Crawlspace (band)
Encyclopedia
History
In the early 1990s guitarist and vocalist, Russell Smith, met drummer, Chris Webber, the two sharing a musical background in Grunge-rock. They were then joined by bassist and vocalist Daniel Bowles, who had experience in a techno style band in the UK. The trio forming, Crawlspace, which has been likened to Matchbox 20, LiveLive (band)
Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....
, and Tonic
Tonic (band)
Tonic is an American rock band that has earned two Grammy nominations to date. The band was formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo. Later members have included Dan Lavery, Kevin Shepard, and Dan Rothchild. Signed to a recording contract in 1995, the band released its debut album Lemon Parade...
.
In mid 1998 Crawlspace released their debut 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...
, Afraid, which was the first release to gain national attention for the fledgling WA Label Embryo Records (then called Rocket Records/Phantom Music WA). The EP was co-produced by Ben Glatzer, who also produced their debut album.
It received rave reviews from music critics and the title track was added on high rotation to Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, 96.1FM, HotFM, 2UNE and RTRFM
RTRFM
RTRFM is a not-for-profit, community radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. It is self-funded, largely through listener subscription and fund-raising events, however it does carry some "advertising material" at a maximum of 5 mins per hour. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, on 92.1 in the...
and 30 other stations nationwide. The "Away" single followed closely behind in early 1999 and picked up a swag of national airplay culminating in the band being the Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
'Adopt a Band' for the month of May 1999. "Away" became the 9th most played rock song in Australia
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...
and reached number 17 on the ARIA national alternative charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Crawlspace secured a publishing deal with Warner/Chappel and released their first album Motion in November, 1999. TV appearances included Channel V
Channel V Australia
Channel [V] Australia is an Australian subscription television music channel, and also the newest Channel [V] channel. It is available on Foxtel, Optus TV and Austar satellite and cable services...
(live and interviews), Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...
(performing "Away" live) and Telethon. On the live front, Crawlspace promoted the album with ten trips to the east coast including tours with Grinspoon
Grinspoon
Grinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, they won the Triple J-sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore,...
, Pacifier
Pacifier
A pacifier is a rubber, plastic, or silicone nipple given to an infant or other young child to suck upon. In its standard appearance it has a teat, mouth shield, and handle...
, Taxiride
Taxiride
Taxiride is an Australian rock band. Formed in 1997, the band consists of lead singer Jason Singh, guitarists Dan Hall and Tim Wild, and drummer Sean McLeod....
and The Whitlams
The Whitlams
The discography of The Whitlams consists of six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and eighteen singles.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Videos:-Music videos:-Awards:...
, Matchbox 20, Deadstar
Deadstar
Deadstar was an Australian band from Melbourne based around the songs of singer Caroline Kennedy and guitarist Barry Palmer ....
, Primary
Primary (band)
Primary is a rock band based in Sydney, Australia from 1995 until the early 2000s. The band's nucleus consisted of Jamie Fonti , Sean Fonti and Connie Mitchell...
, Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...
(in front of 18,000 at the Burswood Dome
Burswood Entertainment Complex
The Burswood Entertainment Complex is located on the Swan River near the city of Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by Crown Limited. The complex includes a 24-hour casino, seven restaurants, eight bars, a nightclub, two international hotels , a Convention Centre, Theatre and the Burswood Dome...
) and at The Big Day Out (Perth).
Crawlspace were nominated for an ARIA award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
for ‘Best Independent Release’ up against the likes of Josh Abrahams and Diana Ah Naid. In 2000 the band re-structured with Bowles shifting to guitars and keyboards and a new bassist, Travis Franklin, joining. Shortly after Webber decided to leave and was replaced with Travis' brother, Matt Franklin, this was followed by the departure of Bowles (later to form electronic rock act Ura) leaving Smith as the only original member remaining. The band then went into a hiatus for a year following which they started writing material for their follow-up album. Crawlspace then began pre-production on the new album From Now On in mid 2001 and the band began recording with long term collaborator Ben Glatzer (Ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
, Cartman
Cartman (band)
Cartman was a four piece indie rock band from Perth, Western Australia.-Early years:The band was formed in 1997 in what began as a desperate attempt to enter a songwriting competition by Joe Hawkins....
, The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...
) in early 2002. It was during this time the band contributed a song for an INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
tribute album, INXS Hometown Tribute, on the Goh International label.
In late 2002 the band engaged a new guitarist, Joe Sivak. Pre-released tracks from the album received airplay on South West regional stations, which was supported by a number of regional tours.
In September, 2004 Crawlspace issued their second EP, Gone To My Head, with the songs "Gone to My Head" and "Alright" receiving airplay on Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
. 2005 saw the band second appearance on the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
tour and a publishing deal with RipTide Music in the USA, with the inclusion of the song "Away" on the Warner Bros. Syndicated TV show 'Reunion
Reunion (TV series)
Reunion is an American television series that aired on FOX in late 2005. The series was intended to chronicle 20 years in the lives of a group of six high school friends from Bedford, New York, with each episode following one year in the lives of the six, beginning with their high school graduation...
'. "Burn My Eyes" appearing in an episode of the 2006 season of CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
and a third song featured in the Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
movie 'Click'. In May 2005 the band entered the recording studio to begin work on their second album with the single, "Song On The Radio", due in early March 2006.
Members
Current members:- Matt Franklin — drums (2000 to )
- Travis Franklin — bass (2000 to )
- Joe Sivak — guitar (2002 to )
- Russell Smith — guitars, vocals (1997 to )
Former members:
- Chris Webber — drums (1997 to 2000)
- Daniel Bowles — bass, keys, guitar, vocals (1997 to 2000)
EPs
- Afraid - Rocket (April, 1998) re-release Embryo (12 April 1999)
- Gone To My Head - Embryo /MGMMGM DistributionMGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....
(13 September 2004)
Singles
- "Away" - Embryo (1 November 1998)
- "Lesson" - Embryo (20 September 1999)
- "Motion" - Embryo (2 May 2001)