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BAND HISTORY
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BAND HISTORY
The history of the band you could say goes all the way to 1996 when a frothy young teenager called Greg decided that he would buy a shitty guitar. He and some school chums thought that a band was the only solution. But every good plan if stricken with flaws, namely Greg couldn't sing or play guitar to save his life, the drummer didn't own any drums, the bass player didn't actually want to be in the band, and the only one who could actually play guitar was so unable to work with the insane genius(what?) of Greg that punches and insults were thrown around like a football at a pre-cold chisel concert BBQ containing a bunch of 28 yr old men in skintight stubbies and thongs. But no musical talent aside the ideas were there, well kind of, actually the whole time all Greg did was come up with ridiculous death metal(it was going to be a metal band) names such as decapitator, mad cow disease, and amputator(how original for a metal band). Also the songs, well lyrics, were just as shit and they resorted to songs personally insulting various people in the year that Greg disliked and they in no way tried to hide who they were talking about. After about a term the band realised they couldn't actually play a song and that scibbling satanic signs everywhere(including shoes, hey I know it was sad) wasn't going to give us musical talent, so it kind of died in the arse.
1998 and the band thing had laid dormant for a while, after a few conversations with the old members from Gossie high it was decided that decapitator would make a comeback, cept the shit name would go, and death metal would get the arse and punk would take its place. Greg went out and bought a bass, Steve and Jones(Big guy with red hair, who can actually play guitar) already had their tools, but we still needed drums. After looking for months a cheap kit was finally found from a local, namely Adam Cook. All it took was $100 and a regurgitator CD(I was happy to get rid of it). But after the purchase Jason(the potential drummer) decided he didn't want to be in a band anymore. So Greg was stuck with a drum kit and no drummer. Step in Alan Whitehead with no previous experience but a keen as mustard punk attitude(thats all you need). So the band stood as Greg, Alan, Steve and Jones.
The name VILLAGE IDIOT! With a name, enough members and instruments to play, Greg sat down and wrote out a heap of songs and he and Alan set to work on classics such as Teenage Frothie(the first ever village idiot song), I just bought a puffy, parachute tracksuit with buttons down the side and Chip the Quarterback. With no real singer, fellow punker Mathew Elliot stepped in and Greg, Mathew, Steve and Alan (Jones fell by the wayside cause he couldn't Jam) practised religiously through the last months of '98.
Jan 8th 1999 our first ever performance as Village idiot. The location, the old Micalef ranch(Sandi's Barn actually for her 18th) and after shitting our pants through the first couple of songs we played Just ace(the grinspoon song) and the drunken crowd went into a frenzy, well a couple of people did anyway. We ended up playing for a couple of hours playing each original and cover about fifty times and some how won the crowd over despite playing the sloppiest set you could ever imagine. Things were looking good! But then things starting going wrong. Our intensive jamming schedule had basically stopped, the name "Village idiot" had to go cause we found out it was taken, and Greg's songwriting had basically stopped except for a heap of crappy songs revolved around a "1986 summercamp" theme. We played again in March under the name "Fat, Drunk and Stupid" at another party(Kirsten's 18th) where possibly the worst ever live performance took place, and we knew it. That would be the last time Mathew ever played due to work commitments and the first and last time our new member Justin would play as a second guitar. After going from 5 to 3 members in a week things were looking grim. The only good thing to come out of the gig was the name OPERATION LAGER. So the only alternative seemed to be that Greg would sing. Fortunately we never played a full gig with Greg singing as it could have sparked a mass killing of the entire band. But one thing that did happen whilst Greg was the singer was possibly the worst recording in the history of all recordings, even worse than the Vengaboys party album(Now thats bad!). Slightly Inebriated(the name of the album) will be remembered for having the most repulsive, hideous, most repugnant vocal lines that could ever be imagined. It will forever be remembered for the classic "yaaaaarrggggggg" scream at the start of teenage frothy and the classic chorus lines from CD Nazi. Apart from the humour value, slightly inebriated was a complete and total load of shit. After being oblivous for the need of someone who can actually sing for way to long, we decided to give Ben a go at singing, After hearing Ben sing one song it was clear, this is our singer! After practising whenever possible, Operation Lager was actually starting to sound allright. Ben could sing in tune and in time, Greg was actually starting to learn how to play bass properly and Alan discovered what the bass drum did(he used to use a tom instead, serious). We played at another party under the title "OPERATION LAGER" in July(Nicks 18th) and for the first time we started to sound a bit better live, Ben overcame his nerves by getting completely and utterly pissed but managed to pull of a killer first set. Things were moving, we got Justin back, but this time on Sax. So July, domino's Staff party and it would be Operation Lager's first real gig as a 5-piece. With the help of Gibbo's ridiculous P.A system we cranked the shit out of the party and was forced to stop by the police due to noise levels. After only a few gigs we were cruising our way into a reputation of a top band and the word was out OPERATION LAGER ROCK(well not really, thats a bit of an exageration of the truth). Our next step to overcome came in the form of the beachcomber hotel(21st Birthday function), unfortunately the schnen population was abundant and didn't take to kindly to our raw punk style(haha) but the important thing was the young ones loved it(we hope).
Timeset 9:00pm 9/9/99(You read it right)The Hunter on Hunter Hotel, our first club gig. This would be our judgement day. Apart from a few(well lots) mistakes it was our best set yet and the right people took a liking to us. Another plus that came from the gig was the birth of Justin the Froth. Since Justin didn't play in that many songs we told him to dance or something when not playing. He took our advice and showed the crowd the most insane, bizarre and utterly ridiculous dance moves the world has ever seen.
Through the next few months we continued to play gigs in Newcastle with lots of fine local bands. Justin continued to dance like a retard, Ben continued to get really drunk, and we all continued to play better and write better songs. Just as we thought we were getting better live we learnt a very valuable lesson, namely our performance at the Newcastle workers club in late November. To ram home the whole "terrible performance" thing, the whole set was recorded. The factors of Ben being rather drunk, Greg being struck with a mystery illness that plagued him all through November, Steve not being able to hear the other instruments, the failure to tune the trumpet and sax all helped to make for another digusting recording. Unfazed we decided that we needed a proper demo recording that was actually listenable. So in very late '99 we headed into Igloo studios for our first "real" recording as Operation Lager. We recorded 9 songs mostly from the old days as "village idiot" and a few of the newer ones at the time.
After the recording we went through a bit of a slump. Through sheer laziness we basically didn't play live over summer, Justin left the band, and basically we stagnated for a while. So it was time to get off our arses and do something. After some extra mastering courtesy of Brad from Nubrium it was time to use the demo. The first place we sent it to was a competition in Sydney to play at the Shoreshocked Youth Festival. With competition of nearly 200 bands it was going to be tough but what do you know, Operation Lager were picked in the top 10 to play a pre-shoreshocked concert, called funnilly enough pre-shocked. Before that it was time for one gig to get ready namely the infamous "comeback gig" at the Hunter.
Timeset 2nd March 2000, our first gig in 3 months. After harrassing all our friends for weeks beforehand we managed to convince none of our friends to come(BASTARDS!). For most of the set we literally played to the publican, the sound guy and the door guy. It wasn't until our second last song that two people walked in, Hooray! We made a total of $5 that night for the whole band. So after a massive warm-up gig it was time to head to Sydney the next weekend. Being a bit far from home(Mosman, "no rent a crowd") we were pretty nervous but we managed to pull out are best set yet winning the crowd over with the introduction of syncronised dancing(haha) and once again the return of Justin in the band. Even with tough competition of bands such as "Sick puppies" we were basically guaranteed a spot, but disaster! Two of the major sponsors pulled out and thus canning the stage that we would have hopefully played on, grrrrrr!!!!!! So the high was back to a low. The next week it was back to the Hunter. Not expecting to much after our last gig we weren't overly excited, but hold the phone! After a top promo campaign with flyers everywhere the Hunter was packed, the crowd had gone from 2 to 100 in 2 weeks, Killing Heidi were even playing down the road as well at the workers club. So things had picked up again. We continued to play in the Hunter area over the next few months picking up more fans on the way. After some good performances we were picked to play SJ's Hothouse, and the Clubhouse with punkers One Dollar Short, SJ's was our biggest crowd once again and we were loving the adrenaline of just playing, getting more confident on stage, talking more bollocks, pissing off more people(haha), and of course gaining more recognition. Although the demo had served us well it wasn't great quality, but it was to serve us very well one last time. Namely our debut on the Nationwide Triple J radio station. Steve sent an email to Rosie about our stuff and within a week "Horse Steroids(I wanna be in the WWF) was the nationwide MP3 of the week, gaining airplay during the Saturday night net 50 program and a live interview with Rosie from Triple J. Riding high on the success of triple J we were picked in the same 24 hours to play a support slot for the Area 7/Skulker tour set for the 2nd of July. So Once again our profile was lifted with the help of newspaper/media spreads as well.
It was now finally the time to record a proper CD(I can't wait for the time when we get good equipment), with the success of the demo which we didn't really like, it was the obvious next step. "Horse Steroids" had not finished its run with just triple J. It was released on MP3.com and shortly after reached number 5 in the charts. Attracting attention not just in Australia, but overseas as well. A French Indepedent label "Mosquito home records" picked up on it and is set to release some Operation Lager songs on their next compilation CD. Once again our lineup was about to change with the addition of a tromebone player named James(we never did find out his last name but he works at Audio junction so you can heckle him there, haha), but after one(thats right one, this guys sticks it out) jam he decided not to come ever again("so you coming back, yer I'll just learn the songs of the demo, no worries seeya"haha). Our next big gig came out of nowhere. After checking the gig guide the day before a porkers/Louiseville sluggers concert to check price and other support bands, it was discovered that WE were the support band. This was fantastic for Greg and Justin especially cause they were going to the gig anyway, but instead of just being in the crowd we were part of the bill. This ended up being a great night cause for the first time we sold a heap a T-shirts to people we didn't know, and could say we have some fans(we also gained the opposite) and not just we have some friends. So over the last few months we have continued to play in Newcastle, and save our money ready for the big release of our debut CD "Jason Grogbody and the amazing magic mullet-cut". Who knows what will happen next,(Hopefully we will get some good equipment) with the new inclusion of an additional trumpet player(one who doesn't have to sing at the same time) things are looking good! boom boom boom. The Frof Rock revolution is now apon you.
GIGS PLAYED
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Jan '99 Micalef Barn Feb '99 Carters Household(CANCELLED) March '99 The Bragg Household July '99 The McMin Household July '99 The old Domino's store 21st Aug '99 Beachcomber Hotel 9th Sept '99 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 10th Sept '99 Blackbox(CANCELLED) 13th Oct '99 SJ's Hotel 21st Oct '99 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 19th Nov '99 Newcastle Workers Club 26th Nov '99 Wangi Workers club 28th Nov '99 Wangi Workers club(CANCELLED) 4th Dec '99 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 9th Dec '99 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 2nd Mar '00 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 11th Mar '00 PRE-SHOCKED Mosmon Community centre 17th Mar '00 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 8th Apr '00 Medowie Community Centre 22nd Apr '00 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 24th May '00 SJ's Hotel 25th May '00 Clubhouse Hotel 27th May '00 Bank Hotel |
9th Jun '00 Palais Royale 10th Jun '00 Hunter on Hunter 29th Jun '00 Hunter on Hunter 2nd Jul '00 Palais Royale 10th Jul'00 Dominos party 21st Jul '00 Raymond Terrace High School (Jam Factory) 21st Jul '00 Hunter on Hunter 31st Aug '00 Bar on the Hill (Newcastle Uni) 1st Sep '00 Hunter on Hunter 16th Sep '00 Northern Star Hotel 20th Sep '00 Hunter on Hunter 28th Sep '00 SJ's Hotel 7th Oct '00 Hunter on Hunter 27th Oct '00 Hunter on Hunter 9th Nov '00 SJ's Hotel 29th Dec '00 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 10th Jan '01 Cambridge Hotel 12th Jan '01 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 13th Jan '01 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 2nd Feb '01 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 3rd Mar '01 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 14th Mar '01 Castle Tavern 1st Apr '01 Ourimbah University 7th Apr '01 Cambridge Hotel 8th Apr '01 Gosford High Auditorium 20th Apr '01 Lucky Country Hotel 20th Apr '01 Cambridge Hotel 21st Apr '01 Broadmedow PCYC(EARFULL) 27th Apr '01 Hunter on Hunter Hotel 24th May '01 Beachcomber Hotel 25th May '01 Hunter on Hunter 30th May '01 Castle Tavern 1st June '01 The Furnace Niteclub(FARENHEIT) 9th June '01 Bernie Goodwin Oval 14th June '01 SJ's Hotel 17th June '01 SJ's Hotel 22nd June '01 Cambridge Hotel 29th June '01 Shortland Hotel 9th June '01 Froggy's Skate Rink 21st Sept '01 Lucky Country Hotel 22nd Sept '01 Cambridge Hotel(Ska Trek 2) 23rd Sept '01 Mingara Recreation Club 20th Oct '01 Cambridge Hotel 28th Oct '01 Warnevale Spring Fair 2nd Nov '01 Kincumber Mountain - Brackets and Jam 25th Nov '01 SJ's Hotel 30th Nov '01 Palais Royale 1st Dec '01 Kelts Bar 15th Dec '01 Palais Royale 6th Jan '02 Northern Star Hotel 20th Jan '02 Northern Star Hotel 9th Feb '02 Green Square Hotel 20th Feb '02 SJ's Hotel 21st Feb '02 Kelts Bar |
BANDS WEVE PLAYED WITH
Porkers, Area 7, Loiuseville Sluggers, One Dollar Short, Wax Tadpole, Nubrium, Powder Keg, Davola, Unpaid Debt, Eddie would go, Necromancy, Fruition, Luke, Funnel Web, Dai ichi, Anakin, Loose Chant order, Kill the visiter, Nervous rex, Beyond the Treeline, Undersided, Sick Puppies, The Brain, Supaslide, Case for Jefferson, Tarlung, Tangled Web, Nob, Eversince Darwin, Sledge, Cover the G-spots, Tribus, The Australian Beef Week Show, Ex-pat, Butterhead, Skulker, The Blood Idols, Phobile Mones, Bender, Draw the Line, Kila Krankie, Melack, The Gassoon, Bok Choy, Prize fighter, Wieshiemer, Headspace, Stain, Riot, Odens Eye, Strength to Strength, Extortion, Slieght of Hand, Amoeba, Xntrx, Rated X, Antisceptic, Cabin Fever, Starpark, Funq, Head Poppin fatness, Creeping Jesus, Enertia, Chin chen, Acitone, Supersonic, Paper Halo, Emporium, insoulence, Equilnibrium, Pilgrim, Little Lunch, Schlauncher, Riot City, Deny, Rubix Cuba, Mad Dash, Go to bed Jessica, Eventide, Made easy. Sorry on behave of the band if we didn't mention your band.