Rollerskates (band)

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Rollerskates
Origin	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres	Indie pop
Years active	1999 –present
Labels	QStik Records/MGM Distribution

Members	Jordan Johnston David Namour Stephen Callan Gabriel Nicotra

Past members	Lo-Key Fu (2000 - 2003)

Rollerskates are a five piece indie pop band originating from Perth, Western Australia. Rollerskates mix of electronic sounds, tight dance music, hip-hop undertones, rock elements and touches of funk have seen this five piece grow into a popular music group in Perth.

Biography

Early years

Rollerskates were formed in 1998 when Stephen Callan (Stevie C), David Namour (Rufus) and Jordan Johnstone (Jordy) released an 20 track recording under the name Rollerskates, essentially a collection of samples and Casio keyboards. In order to recreate the tunes live they added Moflo Leigh and Gabriel Nicotra to the band. Within a year of their formation, Rollerskates had won two Western Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMi's) for 'Most Promising New Band' and 'Best Funk Act'^{[citation needed]}. In 2001 the band released their first EP Tell Your Mother To Tell Her Friends. The EP was released by local record label, QStik Records and distributed nationally through MGM Distribution. It received support from community radio stations across Australia, as well as Triple J exposure with live performances on 'The Oz Music Show' and 'Hip Hop Show'. Rollerskates were named as Triple J's first Australian Music 'New Wave' band for Ausmusic Month in November 2001.

This exposure helped the band reach a whole new audience nationwide, as well as solidifying their already growing fan base at home. This was boosted by Rollerskates reaching the final round of Channel [V]'s Leg Up Competition.

Inspired by the performance of the first EP, Rollerskates moved back into the recording studio with well known engineer/producer Shaun O'Callaghan (Eskimo Joe/Gyroscope/John Butler Trio). The result was the well received^{[citation needed]} and popular EP The Movement. The Movement EP was launched in March 2002 at Perth's Globe Entertainment Complex and featured support performances by the likes of On Inc and Jedi Master J from 28 Days. The EP in addition to the seven tracks provided a multimedia component in a unique case.

The Movement

The Movement EP marked a bigger and better level for the band, with three songs off the CD, "The Movement", "Half A Loaf Of Funk - Remix" and "H.A.R.M" being added to national rotation on Triple J^[1]^{[citation needed]}, as well as receiving airplay on radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. The entertaining music video for "The Movement" received national airplay on ABC's Rage, Channel [V] and MTV and was awarded Best Local Music Video at the 2002 WAMi Awards.

In 2002 they performed at the Perth leg of The Big Day Out. Rollerskates then embarked on their first East Coast Tour in July 2002, playing to moderate sized crowds in Melbourne and Sydney, as well as a sell out crowd at SJ's in Newcastle, where they (for the second time) supported Machine Gun Fellatio. Continuing on from this exposure Rollerskates were invited to play at 'Music Business Adelaide', impressing industry types from all over the country with their live performance.

Polyether 1944

Polyether 1944, with its eerie, space-like vibe was the band's third release, gaining immediate rotation all over the country in 2003. The music video for "Polyether 1944" with its innovative use of animated effects was played on Channel [V], Rage^[2] (ABC) and Saturday Morning Fly (ABC). Rollerskates received a further three nominations at the 2003 WAMi awards for 'Most Popular Local Original Live Act', 'Most Popular Local Original Live Electronic Act' and 'Most Popular Local Original Urban Music Act'. Not long after, the band embarked on its second East Coast Tour in early 2004, this time incorporating Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Wagga Wagga, Albury and Sydney.

The band then performed again at the Perth Big Day Out in 2004. Rollerskates have been the supporting band for a number of well-known national artists including Gerling, Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Machine Gun Fellatio, One Dollar Short, Resin Dogs, pre.shrunk and Regurgitator.

New Album

The band then undertook a brief hiatus, working on new material for their debut album, Rekkid. The first single, released from the album, in early 2005 was "Gettit". It received significant nationwide attention with Triple J putting it on its 'Hitlist', giving it high rotation and further raising the profile of the band.

In May 2006 the band released the second single, "Picture Book", followed by Rekkid in October, 2007.

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