Friday Five: 5 Brisbane-based bands that shaped the city

5 Brisbane-based bands that shaped the city

Before Avalon Drive and Last Dinosaurs roamed the city, there are these bands who helped paved the road and put Australia, even the quieter town of Brisbane, on the global map. In anticipation of my review on Pig City by Andrew Stafford, here are five of the many more bands, hailed from Brisbane, their pride and joy.

#1: The Saints

“They were terrifying! Because their hair was so long, and they were so haughty, basically… and Chris was this cavalier vagabond who even in grade 11 had cultivated this image of a wine bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other.” – Clinton Walker, author of Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977-1991 ; P. 55

#2: The Go-Betweens

“They were wholesome, upbeat, sunny people. But everything was mediated for them, nothing was ever experienced, and that was reflected in the sort of songs that they wrote. They were masters of the vicarious!” – Peter Milton Walsh, lead vocalist of The Apartments ; P. 87

#3: Regurgitator

“I do like things to be loud. I started out as a live mixer, and I always knew it was good when the bass drum was moving your shirt. You could feel the music as much as you could hear it.” – Lachlan Goold, multi-award winning music producer ; P. 277

#4: Powderfinger

“They were very normal guys, and normal guys are much harder to sell in the beginning, but once you break through it’s a blessing. No one cares what Bernard wears! If it worked – and it worked in a big way – Powderfinger was always going to be something that stuck in middle Australia.” – Paul Piticco, manager to Powderfinger ; P. 298

#5: Savage Garden

“I thought they were brilliant. I thought the discussions that we had together were some of the most honest and frank… that I’d ever had with a new artist. That was what got me, even more so than the music.” – John Woodruff, manager to Savage Garden ; P. 312

Tags: Andrew Stafford, Australia, Brisbane, Pig City, Powderfinger, Regurgitator, Savage Garden, The Go-Betweens, The Saints