The Drones (Australian band)

The Drones
The Drones performing at A Day On The Green in Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley NSW Australia in 2013
Background information
Origin	Perth, Western Australia
Genres	Alternative rock blues rock experimental rock garage rock noise rock punk blues
Years active	1997–present
Labels	ATP Recordings In-Fidelity Records Bang! Records Spooky Records
Website	The Drones official website
Members	Gareth Liddiard Fiona Kitschin Christian Strybosch Dan Luscombe Steve Hesketh
Past members	Rui Pereira Warren Hall Brendon Humphries Mike Noga James McCann

The Drones are an Australian rock band, originally from Perth, Western Australia but now located in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2014, the band consists of vocalist/guitarist Gareth Liddiard - the band's sole original member - as well as bassist Fiona Kitschin, lead guitarist/keyboardist Dan Luscombe, keyboardist Steve Hesketh and drummer Christian Strybosch. The band rose to prominence in Australia when in 2005 their album, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, won the inaugural Australian Music Prize.

The Drones were formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1997 by Gareth Liddiard and Rui Pereira as an outlet for Liddiard's songs and the unorthodox music the pair had been making together after meeting in high school in 1988. Their most recent band The Gutterville Splendour Six, led by singer Maurice Flavel, later started working simultaneously as the original four piece line up of The Drones minus Flavel (with Warren Hall on drums and James McCann on guitar) playing a handful of shows in Perth and recording an unreleased EP before Liddiard and Pereira left for the eastern states in January 2000. The pair originally planned to move to Sydney but after a short time there, decided Melbourne would be a better place for the band. They were soon joined by Gutterville drummer Hall and Gutterville guitarist Brendon Humphries (The Kill Devil Hills), who took over on bass after Pereira moved to guitar. Hall soon returned to Perth, while the remaining three recruited Christian Strybosch to replace him on drums. Humphries then moved back to Perth and was replaced by Fiona Kitschin (who had previously played with Liddiard and Pereira in various bands) on bass once she had relocated to Melbourne from Perth. The new line up of Liddiard, Kitschin, Pereira and Strybosch then went on to record the band's first three albums.

Sessions for what would become their second album Wait Long By The River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By were undertaken during 2004. But once the album was completed, the band had legal problems that stalled the release for over a year. Influential Melbourne indie music figure Bruce Milne's In-Fidelity label eventually released it in early 2005, to enthusiastic reviews from the underground music press. The album was also nominated for Triple J's inaugural J Award prize in 2005 (which was eventually won by Wolfmother), and topped many Australian critics' end-of-year Top 10 lists. Furthermore, Triple J put the album tracks "Shark Fin Blues" and "Baby²" on medium rotation. During an extensive six-month tour encompassing Europe and the US, All Tomorrow's Parties issued Wait Long By The River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By outside of Australia towards the end of 2005. In 2004, Strybosch left the band and was replaced by drummer Mike Noga (Legends of Motorsport). The band used the initial period of their label limbo to go to Tasmania and record the album Gala Mill. However, it wasn't until 2006 that Gala Mill was released, and the band spent the interim touring Australia and the northern hemisphere.