Vermont (UK band)
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| Vermont | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  London, England |
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| Genre(s) | Indie pop | |
| Years active | 1998—2006 | |
| Label(s) | Tbilissi Recordings | |
| Website | vermontmusic.com | |
| Former members | ||
| Colin Murphy Sabine Zeissig Claire Murphy Neill Nige Pryke Liam Kelly Simon Nelson Adey Lobb Allen Smith David "Dave" Strickland Richard Adderley Enrico Maes Matthias Demmler Mario Cetti Robert Schmidt |
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Vermont were an indie pop band originally based in London in the UK. The group were formed in 1998 around the nucleus of Colin Murphy and Sabine Zeissig, who wrote the vast majority of Vermont's material themselves. The band went through many variations in line-up over it's five years together, and also moved it's base of operations to Dresden, Germany (Sabine's home city). They released two albums and three singles on their own Tbilissi Recordings label, and also appeared on the Pow! To The People compilation released by The Track And Field Organisation. Vermont broke up in May 2006. Former members of Vermont have gone on to be in bands such as The Boyfriends and Brother Francisco.
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[edit] History
Vermont appeared on 25th May 1998 when Sabine Zeissig (vocals) and Colin Murphy (vocals, guitar, keyboards) started messing around one night with friends. Some cover versions were learnt and sung and eventually a songwriting partnership was formed. Rehearsals continued through 1998 until December when Colin's sister Claire Murphy (flute) was recruited for some four-track demo recordings of their initial originals.
In 1999, the decision was made to form a band who could play these new songs live, and to this end Nigel "Nige" Pryke (drums) and Neill (guitar) were recruited, though Neill was soon to leave again to accept a position in Glasgow. David Strickland was approached to fill the bassist's position but was unable to say yes due to upcoming exams, so another friend Liam Kelly agreed to learn. The line-up was finally completed in early 2000 when following an advert in the Melody Maker, auditions were held for a guitarist. Simon Nelson was the succesful applicant, although other applicant Allen Smith filled in on bass for Liam in April 2001. Vermont's first gig was at The Half Moon in Putney, London on 26th January 2000, two weeks after Simon's first rehearsal with the band.
April 2000 saw Vermont went into La Rocka studios in Hornsey to record their debut single "The Funicular". This was later released on a limited edition CD-R of 200 at the end of May, the band forming their own label (Tbilissi Recordings) in order to do so. Claire left the band in December 2000 to save money for a round-the-world trip, just after the recording of their second single "The Euphony" (released March 2001); her place was taken (at first temporarily but soon permanently) by Adrian "Adey" Lobb (keyboards).
Liam Kelly left the band at the end of 2001 due to musical differences and was replaced by original bass candidate David "Dave" Strickland. The next Vermont release "The Kinetic" was recorded before Liam left but was released in February 2002. This incarnation of Vermont lasted until October 2002 when Dave left to concentrate on his own band Calida. Bass duties on the subsequent sessions for their first album "Ins Kino" were fulfilled by Simon, but shortly afterwards a full-time replacement was found in the shape of Richard Adderley, former guitarist for Too Pure's Jack. "Ins Kino" was finally released in April 2003.
Once this was released Sabine and Colin took the bold step to move to Sabine's hometown of Dresden in Germany, where they set up a German version of Vermont (Vermont DD) and started playing gigs there to further promote the band. This meant the implementation of a squad rotation system (such as recently adopted by The Fall) as members were shifted around to accomodate the available personnel. Within Vermont DD at various times have been Enrico Maes (drums, bass), Mario Cetti (guitar), Matthias Demmler (drums) and Robert Schmidt (guitar) amongst others.
A different approach was taken for Vermont's next album "Ten Random" as the cost of recording the entire album at a professional studio was felt to be too expensive for the band, especially as international commuting was now a necessity to keep both halves of the band rehearsed and gigging. An eight-track analogue home recording set-up was purchased, and time at various studios were booked for the recording of all parts unable to be captured at home. The mixing and mastering sessions took many months to complete (and caused great tension within the band and it's extended family), but it was eventually released in September 2004 whilst the band toured the UK and Germany with the US anti-folk duo Schwervon!. Simon and Nige left the band shortly after this tour, while Richard started to concentrate more on his new band The Boyfriends (in which he plays guitar).
Following this, the focus of Vermont shifted to Germany, with further line-up changes, though Adey was still a major contributor. The exact story of the band becomes hazy at this point with German festival appearances and a support slot with Kimya Dawson being some of the high points. Various new recordings have appeared on their Myspace page but the only new release has been their cover of "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" which appeared on a John Lennon tribute album called "Give'm A Chance". Rumours of a new double-sided single "Take Advantage!/Motorcar" were heard, but on 28th May 2006 a message from Adey appeared on their Myspace page which said "It´s our last show in one hour. We´re in Zapata, in Berlin. It´s a sombre occasion - but we plan to play very nicely, we have friends here, and we want to say a big thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. It´s been a blast. Don´t know what else to say - a very strange feeling. We´ll still use the vermont myspace thingum, as there will be more music - sometimes together, sometimes apart, who knows? Happy days, eh?".
Colin has subsequently played guitar with The Roosters and continues to run a club night called "The Fanclub" at Dresden's Groovestation. Simon has taken over the running of Tbilissi Recordings (though it currently appears to be on hiatus), as well as joining new band Brother Francisco on bass and DJing at the Crimes Against Pop club night in Islington. Richard is continuing to be a driving force in The Boyfriends, and has also played with The New Royal Family, Boyfriends' bassist David Barnett's side project.
[edit] Lineups
| (May 1998-Dec 1998) |
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| (Dec 1998- 1999) |
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| (1999-Jan 2000) |
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| (Jan 2000-Dec 2000) |
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| (Dec 2000-Mar 2001) |
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| (Apr 2001) |
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| (May 2001-Jan 2002) |
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| (Jan 2002-Oct 2002) |
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| (Oct 2002-Nov 2002) |
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| (Nov 2002-2003) |
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| (2003-Jan 2005) |
+ various German members of Vermont DD, including:
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| (Jan 2005-May 2006) |
+ various German members of Vermont DD, including:
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[edit] Trivia
- Bullfight In Bogna (from "The Euphony") was voted the best track of 2001 by London indie promoters Strange Fruit
- The Ins Kino rerecording of Bullfight In Bogna was used in a BBC Four TV advert for the documentary Lost In La Mancha (about Terry Gilliam's failed attempts to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote).
[edit] Discography
All releases are on their own Tbilissi Recordings label unless indicated.
Releases
- "The Funicular" (CD-R single) - released 29th May 2000
- "The Euphony" (7" vinyl/CD-R single) - released 26th March 2001
- "The Kinetic" (7" vinyl/CD-R single) - released 4th February 2002
- "Ins Kino" (12" vinyl/CD album) - released 7th April 2003
- "Ten Random" (CD album) - released 6th August 2004
Compilation appearances
- "Annabel" (Funicular version) appears on "Pow! To The People", a compilation released by The Track And Field Organisation to commemorate their long-running all-day urban festivals of the same name.
- "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" appears on "Give'm A Chance", a German compilation of tributes to the songwriting of John Lennon.
