Sounds Like Chicken
Encyclopedia
Sounds Like Chicken was a band from Melbourne, Australia released on Boomtown Records
which formed in 1999 and disbanded in 2007. They were one of Australia's most well-known ska bands and one of the most popular Christian bands in the country.
Sounds Like Chicken's musical style included a blend of Ska
, Hardcore
, Reggae
& Rock
.
The band placed a high emphasis on touring and were known for their "high energy" live performances.
Sounds Like Chicken shared stages and toured with such bands, including The O.C. Supertones
, Antiskeptic
, The Disables, and Bagster.
Sounds like Chicken also had rotation on the radio station Triple J
, mainly with their double A-side single "Take a Bullet to the Grave"/"El Chupanebre" and their other single "Global Domination".
After their breakup, SLC released all their previous recordings under Creative Commons
(by-nc-sa), for free online distribution.
, Hugh on guitar
and Nat on drums
. This trio did not get off the ground and so Nyall's brothers Elliot and Joel Dawson joined to form Sounds Like Chicken, a ska project taking influences from Voodoo Glow Skulls
, The O.C. Supertones
, The Insyderz
and Five Iron Frenzy
. This early lineup was Nyall (vocals), Nat (bass/vocals), Elliot (drums), Joel (sax) and Hugh (guitar).
Sounds Like Chicken's first show was at Joel's 21st birthday party in mid-2000. Hugh left the band at the end of 2000 due to other commitments and was replaced by Tom Dowding on guitar. Tom was an extremely accomplished bass player and so Nat decided to swap to playing guitar so that Tom's talent could be fully utilised. The band decided they needed another horn and so after a number of unsuccessful audition attempts, in 2001 Nat met Natalie Parker at university and invited her to a practice. Natalie was initially apprehensive but was eventually convinced by the boys to join the band. During her second practice she was already laying down trumpet tracks on their first demo recording which ended up becoming the band's self-made demo EP, "Slowly Going the Way of the Chicken".
Sounds Like Chicken toured interstate for the first time under this lineup in September 2001, playing in Sydney and Canberra and also at the Black Stump Music Festival. In 2002, Tom Dowding departed from Sounds like Chicken to be replaced by Joshua Diemar on bass. It was in this year that Sounds Like Chicken released their first studio EP, "I Am Gibbon, Hear Me Roar", produced by David Carr (Antiskeptic
, Taxiride
). The EP gave the band airplay on community radio, Christian radio, and Triple J.
, a Melbourne-based indie record label distributing through Shock Records and MGM. Deciding that a bigger ensemble was required, Sounds Like Chicken asked long-time friend Dave Powys (ex Staff Discount and Never In Doubt) to join on second guitar, making them a 7-piece band. Dave moved down from Canberra and recorded on the single Global Domination, their first release with Boomtown and distributed through MGM. The single received national airplay and spot airplay on Triple J and was sold out within 2 months of its limited pressing. It was noted that producer Dave Carr's production was a big step up from previous releases,.
It was shortly after this that the band decided it was time to move on and the band was without a bass-player. They were booked in to record an album and so asked if Carlos Echeverria (ex Know Exit and Wishful Thinking) would fill in and record bass for them. Their first full-length album, "...Like a Cannonball to the Ocean Floor" was released late that year through Boomtown, also doing well on the airwaves. The album drew acclaim from reviewers as a "brilliantly released debut album", although the length of 17 tracks drew some criticism. Sounds Like Chicken did a joint national tour with label-mates Wishful Thinking to launch the album. Carlos officially joined shortly after the album's release.
2005 saw Sounds Like Chicken's drummer, manager and founding member Elliot Dawson leave. For a while the band were without a drummer, but Mike "Carcass" Haydon (of Melbourne band The Knockabouts), only 17 at the time, was able to fill the role of drummer. Mike had been a tour roadie for the band for the past 3 years and so was already well-acquainted with their songs. That year Sounds Like Chicken released the second double-A side single off the album, "Take a Bullet to the Grave/El Chupanebre" through Boomtown Records, and completed a national tour over 3 months to launch it.
On November 3, 2006, founding member, Nyall Dawson, announced his decision to depart the band early in 2007.
Sounds Like Chicken have played and toured with numerous well-known Australian and international acts and have been featured on various international and Australian compilations and soundtracks such as Turn the Other Cheek Volume 1.
. The main factors in the breakup was the future departure of Nyall Dawson and other key members of the band, the band stated...
"We guess it’s time for some of us to move on. God has other plans for our lives and with the impending departure of some key members, we felt that SLC would simply not be SLC if we went on without them. We all feel at peace about this decision."
Shortly after, the band announced plans for an Australia wide farewell tour to take place in February–March 2007, along with the release of a final limited-edition compilation disk titled Death To The Crow to coincide with the tour.
Sounds Like Chicken's final show was held at TLC Bayswater, Victoria on Saturday the 17th of March, 2007.
The band's entire discography (except for Death To The Crow) was made available for free download on their website and on Jamendo
In April 2007, former SLC members Mike Haydon, Dave Powys, Ben Hobson, Nat Kitingan and Joel Dawson together with new addition Paul McCasker formed reggae-rock band San Salvador. They released an ep How To Hear and two singles "Like a Train" and "Spark the Fire".
Former members Mike Haydon and Joe Ireland now play in indie band The Middle East
which featured two tracks in Triple J's hottest 100 in 2010.
Boomtown Records
Boomtown Records is an independent record label founded by Jaddan Comerford in October 2002 and based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2011 the label was rebranded with Staple Management to new company - We Are Unified- History :...
which formed in 1999 and disbanded in 2007. They were one of Australia's most well-known ska bands and one of the most popular Christian bands in the country.
Sounds Like Chicken's musical style included a blend of Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, Hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
& Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
The band placed a high emphasis on touring and were known for their "high energy" live performances.
Sounds Like Chicken shared stages and toured with such bands, including The O.C. Supertones
The O.C. Supertones
The Orange County Supertones is a Christian ska band hailing from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records before becoming an independent band for its final tour...
, Antiskeptic
Antiskeptic
Antiskeptic is a rock band based in Melbourne, Australia.-History:Formed in 1999, the band was originally only a side project for Andrew Kitchen and Sean Daly who were at the time performing in another band 'Dispersia' which later broke up and gave way to Antiskeptic...
, The Disables, and Bagster.
Sounds like Chicken also had rotation on the 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...
, mainly with their double A-side single "Take a Bullet to the Grave"/"El Chupanebre" and their other single "Global Domination".
After their breakup, SLC released all their previous recordings under Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
(by-nc-sa), for free online distribution.
History
Early band history
Sounds Like Chicken began in 1999 when Nathanael Kitingan (Nat Kitingan) met Nyall Dawson at Monash University in Melbourne. Nat and Nyall attempted to start an unnamed musical project with Hugh Ogilvy (also from Monash University) featuring Nyall on electric violinElectric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
, Hugh on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Nat on drums
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 ....
. This trio did not get off the ground and so Nyall's brothers Elliot and Joel Dawson joined to form Sounds Like Chicken, a ska project taking influences from Voodoo Glow Skulls
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California by brothers Frank, Eddie and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill...
, The O.C. Supertones
The O.C. Supertones
The Orange County Supertones is a Christian ska band hailing from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records before becoming an independent band for its final tour...
, The Insyderz
The Insyderz
The Insyderz are a Christian ska-punk band from Detroit, Michigan. They formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2005, but have recently reunited and are working on new music. The Insyderz are one of the "big three" bands which represented the Christian ska scene, alongside the Supertones and Five Iron Frenzy...
and Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
. This early lineup was Nyall (vocals), Nat (bass/vocals), Elliot (drums), Joel (sax) and Hugh (guitar).
Sounds Like Chicken's first show was at Joel's 21st birthday party in mid-2000. Hugh left the band at the end of 2000 due to other commitments and was replaced by Tom Dowding on guitar. Tom was an extremely accomplished bass player and so Nat decided to swap to playing guitar so that Tom's talent could be fully utilised. The band decided they needed another horn and so after a number of unsuccessful audition attempts, in 2001 Nat met Natalie Parker at university and invited her to a practice. Natalie was initially apprehensive but was eventually convinced by the boys to join the band. During her second practice she was already laying down trumpet tracks on their first demo recording which ended up becoming the band's self-made demo EP, "Slowly Going the Way of the Chicken".
Sounds Like Chicken toured interstate for the first time under this lineup in September 2001, playing in Sydney and Canberra and also at the Black Stump Music Festival. In 2002, Tom Dowding departed from Sounds like Chicken to be replaced by Joshua Diemar on bass. It was in this year that Sounds Like Chicken released their first studio EP, "I Am Gibbon, Hear Me Roar", produced by David Carr (Antiskeptic
Antiskeptic
Antiskeptic is a rock band based in Melbourne, Australia.-History:Formed in 1999, the band was originally only a side project for Andrew Kitchen and Sean Daly who were at the time performing in another band 'Dispersia' which later broke up and gave way to Antiskeptic...
, Taxiride
Taxiride
Taxiride is an Australian rock band. Formed in 1997, the band consists of lead singer Jason Singh, guitarists Dan Hall and Tim Wild, and drummer Sean McLeod....
). The EP gave the band airplay on community radio, Christian radio, and Triple J.
Boomtown Records era and lineup changes
In early 2004, the band were signed to Boomtown RecordsBoomtown Records
Boomtown Records is an independent record label founded by Jaddan Comerford in October 2002 and based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2011 the label was rebranded with Staple Management to new company - We Are Unified- History :...
, a Melbourne-based indie record label distributing through Shock Records and MGM. Deciding that a bigger ensemble was required, Sounds Like Chicken asked long-time friend Dave Powys (ex Staff Discount and Never In Doubt) to join on second guitar, making them a 7-piece band. Dave moved down from Canberra and recorded on the single Global Domination, their first release with Boomtown and distributed through MGM. The single received national airplay and spot airplay on Triple J and was sold out within 2 months of its limited pressing. It was noted that producer Dave Carr's production was a big step up from previous releases,.
It was shortly after this that the band decided it was time to move on and the band was without a bass-player. They were booked in to record an album and so asked if Carlos Echeverria (ex Know Exit and Wishful Thinking) would fill in and record bass for them. Their first full-length album, "...Like a Cannonball to the Ocean Floor" was released late that year through Boomtown, also doing well on the airwaves. The album drew acclaim from reviewers as a "brilliantly released debut album", although the length of 17 tracks drew some criticism. Sounds Like Chicken did a joint national tour with label-mates Wishful Thinking to launch the album. Carlos officially joined shortly after the album's release.
2005 saw Sounds Like Chicken's drummer, manager and founding member Elliot Dawson leave. For a while the band were without a drummer, but Mike "Carcass" Haydon (of Melbourne band The Knockabouts), only 17 at the time, was able to fill the role of drummer. Mike had been a tour roadie for the band for the past 3 years and so was already well-acquainted with their songs. That year Sounds Like Chicken released the second double-A side single off the album, "Take a Bullet to the Grave/El Chupanebre" through Boomtown Records, and completed a national tour over 3 months to launch it.
On November 3, 2006, founding member, Nyall Dawson, announced his decision to depart the band early in 2007.
Sounds Like Chicken have played and toured with numerous well-known Australian and international acts and have been featured on various international and Australian compilations and soundtracks such as Turn the Other Cheek Volume 1.
Break up
On December 18, 2006 Sounds Like Chicken announced they were calling it a day in a bulletin released on the band's MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. The main factors in the breakup was the future departure of Nyall Dawson and other key members of the band, the band stated...
"We guess it’s time for some of us to move on. God has other plans for our lives and with the impending departure of some key members, we felt that SLC would simply not be SLC if we went on without them. We all feel at peace about this decision."
Shortly after, the band announced plans for an Australia wide farewell tour to take place in February–March 2007, along with the release of a final limited-edition compilation disk titled Death To The Crow to coincide with the tour.
Sounds Like Chicken's final show was held at TLC Bayswater, Victoria on Saturday the 17th of March, 2007.
The band's entire discography (except for Death To The Crow) was made available for free download on their website and on Jamendo
In April 2007, former SLC members Mike Haydon, Dave Powys, Ben Hobson, Nat Kitingan and Joel Dawson together with new addition Paul McCasker formed reggae-rock band San Salvador. They released an ep How To Hear and two singles "Like a Train" and "Spark the Fire".
Former members Mike Haydon and Joe Ireland now play in indie band The Middle East
The Middle East (band)
The Middle East were a musical collective based in Townsville in Queensland, Australia. Forming in 2005, the group played locally and completed several East Coast tours of mainly Christian festivals throughout Australia. Motivation behind the naming of the band is unclear...
which featured two tracks in Triple J's hottest 100 in 2010.
Final Members
- Natalie Parker - TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
/vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Joel Dawson - Tenor SaxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Nyall Dawson - TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
/"Thrashcore" vocals - Dave Powys - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Nat Kitingan - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(also played bass guitar in 1999-2000 and on tour in 2006) - Ben Hobson - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Mike Haydon - drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
Past members
- Elliot Dawson - drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
- Carlos Echeverria - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Josh "Ramsey" Diemar - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Joe Ireland - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(from the band Know Exit and later Goodnight Combat Fighter and currently in an indie band The Middle East, an unofficial touring member who played numerous shows with SLC around Australia in 2004-2006. The band decided posthumously to credit Joe as an official member, due to his considerable contribution to the group) - Tom Dowding - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Hugh "HOgilvy" Ogilvy - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
Singles & EPs
- Slowly Going the Way of the Chicken (2001)
- Slowly Going the Way of the Stump (2001)
- I Am Gibbon, Hear Me Roar (2002)
- Global Domination (2004)
- Take a Bullet to the Grave/El Chupanebre (2005)
- Death to the Crow (Compilation) (2007)
Compilation albums
- Turn the Other Cheek Volume 1
- Sorry If It Isn't Cool Anymore! (Mushroom Cloud Records, US)
- RP Records Showcase 03 (RP Records)
- Freerider MX (DVD Soundtrack)
- Endtime Records Compilation Volume 1 (Endtime Records)
- The Fight (DVD soundtrack)
- Boomtown Showdown 06 (Boomtown Records, Live DVD)
- Elevation 06 (96 Five FM Brisbane)