Chad's Tree
Encyclopedia
Chad's Tree are an Australia
n rock
band, formed in Perth
in 1983
. The band's brittle, off-kilter sound evoked the sense of distance, desolation, harshness and loneliness of the Nullarbor Plain
(but also its fragile nature), much in the same fashion as fellow Perth outfit The Triffids
.
, to Polish refugee parents, and grew up on a 36 hectare farm on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia
.
Their teenage musical passions were shared - Explosive Hits '77, the Doors
, the Velvet Underground
, Television
.
The band relocated to Sydney in 1984, the remainder of the band followed some months later in James Hurst's kombi
. In 1985 Amanda Brown
(The Go-Betweens
) was asked to record with the band (she appears on two tracks on the band's debut album Buckle In The Rail) and was invited to join the band. In the end she rejected the offer and became a permanent member of The Go-Betweens
.
Chad's Tree supported not only John Cale
in their first year, but also Nico
, at the Prince of Wales in St Kilda
, shortly after they moved east in the mid 1980s
Chad's Tree issued its debut 7-inch single "Crush the Lily"/"Toll for Josephine" in November, 1985 on the Hot label. They released subsequent singles, "Sweet Jesus Blue Eyes"/"To the Highest Bidder" in February, 1987 and "Stroller in the Attic"/"The Orchard" in March, 1988, as well as their debut album Buckle in the Rail in January, 1987 on the Nude label. The "Crush the Lily" and "Sweet Jesus Blue Eyes" singles were also combined on the four-track, 12-inch EP
Chad's Tree for release in the United Kingdom
through Rough Trade Records
.
There were a number of different line-ups over the course of six years. As well as Kim Bettenay, the band's bass players included Mark Hemery, Peter Michael, Barry Turnbull and Simon Kain. Susan Grigg joined on piano and violin in 1987, and was replaced by Kathy Wemyss
in 1989. Jason Kain (lead guitar, ex-Wet Taxis) also replaced Robert Snarski, who returned to Perth in October, 1988 and went on to form The Blackeyed Susans
The band issued a second album, Kerosene, in March 1989.
After the band broke up Mark Snarski and Weymss formed the Jackson Code
. After touring with American crime writer James Ellroy
in 1996, Mark left Australia for Europe finally settling in Madrid
. Rob Snarski lives in Melbourne, where he joined and is a pivotal member of The Blackeyed Susans
.
In March 2010 Memorandum Records released a compilation album, Crossing Off the Miles, which included both studio albums, all the band's single and B-sides, together with eleven early demos and live recordings. The release also included a 32 page booklet with photos and liner notes from eight contributors including both Rob and Mark Snarski, authors Niall Lucy and David Nichols and band insiders.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band, formed in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in 1983
1983 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.-January-April:*January – ZTT Records is founded.*January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization...
. The band's brittle, off-kilter sound evoked the sense of distance, desolation, harshness and loneliness of the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
(but also its fragile nature), much in the same fashion as fellow Perth outfit The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
.
Biography
The Snarskis were born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, to Polish refugee parents, and grew up on a 36 hectare farm on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Their teenage musical passions were shared - Explosive Hits '77, the Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
.
The band relocated to Sydney in 1984, the remainder of the band followed some months later in James Hurst's kombi
Kombi
Combi aircraft can be used for both passenger and cargo duties.Kombi or Combi may also refer to:-Kombi:* Battle of Kombi, a 1647 battle between Ndongo-Matamba and the Portuguese...
. In 1985 Amanda Brown
Amanda Brown (musician)
Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer....
(The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
) was asked to record with the band (she appears on two tracks on the band's debut album Buckle In The Rail) and was invited to join the band. In the end she rejected the offer and became a permanent member of The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
.
Chad's Tree supported not only John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
in their first year, but also Nico
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
, at the Prince of Wales in St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, shortly after they moved east in the mid 1980s
Chad's Tree issued its debut 7-inch single "Crush the Lily"/"Toll for Josephine" in November, 1985 on the Hot label. They released subsequent singles, "Sweet Jesus Blue Eyes"/"To the Highest Bidder" in February, 1987 and "Stroller in the Attic"/"The Orchard" in March, 1988, as well as their debut album Buckle in the Rail in January, 1987 on the Nude label. The "Crush the Lily" and "Sweet Jesus Blue Eyes" singles were also combined on the four-track, 12-inch EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Chad's Tree for release in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
through Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
.
There were a number of different line-ups over the course of six years. As well as Kim Bettenay, the band's bass players included Mark Hemery, Peter Michael, Barry Turnbull and Simon Kain. Susan Grigg joined on piano and violin in 1987, and was replaced by Kathy Wemyss
Kathy Wemyss
Kathy Wemyss is a multi-instrumentalist from Australia who was a member of Chad's Tree and The Jackson Code.-Biography:Wemyss was classically trained, due to her Salvation Army upbringing, but in the 1980s and 1990s performed in post punk and rock bands, playing live gigs in inner Sydney...
in 1989. Jason Kain (lead guitar, ex-Wet Taxis) also replaced Robert Snarski, who returned to Perth in October, 1988 and went on to form The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
The band issued a second album, Kerosene, in March 1989.
After the band broke up Mark Snarski and Weymss formed the Jackson Code
The Jackson Code
The Jackson Code are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989.-Biography:The Jackson Code were formed in 1989, following the breakup of Snarksi's earlier band, Chad's Tree. For the band's debut album, Snarski utilised the services of Amanda Pearson , Barry Turnbull and Mark Dawson...
. After touring with American crime writer James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
in 1996, Mark left Australia for Europe finally settling in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Rob Snarski lives in Melbourne, where he joined and is a pivotal member of The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
.
In March 2010 Memorandum Records released a compilation album, Crossing Off the Miles, which included both studio albums, all the band's single and B-sides, together with eleven early demos and live recordings. The release also included a 32 page booklet with photos and liner notes from eight contributors including both Rob and Mark Snarski, authors Niall Lucy and David Nichols and band insiders.
Members
- Mark Snarski - vocals
- Rob Snarski - vocals, guitar, bass
- Jason Kain - guitar
- Kathy WemyssKathy WemyssKathy Wemyss is a multi-instrumentalist from Australia who was a member of Chad's Tree and The Jackson Code.-Biography:Wemyss was classically trained, due to her Salvation Army upbringing, but in the 1980s and 1990s performed in post punk and rock bands, playing live gigs in inner Sydney...
- vocals, violin, trumpet - James Hurst - drums
- Kenny Davis Junior - violin
- Sue Grigg - violin, piano
- Amanda BrownAmanda Brown (musician)Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer....
- violin - Rodney Howard - bass
- Peter Michael - bass
- Kim Bettenay - bass
- Barry Turnbull - bass
- Mark Hemery - bass
- Simon Kain - bass
Albums/EPs
- Chad's Tree (EP) - Hot Records (HOT 1229) (1986)
- Buckle In The Rail - Nude Records (Fine 1) (January, 1987)
- Kerosene - Nude Records (DAMP96) (March, 1989)
- Crossing Off the Miles - Memorandum Records (MEMO7) (22 March 2010)
Singles
- "Crush The Lily" / "Toll For Josephine" - Hot Records (HOT 727) (November, 1985)
- "Sweet Jesus Blue Eyes" / "To The Highest Bidder" - Nude Records (FIG 100) (February, 1987)
- "The Orchard" / "Stroller In The Attic" - Nude Records (FIG 110) (March, 1988)
Compilations
- This Is Too Hot - Hot Records (1986) - "Crush The Lily"
- High Temperature: A Collection Of Hot Records From 1982 - 1985 - Hot Records (1986) - "Crush the Lily"
External links
- AMO Artist profile - Snarski & Luscombe
- Chad's Tree @ musicbrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...
- Chad's Tree @ discogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Crossing Off The Miles CD review
- Rate Your Music - Chad's Tree Discography
- Record cover art at prehistoricsounds.com