Epicure were an Australian progressive rock band formed in Ballarat, in 1996 as Pima's Little Finger. Their original line-up was Juan Alban on vocals and guitar, Tim Bignell on bass guitar, Michael Brown on guitar, Luke Cairnes on guitar and Dom Santamaria on drums. "Armies Against Me" and "

Life Sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

", were picked up by national youth radio, Triple J. These appeared on ''

The Goodbye Girl ''The Goodbye Girl'' is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on an od ...

'' (March 2004), their third album. Both tracks were listed on the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2003 The 2003 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on 25 January 2004, was the eleventh 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 40 (not ne ...

, whilst the title track of their next extended play, ''Self Destruct in Five'' (October 2004), made the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2004 The 2004 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 26 January 2005. It was the twelfth such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. Voters were limited to 20 votes each: 10 v ...

. In late 2003 they supported United States rock group, Live, on their Australian tour. They played at the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

festival in January 2004 and at both

Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve an ...

s in December. The group disbanded in mid-2010 after a final tour, Quietly into the Night.

History

Epicure started in 1996 as a school rock band, Pima's Little Finger, its five original members Juan Alban, Michael 'Brownie' Brown, Tim Bignell, Dom Santamaria and Luke Cairnes played their first gig at the Dunnstown Football Club and were booed off stage in favour of

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

. They released their first recording in 1996 – a demo tape, ''The Least of These''. Their base in Ballarat's local live music scene was The Rat at the Bridge Mall Inn (now closed). After they released their first extended play, ''The Means to an End'' (1997), they were signed to Flugelhorn Records and managed by Mark Eatock, who bought the Bridge Mall Inn in early 1999.

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

radio helped bring Epicure to the Australian consciousness when they added "Feet from Under Me" and "Johnny Venus" to their play lists in 2000. Both appeared on their debut album, '' Fold'' (August 2000). Shortly after the release of their second EP, ''

Elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

'' (October 2001), Brown and Cairnes both left and were replaced by Dan Houlihan on lead guitar and Dean Shannon on keyboard. This brought a new feeling to the band, and Shannon became popular with the crowds for his showmanship. In the same month they issued their second album, ''

Airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be t ...

'', which is a compilation of their previous EPs. Their third EP, ''

'', was independently released with distribution by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

on 1 September 2003. It peaked at No. 77 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was recorded by Cam MacKenzie, with tracks mixed by producer, Chris Dickie. During that year both "Armies Against Me" and "Life Sentence", were picked up by Triple J. These appeared on their third album, ''

'' (March 2004), which peaked at No. 88 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The band spent 2003–04 touring Australia, particularly in regional areas. They supported shows by Pete Murray, the Beautiful Girls, Xavier Rudd, the Whitlams, and Monique Brumby. A dispute between the band and Shannon occurred in mid-2004, which resulted in his replacement on keyboards by Heath McCurdy. Their third full-length album, '' Main Street'', was released in October 2005, and provided the single, "Tightrope Walker". In late 2006 Houlihan was replaced by Mick Hubbard (ex-

Jen Cloher Jen Cloher (born 9 October 1973) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer, currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. Cloher's 2017 Jen Cloher (album), self-titled fourth studio album peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Charts. From 200 ...

) on lead guitar. During June–July 2007 the band took a break from recording their next album, ''Postcards from a Ghost'', and played support slots for

Mia Dyson Mia Celeste Dyson (born 1981) is an Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She has released six studio albums. Her second, ''Parking Lots'', won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2005. Since 2013, D ...

on the east coast of Australia. Epicure posted a video of recording sessions on Myspace and asked fans to choose between "Landslide" and "Cobra Kisses" for the album's lead single – "Cobra Kisses" was chosen and issued. ''Postcards from a Ghost'' followed in October 2008 via Down in Flames/MGM. For the album aside from the band members they used session musicians: Chris Brodieon pedal steel; Jason Bunn on viola; Dani Fry on backing vocals; Sianne Lee on backing vocals; Caewen Martin on cello; Jodi Moore on electric violin; Stu Syme on tambourine; Jenny Thomas on violin; and Erki Veltheim on viola. In February 2010 the band announced their final tour, Quietly into the Night before disbanding in May.

Afterwards

Juan Alban issued his debut solo extended play, ''Too Long in Flight'', in March 2011.

Members

Juan Alban Juan Alban is a guitar player and the lead singer of Australian rock band Epicure. Alban currently resides in Ballarat, Victoria. References External links * Living people Australian rock guitarists Year of birth missing (living pe ...

(Vocals/Guitar) 1996 - 2010 * Tim Bignell (Bass) 1996 - 2010 * Dom Santamaria (Drums) 1996 - 2010 * Michael Brown (Guitar / Misc Sounds) 1996 - 2001 * Luke Cairnes (Guitar) 1996 - 2001 * Dean Shannon (Keyboard) 2002 - 2004 * Dan Houlihan (Guitar) 2002 - 2005 * Heath McCurdy (Keyboard) 2004 - 2009 * Mick Hubbard (Lead Guitar) 2005 - 2009 * Josh Murphy (Lead Guitar) 2009 - 2010

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Extended plays

References

External links

Epicure - Official siteAustralian Music Online - Artist Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epicure Australian alternative rock groups Victoria (Australia) musical groups