Strait jacket fits

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The Straitjacket Fits were a rock band from Dunedin , New Zealand .

history

The band was formed in 1986. The band members had previously played in several indie bands such as The DoubleHaappys , Working With Walt and The Orange . Founding members were Shayne Carter (guitar, vocals), John Collie (drums) and David Wood (bass). The year after it was founded, Andrew Brough (guitar) also joined. The group was signed by Flying Nun Records and released their first EP Life in One Chord in 1987 , which was recorded at The Lab Studios in Auckland and reached number 16 on the New Zealand charts. The song She Speeds contained on the EP was later selected by the APRA ( Australasian Performing Right Association ) at number 9 on the list of New Zealand's 100 best songs of all time. The band moved to Christchurch in 1988 and later to Auckland. There the Terry Moore, formerly bassist of the band The Chills , produced their debut album Hail . The released single Hail could reach number 20 in the charts. However, the second single Sparkle That Shines flopped in the charts, and the album Hail also failed to reach a ranking. Nevertheless, Flying Nun Records put the LP back on a CD in 1989, with the songs from the Life in One Chord EP as bonus tracks. Rough Trade released the record in the US and Europe . After the first album was released, Straitjacket Fits toured Australia and Europe. A session with John Peel was recorded for the BBC in the UK .

In July and August 1990 sessions for the second album Melt took place in Australia and New Zealand. Down in Splendor , which is featured on this LP, was voted # 32 of New Zealand's 100 Best Songs by APRA . The song was released as a single, but just like the second single from Melt , Roller Ride , it was not able to position itself in the charts. Melt reached number 13 on the New Zealand charts and sold about 40,000 copies in the United States. This was followed by a tour of Australia as the opening act for My Bloody Valentine and a tour of the USA with The La’s . However, over time, tension developed between the lead songwriters Carter and Brough. Andrew Brough eventually left the band in 1991, replacing Mark Petersen on guitar. The following year, the EP Bad Note for a Heart was released with a new line-up , which reached number 29 in the charts. Then the band moved to the USA, where the third album Blow was created. This, however, was more guitar-heavy and louder than the previously very balanced records that had been made with Brough.

Three singles were released from the album, including the songs Done and Cat Inna Can , which reached number 11 and 19 in the charts. The third single If I Were You , however, was unsuccessful. The album Blow was released in 1993 and reached number 12 on the New Zealand charts. The label Arista released the record with a changed setlist in the USA after it had already released an EP called Missing From Melt in 1991 . Also in 1993 her song Brittle appeared next to contributions from bands such as Nirvana and Sonic Youth on the No Alternative Sampler of the Red Hot Organization . This was followed by a tour of the US and an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien . Even so, the group broke up after performing at the Big Day Out Festival in 1994.

In 1998 a best-of compilation was released with the title Straitjacket Fits . In 2005 the last line-up of the group played some reunion concerts in New Zealand. Founding member David Wood died on November 17, 2010.

Style and aftermath

Straitjacket Fits mixed heavier guitars and vocals with melodies and pop hooks. They are considered to be representatives of the Dunedin Sound .

There are three songs by the group in the APRA list of New Zealand's 100 Best Songs of All Time: She Speeds (# 9), Down In Splendor (# 32) and If I Were You (# 88). In 2008 the group received the New Zealand Herald Legacy Award from the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards . The group was also inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame .

Discography

Albums

  • 1988: Hail
  • 1990: Melt
  • 1993: Blow

EPs

  • 1987: Life in One Chord
  • 1991: Bad Note for a Heart
  • 1991: Missing From Melt
  • 1992: Done

Singles

  • 1988: Hail
  • 1990: Sparkle That Times
  • 1991: Roller Ride
  • 1992: Done
  • 1993: Cat Inna Can
  • 1993: If I Were You

Compilations

  • 1989: Hail (new edition of the first LP)
  • 1998: Straitjacket Fits

Compilation contributions

  • 1988: She Speeds (On In Love With These Times )
  • 1991: Dialing a Payer (On Getting Older )
  • 1991: Bad Note for a Heart (On Pink Flying Saucers Over the Southern Alps )
  • 1993: Brittle (On No Alternative )
  • 1997: Down in Splendor and She Speeds (On Topless Women Talk About Their Lives )
  • 1999: She Speeds (On Scarfies )
  • 2002: She Speeds (On Nature's Best )
  • 2002: Down in Splendor (On Nature's Best 2 )
  • 2002: If I Were You (On Nature's Best 3 )

literature

  • T. Davey & H. Puschmann: Kiwi rock . Kiwi Rock Publications, 1996. ISBN 0-473-03718-1
  • D. Eggleton: Ready to fly: The story of New Zealand rock music . Craig Potton Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-877333-06-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.apra.co.nz
  3. ↑ [2]
  4. ↑ [3]
  5. ↑ [4]