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Magic Dirt

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Magic Dirt

Magic Dirt is an Australian rock band. Formed in 1992 in Geelong, Victoria and continuing to this day, they have become one of the longest running - while far from the most commercially successful - bands to come out the Australian Music scene in the 1990s.

History

Early days (1992–1993)

The group was formed in 1992 by Adalita Srsen, Dean Turner, Daniel Herring and Adam Robertson. Adalita told a fanzine in 1996, "The way we formed was that Dean and I used to be going out together, and before we used to be in a band before Magic Dirt called Deer Bubbles. Dean knew Daniel from skating, and then he moved in with us, and we'd play like one song for forty minutes, we just loved it. Then we wanted to find a drummer, and we went through about five, then we found Adam through a mutual friend and that was it. We only used to have three songs we used to play for an hour." Originally known as The Jim Jims, the first recording Magic Dirt ever released (as The Jim Jims) was a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin" on Check This Action, a compilation CD of local Geelong bands in 1992. In the first half of 1993, the band supported Sonic Youth and Pavement on their Australian tours, and recorded its debut single, "Supertear", for Fellaheen Records. However, by the time of the 7" single's release in July 1993, the band had broken up. It wasn't long before the band regrouped and signed with Au Go Go Records in November of the same year. Their first EP, Signs of Satanic Youth appeared in December, with the catchy "Redhead" making an impact on Triple J radio.

The Au Go Go years (1993–1999)

Life Was Better EP

File:Lwb front.jpg
Cover of Magic Dirt's Life Was Better EP

Early in 1994, the band broke up once again. Adalita and Dean's relationship had come to an end, and the band imploded with it. Thankfully, the pieces were put back together and 1994 turned out to be a huge year for the band with the release of their second EP, Life Was Better in November. It debuted at #1 on the alternative chart, (thanks to radio friendly tracks such as "Ice" and "Amoxycillan", despite the latter boasting 10 minutes of feedback at the end of the track) and continued to stay in the chart for 75 weeks, eventually selling 20,000 copies.

1995 started with the band joining the Big Day Out festival tour across Australia, with the likes of Hole (who they also supported on non-Big Day Out shows) and Silverchair. The success of the Life Was Better EP had attracted international attention. Geoffrey Weiss of Warner Music in the US, saw potential in the poppy hooks of songs such as "Ice" and "Redhead", and was interested in signing the band to Warner. This prompted interest from other major labels. The band's then manager Gavan Purdy flew to Los Angeles to negotiate a deal.

Founding member guitarist Daniel Herring left the band on August 15, 1995. The last recording with Daniel Herring was the 10" vinyl single, "I Was Cruel", which featured the words "Thankyou, Daniel. Goodbye" etched onto the vinyl.

Dave Thomas, of fellow Geelong band Bored! (who had managed Magic Dirt at the early stages of their career) was recruited as Herring's replacement, and the band signed to Warner for a two album deal (though, in Australia, they remained with Au Go Go).

Friends In Danger

In March 1996, the band began recording its debut album in Sydney with Paul McKercher. The album was a reaction to the accessibility of the first two EPs. While Warner had expected more songs in the vein of "Ice", the band in turn offered tracks like the 9 minute "Bodysnatcher", a chilling tale of child abuse. Warner's people were less than impressed, and even went so far as to offer the band additional time and money to re-record the album. The band refused, and when Friends In Danger was released in September 1996, the label put little effort into promoting it in the US. A dark and uneasy record, swamped in fuzzy guitars and feedback, Friends In Danger went on to sell 10,000 copies in Australia, helped along by "Sparrow", the album's most accessible track and only single.

When the band toured America with the Archers of Loaf to support the album, Warner still refused to promote it. They were soon dropped by the label. Since they had signed a two album deal, Warner had no choice but to pay them for the second album, despite the fact that they weren't going to release it.

The band returned to Australia, and in January 1997, were once again part of the Big Day Out tour. In July of that year, Dave Thomas left the band. His replacement was Spanish-born Raul Sanchez - former frontman of Melbourne band Muffcake. The band began recording its second full-length record at Birdland Studios in Melbourne with long-time producer Lindsay Gravina, before undertaking a three week tour of the UK and Europe in the later half of the year, which included an appearance on John Peel's legendary BBC radio show. They ended 1997 with a new single, "Rabbit With Fangs", taken from the forthcoming second album and a national tour supporting Silverchair, playing large arenas around the country. Rumours flew that Srsen and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns were romantically involved during this time.

Magic Dirt at the 2004 Big Day Out

Young and Full of the Devil

March of 1998 saw the release of their second album, Young and Full of the Devil. The album continued the unsettling, fuzzy sound of the debut, and like the debut sold 10,000 copies in Australia (although bassist Dean Turner has recently claimed on the band's website that the album was in fact the band's lowest selling). Another single, "She-Riff" was released (albeit, in a new and more polished recording than the album version), featuring a video that saw Srsen reinacting the 1975 Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Young and Full of the Devil was also the last release from the band on Au Go Go Records (and one of the last for the label itself). Around this time, Dean and Adalita undertook two side projects, the first being Seaville - a project with Merida Sussex from The Paradise Motel that resulted in the release of the Swan Song EP in 1998. The second project was with Ronin System, which resulted in "Expectations" in 1999.

Without a label, the band started recording demos for their third album and continued to support themselves through endless touring throughout much of 1999.

The Warner years (2000–2006)

What Are Rockstars Doing Today

In 2000, Magic Dirt signed a recording contract with (ironically) Warner Music Australia, and began recording their third album with Phil Vinall, after being impressed by his work with Placebo. Released in Australia during October of that year, What Are Rockstars Doing Today signalled a dramatic shift in the band's sound. Gone were the fuzzy guitars and feedback. In its place was slick production and poppy hooks. Long time fans of the band weren't sure what to make of lead single, "Dirty Jeans", with its handclaps and sing-a-long chorus. Tracks such as "Pace It" and "City Trash" proved that the band could still rock, however they did receive some backlash, with some fans labelling them "sell-outs". Nonetheless, the album debuted at #35 on the national ARIA charts. Triple J put "Dirty Jeans" on high rotation and it reached #12 in the year's Hottest 100. The year ended with national tour supporting Powderfinger and Jebediah.

2001 and 2002 saw the band tour relentlessly in the wake of What Are Rockstars Doing Today. They launched their Love Ya & Leave Ya tour - the largest tour the band had done up until that point, which saw them on their first trip to New Zealand. The City Trash tour with The Nation Blue and Girls Against Boys followed in June/July 2002. They also started recording demos for album #4 early in the year (with songs such as "Love Me" and "Sarah May" from these sessions later released as B-sides). Later that year, the band made its second trip to the UK, where What Are Rockstars Doing Today had been released on Cargo Records.

In 2002, Magic Dirt appeared on the "World of Instruments" segment of "John Safran's Music Jamboree", where they played the song "Dirty Jeans"

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Magic Dirt's Adalita live in 2005

Tough Love

In early 2003 the band started recording its fourth album, Tough Love, at Birdland Studios in Melbourne, again produced by Lindsay Gravina. The album, released in August of that year, carried on the band's new slicker sound, although tracks like the epic "Brat" recalled the band's early days. Originally, no commercial singles were to be released from the album. After the success of the radio-only singles "Vulcanella" and "Watch Out Boys", Warner commercially released "Plastic Loveless Letter". The song went on to become the band's biggest hit to date, reaching #16 on the ARIA chart and receiving airplay on mainstream radio. Tough Love also reached the Top 20 of the ARIA chart and later went on to be nominated for a 2003 ARIA Award for "Best Rock Album". The album was re-issued in 2004 as two disc set containing their Live at the Wireless session at Triple J in 2003.

In 2004, Raul Sanchez released the self titled album Midnight Woolf, a self recorded swamp blues instrumental album on his own Crossbone Recording Company. A band was formed, and several gigs performed in Melbourne.

Snow White

On September 5, 2005, Magic Dirt released their follow-up to Tough Love titled Snow White. Released to critical acclaim, Snow White was a thrilling combination of the band's pop sound, their noisy early material, and new elements such as acoustic guitars, which the band had never previously used. Lead single "Locket" made an impact on radio and music video channels, but its exposure was limited due the explicit language in the song's chorus. "I Love the Rain" followed as the second single from the album.

Aside from joining the Big Day Out tour once again in January and February, 2006 was a quiet year for the band. Raul Sanchez continued his work with Midnight Woolf, assembling the band in Spain for a series of gigs, and releasing second album Electric Deluxe Graveyard Blues. Two songs, "Sucker Love" (a b-side to "Locket") and "Daddy" (from Life Was Better) appeared on the soundtrack to Australian film Suburban Mayhem, along with two solo contributions from Adalita, the covers "Double Dare" and "Sex Beat", the former released as a single on October 27, 2006. Produced by Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey), the tracks are the first solo material to appear from Adalita (although Dean Turner played on the tracks, along with Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard).

Emergency Music (2006–)

On an interview on Triple J's breakfast show on October 19, 2006, Adalita announced the bands future activities would include releasing an EP, a mini-album, then an album. A report in Sydney street press Drum Media on the same day indicated an EP released on their own label, Emergency Music, would be given away at shows and sold in selected independent music stores. The EP features covers of The Scientists' "We Had Love" and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Stagger Lee", as well as a live re-recording of "Mother's Latest Fear" from Snow White.

The mini-album, titled Beast is set to be released in the July 2007, featuring songs previewed on their November 2006 East Coast tour. An experimental noise album, titled Roky's Room will be released in late June 2007 also. The album will feature no vocals, no melodies, and no percussion.

Their song "Pace It" was covered by Jebediah on their album Gleesides & Sparities.

Members

Current

Former

Discography

Albums & EPs

Music samples:

Singles

  • "Supertear" (7") (1993)
  • "Heroin"/"Goofy Gumb" (7") (1993)
  • "Redhead" (7") (1995)
  • "I Was Cruel" (10") (1995)
  • "Goofy Gumb" (Split 7") (1996)
  • "Shovel"/"Heavy Business" (Promo Only) (1996)
  • "Sparrow" (1997)
  • "Rabbit With Fangs" (1997)
  • "She-Riff" (1998)
  • "Supertear 98" (7") (Give away only) (1998)
  • "Kick Out the Jams" (7") (1998)
  • "Expectations" (Credited to Ronin System featuring Magic Dirt) (1999)
  • "Dirty Jeans" (2000)
  • "Pace It" (2001)
  • "Supagloo" (2001)
  • "Magazine"/"I Want a Dog" (Fanclub 7") (2001)
  • "City Trash" (Promo Only) (2002)
  • "Vulcanella" (Promo Only) (2003)
  • "Watch Out Boys" (Promo Only) (2003)
  • "Plastic Loveless Letter" (2003)
  • "All My Crushes" (2004)
  • "Locket" (2005)
  • "I Love the Rain" (2005)

Soundtrack and compilation appearances

  • "Heroin" (The Velvet Underground cover) from Check This Action (1992)
  • "Goofy Gumb" from That Was Then, This Is Now (1993)
  • "My Pal" (GOD cover) on Idiot Box soundtrack (1996)
  • "Sparrow", live version from Recovery: Hits From The Back Door (1997)
  • "Rabbit With Fangs" live version from Triple J: Lust For Live (1998)
  • "Teenage Vampire" demo version from Hardcore Music In Ya Face! Warner sampler (2000)
  • "Supernova" (Liz Phair cover) from Looking for Alibrandi soundtrack (2000)
  • "Who Made Me Who I Am", collaboration with Richard Franklin from Corroboration (2001)
  • "Darling It Hurts" (Paul Kelly cover) from Woman At The Well (2001)
  • "Watch Out Boys" early demo version on The Secret Life of Us 3 (2003)

Music videos

  • "Redhead" (1993)
  • "Ice" (1994)
  • "Shovel" (1996)
  • "Sparrow" (1997)
  • "Dylan's Lullaby" (1997)
  • "I Was Cruel" (Live on Recovery) (1997)
  • "Pristine Christine" (1998)
  • "She-Riff" (1998)
  • "Dirty Jeans" (2000)
  • "Pace It" (2001)
  • "Supagloo" (2001)
  • "City Trash" (2002)
  • "Watch Out Boys" (2003)
  • "Plastic Loveless Letter" (2003)
  • "All My Crushes" (2004)
  • "Locket" (2005)
  • "I Love the Rain" (2005)

References

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