Will Stoker and the Embers
Encyclopedia
Will Stoker and The Embers are a band based in Perth, Western Australia
fronted by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Will Stoker. In 2007 they won the Western Australian final of the National Campus Band Competition
and then went to Melbourne
to win the national final. They have also received a public voted nomination for Favourite Newcomer at the West Australian Music Industry Association awards 2009. Guitarist Luke Dux and Bassist Ryan Dux also won industry voted awards for Best Guitarist and Best Bassist respectively.
band competition and the National Campus Band Competition
. The band made it to the final of the 2007 Next Big Thing competition
After a line-up change - Kynan Tan (The Vice Chancellors) & Gareth Bevan (Brainhorn) filling in for the departing Murray - the band won the State final of the National Campus Bands Competition and then travelled to Melbourne, winning the National Final.
Will Stoker and The Embers played at the Perth leg of the 2008 Big Day Out
on the local produce stage. In March 2008 they followed this by opening the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
in Fremantle
and playing at RTRFM
's 'In The Pines' concert in April 2008. Kynan Tan left the band due to creative differences and Benjamin Roberts left due to a crippling gambling addiction. They were replaced by Luke Dux on guitar (The Floors, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels) and Ryan Dux on bass (The Floors, The Kill Devil Hills
).
The band's first release, the Five Beds for Bitsy EP
was released in November 2008, and distributed through Shock Records
. Tours on the east coast of Australia followed. The "Five Beds for Bitsy" music video shot by Perth filmmaker Mat De Koning received national airplay on ABC TV's Rage
programme and was an entrant in the 2009 St Kilda Film Festival. The band opened the second day of the 2009 Southbound Festival
in Busselton after winning the Stagebound band competition. Will Stoker and The Embers also opened the first Perth St Jeromes Laneway Festival in February 2009.
In July 2009 the band appeared on a compilation called WA Gold, compiled and released by 2008 Next Big Thing winners Project Mayhem and also featuring contributions from such bands as The Novocaines, The Devil Rides Out, Tomas Ford, and others.
Will Stoker and The Embers recorded their debut album after receiving a Department of Culture and The Arts recording grant in January 2010. The album was released on the 16th of April 2010 with a launch show at the Rosemount Hotel.
The self-titled album has gained widely positive reviews from street press and online music review websites. The album has also proved popular with illegal download and file-sharing websites.
The first single to be released from the debut album, "The King", received airplay on national youth radio station, Triple J
. The accompanying music video was shot by Mat De Koning with Paul Donnelly & Mat Doust with the band in an old abandoned music cinema in the Perth CBD on 14 March 2010.
Luke and Ryan Dux won 'Best Guitarist' and 'Best Bassist' respectively at the 2010 West Australian Music Industry Awards
. Stoker was nominated in the 'Best Male Vocalist' category.
The band supported Kasabian at Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide
as part of Kasabian's July 2010 Australian Tour, before travelling to Melbourne to launch their album on the east coast of Australia at The Tote
in Collingwood
. Will Stoker and The Embers supported The Charlatans for the last gig of the later band's 2010 Australian Tour.
In January 2011 Luke and Ryan Dux announced they would be leaving the band to focus on their own band The Floors, as well as many other bands that are more important to them personally (eg. Timothy Redson and the Gingermuffs, Andrew Meredith's solo career and death metal stalwarts Nexus).
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....
fronted by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Will Stoker. In 2007 they won the Western Australian final of the National Campus Band Competition
National Campus Band Competition
The National Campus Band Competition is an annual Australian national band competition produced by the Australian Association of Campus Activities. To enter the competition, one band member must be enrolled at a participating university...
and then went to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to win the national final. They have also received a public voted nomination for Favourite Newcomer at the West Australian Music Industry Association awards 2009. Guitarist Luke Dux and Bassist Ryan Dux also won industry voted awards for Best Guitarist and Best Bassist respectively.
Biography
The first incarnation of Will Stoker and The Embers took place in 2005 consisting of Will Stoker on vocals and guitar, Benjamin Roberts aka Benny Revolver (Benny Revolver & The Blanks) on bass and Ashley Doodkorte (Pyromesh) on drums, playing a few gigs before Will Stoker left Perth for Melbourne. Returning to Perth in 2007, Stoker reformed the band with Brett Murray ( The Wire Complex) added on keyboards and entered the band in the Next Big ThingNext Big Thing
Next Big Thing is a studio album from American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in 2003 on MCA Nashville Records, and it features four singles: the title track, "Someday", "Young Man's Town", and "In These Last Few Days"...
band competition and the National Campus Band Competition
National Campus Band Competition
The National Campus Band Competition is an annual Australian national band competition produced by the Australian Association of Campus Activities. To enter the competition, one band member must be enrolled at a participating university...
. The band made it to the final of the 2007 Next Big Thing competition
After a line-up change - Kynan Tan (The Vice Chancellors) & Gareth Bevan (Brainhorn) filling in for the departing Murray - the band won the State final of the National Campus Bands Competition and then travelled to Melbourne, winning the National Final.
Will Stoker and The Embers played at the Perth leg of the 2008 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...
on the local produce stage. In March 2008 they followed this by opening the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
The West Coast Blues 'n' Roots Festival is an annual music festival held in Fremantle, Western Australia. It features many blues and roots performers, both international and local.-History:...
in Fremantle
Fremantle
Freemantle is a suburb of Southampton in England.Fremantle or Freemantle may also refer to:- Places :* Fremantle, the port city to the capital Perth, Western Australia...
and playing at 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...
's 'In The Pines' concert in April 2008. Kynan Tan left the band due to creative differences and Benjamin Roberts left due to a crippling gambling addiction. They were replaced by Luke Dux on guitar (The Floors, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels) and Ryan Dux on bass (The Floors, The Kill Devil Hills
The Kill Devil Hills
The Kill Devil Hills were formed in 2003 in Fremantle, Western Australia as an acoustic, country-tinged 3-piece, which slowly swelled its ranks to become a rambling 6-piece outfit....
).
The band's first release, the Five Beds for Bitsy 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...
was released in November 2008, and distributed through Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
. Tours on the east coast of Australia followed. The "Five Beds for Bitsy" music video shot by Perth filmmaker Mat De Koning received national airplay on ABC TV's Rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...
programme and was an entrant in the 2009 St Kilda Film Festival. The band opened the second day of the 2009 Southbound Festival
Southbound (festival)
Southbound is an arts, camping and music festival. A variety of Australian and international artists perform at this event. The festival occurs annually, early January, at the Sir Stewart Bovell Park in Busselton, Western Australia.-History:...
in Busselton after winning the Stagebound band competition. Will Stoker and The Embers also opened the first Perth St Jeromes Laneway Festival in February 2009.
In July 2009 the band appeared on a compilation called WA Gold, compiled and released by 2008 Next Big Thing winners Project Mayhem and also featuring contributions from such bands as The Novocaines, The Devil Rides Out, Tomas Ford, and others.
Will Stoker and The Embers recorded their debut album after receiving a Department of Culture and The Arts recording grant in January 2010. The album was released on the 16th of April 2010 with a launch show at the Rosemount Hotel.
The self-titled album has gained widely positive reviews from street press and online music review websites. The album has also proved popular with illegal download and file-sharing websites.
The first single to be released from the debut album, "The King", received airplay on national youth radio station, 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...
. The accompanying music video was shot by Mat De Koning with Paul Donnelly & Mat Doust with the band in an old abandoned music cinema in the Perth CBD on 14 March 2010.
Luke and Ryan Dux won 'Best Guitarist' and 'Best Bassist' respectively at the 2010 West Australian Music Industry Awards
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
. Stoker was nominated in the 'Best Male Vocalist' category.
The band supported Kasabian at Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
as part of Kasabian's July 2010 Australian Tour, before travelling to Melbourne to launch their album on the east coast of Australia at The Tote
The Tote
The Tote, formerly the Horserace Totalisator Board, is a British bookmaker with head offices in Wigan. It was owned from its formation in 1928 by the UK Government but was sold to Betfred in July 2011. Under the brand totesport the Tote has 514 high street betting shops, outlets on Britain's 60...
in Collingwood
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. Will Stoker and The Embers supported The Charlatans for the last gig of the later band's 2010 Australian Tour.
In January 2011 Luke and Ryan Dux announced they would be leaving the band to focus on their own band The Floors, as well as many other bands that are more important to them personally (eg. Timothy Redson and the Gingermuffs, Andrew Meredith's solo career and death metal stalwarts Nexus).
Current
- Will Stoker — vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, clarinet, boot
- Ashley Doodkorte — drums, percussion, cheesewheel
- Gareth Bevan — guitar, keyboards, vocals
Former
- Luke Dux — guitar, vocals
- Ryan Dux — bass
- Russell Loasby — drums (fill in for one show)
- Martin His Lowness Gonzalez — bass (fill in for one show)
- Anthony Jackson — bass (fill in for one show)
- Benjamin Roberts — bass
- Brett Murray — keyboards
- Kynan Tan — guitar, keyboard, vocals
- Tahlia Palmer — percussion, vocals, vibe, camera
Discography
- Five Beds for Bitsy - ShockShock RecordsShock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
(1 November 2008) - Will Stoker & the Embers - Shock (16 April 2010)