Cartman is a four piece indie rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the urban area of Perth, Western Australia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music[1] or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Phantom Records (2) / labels (P) Profile: Australian indy label established by Dare Jennings and Jules Normington in 1980. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles, however saxophones have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since the 90s. ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the urban area of Perth, Western Australia. ... Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $100,900 (4th)  - Product per capita  $50,355/person (3rd) Population (December 2006)  - Population  2,050,900 (4th)  - Density  0. ...

History

Early Years

The band was formed in 1997 in what began as a desperate attempt to enter a songwriting competition by Joe Hawkins.

"I had sent in a tape of some songs recorded at home on the four-track" begins Hawkins, the bands vocalist and rhythm guitarist. "Only trouble was that (to play the songs live) I needed to get a bass player and someone who could sing harmonies".
Cain Turnley, a trusted friend and a more than competent guitarist, was called on for a favour, "I had two weeks to rehearse the tunes and Id never picked up a bass before."

Performing under the name Mr. Pink, they were knocked out of the contest in the first round but continued to play together for the next four months. It was an exciting period, not only were they getting paid to play (a definite first), they had unlocked a formidable songwriting partnership. It was early days, yet under a heavy influence of The Beatles, Crowded House, Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden, the tunes were dynamic and exciting, all the while featuring strong melody and beautiful harmonies. The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... Crowded House is a pop-rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Soundgarden was an influential Seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. ...

1998 saw Scott Nicholls (Lead Guitar) and Ben Mills (Drums) complete the line-up and heralded the beginning of the band that was now affectionately renamed Cartman.

Recordings

It wasn't too long before the urge to record took hold and the EP I'm Not A Policeman was released through the national label Phantom Records. Phantom Records (2) / labels (P) Profile: Australian indy label established by Dare Jennings and Jules Normington in 1980. ...

"It cost $900 and took us 3 days to record, mix and master" explains Hawkins. We never expected it to do a lot, but it kind of took off"

The single "Drive" was picked up by the National radio station Triple J and added to high rotation. Many independent radio stations, including Perth's own RTR-FM, jumped onto the single. Similarly, the West Australian Music Industry rewarded the song by crowning it "Best Pop Song" of 1999 (the band also picked up the award for 'Best Acoustic Song' for "Pieces"). Throughout 1999 and into 2000, Cartman continued to win awards and nominations for many of their tunes and accompanying filmclips, at the same time landing some prize gigs including The Big Day Out and supports for Pollyanna, Gerling, Sneeze, Eskimo Joe and Shihad. 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). ... RTRFM is a community radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Big Day Out (BDO) is an annual music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand. ... Pollyanna is a 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that has become a classic of childrens literature. ... Gerling are an alternative guitar and electronic act from Australia, which formed in 1993, and is based in Sydney. ... Little Sammy Sneeze by Winsor McCay A sternutation, sternutatory reflex or, as is more commonly known, sneeze, is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the nose and mouth. ... For the restaurant, see Eskimo Joes Eskimo Joe is an Australian rock band whose debut album Girl went gold in 2001. ... Shihad is an alternative rock and post heavy metal band (with elements of Industrial Rock) originally from Wellington, New Zealand, where they formed in 1988. ...

The band released their second EP, Nobody, in March 2000 (the actual launch gig featured Fourth Floor Collapse and The Sleepy Jackson as support). Recorded at Revolver Studios and produced by Ben Glatzer, this was the beginning of the relationship that would later see them utilising the studio and 'Benny G' for the recording of Go!. The initial single "Nobody" was immediately added to playlists across the country, while the filmclip opened the band up visually to a national audience. On a grander scale, the single was also picked up by the legendary UK Radio One DJ Steve Lamaq, who added it to the stations playlist, along with the independent UK network X-FM. 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fourth Floor Collapse is a Melbourne-based rock band. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at a young audience (children, teenagers and young adults). ... Xfm logo Xfm is a brand of commercial radio stations focused on current and unsigned alternative music and owned by GCap Media in the United Kingdom. ...

Capitalising on their heightened profile, the band embarked on two tours. The first saw them heading to Adelaide to perform at the National MICA Awards where they had been awarded "Best Unsigned Act in Western Australia" for 2000. Soon after, Cartman began their "Nobody Tour". Travelling from Sydney to Melbourne and playing all stops in-between. For other uses, see Adelaide (disambiguation). ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central...

Hawkins explains: "Its great being a band from Perth, but after a while you've played all the venues there is to play, you've played with every band there is to play with, and you end up playing to the same audiences at every show. Unless you're prepared to travel 600km each weekend to play at a different venue, its a real hassle." "Being on tour was great because everything was new. It didn't matter that it was raining, or you'd only had 3 hours sleep or that you were still hung over from the night before everything was good. New towns, new pubs, new people, and you were actually in the land of the Big Boys. We were finally able to go into Triple J!!"

Returning home, Cartman took a much needed break.

"There was no way we would have stayed together as a band unless we took some time off" says Turnley. "It was time to rethink the game plan." "People were saying we'd missed the boat, that we'd split up it was all bullshit. We were just four really tired guys who'd put in a shitload of effort into the band. Now we wanted to take a rest"

And what a rest it turned out to be.

Debut Album

The decision was made to record an album. The band's efforts were focused on writing and arranging new material that they would all be happy with.

"We wanted to have an album that was different, where each song sounded unique, like they could have all been written and played by different bands. At the same time, the album had to be cohesive and sound like an album. It doesn't make sense, but that's what we wanted and that's what we ended up getting"

Cartman grabbed the national spotlight in early 2002 with their breakthrough album Go! being selected for Triple J Album of the Week. The first track to be lifted from the album, "Shock" raced across the national airwaves and was selected as the eviction music for reality TV show Big Brother. "Shock" spent 17 weeks in the Triple J Net 50 and was voted in the Triple J Hottest 100songs for 2002. "Shock" was followed closely by the country tinged break up song "Got No Reason" which spent 5 weeks in the Triple J Net 50 and received significant airplay across the country, The third single lifted from the album was the beautiful pop rock ballad "George" a classic Joe Hawkins/Cartman song. Rotation on Triple J and the commercial networks cemented the album as one of the best Australian releases for 2002. 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). ... // Big Brother is a reality TV program, shown on the Australian channel Network Ten, in which a number of contestants from throughout Australia live in an isolated compound (known as the house), where their daily lives are recorded and broadcasted on national Australian television. ... 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). ... The 2002 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on January 26, 2003, was the tenth such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. As in previous years, a CD featuring 39 (not necessarily the top 39) songs was released. ... 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). ... 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). ...

The band have been on a permanent hiatus since late 2003. Turnley has been performing lead vocals in Perth band The Avenues.

Trivia

Scott Nicholls designed and produced the artwork for the album Go!. The East Perth Train Terminal was chosen as the location for the photo shoot, accompanied by a small library of additional band photos taken throughout the bands career.

Band members

Joe Hawkins - Vocals, Electric Bass, Acoustic Guitar
Cain Turnley - Vocals, Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Scott Nicholls - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Ben Mills - Drums, Percussion

Discography

Albums

Go! Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 2002

EPs

Nobody

I'm Not A Policeman

George

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

External links

• unoffical Cartman website

References

• Embryo Records - Cartman