The Panda Band

The Panda Band are an indie pop band originating from Perth, Western Australia. Their unique brand of genre jumping music has earned them a reputation amongst local and international musicians alike. They have toured nationally as support acts for bands such as The Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy, The Grates and Evermore.

Biography

The band originally existed in the late nineties as Philius Phog until Crosbie went travelling Europe. They reformed and played their first gig as Generic Boy Band (with Crosbie, Namour, Nicotra and Chris Callan in the band) in an opening heat of the Australian National Campus Band Competition in the latter half of 2003, where they failed to make it past the first round.

At the WAMi Weekender in June 2004, they played their first gig as The Panda Band, with late addition Steve Callan on keys, at a showcase which also featured The Nordeens, Ikey Mo and Guyver at The Carton Hotel in Perth.

Their first single "Eyelashes", was playlisted on national (Triple J) & interstate radio (FBi Radio, RTRFM) and given single of the week in two Australian street press magazines in April 2004. The band undertook its first tour of regional and metropolitan Western Australia with Little Birdy in July 2004, followed by their first interstate dates in Sydney & Victoria playing with Hope of the States in August 2004. Their second single "Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town" (taken from the EP of the same name) was released in September 2004, and was playlisted on national & interstate radio, this was followed in October by an eleven date Australian tour with Little Birdy. The band were selected for Triple J’s Fresh Crop artist for Australian Music Month (November, 2004) profiling the song “Mohawk”. The Panda Band were listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as number 1 band to watch in 2005

"A surreal, swirling and eclectic mix of instrumentation and melodies. Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse eccentricity blended with the classic harmonies and quirk of Sgt Peppers-era Beatles."
(Bronwyn Thompson – Rolling Stone Magazine January 2005).

"Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town" entered the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004, at number 73^[1] and the band were awarded 'Most Promising New Act at the 2005 Western Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMi's) in February 2005. The Panda Band performed at the inaugural Southbound Festival (January, 2005) and played at The Big Day Out in Perth (February, 2005). February 2005 also saw the release of their debut EP, Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town. The band's next single, "Then you Appear" was released in March 2005 and again playlisted on national & interstate radio. March also saw the band performing at The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, SXSW Festival, Rothkos and The Mercury Lounge in New York and The Marquee Club in London. The band then returned to Australia and toured with Evermore in April, June and July. September and October saw the band perform shows at Manchester’s In the City, Liverpool, Leeds, Wrexham (touring with Proud Mary) and three gigs in London (one with The Spinto Band), they also record a live recording at XFM Radio in London for broadcast on John Kennedy’s nightly new music program. The Panda Band were then invited to perform at Canadian Music Week 2006 and The Great Escape Festival 2006 in Brighton, UK. The next single, "Alana" (October 2005) was playlisted on national and interstate radio. The band received three song awards including mixed category, pop category and Song of the Year at the WA Music Industry Association’s Songwriting Awards in October 2005. The band then undertook a headline tour to Sydney and Melbourne including the Bathurst Village Fair and were again invited to perform at SXSW in 2006.

In February 2006 The Panda Band were awarded 'Best Indie Rock Act' and 'Best Drummer' at the 2006 Western Australian Music Industry Awards. The band commenced recording their debut album at Blackbird Studios In March 2006 Damian Crosby was awarded the Australasian Performing Rights Society Professional Development Award for the Contemporary Music category for his song "Eyelashes", which was followed by a national tour of Australia as the main support act for The Grates. They signed to Filter US Recordings in March 2006 to release their album in North America.

Their first full length album This Vital Chapter was independently released in Australia on August 5, 2006 and in the United States by Filter US Recordings and Fontana Distribution on September 18, 2006, with a special iTunes pre-release on the 25th of July. A national tour followed which saw band take New Rules For Boats around Australia with them. They were also joined at various points by Jump 2 Light Speed and Jeff Strong. Immediately following the album tour, they went on The Sleepy Jackson's Personality - One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird Australian tour. They followed this up in November with an east coast of Australia tour with The Exploders from Melbourne and Perth band The Dirty Secrets. The tour was called "Way Of The Exploding Panda". The Panda Band performed at the "Escape To The Park" concert on November 25 at King's Park, Perth, Western Australia, alongside Josh Pyke, Tex Perkins, Sarah Blasko & Augie March^[2]. They also performed at the Southbound at Bussleton in January 2007.

In 2007 they performed a third time at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas^[3]. Following the festival they then undertook an eleven date USA tour covering Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, & New York to promote the album release in North America. The Panda Band then toured nationally, supporting Gomez at some shows^[4].

Band members

• Damian Crosbie - lead vocals/guitar
• David Namour - bass
• Stephen Callan - keyboards/samples
• Chris Callan - guitar/backing vocals
• Gabriel Nicotra - drums/percussion

Discography

Albums/EPs

• Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town EP Bamboo/QStik Records February 7, 2005
• This Vital Chapter Album Bamboo/QStik Records August 5, 2006

Singles

• "Eyelashes" (April, 2004)
• "Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town" (September, 2004)
• "Then you Appear" (March, 2005)
• "Alana" (October, 2005)
• "Where the River Rises" (October 6, 2008)

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 2006 WAMi Awards, Best Indie/Pop Act^[5]
• 2006 WAMi Awards, Best Drummer – Gabriel Nicotra
• 2005 WAMi Awards, Most Promising New Act^[6]
• 2005 WAM Song of the Year Awards, Grand Prize – "Sleepy Little Death Toll Town" by Damian Crosbie^[7]
• 2005 WAM Song of the Year Awards, Pop – "Sleepy Little Death Toll Town" by Damian Crosbie
• 2005 WAM Song of the Year Awards, Mixed Bag – "Then You Appear" by Damian Crosbie

Nominations

• 2007 WAMi Awards, Most Popular Act^[8]
• 2007 WAMi Awards, Most Popular Album – This Vital Chapter
• 2006 WAMi Awards, Best Instrumentalist – Stevie Callan^[5]
• 2006 WAMi Awards, Best Bassist – Dave Namour
• 2005 WAMi Awards, Favourite Newcomer^[6]
• 2005 WAMi Awards, Best Indie/Pop Act
• 2004 WAM Song of the Year Awards, Best Indie/Punk Song – "Eyelashes" by Damian Crosbie and Dave Namour^[9]
• 2003 WAM Song Of The Year Awards, Best Indie Pop/Rock Song – "Birds On The Bridge" by Damian Crosbie

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2007)

Steve Callan, Gabriel Nicotra and David Namour also play in Perth band Rollerskates, who are self-described electro funk terrorists.

Chris Callan heads up Perth band Eye Spy, who are known for their takes on songs from the Super Mario Brothers Nintendo games.

The Panda Band made the front cover of X-Press Magazine upon the release of This Vital Chapter.

The Panda Band is signed to Bam*boo Records, and is managed by Scott Adam, who is the head honcho of QStik Records.

References

External links

• Official Site
• Myspace Site
• The Panda Band discography at MusicBrainz