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John Prior (musician)
Encyclopedia
John David Prior is an Australian drummer
, composer
and producer
recognized for his work with Matt Finish
, Adrian Belew
(King Crimson
), Mick Taylor
(The Rolling Stones
), Roy Buchanan
, Champion Jack Dupree
, New Theatre, Coca-Cola
, The Great Outdoors, iOTA, Wicked Beat Sound System
, Kevin Borich
and Dale Barlow
.
Sydney Morning Herald reviewer John Shand wrote: "Prior was a nexus of energy, fun and accuracy" performing with Adrian Belew
.
John is also owner and director of Mammal Music Pty Ltd, a music and video production company that built and operates Unity Gain Studios, where he has composed and produced many albums for independent artists including the ARIA Award winning and nominated Tibetan Prayer (Best World/Traditional/Folk Album 1995), ARIA Award nominated The Hipbone Connection (Best Independent Album 2000 and #1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association
(AIR) charts) and ARIA Award nominated The Story Of Abbey (Best Show/Cast Album 2002) and has produced a number of works for film, television, theatre and advertising, gaining an Australian Guild of Screen Composers Nomination for orchestral composition
and production.
Centre and Sydney Boys High School
At 16, he played drums with Stevie Wright (Easybeats), Sea Of Clouds, Atlantis, the Northbridge Jazz Band and formed experimental funk band Hot Dogma with Craig Learmont (guitar, The Layabouts, Klezma Orcheztra), Peter Astley (bass) & Anthony Smith (keyboards, Flowers, Icehouse
).
In 1979, Prior formed Matt Finish
with singer/guitarist Matt Moffitt
and through to the end of the seventies, they played regular residencies in clubs and pubs around Sydney every night of the week, often double-gigging on weekends.
In November 1979, radio station 2JJ broadcast Matt Finish live-to-air from the Civic Hotel in Pitt Street, Sydney and continued to broadcast the raw live performances for a year.
During the eighties, Matt Finish
was one of Australia's most popular and exciting live bands performing thousands of live shows to more than a million people including national tours with U2
, XTC
, Midnight Oil
, INXS
, The Ramones, Split Enz
, Cold Chisel
, Brian Ferry and The B-52's
.
Matt Finish
released Matt Finish Play Africa (single 1980), Short Note (album 1981), Fade Away (EP 1981), Matt Finish (EP 1983), Word Of Mouth (album 1983) and numerous singles. The Short Note album was re-released on CD in 1989 and is still available from music shops after 25 years.
In 1985, Prior travelled to London
and Brussels
to record the Matt Moffitt
solo album By As Little As A Look with producer Nicky Graham
(David Bowie
, CBS
A&R
Manager). While in London, he continued studying piano
and music theory
with Peter Sanders (London Symphony Orchestra
) and electronic music
using computers
, synthesizers and samplers
at CBS
Studios London and Fairlight CMI
's studios in Sydney.
During the late eighties, Prior toured Australia as drummer with Roy Buchanan
, Champion Jack Dupree
, Mal Eastick, Girl Overboard, Troy Newman
, Jackie Orszaczky
, Guy Le Claire, Stephanie Howell, Baby Loves To Cha-Cha, Getaway Plane, T-Vibes, Bastiaan, Bob Armstrong and Charlie McMahon; performed drums with Rob Hirst
(Midnight Oil
) and hundreds of other drummers and percussionists at Bondi Pavilion
; performed solo at the first Australian Music Day Concert; performed each year at the Sydney
, Melbourne
& Brisbane
Music Trade Fairs and conducted drum clinics and music clinics in music shops around Australia sponsored by Australis Music, Tama Drums, Akai
Samplers, Dynamic Music and Sabian Cymbals
; taught drums at Drum City Sydney and Emmanuel School Randwick; composed music for productions at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre
, Nimrod Theatre, Griffin Theatre, New Theatre (Newtown)
and Belvoir St Theatre
; and produced local independent artists including Megan Williams, One Franc, Sandi Chick, Amanda Mann and Guy Le Claire.
In 1989, Prior travelled to New York
to produce Matt Moffitt and Jennifer Barrett and perform percussion with Pacific Orchestra
with former Eurogliders
members Guy Le Claire (guitar) and Lindsay Jehan (bass) and New Yorker Jennifer Barrett (guitar). Managed and promoted by Prior, the band completed their most successful tour to date including fifty sold-out performances around Australia. The band recorded four songs produced by Peter Blyton at Studios 301
and Bondi Road Studios that were never released.
During the nineties, Prior also performed with Mick Taylor
from the Rolling Stones featuring Alex Lloyd
on bass guitar, Olivia Newton-John
, Crunch and Monkey Principle. He formed Mammal Music production company, which built and operated Unity Gain Sudios in Cammeray from 1992 and Erskineville from 1997. He composed and produced several production music albums for Bruton Music UK and dozens of albums for local independent artists including ARIA Award winner Tibetan Prayer with Yungchen Lhamo
(Best World/Traditional/Folk Album 1995) and the ARIA Award nominated The Hipbone Connection with iOTA
(Best Independent Album 2000 and #1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association
(AIR) Charts), which spawned 6 charting singles.
Prior also composed and produced music, dialogue and sound effects for film, television, theater and advertising including soundtracks for MTV
, The World Around Us
, AFTRS, Australian Federal Government, NSW Tourism, Australia Today Indonesia Tomorrow, Jesus Christ Superstar
, feature film This Won't Hurt A Bit, award winning short film The Red Dress, The Great Outdoors
, Paradise Beach
, Art of Stone, Barnardos, Coca-Cola
, McDonald's
, KFC
, Levi's, Sun Alliance, Sky-Garden, Andronicus, Toyota, Slazenger, Buttercup, Just Jeans, Frutti, Hi-C, Milo, Sydney Turf Club, Deloitte, BA Insurance and Price Waterhouse.
, Wendy and Kayci Dorsett, releasing Made In Australia, Feels Like Summer and Candy For Your Soul.
In 2002, he co-composed, arranged and produced the ARIA Award nominated rock opera
The Story Of Abbey (Best Show/Cast Album 2002), which also had a successful theatrical run at the Sydney Seymour Centre and produced the album The Need To Fall with rock band Merge.
In 2003 he produced Leave Nothing Untouched with dance troupe Astral Taxi and composed and produced 20 albums of commercial library music.
In 2004 he composed an orchestral score for an advertising campaign entitled Out For Glory for Deloitte and formed the world/fusion band Newtown Beats with Eddie Quansah from Osibisa
, Bob Marley
and Australian band King Cobra.
In 2005 he produced jazz vocalist Jennifer Whatson’s debut self-titled album and composed an orchestral score for New Theatre’s production of the Spike Milligan play Badjelly The Witch which ran in January 2006 and January 2007.
In March 2006 he composed and produced an orchestral score for the short film A Fairytale Of The City featuring Sam Worthington
.
In April and May 2006, Prior toured Australia with King Crimson singer/guitarist Adrian Belew
and bassist Al Slavik. Their first performance was at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay to 75,000 people. John and Rob Prior promoted shows on the tour at the Basement in Sydney and Manchester Lane in Melbourne.
In November 2006, Prior produced the Matt Finish
single Don't Fade Away with singer/guitarist Luke Dixon, bassist Matt Cornell and sound engineer Greg Clarke.
In December 2006, John and his brother Rob promoted Matt Finish
's Matt Moffitt
Memorial Tour featuring Dixon, Cornell, Clayton and a guest performance by Rick Grossman
.
During 2007, Prior managed and promoted a 60-show Matt Finish
tour featuring vocalist David Adams, bassist Harry Brus
and a number of guest guitarists including Guy Le Claire, Eliot Reynolds, Steve Edmonds, Les Rankin and Kevin Borich
. While touring, Prior also performed music clinics and workshops at music stores around Australia in association with sponsors Tama
and Sabian. In December 2007, he produced the Matt Finish
album 1978 - 2008, released January 2008.
In 2008, Prior produced Steve Lockyer's debut Sticks & Stones and David Kingdom's Tattoo and managed a Matt Finish
tour with special guest jazz musicians Dale Barlow
and Guy Le Claire, both childhood friends. In December 2008, he directed, edited and produced a video clip for the Matt Finish
song Short Note from archival footage.
In January 2009, Prior edited, produced and authored the Matt Finish
DVD Live At The Musicians Club 1981 with the only existing concert video of Matt Finish
in the eighties. In February 2009, he produced the Matt Finish
EP New Frontier featuring singer David Adams.
During 2009, he produced The Shaggers with The Shaggers and The Cat, The Fiddle & This Tune with Sameera Bashir, plus Matt Finish
toured featuring Glenn Bidmead
(vocals/guitar) and Harry Brus
(bass/vocals). John also collated and remastered a collection of Matt Finish
recordings, released in December 2009 as the Matt Finish
Flight Case 12-disc box-set.
In 2010, he composed, produced and released an album of original Arabic influenced music entitled The Red Sea, produced an album of Russian folk music with Sydney composer and pianist Tatyana, and performed drums live with Matt Finish
, Newtown Beats, JFK, The Erskinevillains, Bulli Lama, The Swingers, The Ray Huss Band and Mysterious Travellers, a tribute to Weather Report
featuring Dale Barlow
(sax), Bill Risby (piano), Phil Scorgie (bass), Fabian Hevia and David Fester (percussion).
In 2011, Prior formed the band Stone And The Sky with Swedish vocalist and actor Pontus "Stone" Duvsjo and they recorded and performed live, including a benefit performance that raised $50,000 for the Prince Of Wales
Foundation.
John has just completed producing the album Nowhere To Hide with vocalist Peter Colleer's band The Unnamed Sources and Sydney singer-songwriter Sophie Von's debut album.
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
recognized for his work with Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
, Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
(King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
), Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
(The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
), Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
, Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
, New Theatre, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, The Great Outdoors, iOTA, Wicked Beat Sound System
Wicked Beat Sound System
Wicked Beat Sound System is a Sydney based group whose sound is best described as a mixture of electronica, dub and soul. The group formed in 1992, following a series of live "jams" instigated by DJ Dave Carnovale in collaboration with Damian Robinson and other DJ's Scott Pullen and Mark Walton...
, Kevin Borich
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow is an Australian jazz composer, multi-instrumentalist: especially tenor, alto saxophone, soprano saxophonist, baritone saxophone and flute....
.
Sydney Morning Herald reviewer John Shand wrote: "Prior was a nexus of energy, fun and accuracy" performing with Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
.
John is also owner and director of Mammal Music Pty Ltd, a music and video production company that built and operates Unity Gain Studios, where he has composed and produced many albums for independent artists including the ARIA Award winning and nominated Tibetan Prayer (Best World/Traditional/Folk Album 1995), ARIA Award nominated The Hipbone Connection (Best Independent Album 2000 and #1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association
Australian Independent Record Labels Association
The Australian Independent Record Labels Association is a non profit, non government association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of Australia’s independent recording sector...
(AIR) charts) and ARIA Award nominated The Story Of Abbey (Best Show/Cast Album 2002) and has produced a number of works for film, television, theatre and advertising, gaining an Australian Guild of Screen Composers Nomination for orchestral composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and production.
The Seventies
Prior started playing guitar aged 8, drums at 11, vibes at 17 and piano at 18. During his teens, he formed the fusion band Conic Section with brother Rob Prior (guitar), neighbour Paul Williams (bass guitar) and Chris Short (keyboards) and they performed at The Kirribilli Hotel, the Mosman SpasticSpastic
The word spastic is used differently depending on location which has led to some controversy and misunderstanding. Derived via Latin from the Greek spastikos , the word originally referred to a change in muscles affected by the medical condition spasticity, which is seen in spastic diplegia and...
Centre and Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...
At 16, he played drums with Stevie Wright (Easybeats), Sea Of Clouds, Atlantis, the Northbridge Jazz Band and formed experimental funk band Hot Dogma with Craig Learmont (guitar, The Layabouts, Klezma Orcheztra), Peter Astley (bass) & Anthony Smith (keyboards, Flowers, Icehouse
Icehouse (band)
Icehouse is an Australian rock band, formed as Flowers in 1977 in Sydney. Initially known in Australia for their pub rock style, they later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synthpop style music and attained Top Ten singles chart success in both Europe and the U.S...
).
In 1979, Prior formed Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
with singer/guitarist Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt was an Australian singer-songwriter/guitarist, best known as the vocalist with rock band Matt Finish. From the late seventies until the mid-nineties, Matt Finish was one of Australia's most popular live bands....
and through to the end of the seventies, they played regular residencies in clubs and pubs around Sydney every night of the week, often double-gigging on weekends.
In November 1979, radio station 2JJ broadcast Matt Finish live-to-air from the Civic Hotel in Pitt Street, Sydney and continued to broadcast the raw live performances for a year.
The Eighties
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
was one of Australia's most popular and exciting live bands performing thousands of live shows to more than a million people including national tours with U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
, 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...
, The Ramones, Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
, 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...
, Brian Ferry and The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
.
Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
released Matt Finish Play Africa (single 1980), Short Note (album 1981), Fade Away (EP 1981), Matt Finish (EP 1983), Word Of Mouth (album 1983) and numerous singles. The Short Note album was re-released on CD in 1989 and is still available from music shops after 25 years.
In 1985, Prior travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to record the Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt was an Australian singer-songwriter/guitarist, best known as the vocalist with rock band Matt Finish. From the late seventies until the mid-nineties, Matt Finish was one of Australia's most popular live bands....
solo album By As Little As A Look with producer Nicky Graham
Nicky Graham
Nicky Graham is a musician, songwriter and music producer from the UK.He played keyboards for David Bowie throughout most of 1972 including on the Spiders from Mars tour, August and September 1972. He was A & R Manager at CBS Records UK during the 1980s when he signed The Clash...
(David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
Manager). While in London, he continued studying piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
with Peter Sanders (London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
) and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
using computers
Computer Music
Computer Music is a monthly magazine published in the UK. It covers the topic of creating digital music on a computer. Each issue includes a DVD-ROM with samples, plug-ins, software demos, tutorials, and other content related to the issue.-External links:*...
, synthesizers and samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Studios London and Fairlight CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
's studios in Sydney.
During the late eighties, Prior toured Australia as drummer with Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
, Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
, Mal Eastick, Girl Overboard, Troy Newman
Troy Newman
Troy Newman is an American pro-life activist. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Newman was adopted as an infant and raised in the Southern California area...
, Jackie Orszaczky
Jackie Orszaczky
Jackie Orszaczky was a Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, and record producer, playing mainly bass guitar, but also various other instruments.-Work:...
, Guy Le Claire, Stephanie Howell, Baby Loves To Cha-Cha, Getaway Plane, T-Vibes, Bastiaan, Bob Armstrong and Charlie McMahon; performed drums with Rob Hirst
Rob Hirst
-External links:*******...
(Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
) and hundreds of other drummers and percussionists at Bondi Pavilion
Bondi Pavilion
The Bondi Surf Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, constructed in 1928, is a building of historic significance and has been listed by the Heritage Council. According to the National Trust it "has come to represent the Australian culture of beach bathing and outdoors living"...
; performed solo at the first Australian Music Day Concert; performed each year at the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, 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...
& Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
Music Trade Fairs and conducted drum clinics and music clinics in music shops around Australia sponsored by Australis Music, Tama Drums, Akai
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
Samplers, Dynamic Music and Sabian Cymbals
Sabian (company)
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is a leading manufacturer of cymbals along with other top companies such as Zildjian, Paiste, and Meinl.-History:...
; taught drums at Drum City Sydney and Emmanuel School Randwick; composed music for productions at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre
Ensemble Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company, situated in Kirribilli, New South Wales. It is promoted as Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, established in 1958.- References :...
, Nimrod Theatre, Griffin Theatre, New Theatre (Newtown)
New Theatre (Newtown)
The New Theatre is an independent theatre company in the inner western Sydney suburb of Newtown, Australia. Established in October 1932, it is the oldest theatre company in continuous production in New South Wales...
and Belvoir St Theatre
Belvoir St Theatre
Belvoir St Theatre is an Australian theatre venue in Sydney. The venue in Belvoir Street, Surry Hills previously operated as the Nimrod Theatre, and was founded as "Belvoir St" in 1984 by Sue Hill and Chris Westwood...
; and produced local independent artists including Megan Williams, One Franc, Sandi Chick, Amanda Mann and Guy Le Claire.
In 1989, Prior travelled to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to produce Matt Moffitt and Jennifer Barrett and perform percussion with Pacific Orchestra
The Nineties
In 1990, Moffitt and Prior reformed Matt FinishMatt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
with former Eurogliders
Eurogliders
Eurogliders were an Indie pop band formed in 1981 in Perth, Western Australia, which included mainstays Grace Knight on vocals and Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals. The band was originally formed by Bernie Lynch and Amanda Vincent under the name Living Single. After almost a year, Grace Knight...
members Guy Le Claire (guitar) and Lindsay Jehan (bass) and New Yorker Jennifer Barrett (guitar). Managed and promoted by Prior, the band completed their most successful tour to date including fifty sold-out performances around Australia. The band recorded four songs produced by Peter Blyton at Studios 301
Studios 301
Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio. Established in 1926, Studios 301 is the longest running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere. It is also Australia’s largest Studio complex featuring state of the art 72 channel Neve 88R console and 72 channel SSL K Series console...
and Bondi Road Studios that were never released.
During the nineties, Prior also performed with Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
from the Rolling Stones featuring Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. His most popular album Watching Angels Mend, which includes the songs "Amazing" and "Green", was released in 2001 went double platinum. His third album Distant Light released in 2003 featured three songs that made the Australian top 40 singles charts...
on bass guitar, Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, Crunch and Monkey Principle. He formed Mammal Music production company, which built and operated Unity Gain Sudios in Cammeray from 1992 and Erskineville from 1997. He composed and produced several production music albums for Bruton Music UK and dozens of albums for local independent artists including ARIA Award winner Tibetan Prayer with Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo is a Tibetan singer-songwriter and currently living in exile in New York City. She has won an Australian Record Industry Association award for best Folk/World/Traditional album, and was then signed by Peter Gabriel's Realworld Record label.She has performed with Billy Corgan and...
(Best World/Traditional/Folk Album 1995) and the ARIA Award nominated The Hipbone Connection with iOTA
Iota (entertainer)
Iota is an ARIA nominated musician and a Helpmann Award winning actor.- Music :Iota's first album The Hip Bone Connection was released in 1999. This album was Iota labeled as an acoustic/blues/roots musician, a label he does not like. His second, Big Grandfather, was considered less accessible,...
(Best Independent Album 2000 and #1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association
Australian Independent Record Labels Association
The Australian Independent Record Labels Association is a non profit, non government association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of Australia’s independent recording sector...
(AIR) Charts), which spawned 6 charting singles.
Prior also composed and produced music, dialogue and sound effects for film, television, theater and advertising including soundtracks for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, The World Around Us
The World Around Us
The World Around Us was an Australian documentary television series that aired on the Seven Network. It regularly showed documentaries which featured the likes of Malcolm Douglas and Sir David Attenborough.- Presenters :...
, AFTRS, Australian Federal Government, NSW Tourism, Australia Today Indonesia Tomorrow, Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
, feature film This Won't Hurt A Bit, award winning short film The Red Dress, The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors was an Australian travel magazine series broadcast on the Seven Network.-History:Similar to its competitors Getaway and So Many Worlds, the program featured a team of reporters who travelled around Australia and overseas, reporting on travel destinations, tourist attractions and...
, Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow Pictures. It is associated with New World Television for the Nine Network that aired between 1993 and 1994...
, Art of Stone, Barnardos, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, Levi's, Sun Alliance, Sky-Garden, Andronicus, Toyota, Slazenger, Buttercup, Just Jeans, Frutti, Hi-C, Milo, Sydney Turf Club, Deloitte, BA Insurance and Price Waterhouse.
The Noughties
During 2001, John traveled to Europe and the US to attend numerous music festivals, produced the jazz/fusion album Day And Night with Bob Spencer’s band Eclection and formed experimental electronic project Ear Candy with Dale BarlowDale Barlow
Dale Barlow is an Australian jazz composer, multi-instrumentalist: especially tenor, alto saxophone, soprano saxophonist, baritone saxophone and flute....
, Wendy and Kayci Dorsett, releasing Made In Australia, Feels Like Summer and Candy For Your Soul.
In 2002, he co-composed, arranged and produced the ARIA Award nominated rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
The Story Of Abbey (Best Show/Cast Album 2002), which also had a successful theatrical run at the Sydney Seymour Centre and produced the album The Need To Fall with rock band Merge.
In 2003 he produced Leave Nothing Untouched with dance troupe Astral Taxi and composed and produced 20 albums of commercial library music.
In 2004 he composed an orchestral score for an advertising campaign entitled Out For Glory for Deloitte and formed the world/fusion band Newtown Beats with Eddie Quansah from Osibisa
Osibisa
Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
and Australian band King Cobra.
In 2005 he produced jazz vocalist Jennifer Whatson’s debut self-titled album and composed an orchestral score for New Theatre’s production of the Spike Milligan play Badjelly The Witch which ran in January 2006 and January 2007.
In March 2006 he composed and produced an orchestral score for the short film A Fairytale Of The City featuring Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington
Samuel Henry J. "Sam" Worthington is an English born, Australian actor. After almost a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Worthington gained Hollywood's attention by playing Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation and the lead role, Jake Sully, in James Cameron's science...
.
In April and May 2006, Prior toured Australia with King Crimson singer/guitarist Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
and bassist Al Slavik. Their first performance was at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay to 75,000 people. John and Rob Prior promoted shows on the tour at the Basement in Sydney and Manchester Lane in Melbourne.
In November 2006, Prior produced the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
single Don't Fade Away with singer/guitarist Luke Dixon, bassist Matt Cornell and sound engineer Greg Clarke.
In December 2006, John and his brother Rob promoted Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
's Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt
Matt Moffitt was an Australian singer-songwriter/guitarist, best known as the vocalist with rock band Matt Finish. From the late seventies until the mid-nineties, Matt Finish was one of Australia's most popular live bands....
Memorial Tour featuring Dixon, Cornell, Clayton and a guest performance by Rick Grossman
Richard Grossman (musician)
Richard Grossman is an Australian rock musician who has played bass guitar for two iconic bands Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. Hoodoo Gurus iconic status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. For Grossman, this was his second Hall of Fame...
.
During 2007, Prior managed and promoted a 60-show Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
tour featuring vocalist David Adams, bassist Harry Brus
Harry Brus
Harry Brus is an Australian bass player and guitarist, best known for his work with Matt Finish, Kevin Borich, Renée Geyer, Australian Crawl, Leo Sayer, Marcia Hines, Jimmy Barnes, Ross Wilson and Billy Thorpe....
and a number of guest guitarists including Guy Le Claire, Eliot Reynolds, Steve Edmonds, Les Rankin and Kevin Borich
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. While touring, Prior also performed music clinics and workshops at music stores around Australia in association with sponsors Tama
Tama
-Religion:* Tama , part of the soul in the Japanese Shinto faith, roughly equivalent to ghost, spirit, or soul* Tama , a votive deposit or ex-voto used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches...
and Sabian. In December 2007, he produced the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
album 1978 - 2008, released January 2008.
In 2008, Prior produced Steve Lockyer's debut Sticks & Stones and David Kingdom's Tattoo and managed a Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
tour with special guest jazz musicians Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow is an Australian jazz composer, multi-instrumentalist: especially tenor, alto saxophone, soprano saxophonist, baritone saxophone and flute....
and Guy Le Claire, both childhood friends. In December 2008, he directed, edited and produced a video clip for the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
song Short Note from archival footage.
In January 2009, Prior edited, produced and authored the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
DVD Live At The Musicians Club 1981 with the only existing concert video of Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
in the eighties. In February 2009, he produced the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
EP New Frontier featuring singer David Adams.
During 2009, he produced The Shaggers with The Shaggers and The Cat, The Fiddle & This Tune with Sameera Bashir, plus Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
toured featuring Glenn Bidmead
Glenn Bidmead
Glenn Keith Bidmead is a Sydney-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, performer, producer and sound engineer. Glenn is currently the lead singer and guitarist with Australian rock band Matt Finish...
(vocals/guitar) and Harry Brus
Harry Brus
Harry Brus is an Australian bass player and guitarist, best known for his work with Matt Finish, Kevin Borich, Renée Geyer, Australian Crawl, Leo Sayer, Marcia Hines, Jimmy Barnes, Ross Wilson and Billy Thorpe....
(bass/vocals). John also collated and remastered a collection of Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
recordings, released in December 2009 as the Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
Flight Case 12-disc box-set.
In 2010, he composed, produced and released an album of original Arabic influenced music entitled The Red Sea, produced an album of Russian folk music with Sydney composer and pianist Tatyana, and performed drums live with Matt Finish
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed by singer-songwriter/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer/composer/producer John Prior in mid 1979....
, Newtown Beats, JFK, The Erskinevillains, Bulli Lama, The Swingers, The Ray Huss Band and Mysterious Travellers, a tribute to Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
featuring Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow is an Australian jazz composer, multi-instrumentalist: especially tenor, alto saxophone, soprano saxophonist, baritone saxophone and flute....
(sax), Bill Risby (piano), Phil Scorgie (bass), Fabian Hevia and David Fester (percussion).
In 2011, Prior formed the band Stone And The Sky with Swedish vocalist and actor Pontus "Stone" Duvsjo and they recorded and performed live, including a benefit performance that raised $50,000 for the Prince Of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
Foundation.
John has just completed producing the album Nowhere To Hide with vocalist Peter Colleer's band The Unnamed Sources and Sydney singer-songwriter Sophie Von's debut album.
Equipment
- ATC SCM-20 monitors
- Apogee Ensemble AD/DA converters
- TC Electronic Powercore PCI card
- Mac G5 computer
- Manley Vari-Mu
- Manley Massive Passive
- Manley Voxbox (x2)
- Peach pre-amps (x8)
- Amek 9098 Dual Mic Amps
- TC Electronics Fireworx
- TC Electronics M2000
- TC Electronics Finalizer
- Neumann, Reslo, AKG, Sure and Tandy microphones
- Tama Artstar maple drum kit
- Sabian Cymbals
- Guitars, keyboards, percussion
Matt FInish
- 1980 Matt Finish Play Africa: CIA / Mancini Shuffle
- 1981 Short Note
- 1981 Short Note / Layman's Day
- 1981 Fade Away
- 1983 Matt Finish
- 1984 Words and Wars / Still Roads (I Need It) / Come on Over
- 1984 Word of Mouth
- 1984 Always Another / Forecast
- 2001 Just a Short Note (The Best of)
- 2006 Don't Fade Away 2006
- 2008 1978 - 2008
- 2009 Matt Finish Live at the Musicians Club 1981
- 2009 New Frontier
- 2010 Civic Hotel
- 2010 Music Farm
- 2010 Short Note Remastered
- 2010 Parramatta Park & Melbourne Uni
- 2010 Fade Away Sessions
- 2010 Word Of Mouth (2CD)
- 2010 At The Tivoli
- 2010 Truck Surfing
- 2010 Kite On A Hurricane Day
Other Artists
- 1986 Matt Moffitt / By As Little As A Look
- 1987 Johnny Batchelor / Work And Save
- 1991 Guy Le Claire / Guy Le Claire
- 1993 Wicked Beats Sound System / Summer Sun
- 1993 Sam Sethi / Sai Baba
- 1993 Pam Sethi / Pam Sethi
- 1994 Great South Land / Great South Land
- 1994 Toni Nation / Toni Nation
- 1995 Young Chen Lhamo / Tibetan Prayer
- 1996 Heavenly Light Quartet / Heavenly Light Quartet
- 1997 Guy Le Claire / Naughty
- 1997 Xiang / Xiang
- 1997 Bujuanes / This Is Life
- 1998 Ragged Band / Distant Shores
- 1998 Pan De Cielo / Bread Of Heaven
- 1998 iOTA / iOTA
- 1999 Maréa / No Distractions Please
- 1999 iOTA / The Hip Bone Connection
- 2000 Merge / Interface
- 2000 Mr House / The Fruits Of Mr House
- 2001 Eclection / Day And Night
- 2001 Ear Candy / Made In Australia
- 2001 Ear Candy / Feels Like Summer
- 2001 Ear Candy / Candy For Your Soul
- 2002 Merge / The Need To Fall
- 2002 Play Act One / Story Of Abbey
- 2003 Astral Taxi / Leave Nothing Untouched
- 2005 Jennifer Whatson / Jennifer Whatson
- 2006 Meryl Leppard / Meryl Leppard
- 2007 Robot Productions / Robot Productions
- 2008 Steve Lockyer / Sticks & Stones
- 2008 David Kingdom / Tattoo
- 2009 The Shaggers / The Shaggers
- 2009 Sameera Bashir / The Cat, The Fiddle & This Tune
- 2010 John Prior / The Red Sea
- 2011 The Unnamed Sources / Nowhere To Hide
- 2011 Stone And The Sky / Stone And The Sky
Production Music
- 1995 Bruton Music UK / Impact Promotions
- 1996 Bruton Music UK / Pop Music
- 2003 Unreal Music / Energy
- 2003 Unreal Music / Smooth
- 2003 Unreal Music / Pop Roots
- 2003 Unreal Music / Club Soda
- 2003 Unreal Music / Master Grooves
- 2003 Unreal Music / Café Cool
- 2003 Unreal Music / Extra Chunky
- 2003 Unreal Music / Guitar Lover
- 2003 Unreal Music / Retail Melodies
- 2003 Unreal Music / Neo Classics
- 2003 Unreal Music / Arabmatic
- 2003 Unreal Music / Folk & Gypsy
- 2003 Unreal Music / Atmosphere
- 2003 Unreal Music / Earth
- 2003 Unreal Music / Romantic Piano
- 2003 Unreal Music / Unreal Christmas
- 2003 Unreal Music / All Sorts
- 2003 Unreal Music / Survival Kit
- 2004 Unreal Music / Celestial Grooves
- 2004 Unreal Music / Astral Riffs
- 2004 Unreal Music / Urban Dub
External links
- John Prior on MySpace
- Matt Finish at Australian Rock DatabaseAustralian Rock DatabaseAustralian Rock Database is a website with a searchable online database that lists details of Australian rock music artists, albums, bands, producers and record labels. It was established in 2000 by Swedish national, Magnus Holmgren, who had developed an interest in Australian music when visiting...
by Magnus Holmgren] - What's On Central Coast gig and CD reviews by Deb Lalor
- Sydney Morning Herald review of Adrian Belew with John Prior