You Am I

You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the number-one position on the ARIA Albums Chart: ''Hi Fi Way'' (February 1995), '' Hourly, Daily'' (July 1996) and '' #4 Record'' (April 1998). Nine of their tracks appeared on the related ARIA Singles Chart top 50 with "What I Don't Know 'bout You" (February 1998), their highest charting, at No. 28. You Am I have received ten ARIA Music Awards from thirty-one nominations. The band have supported international artists such as the Who, the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth and Oasis.

You Am I's second studio album, ''Hi Fi Way'', appeared in the eighth position in the book, '' 100 Best Australian Albums'' (October 2010). Their third album, ''Hourly, Daily'' was listed at number fifty five. The same two releases were also voted into the " Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time" list compiled by Australian youth radio station, Triple J, in 2011. Fourteen of their songs have been placed on the related annual Hottest 100 lists with " Heavy Heart" (July 1998), the highest at No. 9.

History

1989–1992: Formation and early years

You Am I were formed in Sydney in December 1989 by Tim Rogers (ex- Pleasureheads, Glazed Expression) on vocals, guitar, mellotron and Hammond organ; his older brother Jaimme Rogers on drums; and Nick Tischler on bass guitar. Tim Rogers and Tischler were old school mates. After forming, the band members began by trying to cover songs by the Hard-Ons, X, and Aerosmith.

At an early gig, a fan provided "a big spiritual spiel about '.... I am you... you am i...'. The band took that as the inspiration for the working title" for the group's name. This initial line-up was short-lived, Jaimme left before the end of the following year after a "fight" with Tim, and he was replaced by Mark Tunaley on drums. In the band's 1993 song, " Jaimme's Got a Gal", Tim explained why his brother left.

You Am I signed with an independent label, Timberyard Records, and in May 1991 issued a six-track extended play, ''Snake Tide''. It was recorded in February at Electric Avenue Studios with Phil Punch as engineer, mixer and co-producer with the group. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described the EP as "rough hewn". You Am I appeared at the inaugural Big Day Out concert, held in Sydney in January 1992.

By April 1992, Tischler had left the band "because he didn't think he could fulfill Tim's vision". He was replaced by their previous live sound mixer, Andy Kent (ex-Pupils of Love), on bass guitar. In May they released a five-track EP, '' Goddamn'', which was produced by Tom Kazas. An alternative nine-track version of ''Goddamn'', which was expanded by adding four tracks from ''Snake Tide'', was also issued. McFarlane declared that "By that stage, Rogers had established his credentials as a fine songwriter and the band a reputation as an exciting, dynamic live act."

By mid-1992, they had signed with another independent label, rooArt Records, on their subsidiary rA Records, which was distributed by WEA. The group released their third EP, '' Can't Get Started'', as a five-track set in October 1992, which was co-produced by the band with David Price. Before the end of the year You Am I supported Hoodoo Gurus on a national tour.

1993–1994: Debut album: ''Sound as Ever''

Late in 1992, Tim Rogers sent samples of You Am I's releases to Lee Ranaldo of American rock group, Sonic Youth. In January 1993 both groups appeared at the second Big Day Out festival in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. While in Sydney, Ranaldo co-produced You Am I's five-track EP, ''Coprolalia'', which was issued in April. McFarlane opined that it was "bursting with kinetic energy and first-rate songs." You Am I co-headlined a national tour from May to June, with stoner metallers, Tumbleweed.

You Am I travelled to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, using Sonic Youth's Pachyderm Recording Studios. For eight days Ranaldo produced their debut album, '' Sound as Ever'' (November 1993), with Wayne Connolly as audio engineer. It appeared on the ARIA Albums Chart top 100. Mark Morgenstein of AllMusic felt the work "shows this power trio in top form, with enthusiastic backing to well-written songs... f itwas a little more consistent, this would be a classic."

In May 2013, Rogers reminisced, "I lost an incredibly important person to cancer who I still think about every day and that experience pretty much coloured the whole record." He referred to his mentor, Stephen "Goose" Gray of Sydney-based rock group, Box the Jesuit, who had died of lymphoma in August 1993. "oosewould have wanted me to stay in America to finish the album so that's what I did. But there's no nostalgia or good feelings about that time."

In October 1993, ahead of the album's release, Tunaley was "fired from the band with a simple phone call." He had "wanted to play heavier music", however Kent and Rogers "wanted to play a more pop based rock". Rogers initially considered disbanding the group but continued with Russell Hopkinson (ex- Nursery Crimes) on drums, percussion and backing vocals. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 in March they won the newly created category, Best Alternative Release for ''Sound as Ever''.

''Sound as Ever'' provided three singles, " Adam's Ribs" (October 1993), "Berlin Chair" (February 1994) and "Jaimme's Got a Gal" (May). All three received high rotation on national youth radio station, Triple J; each was listed on the station's annual listeners' poll, Hottest 100: "Adam's Ribs" at No. 50 in January 1994, "Berlin Chair " at No. 23 and "Jaimme's Got a Gal" at No. 77 in January 1995.

1994–1995: ''Hi Fi Way''

For seven days during mid-September 1994 You Am I decamped to Greene Street Studios, New York. Again they worked with Ranaldo, as producer, to record their second album, ''Hi Fi Way'' which was released on 20 February 1995. Ahead of the album, in November 1994, they issued a limited pressing (449 units) of " When You Got Dry"/"How Much Is Enough" as a double-A sided vinyl single. "Cathy's Clown" was released as a single in early February, which peaked at No. 36 on the ARIA Singles Chart. ''Hi Fi Way'' reached the number-one position on the related albums chart. A limited edition version included a bonus disc, ''Someone Else's Crowd'', which had seven live tracks recorded at their gig at Memorial Stadium, Seattle on 13 August 1994.

McFarlane described the album, which "remains one of the finest Australian albums of the 1990s. Full of audacious, incisive and tuneful rock'n'roll it made its debut at #1 on the mainstream national chart and went on to sell over 35000 copies." Ed Nimmervoll of HowlSpace website felt it was "reflective, lyrically nostalgic"; while AllMusic's Steven McDonald wrote it was " cute outing that throws in thumpy drums, crunchy guitars and delightfully whiny Mellotron string noises along the way." By April 1995 the group had added Greg Hitchcock (ex-The Verys) as an auxiliary member on guitar and keyboards.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 You Am I received their second trophy for Best Alternative Album, for ''Hi Fi Way''. They were also nominated for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Video ("Jewels and Bullets", directed by Robbie Douglas-Turner) and Best Cover Art (by Simon Anderson). ''Hi Fi Way'' is listed at No. 8 in the book, '' 100 Best Australian Albums'' (October 2010). The authors described it as "a textured, immediate pop record that delves through layers of memories, looking back to consider the past even as it makes sober judgements for the future." In July 2013 it re-entered the top 50 for a week.

1996–1997: ''Hourly, Daily''

You Am I's third album, '' Hourly, Daily'' was released in July 1996, was produced by the group and recorded at Q Sound Studios, Sydney in December 1995. They were assisted by engineers, Connolly and Paul McKercher, which appeared on Ra/rooArt and was distributed by Shock Records. According to Rogers " twas my first attempt at a song cycle." McFarlane wrote that it is "another album of urgent, adventurous, unabashed pure pop." Nimmervoll felt it was "a nostalgic journey musically, reflecting Tim Rogers' love of The Sixties. Instead of reflecting his own life, Tim's lyrics looked at the suburban lives of others." ''Hourly, Daily'' also debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Charts, and is the first on the Shock Records label to do so upon launch. A limited edition was issued with a bonus disc of seven live tracks, ''Beat Party''.

For their US and United Kingdom versions of ''Hourly, Daily'' on WEA/Warner Bros and rooArt/BMG, in March 1997, two tracks were replaced by newly recorded material, " Trike" and "Opportunities". AllMusic's Jason Anderson opined that ''Hourly, Daily'' "did little to ingratiate the group to an America fascinated with the packaging of youth culture... t isa conceptual piece that is obsessed with the past but without retro trappings... ogers' lyricslaces together complex ideas with a narrative that transforms the pain of growing up artistic and male in Australia into a weird rock & roll existentialism." The album provided five singles, with the first four reaching the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart: "Mr. Milk

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