San Cisco is an Australian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band that formed in 2009 in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. The band are a three-piece, and currently consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals) and Scarlett Stevens (drums, vocals). Davieson and Biondillo share duties on keyboards. In November 2011, the band was signed by

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 ...

, but moved to Island Records for the release of its debut album. In October 2012, the band described its ' vibe' as "squelchy, crispy, streamlined, hairy, indie". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Dance Release for the album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.

History

Formation

The three male members of San Cisco attended the same high school, Christian Brothers College in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, whilst Stevens attended nearby Iona Presentation College. Singer/guitarist Davieson and drummer Stevens have known each other since early childhood. At only thirteen Davieson's first band was The Real Life Animators. The band formed in early December 2005, with Albert Loss on lead guitar and vocals, Davieson on rhythm guitar and vocals, Bill Lawrie on drums, and Theo Campbell on bass guitar. The band played around Fremantle, supporting other bands such as the Watts and the Flairz. Stevens' first performances were in December 2003, at age eleven, as the drummer for the rock trio, the Flairz, together with Dion Mariani and John Mariani. Meanwhile, Biondillo and Davieson also bonded over a shared interest in skateboarding, the water, and music. Stevens is the daughter of Phil Stevens, who co-founded Jarrah Records with both the

John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio were an Australian Folk music, roots-Rock music, rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler (musician), John Butler, an Australasian Performing Right Association, APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in ...

and

The Waifs The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by sisters Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (musician), Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocal ...

, two bands that he also manages.Daily Telegraph – Kathy McCabe
Biondillo has explained, "I started playing guitar when I was in high school, about year 8 or 9, but it was mostly just playing music in my bedroom. So I did that until I met Jordi and then we started jamming together." In late 2009, Davieson, Stevens, and Biondillo started playing music together and were later joined by bass guitarist Gardner. Initially called King George, the band changed its name to San Cisco after surveying friends and fans. According to the band, "there is no link between the city

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and our name San Cisco. .... The reason we went with San Cisco was because it is nothing; like a blank canvas which we were able to sculpt into whatever we wanted".

2010–2011: ''Golden Revolver''

In 2010, San Cisco recorded their debut EP ''Golden Revolver'' at Blackbird Studios, in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. The EP's five songs were co-produced by Little Birdy drummer Matt Chequer and veteran

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

/ producer Steven Schram (Little Birdy, The Waifs, Cat Empire, Little Red). "Golden Revolver", the EP's critically acclaimed lead single, received heavy airplay on national Australian 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 ...

. XFM London DJ Mike Walsh said of "Golden Revolver"; "If this song was brought to me as the next

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

single, I would not be disappointed". The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Golden Revolver" shows the band sailing along Western Australia's

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Australia, southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment ...

on a makeshift boat. The group's second single "Girls Do Cry" and a cover of Perth band

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

's 2010 single "Solitude is Bliss" are also featured on the EP. Prior to the release of ''Golden Revolver'', San Cisco was profiled in a December episode of ''

Triple J Unearthed Triple J Unearthed is an Australian digital radio station and online music discovery platform. It is a sister station of Triple J, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Unearthed began in 1995 as a regional talent competition open to ...

''. San Cisco performed at numerous festivals throughout 2011, such as

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

's Fuse Festival, BIGSOUND in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, the

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 ...

, Victoria leg of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival, the Pyramid Rock Festival on Victoria's

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The island is named after Arthur Phillip, Governor Arthur P ...

Peats Ridge Festival Peats Ridge Festival was an Australian sustainable arts and music festival, held in Glenworth Valley, Peats Ridge, New South Wales, Peats Ridge, one hour's drive north of Sydney and a 90-minute drive from Newcastle, New South Wales. Established ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

' Glenworth Valley, and the Western Australian stops of 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 ...

and the Groovin' the Moo festivals. The band has also supported established Australian acts, such as The Grates,

Jebediah Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Bob Evans (musician), Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa T ...

and Architecture in Helsinki, and made appearances on the Australian version of BalconyTV (filmed in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

) and ''

3 News ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

''. In late 2011, the band was signed by

, the home of major Australian acts such as

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 ...

and Megan Washington—the label described San Cisco's sound as "rough, low-fi garage pop" mixed with "bright catchy hooks". In September 2011, the band released " Awkward" and became the band's first charting single. In an interview, Davieson said to song is "...a bit of a weird story about a stalker, involving me and Scarlett. It's completely made up". The song was voted number 7 in the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2011 The 2011 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on January 26, 2012. It is the nineteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced on 14 December 2011, and c ...

2012–2013: ''Awkward'' and ''San Cisco''

In February 2012, the band's released their second EP, ''Awkward''. In September 2012, the band left Albert Productions to join the roster of United States (US) label, Fat Possum Records—a deal that was made in partnership with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

—for the release of its debut album ''San Cisco'' in all territories, except for Australia, on 23 November 2012. Singles "Wild Things" and "

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

" were released from the album and featured in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2012. In December 2012, Triple J announced that the station's listeners had voted ''San Cisco'' into the No. 10 position in the "Listeners Top 10 Albums Poll". In March 2013, San Cisco appeared at the CMJ Festival in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Writing for the Bullett website, Luke O'Neil presented the band's CMJ showcase in a positive light saying "Better off not planning to do anything and hope you accidentally stumble across something you didn't know you wanted to see and avoid disappointment. That's what happened last night ... I found an Australian band called San Cisco playing, and against all odds, their breezy indie charms—something of a cross between Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys, put the first smile on my face of the night." In May 2013, San Cisco recorded a cover version of the

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's " Get Lucky" and N*E*R*D's " Hypnotize U" for Triple J'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 ...

segment. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Pop Release for their debut album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.

2014–2016: ''Gracetown''

In October 2014, San Cisco released "Run", the lead single from their second studio album ''Gracetown'', which was released on 6 March 2015. The title of which was inspired by Gracetown a small coastal town in Western Australia. In early March immediately prior to the release of the album, bass player, Nick Gardner accidentally shot himself in the foot when rabbit shooting at a friend's farm near

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many type ...

. As a result, he missed the band's tour of the United States and Mexico, promoting the new album.

2017–2019: ''The Water''

San Cisco released their third studio album ''The Water'' on 5 May 2017. The album was preceded with the singles "Slo-Mo" and "Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?". To promote the album, the band commenced one of their biggest Australian tours on 18 May 2017. Visiting 21 shows in 46 days, guitarist Josh Biondillo said ahead of the tour: "Yeah it's definitely a big one. I think it will be a good reintroduction to the fans and the crowd. The whole thing, I think, for me, is a lot more mature. Even though we're still doing the silly stuff that we've always done, but hopefully in the tour ou'll see ourmaturity as songwriters and performers." They played at the 2017 Splendour in the Grass festival.

2020–present: ''Flaws'', ''Between You and Me'' and ''Under the Light''

In March 2020, the band released the EP, '' Flaws''. In July 2020, the band announced the release of '' Between You and Me'', released on 4 September 2020. On 24 February 2023, the band released "Lost Without You", the first single from their fifth studio album '' Under the Light''. In October 2023, the band released "High", their fifth single of the year, and announced the album's title as well as its release date of 1 March 2024.

Influences

The band has identified

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

and

as influences on its songwriting and, as of January 2011, Stevens worked in a record store, a connection that the band members have explained "creates new influences and ideas, which we can apply to our own music."

Other projects

Stevens is responsible for the backing vocals on the Bob Evans (Kevin Mitchell, of

fame) song "Go", from his fourth album ''Familiar Stranger''. She performed vocals on the single version of Australian rapper

Illy Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on sh ...

's song

Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

Band members

Current members

* Jordi Davieson – lead vocals, guitar (2009–present), keyboards (2018–present), occasional bass (2019–present) * Josh Biondillo – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizers (2009–present) * Scarlett Stevens – drums, backing and lead vocals (2009–present)

Current touring musicians

* Mitchell J Benson – bass, backing vocals, occasional drums (2019–present) * James Ireland – keyboards (2020–present)

Former members

* Nick Gardner – bass guitar, keyboards (2009–2018) * Jennifer Aslett – bass, backing vocals (2018–2019)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Notes

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="2",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, "Awkward" , Best Independent Single/EP , , - , themselves , Breakthrough Independent Artist , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982. ! , - ,

, "Awkward" (Jordi Davieson / Joshua Biondillo / Nick Gardner / Scarlett Stevens / Steven Schram) , Song of the Year , , , -

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 ...

. San Cisco has been nominated for six nominations. , - , rowspan="3",

, rowspan="3", ''Awkward'' , Best Independent Release , , - , Best Pop Release , , - , Breakthrough Artist - Release , , - , rowspan="3",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, rowspan="2", ''San Cisco'' , Best Independent Release , , - , Best Pop Release , , - , "Fred Astaire" (directed by Andrew Nowrojee) , Best Video , , -

J Award

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, themselves , Unearthed Artist of the Year ,

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Scarlett Stevens (San Cisco) , Live Drummer of the Year , , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Jennifer Aslett (San Cisco) , Live Bassist of the Year , , -

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985. San Cisco won seven awards in 2012. (wins only) , - , rowspan="7", 2012 , rowspan="3", San Cisco , Most Popular Group , , - , Breakthrough Act , , - , Pop Act of the Year , , - , ''Awkward'' , Most Popular EP / Album , , - , rowspan="2", "Awkward" , Most Popular Single , , - , Most Popular Music Video , , - , Scarlett Stevens , Drummer/Percussionist of the Year , , -

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Western Australian musical groups Australian indie pop groups Fat Possum Records artists Musical groups established in 2009