Snowman was a band originally from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. They formed in 2002, relocated to London in 2008, and disbanded in 2011.

History

2002-2005: Formation and ''Zombies on the Airwaves of Paris''

Snowman began playing together in various incarnations and under different names during their high school years. Joe McKee and Andy Citawarman met when they were fourteen years old; they began writing music together almost immediately. Olga Hermanniusson soon joined on Bass guitar and saxophone. After a few line-ups and name changes, the band settled on Snowman with new drummer Ross DiBlasio joining in 2002. In 2003 they began playing live around Australia. They also recorded two demo CDs, which included early versions of "Lost in the Woods", "The Horror Song", "Moodswing" and a track that would go through many changes to eventually become "Wormwood". In 2003, the band won ''The Next Big Thing'' competition and began recording an EP later that year. ''Zombies on the Airwaves of Paris'' was released in September 2004 and distributed by

Shock Records Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label. History The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...

in Australia. It garnered positive reviews nationally. National tours with

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, ''Tu ...

The Mint Chicks The Mint Chicks were a New Zealand noise rock/art punk group (the band began to refer to their style of music as "troublegum" and have been referred to as anything from neo-punk to schizo-pop to the only half-serious genre definition of shit-gaz ...

and

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

soon followed, as well as a publishing deal with

Mushroom Music Publishing Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

. In 2005 the band was nominated for six WAMi Awards, winning the ''Favourite Newcomer'' award.

2006-2011: Studio albums, awards and break up

In 2006, the band signed with Melbourne-based indie label Dot Dash Records and began recording their self-titled debut album with Perth Producer

David Parkin David Alex Parkin, OAM (born 12 September 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the Subiaco Football Club in the Western Australian Na ...

at Blackbird Studios. ''

Snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...

'' was released on 23 September 2006 to positive reviews. They toured Australia extensively in the year that followed, playing the national

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 ...

tour, Meredith Music Festival, Laneway Festivals, and supported Liars,

Wolf & Cub Wolf & Cub are a psychedelic rock band from Adelaide, Australia. Three of the original members hail from Port Augusta. The four-piece were signed to record label 4AD, which make use of two drummers. This allows the percussive elements of their ...

and The Drones on their respective national tours. In 2006 the band was nominated for two WAMi Awards: with Citawarman winning the ''Best Male Vocalist Award''. At the 2007 WAMi Awards, Snowman won three WAMI awards for ''Most Popular Album' (

), 'Most Popular Music Video' ("You Are A Casino") and 'Best Rock Act'. "You Are a Casino" was released as a limited 7" single in the UK on 25 June 2007 on the Passport Label, through Forte Distribution In January 2008, Snowman announced that they were recording their second album with David Parkin. '' The Horse, The Rat and The Swan'' was released on 24 May 2008. It received critical acclaim throughout Australia, polling at number one on the ''Mess and Noise'' end of year critic's poll. and receiving a positive review and honorable mention in ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

s end of year poll. In late 2008, Snowman relocated to

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. The next two years saw Snowman write a new record with Australian producer Aaron Cupples. On 23 November 2010, Snowman announced the title, ''Absence'', and track listing of their upcoming album. The album was released on 3 June 2011. Upon its release Snowman formally announced that they had split up.

Band members

* Andy Citawarman (b.

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, 1984) – guitar/vocals/violin/keys *

Joe McKee Joseph John Paul McKee (born 31 October 1992 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dumbarton. McKee has previously played for Livingston, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Greenock Morton, Carlisle United, ...

(b. England, 1984) – guitar/vocals/gammalan * Olga Hermanniusson (b. Australia, 1983) – bass/vocals/saxophone * Ross DiBlasio (b. Australia 1985) – drums/percussion

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Awards

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Aust ...

are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985. (wins only) , - , 2005 , Snowman , Favourite Newcomer , , - , 2006 , Andy Citawarman (Snowman) , Best Male Vocalist , , - , rowspan="3", 2007 , "You Are a Casino" , Most Popular Music Video , , - , ''Snowman'' , Most Popular Album , , - , Snowman , Best Rock Act , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowman Australian indie rock groups Western Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2011