Ill Starred Captain profile picture

Ill Starred Captain

UMGAWA!!!

About Me

Ill Starred Captain were formed in 2001 and hail from Port Lincoln on the wild west coast of South Australia. Comprising of guitar player/singer Scott Bassham and drummer Justin Francis,Ill Starred Captain's wild hearted folk/punk/surfadelic music is rapidly collecting a passionate fanbase all over the world,thanks to constant touring and legendary live shows that totally transcend thier stripped back two-piece structure. The bands first release was the "Bottlegreen Sky"E.P. which they put out on thier own Seawitch Music label in 2001 and which they supported through several self-funded tours around Australia,Ireland and the U.K. In 2005 the band signed withh legendary Adelaide based label Greasypop records and released thier first full length c.d. "Yeh-Nah" to strong reviews,with U.K. online magazine calling it "What happens when the white stripes start sounding like white album-era beatles". Ill Starred Captain have spent 2005/2006 on the road introducing audiences all over Australia to their rich blend of raw power and fragile beauty.The band is currently at work on their second album,and are also in the process of filming a music dvd that will attempt to chart both the amazing history and exciting future of a truly original Australian band,to be released in 2007.Ill Starred Captain plan to be on the road throughout 2007,both in Australia and overseas,so keep a weather eye open for them,they are not to be missed!


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E.P Bottlegreen Sky (Seawitch Music 2001)
This six track e.p. was originally released by Ill Starred Captain under then name of the Scott bassham band (they having not yet settled on a name, or even a solid structure as a band) and was recorded and engineered by Dave Lokan at Bigsound Studio at Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills. The six track e.p. was recorded immediately after Scott and Justin had returned from a tour of Western Australia, which had been a very tough trip, and the whole thing was done in a very short space of time. Infact, they missed a days recording when their tour van broke down on the way back from Perth. When they arrived at the studio the –pressure was on, as they had almost no budget and very little time.
The resulting recording is interesting for many reasons and really represents Ill Starred Captain at a point just before the true nature of the band became set. At the time, the band was in the process of trying out bass players and even though they didn’t have anyone to fill that role, Scott played bass on all the songs, assuming that someone would eventually come along and learn the parts, so it remains the only Ill Starred Captain release with bass (though the bass is very subtle).
The track listing is quite a mix, with a distinctly ‘power pop” flavour on songs like “Bottlegreen Sky” and “The Wreck ‘O’ the Hesperus and a folk feel on “On Winters Hill”, a wistful acoustic piece which deals with life and memories growing up in a small coastal town. The remaining three songs are darker and harder, and all quite different from one another adding elements of thumping funk aggression (Bitch Dust), to a sense of oceanic alienation (Seawitch and Long fingered Hand”).
The bands isolation from the “industry” and inexperience meant that “Bottlegreen Sky” pretty much sank without trace, and yet it still attracts new fans and the songs haven’t dated at all. It is well worth checking out this undiscovered gem, and it is a great starting point artistically, for anyone wanting to trace the always interesting musical path of Ill Starred Captain. Interesting fact. The recording was finished on 9/11/2001 the day the Twin Towers fell, a fact which gutted the band right at the moment that they should have been celebrating the completion of their debut recording.
Recorded September 2001 at Bigsound studios (Lenswood Adelaide Hills) on analogue recording equipment
Engineered and recorded by Dave Lokan
Produced by Scott Bassham Justin Francis
Mixed by Dave Lokan, Scott Bassham & Justin Francis
Mastered Dave Lokan
YEH NAH (released 2005), Seawitch Music / Greasy pop records
In March 2003, Ill Starred Captain Hooked up again with engineer Dave Lokan at Big Sound studio in Adelaide, to record the band’s first full –length cd “Yeh Nah”. The” Life situation” the band was in at the time, with Justin Francis living mostly in Ireland while Scott Bassham was based in Port Lincoln South Australia, meant that a lot of work had to happen in short bursts of time. Despite this, Ill Starred Captain had been maintaining a very full touring schedule around Australia, and fitted in three tours of Ireland and the U.K., playing a mix of venues and beer barns as a pretty much, totally unknown band.
All this “cross hemispherical” journeying certainly found it’s way into the fabric of “Yeh Nah” with a definite Irish Feel in the music and subject matter of some songs, while other tracks were definitely born out of the immense, powerful landscapes of Australia, across which the band had spent the last few years traveling. The song on which the Australian sound collided with the Irish most is without a doubt the instrumental track “Devil Jumped Up” which was equally inspired by Irish trad innovators Planxty and Australian punk rock legends The Saints. Other songs, like Whistling down the wind and Silver Top Cane Blues occupy a sparser and more desert like space.
For the first time, the record really reflected the sound of Ill Starred Captain live, with the songs captured mostly live in the studio. Despite sharing a two piece set up with bands like the White Stripes and the Black Keys, Ill Starred Captain’s sound began to take on a form of it’s own that is very different from those bands. The musical influences on display on Yeh Nah range from the moody spaciousness of the Triffids, the trash punk of the New York Dolls and the edge of feedback guitar scapes of Texan band Lift to Experience. The Celtic spirit is reflected on ballads like One Day in the summertime and the nostalgic roll of Irish Hitch – Hiking, both songs reflecting the emotional and musical connection to Ireland shared by both band members.
After scrapping the first attempt at recording Yeh Nah, due to extreme poverty and drunken – ness at the sessions, the band put in a focused effort, locking themselves in the studio for a couple of 3-5 day sessions, and just tried their best to capture all the music and madness of their first three years of existence. The band signed a product and development deal with Adelaide’s legendary Greasy Pop records and released “Yeh Nah” in 2005. Unfortunately the release turned out to be difficult, with band / record company disputes aplenty and many lessons learned. Yeh Nah however is an album that the band is proud of, despite all the trauma of its birth, and is becoming a much loved addition to music collections all over the world.
Yeh Nah is available on Seawitch Music.
Recorded March – May 2003 at Bigsound studios (Lenswood Adelaide Hills) on analogue recording equipment
Engineered and recorded by Dave Lokan
Produced by Scott Bassham Justin Francis
Mixed by Dave Lokan, Scott Bassham & Justin Francis
Mastered Dave Lokan
These albums are available at Waterfront Records, which can be reached at the link below.
Waterfront Records

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/28/2006
Band Website: under construction,hey,we&39;ll get there eventually!
Band Members: .. SCOTT BASSHAM & JUSTIN FRANCIS
Influences: "Overseas, we seem to be perceived as more of a garage rock'n'roll band, whereas in Australia the more folkish elements of what we do seem to come through to people"says Scott. The truth is that our music encompasses many different influences; we love everything frome the Saints and the Stooges through to the trad folk bands like Planxty and the Bothy band. "We also include elements of Indian and African music, so by the time you mix all that together and blend it with a love of raw blues and Johnny Cash, you start to get some idea of where the music comes from!" "Sound confusing? Don't worry, live, the band is simple, uncluttered and vibing." This is music that gets you up and shaking while it slowburns it's way into your heart and soul!
Sounds Like: a beautiful wooden ship sailing gracefully into the air and suddenly exploding above the crowd at an AFL grand final,raining down wood and wire and great sheets of light,and you can dance to it!
Record Label: seawitch music
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

black swan eye

Allo there! Just want to update those who are interested on the progress of our new record "black swan eye". we started this process a fair while ago,and it aint been easy! But nothing you really care...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:14:00 PST

ok,so im a myspace junky!

howzit going readers? i'm indulging myself at the keyboard again,even tho a few days ago i was completely over it,.this is largely because a)i'm fairly hungover after a great night at my friends house...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:16:00 PST

hit me with yer google-stick

   i just realized how fucking ludicrous this whole friend-gathering,techno schmoozin',scamfest can be. several times i have randomly landed on a site usually a music site,and applied for "f...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:05:00 PST

sweet baby jeeezuss!

Hippy Crassmess everybody! love scott,x.
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:41:00 PST

Hello to you all

Hello Ill Starred Captain myspace fans how's things? Well hopefully better than me as I just spent the last two hours typing out a kick arse blog for you all then the dog got out and took off dow...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:08:00 PST

home is where the elephant seals know your name

Wow ...that was an epic trip across half the country! It's good to be home again,back on the most isolated peninsula in australia,ah lincoln! the surreal place of my birth!Thanks soooo much all of you...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:42:00 PST

woah,exactly where are we?

Allo! Well,here we are in ,er,Broome? yes Broome,and what a loverly place it is too.Our journey north has been highly eventful on all levels,with all manner of breakdowns,fix ups,strange and beautiful...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:07:00 PST

Albany in winter

Allo everybody,well,here we are in Albany W.A.,freezin' our arses off,but loving the country around here,it reminds me of port lincoln. we played to absolutely no people last night at the london hotel...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Mon, 28 May 2007 07:34:00 PST

this one's gonna be stupidly loud!

Hey there invisible constituency! Just to update you on all things illstarred,we are about to go into the studio to record our second album(c.d.,record,whatever they call them these days),and i person...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 07:54:00 PST

Hello from the anxious coast.

Hey there captaineers! As always its been a long time in between blogs,and sorry to the people who have been requesting that we get our shit together and make contact more often,its been a pretty full...
Posted by Ill Starred Captain on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:24:00 PST