Custard (band)
| Custard | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brisbane, Australia |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 1990–1999, 2009– |
| Labels |
ABC Music rooArt BMG |
| Associated acts | The Go-Betweens, Robert Forster, The Titanics, David McCormack and the Polaroids, Beachfield, The Boat Show, Adele & Glenn |
| Members |
David McCormack Paul Medew Matthew Strong Glenn Thompson |
| Past members | James Straker Shane Brunn Gavin Herrenberg Danny Plant Tom Jackman |
Custard are an Australian indie rock band formed in 1990 in Brisbane, Australia. The band is colloquially known as "Custaro" due to frequent misreadings of its name.
The band was originally known as "Custard Gun" and featured David McCormack on vocals and guitar, Paul Medew on bass, James Straker (later in The Melniks) on guitar and Shane Brunn (who later formed Hugbubble and Vanlustbader) on drums. After a few shows and line up changes (namely Straker being replaced by Matthew Strong) Custard Gun morphed into Custard.
Custard's first release was the four track vinyl EP Rockfish Anna, which was issued in November 1990. A fire breathing Elvis impersonator was part of the EP's launch festivities.
Custard's debut album, Buttercup/Bedford, was recorded in 1991. It was meant to be released on CD in March 1992, but things went awry. Unfortunately, the CDs never turned up on time for the album launch - forcing them to give away copies of the album away on cassettes to keep the punters happy. It wasn't until the end of 1992 that the band finally got their hands on the elusive CDs. By this time Custard had signed to Ra Records and had released their first "major label" CD - an EP called Gastanked.
Gastanked did very well for the band, peaking at #41 on the ARIA singles chart. It was followed in 1993 by another EP, Brisbane, and two singles - Casanova and the double A-side Singlette/Flanelette. By this time the band was onto its third drummer - Shane Brunn had been replaced by Gavin Herrenberg, who had subsequently been replaced by Danny Plant.
Custard's debut major label album Wahooti Fandango was issued in 1994. The video for the album's first single, 'Aloha Tambourinist', was the only Custard video to ever get played on Video Hits. The video, set on a beach, featured male models pretending to be Custard, while scantily clad women roll around in the sand.
Wahooti Fandango was critically acclaimed, being nominated for 'Best Alternative Release' at the 1995 ARIA awards. However, the band's "breakthrough hit" didn't come until October 1995, when they released Apartment, the first single lifted from Wisenheimer. 'Apartment' received a high rotation airplay on triple j, and was voted in at number 7 in the 1995 Hottest 100. At the time, it was the highest ever placing by an Australian band. Wisenheimer was recorded in San Francisco, being produced by Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart, PJ Harvey, Pere Ubu et al.). The album also spawned the singles 'Sunset Strip', 'Lucky Star' and 'Leisuremaster'. After Wisenheimer, Danny Plant was replaced by Glenn Thompson. From around 1995, Custard music video director Andrew Lancaster would sometimes play keyboard with the band at their live shows.
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