Cinema Prague
Encyclopedia
Cinema Prague are an Australia
n funk metal
band, formed in Perth
in 1986.
Cinema Prague are a band who's combination of humour, funk, thrash and Zappa
-esque arrangements made them one of the most entertaining and musically dexterous bands to ever come from Perth. Although the band never reached the international fame of some of their contemporaries, such as Jebediah
or Beaverloop, they remain one of the more revered bands in Western Australian musical history and are regularly cited by younger bands as an influence.
Primary School, whilst Lowe and Horan went to Attadale
Primary School. Horan went on to Perth Modern School
participating in their music programme, whilst Lowe and Kailis attended Applecross Senior High School
.
By early 1988, after some member and name shuffling, the three-piece band, Cinema Prague came into existence. In 1990 the band undertook their first tour of the eastern states of Australia. Their debut recording was a cassette-single with the songs "Mushroom Cloud" and "Walking Song", released in November, 1991. It was followed much later by their debut album, Meldatype, which was recorded between 1992 and 1994 and released in March, 1995. The band's next release was a five track EP
, ¡Zasph! which was released in November, 1996. Cinema Prague's third album, Nordensort, was released in May, 1998 although it was actually recorded in June/July 1995.
In 1997, after returning from Perth following their 'Idiots Crusade' tour of Europe and South Africa
they recorded three tracks "We are the Moo Moo", "The Curse of the Shiny Head" and "Bacon and Eggs Part Two" at Poons Head Studio. The band's fourth album It's Schnapster, although recorded in 1990, was released in December, 1998 whilst the band was in hiatus. Horan having headed to Britain, where he still performs as well as runs musical workshops for under-age offenders in prisons.
Kailis and Lowe played together in various projects, including Rice. They also undertook further studies, with Lowe studying engineering and Kailis studying architecture.
In 2007 they re-formed for a show with a new bassist Roy Martinez (Dave Mann Collective) and a plan was hatched to release the old recordings as part of a new album, Snakes Alive, the band's first in over eight years.
Snakes Alive was released on 30 January 2009. In an interview at the time, Kailis indicated that the band was planning to work on the new album. In support of the album's release the band gave a number of performances in Perth and Melbourne in early 2009.
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 funk metal
Funk metal
Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock that fuses elements of heavy metal and funk. Allmusic has claimed that "funk metal evolved in the mid-'80s when alternative bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Infectious Grooves, Mordred and Fishbone began playing the hybrid with a stronger...
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 1986.
Cinema Prague are a band who's combination of humour, funk, thrash and Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
-esque arrangements made them one of the most entertaining and musically dexterous bands to ever come from Perth. Although the band never reached the international fame of some of their contemporaries, such as Jebediah
Jebediah
Jebediah is an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. The group consists of vocalist and guitarist Kevin Mitchell, guitarist Chris Daymond, bassist Vanessa Thornton, and Kevin's brother Brett Mitchell on drums...
or Beaverloop, they remain one of the more revered bands in Western Australian musical history and are regularly cited by younger bands as an influence.
Biography
Initially formed as a four piece in 1986, when some of the members were still at high school, the band had little success to start with. Kailis went to South PerthSouth Perth, Western Australia
South Perth is a residential suburb 3 kilometres south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, which adjoins the southern shore of Perth Water on the Swan River...
Primary School, whilst Lowe and Horan went to Attadale
Attadale, Western Australia
Attadale is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville.It was the first subdivision of A.P. Matheson's Melville Water Park Estate. Attadale was named after an estate in Scotland situated on the south side of Loch Carron....
Primary School. Horan went on to Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School is an academically-selective co-educational public high school located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia.The school, established in 1911, now caters for students with high academic ability....
participating in their music programme, whilst Lowe and Kailis attended Applecross Senior High School
Applecross Senior High School
Applecross Senior High School is public, co-educational High School, located in Ardross, a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia.Founded in 1958, it has traditionally been one of the top public high schools in the state of Western Australia, and consistently ranks academically within the top...
.
By early 1988, after some member and name shuffling, the three-piece band, Cinema Prague came into existence. In 1990 the band undertook their first tour of the eastern states of Australia. Their debut recording was a cassette-single with the songs "Mushroom Cloud" and "Walking Song", released in November, 1991. It was followed much later by their debut album, Meldatype, which was recorded between 1992 and 1994 and released in March, 1995. The band's next release was a five track 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...
, ¡Zasph! which was released in November, 1996. Cinema Prague's third album, Nordensort, was released in May, 1998 although it was actually recorded in June/July 1995.
In 1997, after returning from Perth following their 'Idiots Crusade' tour of Europe and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
they recorded three tracks "We are the Moo Moo", "The Curse of the Shiny Head" and "Bacon and Eggs Part Two" at Poons Head Studio. The band's fourth album It's Schnapster, although recorded in 1990, was released in December, 1998 whilst the band was in hiatus. Horan having headed to Britain, where he still performs as well as runs musical workshops for under-age offenders in prisons.
Kailis and Lowe played together in various projects, including Rice. They also undertook further studies, with Lowe studying engineering and Kailis studying architecture.
In 2007 they re-formed for a show with a new bassist Roy Martinez (Dave Mann Collective) and a plan was hatched to release the old recordings as part of a new album, Snakes Alive, the band's first in over eight years.
Snakes Alive was released on 30 January 2009. In an interview at the time, Kailis indicated that the band was planning to work on the new album. In support of the album's release the band gave a number of performances in Perth and Melbourne in early 2009.
Members
- Rex HoranMamas GunMamas Gun are a five-piece soul funk band based in London and released their debut album 'Routes To Riches' in 2009. They have promoted, toured and released material from this album in over 9 countries achieving considerable exposure and support. In late 2009 the band became an overnight success...
— bass, vocals (1988–1998) - George Kailis — guitar, vocals (1988–1998, 2007, 2009–present)
- Tim Lowe — drums (1988–1998, 2007, 2009–present)
- Roy Matinez — bass (2007, 2009–present)
Albums/EPs
- Meldatype — Seeing Ear Records (March, 1995)
- ¡Zasph! — Seeing Ear Records (November, 1996)
- Nordensost (May, 1998)
- It's Schnapster (December, 1998)
- Snakes Alive (30 January 2009)
Singles
- "Mushroom Cloud" / "Walking Song" — Proton (November, 1991) (Cassette single)
External links
- Cinema Prague official website
- Cinema Praque Myspace page
- Cinema Prague @ 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...