The Visitors (band)
Encyclopedia
The Visitors were an Australia
n rock band formed in 1978 after the breakup of popular punk band Radio Birdman
. The songs were written by Deniz Tek
but unlike many other Tek bands, Tek did not sing vocals in The Visitors. Instead the vocals were sung by long time friend of the band Mark Sisto. The addition of Sisto's vocal alongside a predominantly ex-Birdman lineup, created what many believed as the next generation of Birdman, with a vocal which mirrored that of The Doors
They played only 12 shows in the Sydney
area starting in late 1978 and continuing into August 1979.
and Rob Younger
returned from the USA to Australia
, their band Radio Birdman
had taken heavy losses on the British tour which resulted in the dissolution of the band. Tek and Younger expected to reconstitute the band in Australia, but the damage done on the British tour was too great to repair. Ron Keely had already quit, Warwick Gilbert had said nothing but was expected to leave. What they didn't expect was Chris Masuak
informing them, upon their return, that he would no longer play in the band, choosing instead to join the band The Hitmen.
Tek and Younger had decided that the days of Radio Birdman
were over, as they felt there was no longer a critical mass of dedicated original members to work with. Younger stayed in Sydney where he formed the band The Other Side, whilst Tek relocated to Newcastle to finish his medical internship. He didn't play for about 6 months until the pain of withdrawal became too great and he began to collaborate with Mark Sisto, the old Birdman master of ceremonies and bodyguard who had remained loyal even after being unceremoniously ejected from the British tour a year earlier.
It was from an intense desire to play that the energy came to form The Visitors, the same desire fuelled the live performances and recording of the album. From 1978 to 1979 The Visitors were Deniz Tek on guitar, Mark Sisto on vocals, Ron Keeley on drums, Pip Hoyle on keyboards and Steve Harris on bass. Their style was a dark mixture. The band being 3/5ths Birdman, including the chief songwriter, was almost like the next phase of Radio Birdman had that band continued on. At the same time, the sound of the band was more like the early Birdman days with the single guitar plus keyboard format.
There was much more technical ability this time around. The music was hard and heavy, while maintaining a melodic sense unusual in those immediate post-punk days. The band was crushingly loud, the guitar stage setup being two 100 watt Marshall Super Lead heads pushed through 16 twelve inch speakers. This in small clubs! But with the top end rolled off and compression applied, the overall effect was survivable for the audience. Sisto brought a strong Doors influence. Visually they were striking, combining black clothing and shades with various dada/surrealist accoutrements.
The band reformed for two shows in Newcastle and Sydney December 2005 with a new rhythm section of Art and Steve Godoy (bass and drums respectively.) The pair were members of California punk band the Exploding Fucks Dolls and The Golden Breed, a power trio headed by Deniz Tek.
A new line-up convened in February 2008 and supported the Hitmen in Sydney and touring US band the BellRays in Brisbane. Tek, Sisto and Hoyle remained at the core with Andy Newman on bass and Nik Rieth on drums (ex-Celibate Rifles, Deniz Tek Group, Radio Birdman and Tumbleweed.) The band added sax player Jack Shanley as a new member. A mini tour of Wollongong, Sydney and Melbourne is underway in August and September 2008 to coincide wiuth the re-issue of their album on the Citadel label.
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...
n rock band formed in 1978 after the breakup of popular punk band Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
. The songs were written by Deniz Tek
Deniz Tek
Deniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up, for the last time, after their last European tour in 2007...
but unlike many other Tek bands, Tek did not sing vocals in The Visitors. Instead the vocals were sung by long time friend of the band Mark Sisto. The addition of Sisto's vocal alongside a predominantly ex-Birdman lineup, created what many believed as the next generation of Birdman, with a vocal which mirrored that of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
They played only 12 shows in 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...
area starting in late 1978 and continuing into August 1979.
History
In 1978 when Deniz TekDeniz Tek
Deniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up, for the last time, after their last European tour in 2007...
and Rob Younger
Rob Younger
Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the influential Sydney-based punk rock group Radio Birdman, which formed in 1974. After the Radio Birdman break-up, Younger joined the super-group, New Race, who were active in 1981...
returned from the USA to 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...
, their band Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
had taken heavy losses on the British tour which resulted in the dissolution of the band. Tek and Younger expected to reconstitute the band in Australia, but the damage done on the British tour was too great to repair. Ron Keely had already quit, Warwick Gilbert had said nothing but was expected to leave. What they didn't expect was Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak is a Canadian-born Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter. He is as a member of the influential Sydney-based punk rock group Radio Birdman, which formed in 1974, and for his other outfits The Hitmen, and The Screaming Tribesmen...
informing them, upon their return, that he would no longer play in the band, choosing instead to join the band The Hitmen.
Tek and Younger had decided that the days of Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
were over, as they felt there was no longer a critical mass of dedicated original members to work with. Younger stayed in Sydney where he formed the band The Other Side, whilst Tek relocated to Newcastle to finish his medical internship. He didn't play for about 6 months until the pain of withdrawal became too great and he began to collaborate with Mark Sisto, the old Birdman master of ceremonies and bodyguard who had remained loyal even after being unceremoniously ejected from the British tour a year earlier.
It was from an intense desire to play that the energy came to form The Visitors, the same desire fuelled the live performances and recording of the album. From 1978 to 1979 The Visitors were Deniz Tek on guitar, Mark Sisto on vocals, Ron Keeley on drums, Pip Hoyle on keyboards and Steve Harris on bass. Their style was a dark mixture. The band being 3/5ths Birdman, including the chief songwriter, was almost like the next phase of Radio Birdman had that band continued on. At the same time, the sound of the band was more like the early Birdman days with the single guitar plus keyboard format.
There was much more technical ability this time around. The music was hard and heavy, while maintaining a melodic sense unusual in those immediate post-punk days. The band was crushingly loud, the guitar stage setup being two 100 watt Marshall Super Lead heads pushed through 16 twelve inch speakers. This in small clubs! But with the top end rolled off and compression applied, the overall effect was survivable for the audience. Sisto brought a strong Doors influence. Visually they were striking, combining black clothing and shades with various dada/surrealist accoutrements.
The band reformed for two shows in Newcastle and Sydney December 2005 with a new rhythm section of Art and Steve Godoy (bass and drums respectively.) The pair were members of California punk band the Exploding Fucks Dolls and The Golden Breed, a power trio headed by Deniz Tek.
A new line-up convened in February 2008 and supported the Hitmen in Sydney and touring US band the BellRays in Brisbane. Tek, Sisto and Hoyle remained at the core with Andy Newman on bass and Nik Rieth on drums (ex-Celibate Rifles, Deniz Tek Group, Radio Birdman and Tumbleweed.) The band added sax player Jack Shanley as a new member. A mini tour of Wollongong, Sydney and Melbourne is underway in August and September 2008 to coincide wiuth the re-issue of their album on the Citadel label.
Personnel
- Deniz TekDeniz TekDeniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up, for the last time, after their last European tour in 2007...
- 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...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Mark Sisto - lead 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...
- Ron Keely - 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 ....
- Pip Hoyle - KeyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Steve Harris - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Discography
| Title | Release |
| Phantom EP Phantom EP Phantom EP was the first release of Sydney punk group The Visitors. The Phantom EP was an emanation of an afternoons recording session at Palm Studios in Sydney on an 8-track recording system... |
1980 1980 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley.... |
| The Visitors The Visitors (1983) The Visitors was a self-titled album from the band The Visitors released in 1983. The album was originally recorded under the Radio Birdman label Trafalgar Music, and the tapes were left to sit for four years with no interest bar the Phantom EP release. The insistence of Citadel to make the... LP |
1983 1983 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.-January-April:*January – ZTT Records is founded.*January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization... |
| Visitation '79 Visitation '79 Visitation '79 was a compilation CD released by Red Eye Records of the Sydney punk-band The Visitors. Except for the improved repackaging and an extra track, the details for the Red Eye CD release are essentially the same as for the original Citadel release of the self titled The Visitors... LP |
1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |