The Mansons

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"If you're into rock, you'll like this band. If you're into grunge, you'll like this band." Music Feeds, June 2008.
It was in Sydney's Inner West, amongst the art galleries, Thai restaurants, hippie stores and goth shops of Newtown, that Cassady Maddox (vox/guit), Dereck Cannon (vox/guit), Nikki Ponymeadow (vox/bass) and Anthony Matters (drums) - decided to pool their collective interests and hang-ups and become The Mansons.
Never known to shy away from a challenge, The Mansons are in the midst of producing their own brand new mini-album. The record notably features a song-writing collaboration with Ratcat's Simon Day, who also sings with Cassady on the country-flavored duet "This Day Forward". Maintaining the old school rock'n'roll spirit of their previous record, The Mansons have evolved their sound to incorporate elements of the electro world, adding drum machine and electronic drums to their arsenal on "Maniac Mansion" (a salute to retro video games) and The Kills-inspired "Cannibal Magnetism". An explosive mix of classic melody and harmony, futuristic guitars and a monstrous rhythm section, the new material is at once catchy and cathartic.
The Mansons plan to unleash the new slab on Halloween (Saturday October 31st) at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville, where they have been invited to perform at the Under The Blue Moon Festival's "All Hallows' Eve Ball" alongside Chaingang, Horrorwood Mannequins, Juke Baritone & The Swamp Dogs and Japanese baroque-industrial outfit GPKISM. This show marks the band's second appearance at the annual UTBM festival, following last year's show at their local Sandringham Hotel where The Mansons performed alongside Brigitte Handley, Mz Ann Thropik and Belle Phoenix. The Mansons' show has been described as "a finely tuned wall of sound that is at once arresting and strangely beautiful" (Joel King, Secluded Records).
The Mansons' debut EP Blood, Love & Rhetoric was recorded with Andrew Beck at Damien Gerard Studios in 2007/2008, and the opening track Never Help Anyone (Dig Your Own Grave) appears in indie horror film The 7th Hunt . Nic Dalton of Half A Cow Records reviewed the release as CD of the month in October 2008: "They take turns singing the dark, fuzzed up rockers with lyrics that are both gloomy and uplifting at the same time. Then there's the very poppy 'Unmanned Canyon' just to show that they can slip a bubblegum-coloured dress on as well as the black leather... Maybe it's because the songs have such strong melodies and the arrangements are full of the right sort of riffs that make me think these guys have got something special going on... As good as these recordings are – and they rock! – I reckon it's up on stage that the Mansons would definitely impress. I can visualise the opening track 'Never Help Anyone' live and can see the fans going mental until hometime."
Over the past 12 months The Mansons have played many shows in Sydney and the inner west, supported Rocket Science at the Annandale for the Ms Rock & Roll pageant, and reached the final stage of the Jager Uprising. The Mansons have been praised for their stripped back, semi-acoustic radio performances, leading FBi's Naked City host Jay Katz to proclaim them "one of the most important bands in Australia, maybe in the world". In February 2009 Jay and Miss Death invited the band to play an intimate acoustic show at the infamous Mu-Meson Archives .
The Mansons look forward to broadcasting to their audience via radio, internet, television and intergalactic transmission.
x:)
Check out footage of the first ever performance of new track "This Day Forward", co-written with and featuring guest vocals from Simon Day (Ratcat)! (Footage from The Lansdowne Hotel, courtesy of Mark Paul (c) Jan 2009)
Never Help Anyone - Live at the Lansdowne 2009
The Mansons recorded at The Brain Studios earlier this year and (as of July 2009) are mixing the new record at Damien Gerard Studios. The mini-album features 7 tracks (including this one) so stay tuned for a release at the end of this year!