Dallas Crane are a triple ARIA Award nominated Australian
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. Their
self-titled third album was released on 10 July 2004, and peaked in the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian 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 became the offici ...
top 50. Its lead single, "Dirty Hearts" (June 2004), debuted in the related ARIA Singles Chart top 50.
Dallas Crane's fourth album, ''
Factory Girls'', peaked in the top 30. Their highest charting single, "
Sit on My Knee" – a duet with
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...
– reached No. 14 in July 2005. In 2009 they featured as a support act for The Who on a national stadium tour. After re-grouping following a short hiatus in 2012, Dallas Crane began work on their 5th studio album "Scoundrels" featuring Chris Brodie on bass guitar, Dave Larkin on vocals and guitar, Steve Pinkerton on drums and Pete Satchell on guitar and vocals.
History
1996–1999: Formation and debut album
Dallas Crane formed in 1996 in Melbourne by Chris Brodie on bass guitar, Dave Larkin on lead vocals and guitar, Pete Satchell on guitar and vocals and Shan Vanderwert on drums.
Satchell and Larkin were former school mates and Brodie and Vanderwert joined soon after. They rehearsed material for their debut album, ''
Lent
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
'' (1998), in a
Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...
oil shed on the property of Dallas Crane Transport.
The local trucking company was owned by friends: their rehearsals were paid for in beer, and the group were renamed, Dallas Crane.
After working the Melbourne pub circuit they befriended local sound engineer, Robbie Rowlands, (The Fauves, Morning After Girls), who produced their debut self-funded album, ''Lent'', which was released locally on their own label, Slant 6.
Larkin later recalled "We were pretty young and that was the swag of songs we had at the time. It's a fairly incongruous record when you look at it, but we probably rate it as our favorite for that reason. And because it was our first and the whole recording experience was new to us."

One of their fans was
Richard Kingsmill of national radio station,
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 ...
, who invited them to record a track, "Nylon Don't Breathe", live in the ABC studios, during his ''Australian Music Show''.
The track was co-written by Larkin and Satchell:
[ Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Nylon Don't Breathe; or at "Performer:" Dallas Crane] it appeared on the ''Five Alive: Live at the Wireless'' (1999) live 2× CD compilation.
They were the only unsigned act of 35 artists to appear on the album.
This endorsement led to wider interest in the band interstate as they began touring nationally.
2000–2001: ''Twenty Four Seven'' to ''Dirty Deeds Soundtrack''
Dallas Crane toured
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in support of
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the ...
and then
Regurgitator
Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut stud ...
.
Larkin later reflected that You Am I "were instrumental for us in many ways ... When we started out, they were the band that everyone wanted to be. If you could go really well in Australia, you would be going as well as You Am I. In terms of cred and how good you were as a live band, they were it."
Dallas Crane became the head-liners at St. Kilda's
Esplanade Hotel. Their live repertoire featured tracks that were recorded for a second studio album, ''
Twenty Four Seven'', which was released on 17 October 2000. They had recorded and mixed the album in a week at Melbourne's Hothouse Recording Studios with
Craig Harnath producing.
Shortly after its release Brodie left due to commitments with his brother
Dan Brodie and their band, the Broken Arrows, which had signed to a record label,
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. Chris Brodie was replaced in Dallas Crane by Pat Bourke on bass guitar in early 2001.
''Twenty Four Seven'' received widely positive responses from Australian rock music critics with local rock street press, ''Beat Magazine'' and ''In-Press'', hailing it as "Album of the Week" and "Rock Record of the Summer", respectively. The lead track, "
Sit on My Knee", which was written by Larkin,
[ Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Sit on My Knee; or at "Performer:" Dallas Crane] was released as a single.
It was placed on high rotation by Triple J. The group followed with "Sold Me" and "Already Gone".
Dallas Crane won Best Live Band at the Australian Live Music Awards, leading to them representing their country at the International Live Music Awards in London in 2002, featuring their debut performance at Shepherd's Bush Empire alongside Russell Crowe's "Thirty Odd Foot of Grunt"
They continued to win support slots to a number of artists including
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown.
In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...
,
The Black Keys
The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...
, You Am I and
Rocket Science.
During their shows with You Am I, lead singer
Tim Rogers touted, "Dallas Crane is the best band in the country" and made reference to them in the You Am I single, "
Who Put the Devil in You" (September 2002).
Rogers curated the soundtrack for a feature film, ''
Dirty Deeds'' (2002), and asked Dallas Crane to supply a cover version of "Wild About You", originally performed by Australian 1960's band,
the Missing Links.
2002–2003: ''No Through Road'' to ''Ladybird'' EPs
Midway through 2002 Dallas Crane signed a management deal with talent managers, Majorbox Music, in Melbourne. The band's follow up release was a five-track extended play, ''No Through Road''. It was also released as a 7" vinyl single, with the title track and a raucous B-side, "Wannabe". It was recorded at Sing Sing Studios with Rowlands as producer. The song was well received critically and earned high-rotation on Triple J, consolidating them as a prospering force in the local music scene.
Dallas Crane continued to tour Australia, joining
the Whitlams
The Whitlams are an Australian Indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the ...
, and Rocket Science on national runs consecutively. They played at
Homebake
Homebake was an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup (with the occasional artist from New Zealand). The festival was first held on 3 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New Sou ...
in Sydney in 2003, joining fellow Australian groups
the Church and
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds for the festival's line-up. Then they teamed up with music mates Dan Brodie and the Broken Arrows and
Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males for a national tour, Dan Does Dallas.
Dallas Crane started their own headline tour promoting ''No Through Road'' and finished the year at Melbourne's Big Day Out festival. Shortly after that performance, they gathered backstage to sign with
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, wh ...
, joining label mates
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
on a roster that had included
the Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...
and
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' R ...
. "Ladybird" was released in November 2003 as the first official Alberts' release leading to more high-rotation on Triple J.
2004–2005: Self-titled album
Dallas Crane recorded its
self-titled third album with Australian producer
Wayne Connolly, (You Am I,
Underground Lovers).
Bourke described how "Wayne saw us play once and loved the show. He seemed to know what to do with us."
Its lead single, "Dirty Hearts", was issued ahead of the album in June, which debuted in the
ARIA Singles Charts Top 50.
The album reached the top 50 on the related ARIA Albums Chart in July 2004.
It was acclaimed as their best effort, Graeme Hammond of ''
Sunday Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Her ...
'' praised it as "an Australian classic."
The group received three nominations at the
ARIA Music Awards of 2004
The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply the ARIAs) were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney SuperDome within the Sydney Olympic Complex. The ceremony, hosted by Rov ...
,
Best Breakthrough Artist – Album and
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...
for ''Dallas Crane'' and
Best Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Dirty Hearts".
In July they toured the Australian east coast under the pseudonym, Beige Visitors, alongside You Am I, which used the moniker, the Question Fruit.
The singles "Dirty Hearts" and "Numb All Over" went on to achieve high-rotation on Triple J, setting up a string of sellout tours to follow. Both songs featured on the Triple J's Hottest 100 album for 2005. Also in that year they re-recorded "Sit on My Knee" as a duet with
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...
for his album, ''
Double Happiness'' (July 2005), which was issued as a single. It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
According to Michael Tran of Oz Music Project, "It's always whether the world needs more well-written, competently played, blues rock...
his
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, ...
is
allas Crane'ssong, after all. Always one of the strongest in their catalogue, this recording offers simply a spit-and-buff job to the original. The production is cleaner and brighter than the more lo-fi original; radio will love the sound. And really, there's nothing at all wrong with it."
In August 2005 the group provided a cover version of "Dig It Up" for the
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
tribute album, ''
Stoneage Cameos'', by various Australian artists.
Bourke was also a member of a short-term super-group,
The Wrights, which provided their rendition of "(Let's All) Turn On".
2006: ''Factory Girls''
In early 2006 Dallas Crane released a single, "Lovers and Sinners", making it freely available via their website. The band's fourth album, ''
Factory Girls'', recorded with producers, Connolly and Jonathan Burnside, was released on 16 September 2006. It reached No. 30 in October – their highest charting album.
It first single, "Curiosity", was released physically on 26 August 2006, following a pre-release on the Australian
iTunes Music Store. ''
Rolling Stone Australia
''Rolling Stone Australia'' is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...
'' magazine rated it as four out of five.
Craig Mathieson
Craig Mathieson (born 1971) is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, ''Hi Fi Days'' (1996), '' The Sell-In'' in (2000) and the '' 100 Best Australian Albums'' in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell
Biography
...
of ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' felt that "by dint of songwriting strength, ease of expression and a touch of studio sweat – Melbourne four-piece Dallas Crane stay on the right side of the great divide... between being timeless and out of time."

In August 2006 the band commenced an east coast tour of Australia to promote their new material. A performance at Brisbane's The Zoo received positive reviews in local independent media and reaffirmed the band's popularity as a rock act. They undertook a more extensive tour during September, and then travelled overseas for their second United Kingdom visit, following with an appearance at the
SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
Festival in Austin, Texas. They performed in Japan on the way home from the tour which saw them garner interest from offshore recording labels.
With close to 1500 acts from around the world performing gigs, Dallas Crane joined a local contingent of Australasian artists at SXSW 2007, alongside
Beasts of Bourbon
Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar ( The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Bo ...
, You Am I, Hoodoo Gurus,
Expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country.
The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
,
Youth Group
Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, ...
and
Airbourne. Their United States visit saw them also perform at the Los Angeles venue
The Troubadour, New York's
Bowery Ballroom
The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in Manhattan's Bowery neighborhood.
The venue has enjoyed a fabled reputation among musicians as well as audiences. In 2013, industry insiders polled by ''Roll ...
, and Boston's Middle East Club.
On returning to Australia, in early 2007, they headlined a national tour with support from burgeoining rock act Airbourne, their last for what was to become a brief hiatus away from the touring circuit.
2007–2011: Taking a break
After performing for almost eleven years Dallas Crane finished their tour with a headline spot at Melbourne's St.Kilda Festival in February 2007. In 2009 they reunited briefly after being asked to join UK rock act,
the Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
, on six arena dates of their national tour, which included a spot at Melbourne's Grand Prix.
During the hiatus Dave Larkin released two albums with his three-piece act, Gun Street Girls.
Pete Satchell had his own solo moniker, Pete Sounds.
Dallas Crane reunited again in early 2010 to play a farewell gig for the family of the band's namesake, Dallas Crane (of the trucking company), who had died of cancer.
2012–present:''Scoundrels''
Dallas Crane resumed in 2012 with Larkin and Satchell writing new material. The line-up had changed, bassist Pat Bourke and drummer Shan Vanderwert were replaced by Chris Brodie and Steve Pinkerton, respectively.
The renewed group's first single, "I'm Sorry Darling", was released, digitally and on 7", in October 2013,
with the official music video issued in January 2014.

In November 2015 they provided their fifth studio album, ''Scoundrels'', which was produced by Harnath.
Andrew McMillen
Andrew McMillen is an Australian music journalist and national music writer for ''The Australian''.
Early life and education
McMillen grew up in the Queensland city of Bundaberg, the son of two teachers. He relocated to the state capital cit ...
of ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'' rated it 4.5 stars claiming, "It's a towering achievement that sees Dallas Crane exhibiting that key-in-lock feel sought by every rock band. These four players are masters of their craft. The band's time off has been well-spent, as every idea here hits the mark. If anything, it's an embarrassment of riches." ''Rolling Stone''s Jaymz Clements rated it as four out of five, and felt that "Dallas Crane have grown into a smarter, better band is no surprise. That they've given themselves a masterful Don Walker-ish overhaul certainly is. Scoundrels is intelligent, bluesy, mature and unpredictable..."
From late December 2015 and into April 2016 the group undertook a national headline tour promoting the album.
In October 2016, the band released the single "Cheyenne" (digital only) also recorded by Jez Giddings and Craig Harnath at Melbourne's Hothouse Audio.
In August 2022, Dallas Crane opened for
KISS
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
at Melbourne's
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament of ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...
. They commenced in 1987.
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2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, "Dirty Hearts"
,
Breakthrough Artist – Single
,
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, -
, rowspan="2", ''Dallas Crane''
,
Breakthrough Artist – Album
,
, -
,
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...
,
, -
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Australian alternative rock groups
Victoria (state) musical groups