bridie and fellow members of Not Drowning, Waving, formed a side-project, My Friend The Chocolate Cake to play more acoustic-based material.
Weightlifting is the fourth studio album by the Scottish pop/rock band The Trash Can Sinatras, released in 2004.
Fairground Attraction was a London-based folk and soft rock band. They are notable for the 1988 hit songs "Perfect" and "Find My Love", both taken from the group's multi-platinum selling debut studio album, The First of a Million Kisses. The band won two Brit Awards in 1989, but broke up the following year. Lead vocalist Eddi Reader subsequently launched a successful solo career.
Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as the lead vocalist of the folk and soft rock band Fairground Attraction, and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three Brit Awards. In 2003, she showcased the works of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
Peacetime is the eighth studio album by Eddi Reader released in the UK on 29 January 2007.
Angels & Electricity is the fourth studio album by Eddi Reader released in the UK on 11 May 1998.
Candyfloss and Medicine is the third studio album by Eddi Reader released in the UK on 8 July 1996, which peaked #24 in the UK charts.
Driftwood is the sixth studio album by Eddi Reader released in the UK on 8 October 2001.
Love Is the Way is the ninth studio album by Eddi Reader. It was released in the UK on 13 April 2009.
Roderick John Hart is a Scottish singer–songwriter, film/TV and theatre composer, and broadcaster from Glasgow. As a solo artist, he has released three records – Bookmarks, Sign Language and Road of Bones – and one EP, The Dylan EP. Hart now releases albums with his band the Lonesome Fire, the first of which was the self-titled Roddy Hart & the Lonesome Fire produced by Danton Supple. Released in late 2013, the album was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award in April 2014. Their second album - Swithering - was co-produced by Paul Savage and released in late 2016. The band made their American network TV debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 17 February 2014 and proved so popular they were invited back the following week to perform a week long residency on the show.
Cake is the debut studio album by Scottish pop/rock band The Trash Can Sinatras, released in 1990.
Love is the twelfth studio album of the Japanese boy band Arashi. The album was released on October 23, 2013 under their record label J Storm in two editions: a limited edition and a regular edition. The regular edition comes with a 32-page photo lyrics booklet, while the limited edition comes with a 60-page photo lyrics booklet and a bonus DVD with a music video for "P・A・R・A・D・O・X". The album sold over 670,000 copies in its first week and became the best-selling album of 2013 in Japan. It was released digitally on February 7, 2020.
"Obscurity Knocks" is a song by Scottish band The Trash Can Sinatras, which was released in 1990 as an extended play from their debut studio album Cake. It was written by all five band members and produced by Roger Béchirian. The EP reached No. 86 in the UK and remained on the chart for four weeks. In 1991, the song reached No. 12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Mirmama is the debut solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader, released by RCA in 1992. The album reached No. 34 on the UK Albums Chart. The album did not receive a US release in 1992, but was later remastered and issued on CD there by Compass Records in 1997.
I've Seen Everything is the second studio album by Scottish band The Trash Can Sinatras, released by Go! Discs in 1993. The album reached No. 50 on the UK Albums Chart.
A Happy Pocket is the third studio album by the Scottish band the Trash Can Sinatras, released by Go! Discs in 1996. Upon its original release, the album reached number 125 in the UK Albums Chart. It fared better in 2023, when a reissue on the Last Night From Glasgow label saw the album reach number 77.
References
↑ "band biography". trashcan sinatras. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
↑ Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, ISBN0-86241-913-1
↑ Mullaney, Andrea (19 April 1996). "Short stories". The List. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
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.
