Baseball are an Australian

indie punk Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band formed by mainstay front man,

Cameron Potts Cameron Potts (born 10 November 1971 in Subiaco, Western Australia), is a musician based in Melbourne. Since 1999, he has toured regularly to the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Scandinavia and Iceland w ...

, on lead vocals and violin, in 1995. Their influences range from Eastern European and Middle-Eastern Gypsy music and

Sufi poetry Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and Urdu. Sufi doctri ...

to bands like The Ex,

the Pixies Pixies is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. They disbanded in 2010 and reformed late in 2016.

History

Baseball started as a solo project for front man,

(

Ninetynine Ninetynine (styled as ninetynine) is an 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 with her playing al ...

, Sandro) throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, recording tracks influenced by his travels through the middle east using piano, drums and often whispered vocals. Cameron began working closely with Monika Fikerle on drums and piano accordion and Steve Begovich on bass, touring Europe together in 2002. Returning to Melbourne in Cameron and Monika were joined by Japanese bassist and drummer Yoshi-Nobu Araki to record the Gods and Stars, Priests And Kings album. Baseball evolved to the current line-up in 2005, consisting of bass player Monika Fikerle (

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 ...

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), drummer/vocalist

Evelyn Morris Evelyn Ida Morris, also known as Pikelet, is a musician from the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Morris does not identify as either male or female and prefers to use "they", "them" and "their" as pronouns. They released four albums; ''Pi ...

(Pikelet, True Radical Miracle) and guitarist Ben Butcher (The Assassination Collective). In 2005, Baseball released a five-song EP of demo tunes titled "Taiwan – Japan Tour EP" for their tour of Japan and Taiwan where they played the Hohaiyan Rock Festival with

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (sometimes abbreviated to BRMC) is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The group originally consisted of Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocals, bass, guitar), and Nick ...

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

and more, and where

smashed his violin at the end of the set. After touring Europe and Far East Asia in 2005, Baseball toured Russia, the US, the UK, Scandinavia and continental Europe in June 2006. They again toured Europe and the UK in June/July 2007. In 2006, a live show was filmed on 3 cameras at Bar Open, Melbourne, featuring Baseball, The Thaw (Sydney), ni-hao! (Japan) and Sabot (Czech Republic). The show was later released on DVD by Tenzenmen (009TZM), entitled "Live at Bar Open". In 2006, Baseball played support to the likes of

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam'' ...

Les Savy Fav Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Records, ...

, Amateur Party, Birushanah (Jap) and Ryokuchi (Jap). The band took a break from 2010 before returning to playing and writing new songs in September 2016.

Members

, leads vocals, violin (also a member of

, Sandro) * Monika Fikerle, vocals, bass, drums (also a member of

and

) *

, vocals, bass, drums (also a member of True Radical Miracle, Pikelet) * Ben Butcher, vocals, guitar (also a member of The Assassination Collective)

Past members

* Yoshi-Nobu Araki, bass and guitar 2003 (playing on Gods and Stars, Priests and Kings) * Steve Begovich, bass 2002-2003

Discography

Albums

* ''The Sea Is Blue and Green (Songs of Travel Loss and Hope)'' (Warm Cola Recordings, 1999) * ''Gods and Stars, Priests and Kings'' (Thirsty Arab, 2003) * ''Animal Kingdom'' (Stomp STMPCD014, 2008)

Extended plays

* ''Taiwan-Japan Tour'' (2005)

Singles

* "Run, Run, Run" / "The Synagogue of Wooden Nerves" (Split 7" single with Ricaine, 1995)

References

External links

Baseball at MySpace.comHohaiyan Rock Festival, Taipei City Government Department of Cultural AffairsBaseball at last.fmBaseball on rateyourmusic.comBaseball on Bandcamp
{{Authority control Australian punk rock groups Victoria (Australia) musical groups