SNF

It all started in 1992 when we formed a band called Agent Orange in Plymouth, we brought the Seattle grunge sound to a city that had and still has an inconic catchment of talented musicians. Originally playing covers to find our own niche some of the great songs from the album Juice were already being born from sparks of chemistry from Steve and Dom's love for original song writing. The Agent Orange original line up in 1992 was Matt Bradbury vocals, Steve Rendell and Mike Swain guitar, Dom Gearon bass and Abe Mohsin on drums. Scott Leach came in for Mike Swain and Tom Broman replaced Abe Mohsin which gave the band a backline to match any band at that time. Things started to happen for us when in 1995 we sent our now famous demo tape still under the name Agent Orange titled "Uncontrolled" to the Kerrang and got a 5 star review! Unfotunately a band from the USA were already called Agent Orange so a change of name was decided and Matt came up with Send No Flowers after reading the obituaries in the local paper. Based in Bristol and still under the name Agent Orange we played The Marquee Club in London supporting acts like State of Mind and Afgan Sound eventually getting our own headlining gigs at The Marquee Club and The Astoria.............Below is some live Tv footage recorded at the Rock Am Ring 1996. We played the guest stage the night before but they asked us back to play the main stage the following morning which was a fantastic experience! if your wondering where the audience is? well it was kinda early and I suppose most of them had hangovers! So here's a rare treat for all the people that didnt get a chance to see SNF live! First up are the video's for "Monotony" and "Downfall" then its "Wrong", "Bitter Taste" ," Hyper Selector" and "Sepia"Eleven excellent tracks on a debut album from 1996 but no success story, so what is the story? Send no flowers we snapped up and studio bound.They had songs, by god, superb compositions, and numbers that were the equal of prominent American counterparts of the day, Stone Temple Pilots were mentioned in comparison, as were Alice In Chains. The album kicks off with the sublime Effervescent Smile. A noisy rush of the instruments and we are into the verse, vocal surges and querulous guitar back finally into the chorus. The lyrics are comic, absurd, in contrast to a rich tune. The guitar echoes, sinks, rises and sinks again, hankering on its own of some old ITV television detective series. Send No Flowers wrote songs that took circuitous journeys yet somehow always found their way home. The songs never bored nor got too big. Fireman is as 'showcase' as it gets, constantly changing, with a rightful showing off on the guitars. It is a seven minute, 53 second epic, but is not undeserving of the time taken out playing or listening. It takes as long as is needed to tell the tune.Infact each song on the album is as strong as the one before it.Infact a friend describe the Juice album as timeless! and Id have to agree that the effort must have been monumental into writing each of those songs. Yes Matt Bradbury had his strops but his vocals on Juice are exceptional.Monotony became the principle song on the first four-track EP in 1995 and is another clever barnstormer. The theme of repetition is cast respectively on verse and chorus in rolling guitars and a shouted sentence. Meanwhile something more interesting was happening as the vocals swam and swooned underneath the assault with only the briefest of easing guitar links between verse and chorus. Downfall was a rollicking, rabble-rousing track that became the 1996 single and video. Animal Feeder was the closest they came to Pearl Jam, a subtle album closer, while other standout tracks included Porcelain and Sepia, though mystifyingly there was not one dud or drab number or note in the 11. So few long players can please beginning to end, but Juice does.How could they go so quickly belly up? The answer is two-fold. They toured and they were British. Like any band with a chance they toured to get their sound around.Unfortunately had they found their niche then they would then have been up against a kindergarten audience of rock youngsters who were already consigning most of the grunge acts that rescued rock to the same hinterland as the soft-rockers that preceded them. The rock kids wanted only listen to the next big thing from America, anything but rock in fact, Gwen Stefani and Fred Durst were their new heroes, if only they could have settled for sexual confusion. The moment that rock kids got wind of the fact that a band was British they were doomed! which is the society that we live in! It really pisses me off! .Support for another year from their label and a second album may have increased their chances of some success but they were dropped. So they are left to stand as one of the greatest, rarely heard or considered albums in rock. My only feeling and lets not forget that these guys are really good friends of mine that maybe some songs drifted off from the genre they were musically projecting (some songs went off the grunge riffs and became too pop/indie?) also I think your average teenage rock/metal fan needs an image to aspire to and emulate and I think SNF werent nurtured and helped along in that department, it was like "get on with it!". Bradbury was a great lyricist. Steve co-wrote all the songs with Dom and Scott had put his genius input into some of their greatest songs.Then there was Thomas Broman! Steve Rendell said to me just the other day"he was by far the most talented! he could just walk into any band in the world" SNF did infact demo a second album with some of the tracks being used as a launchpad for Shineola but unfortunately it wasnt to be, Scott mentions in his blog that he felt that the label werent 100% behind them which if I recall The Wildhearts having the same problem. I know personaly a few members of SNF its not a subject thats brought up very often on how/why it ended? They talk about the good times now and again and it pleases me to see them laughing about it but they know as well as their fans that there was alot more to come from them. But lets look at what they have left us?! A recording that in my opinion and alot of others has to be one of the greatest rock albums from that time.I get them to play the odd SNF track live now and again..its great!If I come across a secondhand copy of the CD album I purchase it and introduce it to a friend. It has yet to disappoint.I will end this by saying that they are wonderful guys I also had the pleasure of meetng Tom last year. You may get an anniversary gig out of them one day and I will be out front with the rest of you! www.myspace.com/tattoedsexrockgod..............Last to the party as always I really thought SNF/Shineola had missed the boat when it came to the Internet movement, but I'm very pleased that people have taken the time & effort to trawl through their CD collection and have decided we deserved some web space, many thanks. I've always thought we would reform, after a Japanese No.1 though, but being on different sides of the country is probably the main barrier, nice thought though. And my side of the story... I joined Steve & Dom's project happily in '92, cosequentley moving to bristol, I think we were all very dedicated and our isolation in the farmhouse in Bristol was a very bleak but an extremely exciting period of all our lives, failure was never a contemplation and we definatley had an arrogance when it came to our music and direction..but deservedly I"d like to think. I would still have signed to East West if it all happened again today, Dante Bennuto & Geoff Gillespie (A&R) were an extremely entertaining force, and the beckoning American support release wise was very attractive back then, but unfortunately in the year we waited for our album release the musical climate shifted dramatically and momentum was lost, no excuses, just bad luck. I'm glad a couple of the band members look fondly towards the demo's for the second album, I am still very proud of our achievement (16 songs written & recorded in as many days as I remember), the album however has always held an unusual quality for me, a mixture of pride & prejudice, I've never quite been able to play it without thinking of better production ideas that would have made it more accessible and would have loved to have rerecorded it in that year we waited for its release with a producer of any note (seeing as we produced it ourselves practically, uncredited as it goes, or at least it felt like it.) I'm very pleased that the other members of SNF are still active and wish them the best of luck in all they do, they were always amazing at delivering an exciting live sound that made me perform way beyond anything that other collaborations after our demise have managed to draw out of me. Its taken me 10 years to get back in the studio, this was prompted by a one off performance at a charity function attended by Sir Bob Geldolf and Peter Gabriel, it was a mental health awareness gig that I was extremely happy to agree to do & the response to the gig provided me with enough drive to start recording again, the songs will be available to listen to on my myspace site /finkfreud as & when completed & all comments are welcome...Matt www.myspace.com/finkfreudI´m Tom the swedish drummer , I´m gonna try remembering a bit of what happened during the time we played together in this great band called Send no Flowers.It started back in 93 when the band that I played with split up. We had an English manger called Dave Thorne who also happened to manage an English band called Agent Orange. He asked me to come over and do an audition for this band, and I was very happy to do so. I came over to this studio called Great Linford manor outside Milton Keynes, an amazing studio where we also recorded the album Juice.I auditioned and went back to Sweden and waited for the call, it came after a couple of weeks and Dave Thorn told me I got the job. We rehersed for a few days and went out on our first tour where I managed to f*ck my knee up on the second gig in Brighton. I was dancing and slipped.....straight to Brighton hospital and from there to Stockholm to have an operation. They could have sacked me at that point, I would have. We got together again after a couple of weeks to record the album, I can´t say it was without problems (for me). I had my leg in a plaster and through the whole recording of Juice. The recording went on and after the guitars, bass and everything was done Matt put down the vocals. The mixing was done in Stockholm. The lads came over and we had a great time.After a while finally Juice realeased so we toured th UK over and over. On our first proper tour we where supporting a band called Skid Row,a very big rock band from the states...we let me tell you it was a experience not to be forgotten! Lets just say we did a lot of touring had a lot of laughs and a few bad times as well of course. The last tour we did in the UK we had two support bands, one was called Headswim (one of my all time favorite bands, still listen to them, so much talent in that band) and Feeder. I guess most of you have heard of Feeder, they where great then so I guess they must be even greater now. All I can say is that it was a fantastic ride with highs and lows and the rest of the guys in the band?..well I love them to bits. Tom (Drummer SNF). . . . . . . . . .Hi I'm Scott. I was one of the Guitar players in Send No Flowers. I've been asked to write a little piece by Sean, who created this site.Looking back, it was a great experience and has left me with lifelong friends and fond memories. The good memories were:· Being part of a team that created Juice, which I’m very proud of. Playing with the other guys was an absolute privilege· Touring and playing with many talented bands (Headswim, Placebo, Feeder, The Wildhearts.. and many more )· Jamming in our stinking ‘house from hell’ into the early hours of most nightsThe not so good memories were:· Waiting a year for the record company to release the Juice CD. There were some great and dedicated individuals at East/West (our label) but we got little support from the senior management of the company. I guess we didn’t sit comfortably alongside Simply Red, Chris Rea etc…ha ha.· Using the toilet in our ‘house from hell’ not for the faint hearted!Toms’ story about ‘doing his knee’ made me laugh. I can picture it like it was yesterday(can't believe it was nearly 12 years ago!). Actually, Tom could almost write a book about all his touring escapes….The Frenchman anyone? Ha ha.I’d be happy to do a one off gig sometimet.Aswell as being in a cover band doing the odd SNF song to keep our hands in, I see Steve (the other guitarist) and Dom (the Bassist)(our kids go to the park together..aah) and Tom when he gets over to the UK. I haven’t seen Matt in years, so hope he’s enjoying whatever he’s doing.Im glad we made music that moved people and it’s nice to think people are still listening to Juice!........Being in SNF was a huge part of my life, something that will stay with me forever, One thing that all of the band had in common from a young age was that we were all into writing our own stuff, when we signed our record and publishing deals it was such a buzz to think that things were happening with our own music and it felt right. I think that the band was able to create music which was completely emotive, Matt's ability to write fantastic melodies over interesting music really worked (the song Aninal feeder being one of my favourites !!). We really believed that we had good songs and rehearsed intenseley at our house which we all shared, songs like sepia were written quickly but fireman and animal feeder took a few months to find their final arrangement. It was a good that we could all hear each others ideas all of the time as our gear was set up permanantly in a room downstairs, this meant the songs could grow naturally. The album gave a chance for songs like fireman and animal feeder to really come alive and it was cool to hear the strings arrangements added to the tracks in Sweden (In case you wondering Tom did not play the strings !!!). Touring was Hard but Good fun, it was full of extreme's like playing in a local pub one week and playing in a big venue like Brixton Acadmey a few weeks later, highlights were the Phoenix Festival ( a very hot day !!), Rock am Ring in Germany, Playing are own gigs at The London Astoria 2 and hearing the build in Fireman sound absolutely massive during a festival in Talinn, Estonia. The second would have been of course different (you can hear Hyperselecter on this site at Rock am ring) we did go through hell sometimes trying to write the second album and we must have demoed 20 or so songs. Due to many circumstances we did not release them but of course it would have been nice. I am very proud of the music we created and have the utmost respect for the musical talent of the other guys, thanks to everyone who has posted comments and to Sean for creating this site.How very interesting to see all this stuff! I must say that at the time I didn’t bother to save any photos, videos, magazine clips etc so it’s great to see it all in one place.I made sure I had a copy of “Juice” and managed to get copies of the Rock Am Ring video from Scott. I also got copies of all the second album demos from Steve but after the band split I only really ever used to listen to the album now and again. Thanks to Sean and Tom for putting this together.I am, and always will be very proud of that piece of work. It started with Steve and I aged 12 learning to play and write in our bedrooms and we were playing in pubs at the age of 15. We were undoubtedly only good enough for parental adulation at that time but Christ!, it gives you the desire to carry on, which we did.At university, Steve and I hooked up with a drummer, Abe; guitarist, Mike and got Matt on board. I graduated and moved to Bristol to work and luckily Steve and Abe were able to take a year out. At this time Mike left and Scott joined from a tenuous connection through Matt. We were starting to get some record company interest now and we had to give up our jobs as we were constantly going to London to do showcases; the most memorable of which was to Trevor Horn (of Biggles fame and Yes producer) and his label. Very strange doing a gig to four “suits” in the middle of the afternoon! He obviously liked it as he offered us a major deal; at this point a minor bidding war commenced and we eventually plumped with EastWest.I can’t tell whether this was a good thing or not. I would have loved to have a long career playing bass, writing and recording songs, touring, getting drunk, not getting up in the morning and getting paid but, it didn’t happen for many reasons.It’s funny hearing the demos again as I remember thinking at the time that we were selling out a little and writing in a much more simplified, formulaic structure which went against everything Steve and I set out to do. In hindsight however, I really like some of the songs and think we could have had a bloody good second album. Thin Lizzy made 4 albums before they sold as many as we did on our first; where’s the justice in that!?Although Steve, Scott and I are now playing together in a band again (have been since March 2005) I hadn’t got my bass out since pretty much our last gig, which was from memory in Harlesden, North London. We are now only doing covers and there is as much chance of SNF getting back together and touring as the world stopping spinning! That’s not due to fighting etc, I haven’t seen Matt since a few days after the gig in Harlesden and I don’t know if anyone knows where he is. I see Tom now and again which is great, would love to see him more but he now lives in Sweden. That man is a loon, one of the best loons ever! I see Steve and Scott all the time, we all have kids now and all three of us have fairly good jobs and are now “suits”! Doing the covers helps us to feel young again, make our ears ring and have a few (lots) of drinks.We only play in Plymouth once every 6 weeks or so at a place called “The Junction”. Feel free to come and say hello, check out the Cypher My Space page for dates. To give you a feel we do Foo Fighters, lots of Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam etc.Must stop now, I’m a nightmare when I eventually get going. Good to hear many of you still enjoying the songs, cheers.Dom.From the moment I heard these guys I knew I had found my band. Their sound was everything I had ever wanted a band to sound like, emotional, fragile, and atmospheric and with the best riffs & hooks I had ever heard. The first time I saw these guys play live I was totally blown away, Matt’s vocals gave me goosebumps. These songs were meant to be played live and these guys looked at total ease on that stage. When Juice was released it never left my side, it had everything from the opening wrecking ball of sound Effervescent smile to the almost cinematic Fireman and my favourite emotional rollercoaster sepia. For me this was the perfect album. Send No Flowers A&R man, Dante “the man who signed the wildhearts” introduced me to the band backstage after a show at the underworld. I could not string two words together when I met Matt...He had this aura around him. One I had pre-created due to his stage presence I think. Probably the best night in the history of a 17 year old rock fan that spent the night watching the gig next to the beautiful girls from the band Drain…After a few more shows and meeting the band on a regular basis I had great respect for the guys. Steve was always the first to make us feel welcome but all the guys were happy to spend time chatting away to us. On one occasion Steve went to the trouble of putting us on the guest list for a show and calling to say we were on. We often ran into the guys at other shows and once at Victoria station whilst on route to see Soundgarden.After the phoenix show (will never forget the blue tank parked next to the tent belonging to super furry animals and Matt wearing that nurses uniform ) I really thought this band was destined for something huge. When I found out SNF were no more and Shineola was born I was shocked but with the strength of new songs emerging I really thought this band had grown musically and everything was going to be alright. Infact more than aright saw Shineloa twice, once at the barfly and then the show at the LA II for me it is criminal that songs like 15 minutes, slut song, teenage heart and heavy downer never got to be produced and released. Many bands struggle to live up to the first record and often lose themselves until the third or four release. For Shineola this would not have been the case. These songs showed signs of the band growing and it is scary to think just how good the 2nd album could have been. I am lucky enough to have those tracks on a C90 and I think I will have to preserve it in formaldehyde because they are priceless to me. For those not fortunate enough to ever get to see SNF/Shineola you missed a fantastic slice of the best British rock music I have ever witnessed. For the record company and management team you let the best kept secret get away and for the guys of SNF’s thank you…Ps. Matt you’re out there somewhere…just one last show!!!! http://www.myspace.com/markreuby

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