The Smith Street Band are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, in which the titular Smith Street can be found. The band have released five extended plays and six studio albums, ''No One Gets Lost Anymore'' (2011), ''Sunshine and Technology'' (2012), '' Throw Me in the River'' (2014), '' More Scared of You than You Are of Me'' (2017), '' Don't Waste Your Anger'' (2020) and Life After Football (2022).

History

2010–2011: Early history

The band formed in 2010, composed of singer/lyricist/guitarist/keyboardist

Wil Wagner Wil Wagner is an Australian singer, songwriter, guitar and keyboard player from Melbourne. He is the lead singer of The Smith Street Band. Career In April 2008, Wagner released ''Us Boys Run'', credited to Wil Wagner & Friends. In 2010, Wagne ...

, guitarist/backing vocalist Tom Lawson, guitarist Lee Hartney, bassist Jimi O'Loughlin and drummer/backing vocalist Chris Cowburn. Initially named Wil Wagner and The Smith Street Band — an allusion to

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

— the band changed its name in 2011 to signify a change to a whole-band songwriting style. Their debut EP, ''South East Facing Wall'', was released on Jackknife Records in January 2011 and was reissued in 2013. The band's debut album, ''No One Gets Lost Anymore'' was released shortly after, in July 2011, on

Poison City Records Poison City Records is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Victoria, founded in 2003. The label opened a physical store in 2008, at 400 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy selling records and skateboards. In mid-2020, the store and label moved ...

. Both albums received critical acclaim in Melbourne.

2012–2015: Poison City Records years

In 2012, the group announced their Young Drunks tour to promote their new album, ''Sunshine and Technology'', which ran from January through March, with

Bomb the Music Industry! Bomb the Music Industry! (commonly abbreviated as Bomb or BtMI!) were an American punk rock musical collective from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, United States, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenstock. ...

and The Bennies as support acts. In March 2013, Wagner announced All Tomorrow's Shoeys, a three-day music festival held at Hobart's Brisbane Hotel. Curated by Wagner, the festival included

Luca Brasi Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'', as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime famil ...

, The Bennies, Grim Fandango and Lincoln Le Fevre. Later that month, the band participated in the "Tram Sessions" program that involves the recording of live performances on Melbourne tram routes. The program organisers explained: "One day we asked ourselves, hmm, if only there was a band name encapsulated an iconic Melbourne street which also happened to be along an iconic Melbourne route who had a typically route 86 sound... And then it came to us. The Smith Street Band!" In August 2013, the ''Don't Fuck with Our Dreams'' EP was released. The EP's title track was inspired by the events prior to a show from the Young Drunks tour in

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

, New South Wales, Australia, in which the guitarist from The Bennies was the victim of a near-fatal stabbing. The song was performed to end the band's show at The Fest event in Gainesville, Florida, US in late 2013. In June 2014, The Smith Street Band announced Jeff Rosenstock from Bomb the Music Industry! would produce their third album, being recorded in July 2014 in the small town of

Forrest, Victoria Forrest is a small rural township in the Otway Ranges, Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Forrest and the surrounding area had a population of 230. History The History of Forrest started more than 40,000 years ago. Forrest is at the n ...

. The album is titled ''Throw Me in the River'' and was released on 31 October 2014. In January 2015, the band released an EP titled '' Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face'', which was inspired by the actions of then-

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and his government, particularly its stance on asylum seekers. The EP was released on 7" vinyl and as a download, with proceeds from its sales until the end of February going to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. The song directly impacted sales of the band's album ''Throw Me in the River'', which rose to number 105 on the

Australian Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. At the end of January, the band toured across Australia on the 26-date Get High, See Everyone tour alongside PUP, Great Cynics and Apart From This.

2016–2021: Pool House Records, ''More Scared of You than You Are of Me'' and ''Don't Waste Your Anger''

In November 2016, the band premiered "Death to the Lads" on

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 ...

, as the first single from their then-forthcoming album. A series of shows were announced as a promotional tour for the single, with bands The Nation Blue, Grim Rhythm and FOREVR. The single made it to #21 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2016. The following day they announced that they would be leaving Poison City Records to start their own label, Pool House Records. In February the band sent out a series of birthday cards directing fans to a website which went live on Valentines Day and debuted the second single, "Birthdays", as well as officially announcing their fourth studio album, '' More Scared of You than You Are of Me'', confirming that it would be released through Pool House Records and produced by Jeff Rosenstock. Exclusive retailer should be

Specialist Subject Records Specialist Subject Records is an English independent record label initially founded in Leeds in 2007, but based largely in Exeter since being revived in 2009. They have been described as a "powerhouse" of DIY Indie Rock. History Specialist Subj ...

, an independent record label and shop based in Bristol, UK. The album was promoted by Triple J in April as their feature album, and a number of solo shows by

around the country, officially being released on the 7th. The band performed the entire album in full at a launch party, which was livestreamed via

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

. An Australian album tour was announced with A.W., Ceres and

Joyce Manor Joyce Manor is an American punk rock band from Torrance, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. Since their formation, the band hav ...

. On 26 May 2017 the band performed the opening show of their ''More Scared of You than You Are of Me'' tour, and debuted a new touring line-up; adding label-mate Jess Locke and musician/long-time friend of the band Lucy Wilson. In May 2017, the band premiered the video for their third single, "Shine", recreating AC/DC's video for "

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" with the original director

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. In June 2017, it was announced that the band would be opening for Midnight Oil at the

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in Los Angeles, alongside

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. On 17 March 2018, Pool House Records held the inaugural Pool House Party festival at Coburg Velodrome in Melbourne, featuring label mates The Bennies and Jess Locke, local acts like Press Club, WAAX, and

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, and international guests

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and Signals Midwest. In February 2019, lead singer

was accused of harassment and emotional abuse following the circulation on social media of emails and messages sent by Wagner, with support acts subsequently pulling out of the Smith Street Band's upcoming national tour. In April 2020, the band announced the release of their fifth studio album, '' Don't Waste Your Anger''. The album became the band's first to peak at number one on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...

. The album featured more electronic elements the previous albums, showing the band's departure from their previously Punk rock sound. This makes the album sound little like its predecessors and sound like a new, more synth driven sound. In March 2021, the band released a live unplugged album which was made up of acoustic versions of previous Smith Street Band songs and a cover of

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's song "Poke".

2022: ''Life After Football''

In October 2022, the group announced the forthcoming release of their sixth studio album, ''Life After Football''. Life After Football was released on the 25th November, 2022.

Band members

Current members

– lead vocals, guitar (2010–present), keyboards (2010–2012, 2017) *Lee Hartney – guitar, backing vocals (2010–present) *Michael "Fitzy" Fitzgerald – bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–present) *Jess Locke – guitar, backing vocals (2018–present; touring member 2017–2018) *Matt Bodiam – drums (2018–present; touring member 2017–2018)

Former members

*Jimi O'Loughlin – bass guitar (2010–2012) *Tom Lawson – guitar, backing vocals (2010–2012) *Chris Cowburn – drums, backing vocals (2010-2017) *Lucy Wilson – backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar (2018–2021; touring member 2017–2018) File:The Smith Street Band – Pirate Satellite Festival Hamburg 2015 02.jpg, Wil Wagner File:The Smith Street Band – Pirate Satellite Festival Hamburg 2015 08.jpg, Michael "Fitzy" Fitzgerald File:The Smith Street Band Rocken am Brocken 2016 04.jpg, Lee Hartney

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2013 The AIR Awards of 2013 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2013) is the eighth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Mel ...

, ''Sunshine and Technology'' , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2015 The AIR Awards of 2015 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2015) is the tenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Meat Market, North Me ...

, ''Throw Me in the River' , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2018 The AIR Awards of 2018 is the twelfth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 26 July 2017. In 2018, ...

, ''More Scare of You That You Are of Me'' , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , -

EG Awards / Music Victoria Awards

The EG Awards (known as ''Music Victoria Awards'' since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. ! , - ,

EG Awards of 2012 The EG Awards of 2012 are the seventh Annual The Age EG (Entertainment Guide) Awards and took place at Billboards on 20 November 2012. The event was hosted by Myf Warhurst. It was the last time under the title of EG Awards before changing its na ...

, The Smith Street Band , Best New Talent , , , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2015 The Music Victoria Awards of 2015 are the tenth Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, culminating in an awards ceremony on 11 November 2015. For the first time, the public awards and the genre specific awards, were all ...

, The Smith Street Band , Best Live Band , , rowspan="2", , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2017 The Music Victoria Awards of 2017 are the 12th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 22 November 2017. For the first time this year, the Best Regional Venue award was separated into of over and under 50 gigs ...

, "Death to the Lads" , Best Song , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

J Awards of 2017 The J Award of 2017 is the thirteenth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. The announcement comes at the culmination of Ausmusic Month (November). For the fourth year, four ...

, ''More Scare of You That You Are of Me'' , Australian Album of the Year , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

National Live Music Awards of 2016 The National Live Music Awards of 2016 are the inaugural National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of ...

, themselves , Live Act of the Year , , - ,

National Live Music Awards of 2017 The National Live Music Awards of 2017 are the second National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the ...

, Lee Hartney (The Smith Street Band) , Live Guitarist of the Year ,

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Street Band Folk punk groups Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Melbourne 2010 establishments in Australia Specialist Subject Records artists