Panel of Judges
Encyclopedia
Panel of Judges is an indie
rock band from Melbourne
, Australia
. Dion Nania began the group in 1997 as a solo project, then added Alison Bolger, Michael Nichols and Paul Williams soon afterwards.
Nania, originally from Geelong, had played with the Golden Lifestyle Band; Bolger, originally from Brisbane, had played bass in Clag and Sleepy Township
and in looser configurations such as an improvisational group with Mia Schoen and Ellen Turner; Williams had been a member of Perth group Molasses and, in the early days of Panel of Judges was also drumming in Melbourne band Jaguar is Jaguar; and Nichols had been a formative figure in the Hanshalf Trio in Melbourne, Crabstick and Blairmailer in Sydney, and the 'travelling' group Ruff Buff.
Panel of Judges' first release was an EP
, Blind as a Bat on Chapter Music
in 1998; their debut album Cool Fool was released later that year after which Nichols left and the band continued as a three-piece. They travelled to Europe in 2002, playing in London and Paris, and returned in 2004 to record their second album No Scandal - No Future - In Heaven, the title of which was 'stolen from a card left on Serge Gainsbourg's grave'. They have since toured Japan and New Zealand; their third album, Bad Vibrations was released on Mistletone Records in late 2008.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
rock band from 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...
, 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...
. Dion Nania began the group in 1997 as a solo project, then added Alison Bolger, Michael Nichols and Paul Williams soon afterwards.
Nania, originally from Geelong, had played with the Golden Lifestyle Band; Bolger, originally from Brisbane, had played bass in Clag and Sleepy Township
Sleepy Township
Sleepy Township was an indie pop band which was formed in Perth in 1994 as a side project by Guy Blackman , Mia Schoen , and Paul Williams . The band moved the following year to Melbourne, Australia, with Gorman replacing Williams. Alison Bolger joined the group on bass in 1998...
and in looser configurations such as an improvisational group with Mia Schoen and Ellen Turner; Williams had been a member of Perth group Molasses and, in the early days of Panel of Judges was also drumming in Melbourne band Jaguar is Jaguar; and Nichols had been a formative figure in the Hanshalf Trio in Melbourne, Crabstick and Blairmailer in Sydney, and the 'travelling' group Ruff Buff.
Panel of Judges' first release was an 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...
, Blind as a Bat on Chapter Music
Chapter Music
Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. It was founded by Guy Blackman in Perth in June 1992, after a few issues of a Syd Barrett inspired fanzine called Chapter 24, that Blackman started in October 1990, when he was seventeen...
in 1998; their debut album Cool Fool was released later that year after which Nichols left and the band continued as a three-piece. They travelled to Europe in 2002, playing in London and Paris, and returned in 2004 to record their second album No Scandal - No Future - In Heaven, the title of which was 'stolen from a card left on Serge Gainsbourg's grave'. They have since toured Japan and New Zealand; their third album, Bad Vibrations was released on Mistletone Records in late 2008.
Members
- Dion Nania - guitar, vocals
- Alison Bolger - bass, vocals
- Paul Williams - drums
- Martin Frawley - guitar
Albums
- Cool Fool (1999)
- No Scandal - No Future - In Heaven - Independent/MGMMGM DistributionMGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....
(GP4) (20 February 2006) - Bad Vibrations - Mistletone Records (MIST025) (22 November 2008)
EPs
- Blind as a Bat - Chapter MusicChapter MusicChapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. It was founded by Guy Blackman in Perth in June 1992, after a few issues of a Syd Barrett inspired fanzine called Chapter 24, that Blackman started in October 1990, when he was seventeen...
(CH26) (February 1999) - Open Casket - Weather Records (WR007) (September 2004)