Women In Docs
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Women in Docs are an Australian independent
folk pop Folk-pop is a broad musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been popularized by mainstream media in recent years. Musica ...
music duo consisting of Chanel Lucas on lead vocals, guitar and bass guitar; and Roz Pappalardo on lead vocals, guitar and harmonica. They formed in
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
,
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 ...
in 1998 as Roz and Chanel but soon changed their name and have released three studio albums, ''Under a Different Sky'' (2001), ''Red Wine and Postcards'' (2006) and ''Carousel'' (2013). The group have toured throughout Australia,
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,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
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, and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. Pappalardo has also released a solo album.


History


1998-2005: Formation and ''Under a Different Sky''

Chanel Lucas and Roz Pappalardo had performed together since they were students at
James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...
, Townsville Campus. With friends they formed rock and roll covers bands 'Viridian' and later 'Sandwich Bar', and worked in North Queensland from offshore islands to inland mining camps. After years apart the two reunited to write their own material and "create music based around our harmonies because that was the one thing that people really enjoyed about our performances in the band". Lucas had seen a folk group, Tiddas, performing " Inside My Kitchen" on TV music video program, ''
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'', " was a revelation for me to see three women singing harmonies, playing acoustic guitar and telling their stories through song. Right then and there I decided that I wanted to play acoustic guitar, focus on my vocals and write songs". Women in Docs were formed initially as ''Roz and Chanel'', a folk pop music duo, in 1998 in
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
with Chanel Marie Lucas on lead vocals, guitar, and bass guitar; and Roslyn "Roz" Pappalardo on lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar and harmonica.. After a few gigs the host of a club they were performing at dubbed them ''Women in Docs'' referring to their footwear,
Doc Martens Dr. Martens, also known as Doc Martens, Docs, or DMs, is a British footwear and clothing brand. Although most known for its footwear, it also makes a range of accessories, including clothing and bags. The footwear is distinguished by its air-c ...
. In October 1998 Women in Docs issued their six-track debut extended play, ''women in docs''. Two tracks were written by Lucas, two by Roz Pappalardo, "One Day Soon" was written by Sam Pappalardo (Roz's father), and "Prometheus" was co-written by Lucas and Roz. The lead track, "Tin Roof", was issued as a single and was also compiled on
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 album, ''Music from the Far North'' and thereby received national radio airplay on the ABC. In 1999 the group moved to Brisbane, to become an independent, folk-crossover,
alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
act. They gained various residencies at local venues and then performed at major festivals across Australia. A second EP, ''www.womenindocs.com'', was issued in early 2000, and was distributed by
MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise. It was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was set up specifically as a d ...
. Oz Music Project's Bryan Estepa was impressed by the six-track EP " e combination of the punchy acoustic guitars and Roz & Chanel's perfectly harmonised voices makes their songs so irresistible and joyous". They issued their debut studio album, ''Under a Different Sky'', on Um & Ah Records and MGM Distribution in 2001. It was co-produced by the duo with Anthony Lycenko and Ben McCarthy. They used a variety of session musicians including Lycenko on electric and acoustic guitars; McCarthy on keyboards, piano, electric and bass guitars; and Silas Palmer on violin. ''
The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
''s Noel Mengel noted the duo showed " ebullient personalities and infectious harmonies" when performing, while the album displayed " fervescent folk-pop ... They can rock it up, with an '80's punk-pop feel". Domenica Acitelli of ''Revolver'' caught their performance in May that year at Club Acoustica in Sydney, she noted their " lenting, prolific melt down harmonies merged with an upbeat folk/rock lilt to the tunes dressed in front of a poised yet carefree room. Chanel and Roz infused a good dose of ‘Australiana’, which was tasted in the intonation of notes especially in a song addressing life on Crown Street, Surry Hills". Their related tour included regional centres of Queensland, which was funded by an Arts Queensland grant. In August 2002 "Crown St", the album's lead track, was issued as a single. Another track, "Supermarket", also received national airplay on
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
. In October their performance at the
Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, Queensland, Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural e ...
was recorded for a live broadcast by
ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...
's ''Late Night Live'' program. A live version of "Crown St", recorded at Club Acoustica, was issued on a various artists live album compilation, ''Club Acoustica: The Basement Showcases Volume 1'' in March 2002. Lucas told Sacha Molitorisz 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 ...
'' about their association with the venue in Oxford Street,
Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...
, "La Bar was our first introduction to the Sydney music scene. From the first show I remember the warmth and the response of the audience, which was almost unexpected". Also in 2002 they were invited by ABC's Radio National to represent Australia at the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
's International Folk Festival in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. Lucas recalled " were a bit different… it was kind of scary, but it was really good. We got a really good response. We got in the local paper. We got to meet the Mayor of Hamburg town. We couldn’t understand what he was saying to us, and he couldn’t understand us either, so we had a great time". During the following year they performed at various Australian festivals and at venues across the country. A proposed appearance at the 2003 Shanghai Spring International Music Festival in May was postponed to the following year due to the
severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the sy ...
(SARS) outbreak. They toured southern China and were broadcast by radio stations based in Shanghai. "Crown St" appeared on various artists compilations, including The Basement Showcases Volume 1 (2002) released by Underfoot Records, and ''Time Off: Core Sampler 03'' (2003), which "annoyed" Nathan Jolly at Oz Music Project with the group's "over-the-top Aussie accents and lingo-based song". They have been compared to the
Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duet (music), duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in Primary school, elementary school and began performing together as Secondary school, hig ...
(Canada) 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 ...
(Australia). With a reputation for stirring and humorous live performances, Women in Docs have toured consistently throughout Australia, North America, Europe, New Zealand and China. 2004 festival appearances included
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 ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, Folk Alliance in San Diego, and Canadian Music Week. They issued their fourth EP, ''Times Like These'', in that year. It was produced by David Nicholas (
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
, ''george'').


2006-present: ''Red Wine and Postcards''

On 1 May 2006 Women in Docs released their second studio album, ''Red Wine and Postcards'', which was produced and engineered by
Darren Middleton Darren Middleton (born 4 October 1971) is an Australian musician, best known as lead guitarist and songwriter for alternative rock band Powderfinger. He was also lead singer/songwriter for Drag; his current solo tour is 'Splinters', a follow- ...
(of
Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins ...
). Middleton also supplied guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. Clayton Ford of The Dwarf website noted the "country tinged contemporary folk rock" of the album with " les of life, loss and being are delicately layered". Mediasearch's Chanel Bartolo felt the album was "amazing. Each song feels alive, almost as if it has an individual soul. There is heart in each word and each melody". During July 2007 the duo performed in the US, Janine Schaults of ''Illinois Entertainer'' previewed their appearance at the National Women's Festival in Bloomington: "they have a breezy style that doesn’t bog down the songs with over emotionalism and a search for life’s deep meaning ... for music pleasant enough to allow listeners to drift into the world of the songwriter". In May 2009 they performed at the
Brisbane Powerhouse The Brisbane Powerhouse is a performing arts and cultural centre which is housed in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm in Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of live performances, visual art displays, exhibit ...
to record a live album for US release. In August that year they toured North America including gigs in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. From late 2009 to 2011 the band was in hiatus as both members undertook new projects and concentrated on their private lives. Pappalardo formed an alt-country backing group, the Wayward Gentlemen consisting of Palmer on keyboards, mandolin, violin and harmonica; Aaron Millard on drums and percussion; Lincoln Retallack on bass guitar; and Rob Sherwood on electric and slide guitars. She released her debut solo album, ''The Lifeboat'' (September 2009), on Plus One Records. Laura Bethall of ''Maverick Magazine'' noted that Pappalardo is "direct and powerful in her approach, her songs strong and captivating" providing a " autiful collection of rock-inspired country". It includes her cover version of "
Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962. The song was first released by her friend, Pete Seeger, in 1963, and became his only charting single in January 1964. The song is a social satire about the developm ...
" which was used – as well as the original and numerous other versions – on US TV series, ''
Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...
''. In late 2011 Lucas and Pappalardo resumed collaborating periodically for "one-off gigs or just small shows, like local shows". With Lucas living in Brisbane and Pappalardo in
Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
they collaborated via
Skype Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, ...
and
Dropbox Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and Client (computing), client software. Dropbox w ...
enabling them to "produce quite a high-quality album with very well-written songs". By September 2013 Women in Docs had signed with Plus One Records. In November that year they issued the title track from their album, ''Carousel'', and followed with their first Australian tour in four years. Lucas described their songwriting process "big difference is in the songwriting – usually Roz and I bring songs separately to preproduction and then we workshop them into Women in Docs songs. This time we wrote some songs together". For the album Pappalardo provided acoustic guitar, lead vocals, harmonica and banjo; Lucas was on acoustic guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar and ukulele.


Members

*Chanel Lucas – lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar,
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...
,
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, acoustic guitar,
ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
(1998–present) *Roz Pappalardo – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo (1998–present)


Regular backing musicians

*Silas Palmer – violin, keyboard *John Bedggood - violin, keyboard, piano accordion *Geoff Green – drums


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Awards


Q Song Awards

The
Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in ...
(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating
Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...
's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - ,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, "Times Like These" , World / Folk Song of the Year ,


References


External links

* * * Interview on ''Folk Buddies'' at
4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...
with Robyn Clare
"Interview with Women in Docs – Part 1""Interview with Women in Docs – Part 2"
on 3 November 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Women in Docs Australian folk rock groups Musical groups established in 1998 Queensland musical groups Australian musical duos Australian all-female bands All-female country bands All-female folk groups