Bit by Bats were an Australian three-piece rock band originally from Adelaide with Owen Eszeki on vocals, electric guitar and
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...
; Peter Gravestock on vocals, bass guitar, and electric guitar; and Ben Macklin on drums.
The group had formed in July 2003 as The Hurts. Their early influences were
the Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
,
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
, and
Television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
.
Bit by Bats have toured with the Australian bands including
Cut Copy
Cut Copy (sometimes stylised as Cut/Copy) are an Australian synth-pop band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford (vocals, keyboards and guitar). Originally a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning (bass guitar), ...
,
Youth Group,
the Grates,
and supported international acts including
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band that was formed in London, England, London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar). Their first four albums all featur ...
,
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves is a post-hardcore band formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths' song of the same name (which itself was named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's ''The Dharma Bums''). Andrea Zollo and Derek Fudesco had played ...
,
Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Record ...
,
Von Bondies,
Peaches
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...
,
and
Wire
file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...
.
In January 2004, they relocated to Melbourne, where Darren Levin of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' observed, "
heyhave tapped into
hat city'sfledgling post punk scene, playing shows with like-minded no wavers Snap! Crakk! and Love of Diagrams."
[ Note: only confirms the Grates.] Their debut self-titled six-track extended play was released on the Architecture label and reached No. 13 on the
Australian Independent Record charts in February 2004. In July - August 2004, the band undertook its first tour of the eastern states, with
Youth Group and I
ove
Ove or OVE may refer to
People
*Ove (given name)
*Ové, a surname
* Alexander Ovechkin (born 1985), Russian ice hockey player, nicknamed Ové
Places
*Ove Peak in Antarctica
Other uses
*A Man Called Ove (novel), ''A Man Called Ove'' (novel), a no ...
Space, during which they released a limited edition tour EP, ''Sir! Beat Sir!'', although only 100 copies of the release were pressed. In October that year, they recorded their second EP, ''Let's Go Romeo'', at Birdland Studios with Dean Turner, although the EP wasn't released until March 2005. This was followed by a tour with
The Grates and their own headline tour, supported by the Pharaohs.
For the
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...
tour of 2006 they appeared at the Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney venues.
Their debut album, ''Go Go Go!'', was recorded at Birdland Studios with production by Dean Turner of
Magic Dirt, Rob Long and Lindsay Gravina of Birdland, and was released in April 2007.
''The Sydney Morning Herald''s George Palathingal described it, "a life-affirming collection of spiky, urgent, danceable new wave."
Sabine Brix of ''Mediasearch'' attended an album launch in East Brunswick in April, and observed, "
heydidn't disappoint with their show either. Frontman Owen was in fine form belting out tracks, both old and new. It's great to see a band which has been around for a few years still performing with so much fervour and passion."
In March 2007, the band toured internationally with a showcase performances at the
Canadian Music Week and in the UK, as well as at the
Essential Festival. In October, the band recorded a cover version of "
Orinoco Flow" for
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
's
Like a Version
''Like a Version'' is a long-running weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves musicians playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs and then a cover version.
The series was created by pres ...
, the recording was included on the compilation album, ''Like a Version Four'', which was released in November 2008 and reached No. 34 on the
ARIA charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
. In December of that year, Bit by Bats announced they would disband, although all members remained on good terms. Eszeki went on to perform with Sailors & Swine, and then the Kits. Macklin has performed with Brillig.
Members
* Owen Eszeki – vocals, electric guitar,
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...
* Peter Gravestock – vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar
* Ben Macklin – drums
Discography
Albums
*''Go Go Go!'' (31 March 2007) Shiny Records
(BATSGOFOR1)
Extended plays
*''Bit by Bats'' (19 January 2004) Architecture Label
(ARC018)
*''Sir! Beat Sir'' (July 2004)
(limited release - 100 copies)
*''Let's Go Romeo'' (18 March 2005) Guano Music/Inertia Records
(GUA001)
References
External links
* archived fro
the originalon 29 August 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
{{Authority control
Australian indie rock groups
Musical groups from Adelaide
Musical groups from Melbourne
Musical groups established in 2003
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
Australian musical trios