''Sea Scouts'' were a

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band, based in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Biography

First incarnation

Following the split of his former band Mouth in 1994, Tasmanian musician Tim Evans began jamming with U.F.O. (Unlimited Friendly Objective) frontman Zach von Bamburger. Fusing the elements of thick, rough analogue guitar noise and hidden melodies, also aided by a drum machine, the duo recorded the ''$100,000 Dollar Mamal'' (sic) EP. Vocal and instrumental duties were shared by the duo on the

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

-only pressing, as they were in live shows. Live shows were often chaotic affairs marked by loud feedback, repetitive rhythms and heavily distorted bass riffs. Shortly after the release of the EP, Monika Fikerle became the band's drummer. Idiosyncratic, but contumelious with the band's minimal yet full sound, Fikerle played her kit with a complete absence of

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

. Following a short tour of the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

, Fikerle left the band and the band folded six months later.

Second incarnation

A year after parting company with von Bamburger, Evans restarted the band with bassist Alex Pope, reinterpreting old and composing new material with a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

. After several months of gigging, ex-U.F.O bassist Andy Hazel joined on drums, introducing snare and hi-hat to the previously more stripped-back sound. Later in 1996, Sara May Libero replaced Hazel on drums, continuing the band's use of (

Moe Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American retired musician, singer, and songwriter who achieved international fame as the drummer of the rock band the Velvet Underground. Tucker occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, ...

style) stand-up drummers. This lineup recorded the band's first full length album ''Pattern Recognition'', on four track cassette recorder and released via

Chapter Music Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as rock and roll, indie pop, post punk, country and western and folk. Between ...

in 1997, on vinyl only. In 1997, the band toured

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 ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, supporting Pavement and, in 1998,

Archers of Loaf Archers of Loaf is an American indie rock band originally formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1991. The group toured extensively and released four studio albums, one compilation, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was release ...

before Libero was replaced by Fikerle, who re-joined the group to jam a newer set of songs. Later that year the band recorded their second album, ''Beacon of Hope'', released on the Unstable Ape label In the same sessions, the band re-recorded an intentionally cleaner, "less scabby" version of the ''Pattern Recognition'' album for CD release. In 1999 a re-recording of two songs from the band's first incarnation were recorded, and the ''Word as a Weapon"/"Destroy Your Local McDonalds'' 7" was released on the Californian label Zum. Further recordings were also made of a combination of old and new songs, which to this date have never been released.

Touring and breakup

In 1999 Sea Scouts embarked on a tour of North America and Europe, joining

Ninetynine Ninetynine (styled as ninetynine) is an indie (music), indie band based in Melbourne, Australia. The band was founded by Laura MacFarlane, who played drums in Sleater-Kinney, in 1996 as a solo project. The first album, ''99'', was recorded wit ...

for shows in Eastern Europe. Returning home later in 1999, it was decided that the band would play its final shows in Hobart, before a "grand-final" show at Melbourne's

Corner Hotel The Corner Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Australia, is a remodelled 19th-century pub which has been a live music venue since the 1940s and, since 1995, a popular rock music venue and rooftop bar.Johnston, Chris. "Corner� ...

on 18 February 2000.

Legacy

* Evans, who made a number of cameos with Ninetynine, recorded with that band whilst on the 1999 tour. Shortly after Sea Scouts disbanded, he formed

Bird Blobs Bird Blobs were a garage rock/post punk musical group from Melbourne, Australia. They formed in 2000 with Tim Evans and Ian Wadley as the core and only continuous members of the group. The first self-titled recording was performed with Evans o ...

in Melbourne. The Bird Blobs were active between 1999 and 2005, releasing an EP and two albums on

Unstable Ape Records Unstable Ape Records was an Australian independent record label. Founded in Tasmania, it functioned out of Melbourne between 2001 and 2013. Unstable Ape's focus tended primarily towards indie rock and roll, but also expanded its interest to conte ...

. After the Bird Blobs disbanded, Evans moved to New York City where he formed the bands Degreaser and Bogan Dust. Upon returning to Australia he formed Coconuts and filled in on vocals for Venom P. Stinger for a time. In 2016 he released the album ''Wretched Wings'' under his own name on the New York label Ever/Never. * Zach von Bamburger founded Mongoose, Monster Monster Monster and Ditchboss, and now plays in Go Genre Everything. * Monika Fikerle now plays drums with

Love of Diagrams Love of Diagrams are an Australian indie rock band formed in 2001. Their sound is characterised by a mix of energetic drumming, angular guitar and bass riffs, and call-and-response vocals. History Love of Diagrams were formed in Melbourne ...

and bass with

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, both bands being based in Melbourne. * Alex Pope plays in Hobart

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

. * In 2021, Evans and Fikerle reunited in the band The Misanthropes.

Members

* Tim Evans – vocals, guitar (1994–2000) * Alex Pope – bass, vocals (1996–2000) * Monika Fikerle — drums (1995, 1997–2000) * Sara May Libero – drums (1996–97) * Andy Hazel - drums (1996) * Zach Von Bamburger – vocals, bass (1994–96)

Discography

Albums

*''Pattern Recognition'' – Chapter Music (CH15) (1 August 1997) *''Beacon of Hope'' – Unstable Ape (PATSY003) (December 1998)

EPs

*''$100,000 Dollar Mamal'' – Independent (1996)

Singles

* "Word as a Weapon" – Zum (ZUM005) (20 August 1999)

References

External links

MySpace websiteMess and Noise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Scouts (Band) Tasmanian musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Australian indie rock groups Australian rock music groups