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Tommy Boyce Guitar / Vocals
Damo Campbell Bass / Vocals
Jordan 'Jaws' Stanley Drums
The Casanovas were originally formed in 1999
with all three original members hailing from
Melbourne, Australia.
The Casanovas was the brainchild of brothers,
Tommy and Patrick Boyce and original bassist,
Jimmy Lewis. The Boyce brothers met Jim while
working together scrubbing pots & pans in the
back kitchen of Pattersons cake shop in
Windsor, Melbourne.
The idea of the name 'The Casanovas' was
partly inspired by the look of the
'Casablanca' records logo that featured on
early Kiss vinyls that they all grew up
listening to, as well as a healthy dose of
irony, (none of them were getting laid!).
Early on, their sound was described as AC/DC
meets KISS with leanings to the 70's New York
punk sounds of such names as The Dictators
and The Ramones. Although individually, they
had many other influences that helped mould
their sound. The Stooges, MC5, The Rolling
Stones, The Saints, Dead Boys & Turbonegro
just to name a few.
Armed with only a handful of songs after five
rehearsals, The Casanovas were quick to start
gigging around the venues of suburban
Melbourne. Supporting seminal local rock acts
such as The Powdermonkeys, The Monarchs and
Tim Rogers as well as the now massive White
Stripes on their first tour of Australia.
In mid 2000, The Casanovas cut their debut
single, '10 Outta 10'. An anthemic, fist
pumper that was released on 7" vinyl through
local Melbourne punk label 'Full Toss'
Records. This release established them on
local community radio stations such as PBS
and RRR as well as national radio on JJJ.
The Casanovas were quick to gain their own
local following and started grabbing peoples'
attention with their 'balls to the wall' rock
n' roll sound, along with an entertaining
live show with their sometimes tongue in
cheek style histrionics A short time later in
2001, the band expanded their line up and
were joined by second guitarist, James
Saunders. During this time the band played a
JJJ live-at-the-wireless gig and scored a
slot on the legendary Big Day Out festival in
Melbourne This line-up lasted for about a
year until James decided to leave due to work
commitments.
Mid 2002 saw the band team up with legendary
Aussie producer/guitarist, Shane O'Mara to
record their debut Ep, '..Keep It Hot'.
In Late 2002, The Casanovas secured a support
slot on The Dictators national tour of
Australia This was a very exciting prospect
for the band at the time because not only was
this an opportunity to play with one of the
band's biggest heroes, but it would be the
very first time for The Casanovas to spread
their wings and tour outside of Melbourne.
Unfortunately, bassist Jimmy Lewis was unable
to leave Melbourne for any extended period of
time because of his full time work
commitments which ultimately led to his
decision to leave the band. Tommy and brother
Pat recruited ex 'Mustang' bassist Damo
Campbell as replacement and the tour went on
as planned. Not long after this, the band
signed to local indie label Rubber Records.
A diet of constant gigging built strong rock
muscles as the bands' profile began to build
with a growing reputation as a bona fide live
rock band. In 2003, The Casanovas were
invited by New Zealand's 'The Datsuns' to
join them on a nine week tour of Europe and
America. After a run of around 40 shows
around the world and a coveted slot on the
SXSW festival in Texas, the band returned to
more and more touring back in Australia and a
reputation as one of the most hard working
and exciting live rock acts in the country.
The recording of their first album took place
after and during heavy touring schedules, the
pressure of which sadly, eventually lead to
Patrick quitting the band to pursue a more
'sane' lifestyle. With the album half
finished, Damo and Tommy recruited legendary
'Onyas' drummer, Jaws Stanley. After a mere 4
days of rehearsing the songs, Jaws went on to
finish the drum tracks, allowing the album to
be completed.
With their new line-up and debut album
finally released, The Casanovas hit the road
again. Tours of the UK, Japan, USA,
Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia saw the
band's chemistry and live prowess continue to
grow stronger.
July 2005 saw the band complete their most
recent tour of the UK and Spain and then on
to California to sign a US deal with indie
label, IROCK, (through which their debut
album has been recently released through the
US) and, to record their incredible sophomore
album with legendary producer Sylvia Massy
Shivy at Radiostar Studios... you'll have to
wait for early 2006 to hear it though!
Tags : Cassanovas rock australian ac/dc guitar music video |
