Guttersnipes were a four-piece punk, pop band, which formed in 1990 by Paul "Brocky" Brockhoff on guitar and vocals, Ian MacKaye on drums, Michael "Macca" McManus on bass guitar and Andrew "Ricey" Rice on guitar and vocals. Soon after MacKaye was replaced by Mark "Hursty" Hurst on drums. They issued an eight-track album, ''Blurred'', in November 1991 (expanded with three bonus tracks in July of the following year) via

Au-Go-Go Records Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label. It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and was later operated by Greta Moon. The label started ...

. The group disbanded in 2001, although they occasionally reformed for additional shows.

History

Guttersnipes were formed as a four-piece punk, pop band, in Melbourne in 1990 by Paul "Brocky" Brockhoff on guitar and vocals, Ian MacKaye on drums, Michael "Macca" McManus on bass guitar and Andrew "Ricey" Rice on guitar and vocals. According to Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, "Taking their cue from the likes of Hüsker Dü, Lemonheads, Fugazi and other 1980s US guitar bands,

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

traded in guitar-heavy pop. 'Melodic grunge' was a term often used to describe the band's loud, distorted yet tuneful approach." MacKaye was replaced on drums by Michael "Macca" McManus. The band were signed to

Au Go Go Records Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label. It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and was later operated by Greta Moon. The label start ...

and released their debut single, "It's Over", in early 1991. The group's debut album, ''Blurred'', followed in November of that year, initially as an eight-track, 10" long play. It was recorded with Simon Grounds as producer, audio engineer and mixer, from August to November. A CD version followed in July of the next year, with three bonus tracks from the "It's Over" single. During 1992 they supported gigs by visiting international groups, Lemonheads,

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. During the 1990s they toured the eastern states, often together with fellow local label mates,

Spiderbait Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1991 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram (musician), Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004 the group's cover version o ...

the Meanies The Meanies are an Australian punk rock band formed in 1988 by D.D. Meanie (a.k.a. Dennis DePianto) on lead guitar, Link Meanie (a.k.a. Lindsay McLennan) on vocals and guitar, Ringo Meanie (a.k.a. Mark Hobbs) on drums, and VB Meanie (a.k.a. Da ...

and/or the Throwaways. In the early 1990s they formed a triad of bands with the Throwaways and Spiderbait, to organise shows under the umbrella, ''Tell 'em It's Healthy''. They performed at festivals, including Meredith in 1991 and 1992. The Guttersnipes are no longer a professional working band since 2001. They played the occasional show in Melbourne but these were rare.

Members

* Paul Brockhoff – guitar, vocals * Ian MacKaye – drums * Michael McManus – bass guitar * Andrew Rice – guitar, vocals * Mark Hurst – drums

Discography

Albums

* ''Blurred'' (2 November 1991) –

(ANDA 144) 10" long play

Extended plays

* ''Face the Day'' (1996) Au Go Go Records (ANDA 201)

Singles

* "It's Over" (1990) Au Go Go Records (ANDA 129) ;Split singles * "Elephant Beer" (1992) on ''Hog / Cosmic Psychos / Guttersnipes / Empty Set with Ron Asheton'', give-away with ''Lemon Fanzine'', issue 15

References

* * * * *Au Go Go Records (2002)
Au Go Go Discography by Artist
Retrieved Apr. 18, 2007.

External links

Guttersnipes page

{{Authority control Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1990 Victoria (Australia) musical groups Au Go Go Records artists