Regurgitator

Regurgitator are part of the group of bands including Spiderbait and Custard which did their best to redefine Australian rock of the Nineties. As their name suggests, Regurgitator's stock in trade is reinventing music, drawing on a vast range of influences and wittily putting the pieces back together in an avalanche of sounds and songs. The music combines industrial sounds, funk, hip-hop, synth-pop, disco and makes the most of effects and samples. Nothing is sacred. Supporting their rollercoaster records with a strong live reputation Regurgitator became one of Australia's most popular bands.

The band was formed in Brisbane in late 1993 when Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans met by chance on a bus. Previously the two had only known each other from other bands they were involved in. Ben Ely was in a band called Pangaea, doing well in the city's underground scene. Quan was playing drums in a band called Zooerastia, but was keen to switch to guitar. With drummer Martin Lee, and calling themselves Regurgitator they contributed the B-side of a demo the more conventional Pangaea submitted to Warner Brothers for distribution. Warners showed much more interest in Regurgitator and offered the group a six album deal.

Regugitator started its recording career with two CD EPS, the first self-titled, the second called 'New'. The song 'Blubber Boy' with lyrics about an Eskimo widow rubbing her dead husband's genitals with whale blubber to bring him back to life, inside an infectious pop song, set the pattern for the 'naughty', irreverent cleverness to come.

The band subsequently travelled to Bangkok to record their debut album in a Thai pop star's studio, naming the record 'Tu-Plang', the Thai word for jukebox. A couple of the album's tracks contain samples of the street sounds of Bangkok. Released in May 1996 'Tu-Plang' made the top ten in Australia and achieved platinum status. At this point Shane Rudkin joined the group playing keyboards. The second album, 'Unit', was recorded in an old Queensland style house in Brisbane because the band didn't want to be away from home. The album was recorded quickly, in just six weeks. 'Unit' also reached the top ten, and spent most of 1998 in the sales charts. In October the group breathed new life into the songs with a remixed version called 'Unit Rebooted', which also made the top ten.

They spent more time in the studio to put together the third album '...art', released in August 1999. At one point they were considering calling the album 'Pop Violence'. For the first time they had more songs to choose from than fitted on the album.

In between Regugitator commitments Ely continued to work with Pangaea, while Yeomans formed Happyland with his girlfriend Janet English of Spiderbait. After months of denials drummer Martin Lee left Regurgitator at the end of 1999, unhappy with his lack of contribution to '..art'. Peter Kostic (Front End Loader, Hairy Mary) replaced Martin Lee as Regurgitator's drummer. He made his first appearance as an official member of Regurgitator on July 2001's 'Eduardo And Rodriguez Wage War On T-Wrecks'.

2004's 'Mish Mash' album was the result of the band being locked away in a glass studio for three weeks with their producer and an engineer, in the middle of Melbourne's Federation Square. It was a traumatic time in Regurgitator's career anyway. They'd been dropped by Warner Brothers and had to come to grips with falling out of the A-League of Australian music. The 'band in the bubble' album would have to be released independently. Making 'Mash Mash' was no party either. Although the sessions were so public - in front of commuters going about their daily business - the band were very much in isolation. It took its toll.

The 'band in the bubble' concept has been taken up in other countries around the world.

2007's 'Love and Paranoia' album was a very different affair. Continuing the tradition of using studio locations starting with "B" - Bangkok, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Britain, the bubble - the band booked a studio in Brazil. Again there was a lot of life going on outside, but this time Regurgitator were able to open the doors and let the outside in. People would be coming in to see what was going on, and sometimes joining in. A couple of the songs on the album were written on the spot with Rio locals. It was the party Regurgitaor wanted and needed to have. These days they want to make the most of the time they spend together. Yeomans now lives in Hong Kong, and the other band members are spread across Australia.

'Love and Paranoia' also saw the inclusion of a fourth permanent member, Seja Vogel, the singer and keyboardist known for her work in Brisbane pop stalwarts Sekiden. It's the first time a Regurgitator album has featured a track of which neither Ben Ely or guitarist/vocalist Quan Yeomans are the primary writers. Vogel takes lead vocals and full songwriting credits on the album track 'Magnetic'.