Offcuts
| Offcutts | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, pop, electronic |
| Years active | <2002–2008 |
| Labels | Rubber/BMG, EMI |
| Website | MySpace |
| Past members | see Members list below |
Offcutts were an Australian rock group which formed in 2002 by mainstays Aram "Az" Cargill on guitar and Tommy Spender on lead vocals and bass guitar. Their music had high rotation on national youth radio, Triple J. They issued two albums, Thrift Shop Boutique (compilation album, 3 May 2004) and What Happened Don't Lie (March 2007), before disbanding in 2008.
Offcutts were formed early in 2002 in Melbourne as a three-piece rock group, with Aram "Az" Cargill on guitar, Luke "Kano" Kane on drums and Tommy Spender on lead vocals and bass guitar. Their name acknowledges being the "" of other projects: they "grew from the ashes of other beats-based outfits and their DIY mentality had them boys swapping instruments, jamming with computers and recording the outcomes on MiniDisc." Spender listed his favourite Australian artists as Ross Hannaford, the Avalanches, the Necks and AC/DC. For live performances they added Manas Pandey on vocals.
Cargill and Spender had met on a work-for-the-dole course, Cargill recruited Spender on saxophone (ex-Murdoch) for his acid-jazz group, New World Souls. Spender later remembered, "my first proper band I played in was called Murdoch, kind of heavy math rock that I played saxophone over. Then New World Souls, which morphed into Offcutts. I also started a side project called The Sneaker Trio, which was with some best friends and such a highlight of my musical career." Cargill and Pandey were music students at North Metropolitan College of TAFE. After New World Souls had disbanded Cargill and Spender formed Offcutts. The group were influenced by a wide range of artists including the Beatles, Prince, James Brown, Daft Punk, and Mötley Crüe.
Offcutts combined elements of hip hop and beat poetry on their debut five-track extended play, Homestyles (25 February 2002), released on Rubber Records and distributed by the BMG label. Added to high rotation on national youth radio, Triple J, the lead track, "Hips", was an underground hit in Australia and was followed by the cross-over dance hit, "Everybody's Getting Back to the Music". Cargill explained the EP's launch being held at the group's home, "we wanted to do it in our own home. We had industry, friends, acquaintances and the odd free loader that we handed out an invite to on the road. I think we got like 500 people all up. We just wanted to have a party and put it in its environment rather than have it in a club."
...
Wikipedia