Nancy Vandal
Encyclopedia
Nancy Vandal is a Punk
band
from Sydney
, Australia
that performed from 1993 to 2001 and had a reunion performance in 2003 and have, as of December 2008, planned a reunion and new EP for 2009. The band was initially called Hard Axe To Follow, then Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins, but the last part of the name was later dropped.
students Foxtrotsky/Fox Trotsky and JJ LaMoore as a strictly pretend band as neither of them could play an instrument. Eventually the pair formed a real band called Meataxe that played on campus, and at the Ungarie town hall (later renamed to Hard Axe to Follow, then Mr Pennywise, followed by Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins). The original line-up of Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins featured Trotsky and LaMoore plus Marcus "Rolfe" Rolfe on bass and vocals and Serene Dean Bakota on drums
. Like Trotsky and LaMoore, Rolfe had never played bass before joining the band. At first, the music part of the band's live shows would generally take second place to gimmicks such as trivia
competitions, prolonged verbal attacks on both fellow band members and audience and in one instance, a puppet
show.
In 1994, Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins recorded a 14 track debut EP
, Return Of The Zombie Skate Poets From Planet Sex that featured classics such as "Space Girl With Bionic Breasts", "She Left Me For A Game Show Host Blues" and "I Slam Therefore I Am". Previously, a number of demo tapes had been released, such as the Mr Pennywise "Get Your Love Shoes On" featuring an earlier rendition of "Sex Toy".
By 1995 Nancy Vandal had begun touring, visiting Melbourne
and Brisbane
. Trotsky's band newsletter The Vandal's Voice became a fully fledged fanzine
complete with comics, libelous proclamations, articles and CDs. The first of these issues was ShitHot '95 that consisted of songs covered by the cream of Sydney's Inner West punk rock scene. Nancy Vandal recorded "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins. The other CD to feature in The Vandal's Voice was Slippery When Crap, a collection of cover versions of the band's favourite cock rock songs including Europe
's "The Final Countdown", "Kickstart My Heart" by Mötley Crüe
, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
and unforgettable "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
In 1996 Rolfe left Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins. Under the name Jason Jasonn Beers, Jay Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb
replaced Rolfe, despite not being a bass player. Whalley's first recording with the band was the Slippery When Crap CD. From this time on, the band was known simply as Nancy Vandal. The album The Debriefing Room followed before the end of the year and Whalley then left to maintain his commitment to Frenzal Rhomb. JJ LaMoore switched to bass and Nancy Vandal expanded its line-up by incorporating several members of Newcastle band Loose & The Horny Chicks. Now incorporating a keyboards player and a full brass section, Nancy Vandal's 1998 Bikini High Pool Massacre Part 3: Who Invited the Undead? saw them being mislabelled as a ska
band. Two singles from the album, "Rock and Roll Concert" and "Move Over Satan" were major hits on the national youth radio network Triple J
and Nancy Vandal was added to the line-ups of summer rock festivals such as Livid
, Homebake
and the Falls Festival
. Throughout 1998 and 1999 Nancy Vandal toured constantly, supporting the likes of NOFX
, Millencolin
, Ten Foot Pole
, Frenzal Rhomb and others.
Before long however, the seven-piece act had been reduced to five once more and Nancy Vandal began to experiment with an electro-pop sound. The late-1999 album I Wasted My Life was not a success and the band split up in 2001. Bakota and Moore joined the touring line-up of Bathurst
band The Tenants and Foxall continued with his interests in comic book art and short film. Jay Whalley became a breakfast announcer on Triple J and is now on 'J's oddysey'.
In 2003 Nancy Vandal returned in a one off reunion/farewell gig at Sydney University in December 2003 featuring members from every line-up.
2009 will see the band performing together again on a national tour. The tour is in support of their upcoming EP Quite Partial to Rock. It is the band's first release of new material since I've Wasted My Life ten years earlier. The lineup will be the same as the last incarnation of the band (I've Wasted My Life era).
In 2009 the band also released The Vandals Voice which is a tribute album, and also the soundtrack of the DVD of the same name. Details of the DVD pack can be seen at http://www.nancyvandal.com/vv8.html. Artists on the tribute CD consist of Laura Imbruglia
, Batfoot
, and The Tenants
.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
from 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...
, 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...
that performed from 1993 to 2001 and had a reunion performance in 2003 and have, as of December 2008, planned a reunion and new EP for 2009. The band was initially called Hard Axe To Follow, then Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins, but the last part of the name was later dropped.
Career
Nancy Vandal was formed by Warrane CollegeUniversity of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
students Foxtrotsky/Fox Trotsky and JJ LaMoore as a strictly pretend band as neither of them could play an instrument. Eventually the pair formed a real band called Meataxe that played on campus, and at the Ungarie town hall (later renamed to Hard Axe to Follow, then Mr Pennywise, followed by Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins). The original line-up of Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins featured Trotsky and LaMoore plus Marcus "Rolfe" Rolfe on bass and vocals and Serene Dean Bakota 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 ....
. Like Trotsky and LaMoore, Rolfe had never played bass before joining the band. At first, the music part of the band's live shows would generally take second place to gimmicks such as trivia
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
competitions, prolonged verbal attacks on both fellow band members and audience and in one instance, a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
show.
In 1994, Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins recorded a 14 track debut 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...
, Return Of The Zombie Skate Poets From Planet Sex that featured classics such as "Space Girl With Bionic Breasts", "She Left Me For A Game Show Host Blues" and "I Slam Therefore I Am". Previously, a number of demo tapes had been released, such as the Mr Pennywise "Get Your Love Shoes On" featuring an earlier rendition of "Sex Toy".
By 1995 Nancy Vandal had begun touring, visiting 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...
and 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...
. Trotsky's band newsletter The Vandal's Voice became a fully fledged fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
complete with comics, libelous proclamations, articles and CDs. The first of these issues was ShitHot '95 that consisted of songs covered by the cream of Sydney's Inner West punk rock scene. Nancy Vandal recorded "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins. The other CD to feature in The Vandal's Voice was Slippery When Crap, a collection of cover versions of the band's favourite cock rock songs including Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
's "The Final Countdown", "Kickstart My Heart" by Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
and unforgettable "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
In 1996 Rolfe left Nancy Vandal and the Popgun Assassins. Under the name Jason Jasonn Beers, Jay Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb
Frenzal Rhomb
Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1992 with mainstay Jason Whalley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. In 1996, Lindsay McDougall joined the line-up on lead guitar and backing vocals. Two of the group's albums have peaked into the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, A...
replaced Rolfe, despite not being a bass player. Whalley's first recording with the band was the Slippery When Crap CD. From this time on, the band was known simply as Nancy Vandal. The album The Debriefing Room followed before the end of the year and Whalley then left to maintain his commitment to Frenzal Rhomb. JJ LaMoore switched to bass and Nancy Vandal expanded its line-up by incorporating several members of Newcastle band Loose & The Horny Chicks. Now incorporating a keyboards player and a full brass section, Nancy Vandal's 1998 Bikini High Pool Massacre Part 3: Who Invited the Undead? saw them being mislabelled as a 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...
band. Two singles from the album, "Rock and Roll Concert" and "Move Over Satan" were major hits on the national youth radio network 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...
and Nancy Vandal was added to the line-ups of summer rock festivals such as Livid
Livid
Livid was an Australian alternative rock music festival held annually from 1989 to 2003. Masterminded by Peter Walsh and Natalie Jeremijenko, the original idea of showcasing both the arts and music in the one event was standardised as late as October/early November from 1991 until 2003...
, Homebake
Homebake
Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup . The festival was first held on 4 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales...
and the Falls Festival
Falls Festival
The Falls Festival is a New Year's Eve music festival, held annually in Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania Australia since 1993.It lasts four days, from 29 December to 1 January each year. The headline acts play mostly over two evenings, 30 December and 31 December...
. Throughout 1998 and 1999 Nancy Vandal toured constantly, supporting the likes of NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
, Millencolin
Millencolin
Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
, Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole is an American punk rock band, formerly on Epitaph Records.-History:Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared Straight.Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California...
, Frenzal Rhomb and others.
Before long however, the seven-piece act had been reduced to five once more and Nancy Vandal began to experiment with an electro-pop sound. The late-1999 album I Wasted My Life was not a success and the band split up in 2001. Bakota and Moore joined the touring line-up of Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
band The Tenants and Foxall continued with his interests in comic book art and short film. Jay Whalley became a breakfast announcer on Triple J and is now on 'J's oddysey'.
In 2003 Nancy Vandal returned in a one off reunion/farewell gig at Sydney University in December 2003 featuring members from every line-up.
2009 will see the band performing together again on a national tour. The tour is in support of their upcoming EP Quite Partial to Rock. It is the band's first release of new material since I've Wasted My Life ten years earlier. The lineup will be the same as the last incarnation of the band (I've Wasted My Life era).
In 2009 the band also released The Vandals Voice which is a tribute album, and also the soundtrack of the DVD of the same name. Details of the DVD pack can be seen at http://www.nancyvandal.com/vv8.html. Artists on the tribute CD consist of Laura Imbruglia
Laura Imbruglia
Laura Imbruglia is an Australian indie rock singer-songwriter. Her father is an Italian of Sicilian heritage and her mother Anglo-Australian, and one of her sisters is the pop-alternative diva Natalie Imbruglia. She grew up on the Central Coast and is currently based in Melbourne. Imbruglia has...
, Batfoot
Batfoot
Batfoot! are a punk rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 2008.-Biography:Batfoot! are a four piece punk rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, and The Tenants
The Tenants
The Tenants is a 2005 film drama starring Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg. Screened at only one theatre, the film received harsh criticism due to what some critics discerned as anachronistic depictions of the racial tension between the principal characters and a lack of multidimensionality...
.
Band members
- Fox Trotsky (Mike Foxall) - guitar/vocals 1993-2001, 2009-
- JJ La Moore (Jeff Moore) - guitar/bass 1993-2001, 2009-
- Bombshell/Tommy Lee Turnip/Mr. Shit/So Cal Snuffel (Dean Bakota) - drums 1993-2001, 2009-
- Marcus "Rolfe" Rolfe - bass/vocals 1993 - 1996
- Jason Jasonn Beers (Jay Whalley) - bass/vocals 1996
- Tess/Lickerov Finetesticals/T.Force/T-Bone/T-Banger/T-Burger/T-Man/T-Bag/T-Shirt (Robert Tickle) - trombone/keys 1998-2001, 2009-
- Gilli Pepper (Gillian Kilgour) - sax/vocals 1998-2001, 2009-
- Telaviv Skywalker (Genevieve Murray) - trumpet/vocals 1998-2000
- Poofy Arse Bogun (Anna Helme) - sax 1998
Discography
- Return of the Zombie Skate poets from Planet Sex EP-1994
- 1, 2, 3 Baby Yeah-1995
- Slippery When Crap EP-1995
- The Debriefing Room-1996
- Bikini High Pool Party Massacre 3, Who Invited the Undead?-1997
- I've Wasted My Life-1999
- 50 Faves From Beyond the Grave-2000
- Quite Partial to Rock-2009