ME (pronounced "me") were an
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 ...
n rock band formed in
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 ...
active from 2008 to 2015. The band composed of Luke Ferris (vocals, guitar, piano), Michael Godde (bass, backing vocals), Spike Rogers (drums), and two separate guitarists: Damian Tapley and Joshua Murphy. In 2010 they signed with UK independent record label
Lizard King Records and moved to the UK to record their debut album.
After supporting Twin Atlantic, King Charles, Evanescence, Kasabian and Panic! at the Disco, the band released their debut mini-album "Another Story High" early in 2012 and the full-length album "Even the Odd Ones Out" in 2013. Both these releases were recorded by Simon ‘Barny’ Barnicott.
The
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
* Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
* Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
cite numerous and wide ranging influences ranging from
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
,
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...
,
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
, and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, to
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
,
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
and American film composer
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...
. The band were also influenced by theatrical performance and their live shows often featured additional on-stage musicians such as drum troupes,
violinists
The following lists of violinists are available:
* List of classical violinists
* List of contemporary classical violinists
* List of jazz violinists
* List of popular music violinists
* List of Indian violinists
* List of Persian violinists
* ...
, vocal choirs,
orchestras
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
,
dancers
Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...
and other guest performers. The band's name was originally written as
ebut a decision was made to remove the square brackets and is now most commonly written as ME. The band name itself has led to press articles referring to the band as "The Ungoogleables".
Biography
Past members: Damian Tapley (lead guitar 2008–2013).
Tours and appearances
In Australia, the band supported
Dead Letter Circus
Dead Letter Circus were an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland. Their 2010 debut album '' This Is the Warning'' debuted at No. 2 on the Australian album charts and spawned a number of singles that were played heavily ...
on an Australian tour in March and April 2011. They played with
Kimbra
Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known Mononymous person, mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two 2 ...
for her first full band show at Revolver and have also played with Husky and Redcoats.
In the
UK and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, ME toured with
Kasabian
Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff ...
,
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...
,
Death From Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above or DFA 1979) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album ...
,
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...
,
Twin Atlantic,
The Xcerts,
King Charles,
Arcane Roots and
Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Ta ...
throughout 2011-2012 and played numerous festivals including
Secret Garden Party
The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent music festival, arts and music festival held in Abbots Ripton, England. The location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its own lakes, river ...
,
The Great Escape, Camden Crawl and
Y Not. In November 2012 ME headlined their first tour of the UK. In December of the same year they co-headlined a tour of Germany and Switzerland with New Zealand band I Am Giant.
After eighteen months based in the UK and touring Europe, ME returned to Australia as part of the Big Day Out festival in January 2013. This coincided with the Australian release of their highly anticipated debut album "Even the Odd Ones Out".
In April 2013, ME based themselves in Berlin, Germany, where they wrote and recorded their second album. In June 2013 they played at Southside and Hurricane Festivals. During this time, they also curated a monthly night of cultural expression in urban Berlin known as "Satisfactory Factory". This included bands, DJs, live painters and drum troupes. In October 2014, ME embarked on their first tour of Switzerland with alternative band Neckless. This was followed by the band's first trip to the US, playing as part of the CMJ Music Festival in New York City. Following this, the band played shows in the Netherlands with Go Back to the Zoo.
After two years in Europe, ME finally returned to Australia in January 2015 for a homecoming show at the Evelyn Hotel in Fitzroy, where they launched new single, "Shoot/Day at the Zoo" to a sold out crowd.
On 3 January 2016, after seven years together and almost a year since their last show, ME announced that they were breaking up on their Facebook page. The official statement reads: "After many years playing music together, amazing times out on the road and in the studio, 3 separate homes in Melbourne, London and Berlin, 2 drummers and 2 guitarst's.
icThe 4 of us have decided to call it quits to the life that was ME. We have been lucky enough to travel the world, play countless shows and meet some of our idols. We have also been lucky enough to play shows for some of you, our amazing fans, and for this and all the support you have given us over the years we thank you. From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU. You made it an amazing ride, and we love you for it. To Martin and Lizard King records, thank you for all your support. ME will be survived by a number of new musical projects that we are very excited to show you. To anybody that ever made it out to a show, bought an album or offered support we love you. Have a safe 2016 doing whatever it is you love. We still have a few more songs to be uploaded to itunes and spotify to complete the catalogue of what will be ME. In the end we hope that you liked the music. We had the time of our lives making it. Love from Mikey, Luke, Spike and Josh"
Press
In the UK ME received airplay on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
,
Kerrang Radio,
XFM London
Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...
,
XFM Manchester, Regional BBC Radio (
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
),
NME Radio
The Music Machine (TMM) is a pair of British radio stations that broadcast an alternative music format. It is owned and operated by Sammy Jacob, founder of the original Radio X (United Kingdom), XFM. The station dates back to NME Radio which broadc ...
,
Q Radio,
Absolute
Absolute may refer to:
Companies
* Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher
* Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK
* Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk ma ...
and
Cool FM
Cool FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The station is owned and operated by Bauer and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio Network.
The station began broadcasting in 1990 when its parent station ...
. They also received coverage in ASOS Magazine in an article entitled "The Ungoogleables",
''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', ''Kerrang! Magazine'', ''
Total Guitar'', ''
Rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
'' and ''
Nylon Magazine''. In France the band were featured on TV show JJDA on channel
IDF1. The band were also featured on Swiss TV program "Joiz TV" in October 2014, where they played live acoustic versions of tracks "Sleepwalker" and "All Fall in a Line".
Discography
Albums
Even The Odd Ones Out (2013)
EPs
Naked (2010)
Like a Fox (August 2011)
Another Story High (March 2012)
Singles
Nip & Tuck Me In (2009–10)
Your Favourite Colour (2010)
Westward Backwards (2011)
Naked (2012)
From Even the Odd Ones Out:
Like a Fox / Rock and Roll Dandy (2012)
Vampire!! Vampire!! (2013)
Sleepwalker (2013)
Shoot/Day at the Zoo (2014)
Temple/Angels (2015)
References
External links
*
* {{Twitter, meband
Australian rock music groups