Nitocris (Band)
Encyclopedia
Nitocris was a band from Sydney
, Australia
playing a combination of speedy punk
and heavy metal
. The band was notable as being perhaps the country's first significant all-female touring band.
musical festival even before the release of their debut recording, an EP called "Ten Stories Down". The album Screaming Dolorous followed in November of that year and in April 1995 the band toured the east coast with the Alternative Nation Festival
.
Nitocris developed a strong and devoted following in Australia, regularly selling out shows across the country and their releases were strong sellers for their label, local independent Phantom Records
. Nitocris established a Strong fanbase throughout Australia touring with acts such as Sprung Monkey, The Cult
, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Whitlams
and The Screaming Jets
, Deep Purple, Rancid, DEFX, Pennywise, Midnight Oil, Suicidal Tendencies among others.
The "Hyperland" EP was a reasonable success for the band but their next release "Butter" fared less well and problems with a former manager stalled progress for some time. However, 1999 saw a reversal of fortunes when Nitocris toured nationally for the first time as part of a package called Turn Up Your Radio and the self-titled album of the following year displayed a mellower, poppier style that won high rotation radio airplay on jjj. Nitocris scored an ARIA Award
nomination for Best Independent Release for their single 'Manic', and the band toured Australia-wide with the Big Day Out in 2001. Plans were made to record a third album and tour O/S, but instead decided to split up and played a final show at Sydney's Newtown Festival in November 2001.
Jess and Andi continued to perform together in a band called The Fyreflyes until the drummer left in 2004; that band recorded a number of EPs but appears to have been laid to rest as Jess announced a solo career in 2007. Her first single was released in May 2009.
Morgana Started Morgana and the Monstars (now in hiding) soon after Nitocris's demise. The Monstars has 2 releases to date and has incorporated up to 13 guests and musicians on the recordings.
Morgana is currently writing and performing with "Boxing with Ghosts" and freelances as a web designer.
Sara Guest appeared on recordings and Performed live for The Monstars and Fyreflyes. Later teaming up with Simon day from RAT CAT on a number of projects, The prostitutes, the Substitutes and The Follow just to name a few... Sara has also performed with Iota, Tex Perkins and toured the Middle East with Doc Neeson's Angels (to entertain the Troops!). Currently Sara is working on Electro Pop Outfit DARK DISCO (with a track soon to be released in the states) and Playing with Mark Raparager. She also Designs and Manages her own fashion label '50 ft Queenie'.
Nitocris played a sold out reunion show at the Annandale Hotel on 26 September 2009.
The band's name was chosen by drummer Andi after the female pharaoh
Nitocris
, popularised by H. P. Lovecraft
.
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...
playing a combination of speedy punk
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...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. The band was notable as being perhaps the country's first significant all-female touring band.
Band history
Nitocris was formed in 1992 by guitarists Kira and Jess, bass player Sara and drummer Andi, who were classmates at Hunters Hill High School. A newspaper advertisement located singer Morgana, the only member of the band over the age of 18. The girls' age proved no barrier and before long Nitocris was performing live across Sydney, developing such a reputation that they were invited to perform at the 1994 Big Day OutBig Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
musical festival even before the release of their debut recording, an EP called "Ten Stories Down". The album Screaming Dolorous followed in November of that year and in April 1995 the band toured the east coast with the Alternative Nation Festival
Alternative Nation Festival
Alternative Nation was a series of music festivals held in Australia in 1995. It was organised by a consortium of concert promoters, Michael Coppell, Michael Chugg and Michael Gudinski and backed by the Triple M radio network as an alternative to the Big Day Out...
.
Nitocris developed a strong and devoted following in Australia, regularly selling out shows across the country and their releases were strong sellers for their label, local independent Phantom Records
Phantom Records
Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings (founder of Mambo (Clothing) and...
. Nitocris established a Strong fanbase throughout Australia touring with acts such as Sprung Monkey, The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Whitlams
The Whitlams
The discography of The Whitlams consists of six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and eighteen singles.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Videos:-Music videos:-Awards:...
and The Screaming Jets
Screaming Jets
The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle in 1989 by front man Dave Gleeson on vocals, Grant Walmsley on guitar and Paul Woseen on bass guitar and backing vocals...
, Deep Purple, Rancid, DEFX, Pennywise, Midnight Oil, Suicidal Tendencies among others.
The "Hyperland" EP was a reasonable success for the band but their next release "Butter" fared less well and problems with a former manager stalled progress for some time. However, 1999 saw a reversal of fortunes when Nitocris toured nationally for the first time as part of a package called Turn Up Your Radio and the self-titled album of the following year displayed a mellower, poppier style that won high rotation radio airplay on jjj. Nitocris scored an ARIA Award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
nomination for Best Independent Release for their single 'Manic', and the band toured Australia-wide with the Big Day Out in 2001. Plans were made to record a third album and tour O/S, but instead decided to split up and played a final show at Sydney's Newtown Festival in November 2001.
Jess and Andi continued to perform together in a band called The Fyreflyes until the drummer left in 2004; that band recorded a number of EPs but appears to have been laid to rest as Jess announced a solo career in 2007. Her first single was released in May 2009.
Morgana Started Morgana and the Monstars (now in hiding) soon after Nitocris's demise. The Monstars has 2 releases to date and has incorporated up to 13 guests and musicians on the recordings.
Morgana is currently writing and performing with "Boxing with Ghosts" and freelances as a web designer.
Sara Guest appeared on recordings and Performed live for The Monstars and Fyreflyes. Later teaming up with Simon day from RAT CAT on a number of projects, The prostitutes, the Substitutes and The Follow just to name a few... Sara has also performed with Iota, Tex Perkins and toured the Middle East with Doc Neeson's Angels (to entertain the Troops!). Currently Sara is working on Electro Pop Outfit DARK DISCO (with a track soon to be released in the states) and Playing with Mark Raparager. She also Designs and Manages her own fashion label '50 ft Queenie'.
Nitocris played a sold out reunion show at the Annandale Hotel on 26 September 2009.
The band's name was chosen by drummer Andi after the female pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Nitocris
Nitocris
Nitocris has been claimed to have been the last pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty. Her name is found in the Histories of Herodotus and writings of Manetho but her historicity is questionable. She might have been an interregnum queen...
, popularised by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
.