An alternative rock band from Australia, Ammonia made a name for themselves in the1990’s, producing a mixture of grunge and guitar pop (a sound they described as ‘pop-metal’). The group began in 1992, initially comprising guitarist Dave Johnstone (ex Hideous Goldsteins), drummer Alan Balmont (ex Dear Octopus, Cherrytones) and bass player Phil Natt (Favourite Game). This line up performed under the name Fuzzswirl, and following departure of Natt, continued to perform with a variety of bass players around their hometown of Perth. It wasn't until 1993 when bassist Simon Hensworth joined the group that the name was changed to Ammonia. The band was considering the name “Glorious Noise Earthquake”, but selected Ammonia for it simplicity after Hensworth stumbled across the word in a science textbook. Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Perth is the name of several towns and cities: In Australia: Perth, Western Australia is the state capital city of Western Australia and fourth-largest city in Australia. ...

Early Success

The band's early success was due mostly to their self-financed recordings and word of mouth. The trio released a self-titled cassette and developed a distinctive live sound, driven by Hensworth’s overdriven (and high volume) bass guitar, complemented by Johnstone’s infectious pop hooks. By 1994 the band had completed successful tours of Melbourne and Sydney, establishing a solid fan base, and had an album worth of material recorded. Influential DJ Richard Kingsmill aired “Incinerator” from these recordings to a national audience on the alternative radio station Triple J, sparking further interest in the band. Importantly, the band did not independently release these early recordings, as Ammonia was determined to sign with a major label. This was to ensure optimum exposure of their music, and given the isolation of the city, to avoid the pitfalls other independent bands from Perth had experienced in the past. Richard The King Kingsmill (born c. ... Triple J (JJJ) is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). ...

In 1994, the band did a live recording for Triple J, who in turn added the track "Orange Juice" from the session to their regular play list. The continued airplay created great interest amongst a number of major record labels, who subsequently began courting the group. In the summer of that year, Ammonia was the first band to sign with Sony’s Murmur label (the second band to sign was the then unknown Newcastle group Silverchair). Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the leading manufacturers of video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. ... Murmur has a number of meanings, including the following: Murmur To complain in low mumbling tones; grumble. ... For the C. S. Lewis novel, see The Silver Chair. ...

EP's and Mint 400

Ammonia’s first release was the “In A Box” EP (1994), which was comprised of the band’s early recordings paired with the newly recorded title song. Again the band was supported by JJJ, who played a number of songs from the EP, expanding their fan base around Australia, and ensuring another successful tour. In early 1995 a second EP was released, again featuring the band’s self produced recordings paired with a newly recorded title track. The “Sleepwalking” EP included the first official release of “Orange Juice” and aided by continued touring, saw the band crossover from JJJ to commercial radio.

The band juggled live work with the sessions for their debut album “Mint 400”, which featured ten new songs along with newly recorded versions of "In A Box" and "Sleepwalking”. The album was produced by legendary American producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Slayer). Recorded in only 10 days at Festival Studios in Sydney, the recording captured the band’s live sound, avoiding excessive overdubs and studio manipulation. Mint 400 was an immediate hit in Australia, jumping into the national charts at Number 15. When released as the album's first single, the instantly memorable "Drugs" (written in five minutes during a rehearsal) emerged as an instant success, despite certain stations' refusal to play the song due to its title. The song peaked at number 12 on the Australian chart, and emerged in the top 20 of Triple J’s Hot 100. "There isn't really that much of a message," says Johnstone, “‘Drugs’ is about apathy towards drugs”. The success of the single saw the band added to the main stage of the 1995/96 Big Day Out, traveling with the festival nationally. Kevin Shirley (a. ... Led Zeppelin was a English rock band formed in 1968. ... Iron Maiden can refer to: Iron Maiden, a British heavy metal band, its eponymous debut album, or a song on that album Iron Maiden (doom band), a 1970s British doom metal band (unrelated to the above) Iron maiden (torture device), a torture and execution device used in Germany and other... Slayer are an American thrash metal band, founded in Huntington Park, California (not Huntington Beach, as has often been reported), in 1981 by Tom Araya (bass guitar and vocals), Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman (guitars) and Dave Lombardo (drums). ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the main singles chart used by Billboard magazine. ... The Big Day Out (BDO) is an annual music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand. ...

In light of the success of the album at home, Epic released the album in America, and MTV put the $5000 video for ‘Drugs’ on high rotation, the cheapest video to ever do so. The band toured America, the UK and Europe throughout 1996, emerging with global record sales over 100, 000. Their presence in America also saw the album break into the Billboard Top 30, quite an achievement for a debut release. Epic Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Sony BMG. // History Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Billboard can refer to: Billboard magazine Billboard (advertising) Billboard antenna In 3D computer graphics, to billboard is to rotate an object so that it faces the viewer. ...

11th Avenue

On returning to Australia, the band recorded and released a single “Satin Only”, which went largely unnoticed and later reemerged as a hidden track on their second album. The band finished the year preparing music for their upcoming album, which was to be recorded at great expense in the US with Dave Fridman (Flaming Lips, Mogwai, Weezer) The Flaming Lips is an American rock band with psychedelic influences, formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by Mark Coyne, Wayne Coyne and Michael Ivins. ... The word mogwai can be an alternate transliteration of the Mandarin Chinese word 魔怪 (pinyin：móguài) meaning ghost, evil spirit, or demon; or perhaps the Cantonese pronunciation of 魔鬼 (devil). As depicted in the 1984 Joe Dante film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch the word... Weezer is an American alternative rock band. ...

11th Avenue was very different album from their debut, moving away from simple arrangements and traditional rock instrumentation. The record retains the initial chemistry of the band, but is sonically complex, adding harmonies, samples and psychedelic keyboards. Upon completion of the album, the band realized that they were unable to play it live. So in mid 1997, after doing some dates with Something For Kate’s Paul Dempsey on second guitar, Dave and Alan asked original bass player Phil Natt to rejoin the band, only this time as a vocalist/ guitarist/ keyboard player. Something for Kate is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia. ... The lead singer of Australian based rock group Something for Kate. ...

The first single off the album was “You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way”, which was another anthemic Ammonia track, and was quickly added to radio. This was followed by the single “Monochrome”, and finally the album “11th Avenue” was released in 1998. The two singles featured prominently on Australian radio, as did the final single from the album “Keep On My Side”, released later that year.

The End

Due to the heavy touring in support of their second album, tensions within the group reached breaking point and at the end of 1998, Ammonia announced that they were splitting up. Wanting to go out on a high, they decided to play their final gigs as part of the Australian Festival Circuit. As a result of this decision, the band’s final Sydney show was at the Homebake Festival, their final Victorian performance was at The Falls Festival, and the very last Ammonia show was on the Main Stage of the Perth Big Day Out in January 1999. Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup (with the occasional artist from New Zealand). ... Snout playing at the 2001 Falls Festival The Falls Festival is a New Years Eve music festival, held annually in Australia since 1993-94. ...

EP’s

In A Box EP (1994)

1.In A Box

2.White

3.Lucky No. 3

4.Burning Plant Smell

5.Dr. Strangeleave

Sleepwalking EP (1995)

1.Sleepwalking

2.6 of 8.30

3.Orange Juice

4.Evil Kenevil

5.Sound Plough

Limited Live And Rare EP (1997) Compilation of various JJJ sessions

1.Mint 400

2.You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way

3.Drugs

4.Wishing Chair

5.In A Box

6.4711

Albums

Mint 400 (1995)

1.Ken Carter

2.Drugs

3.Sleepwalking

4.Face Down

5.In A Box

6.Suzi Q

7.Little Death

8.Mint 400

9.Small Town

10.Burning Plant Smell

11.Z-Man

12.Million Dollar Man

11th Avenue (1998)

1.11th Avenue

2.You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way

3.Keep On My Side

4.Monochrome

5.Killswitch

6.Baby Blue

7.Wishing Chair

8.Keeping My Hands Tied

9.4711

10.Yeah Doin’ It

11.Afterglow

12.Pipedream

13.Satin Only (Hidden Track)

Singles

Drugs

2.Realise

3.Zoned

Ken Carter

2.Incinerator

3.Easter Egg

Suzy Q

2.Face Down

3.Oops

Satin Only

2.Aniseed

3.Dogwater

You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way

2.Pipe Dream

3.Rough Night In Jericho

Monochrome

2.Union City Blues

3.Sunrise

4.Monochrome (mono mix)

Keep On My Side

2.Keep On My Side (acoustic)

3.Eighth Minute Of The Eighth Day

4.Aloysius Virgilius