The everything you ever wanted to know about The Church but were afraid to ask thread

[indra]

It's tough to find really great photos of these guys...they all look sooo much better in person. MWP is one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen in person, and SK has a definate charm. Anyway, here are some photos (of course some of the ones I really like are no where to be found. )

...they look as if they are waiting for a bus....

SK at the 2003 Homebake Festival in Sydney

MWP at one of the OZ shows in 2003....must have been really hot that day

MWP playing with The Saints this year in Germany.

SK in either DC or NYC in 1999. This was shortly before he was arrested for buying heroin in NYC. He spent a night in jail while the others played without him. When they finished the "Steveless" show, they packed up and went to the next venue (in NC) and let him find his own way there. I think they were kinda

one of my favorite SK photos. Taken at the 2004 Queensland Poetry Festival where he was one of the featured authors.

I need to find some decent photos of Peter and Tim....

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Is it odd that I kinda like the shirt he's wearing ? LOL.

Originally posted by indra

He looks like Willie Nelson in this one .

Cool pictures so far, indra .

Angela

 

[indra]

Supposed to be looking for PK and TP photos...so what do I look at...the SK site.... Ah well, some of these are fun...

cover of Narcosis + a painting from a photo of SK and his first set of twin daughters. Included in the first 1000 copies of this cd was a postcard "decorated" by SK and his twins (who were a little older -- maybe 5 or 6 -- by this time), and signed by SK.

SK and Karin Janssen in a photo taken by SK's brother Russell and used as the cover of SK's first solo single "This Asphalt Eden"

left to right: PK, SK, MWP, and TP I think this was taken in 1999. Apparently SK had a thing for white pants around that time.

Yeah...if I was wearing that I'd want to hide my face too!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Supposed to be looking for PK and TP photos...so what do I look at...the SK site....

LOL .

Originally posted by indra

...even with the info you shared about this picture, it still looks really weird...LOL. Wow. That's an interesting cover...

Angela

 

[indra]

...even with the info you shared about this picture, it still looks really weird...LOL. Wow. That's an interesting cover...

Angela

'tis an odd cover I guess. I think it's kind of a depiction of SK as Neptune (note the scepter)and the Twillies are little mermaid babies, complete with fish tails (hard to see on the image here though). And all the sea creatures swimming in the upper left of the painting have various musical instruments. Don't quite know why though. Typical of SK. He puts things out there and lets the person viewing or listening it figure out what it means to them. Never really says what it's "supposed" to be. I'm sure there are some who look at this cover and think "what a frickin' perv!"

 

[indra]

More photos are available at Shadow Cabinet image gallery

And here is the main Shadow Cabinet page. This site has loads of interviews and reviews by and of the band. Shadow Cabinet

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

mwp is really hot.

:returns to lurking:

 

[indra]

mwp is really hot.

:returns to lurking:

I'll have to dig up some more MWP photos....

Actually, although I'm a huge SK fan, I've always thought MWP would have made a traditionally better frontman for the band. (During the "Steveless" show MWP was just sucking up the attention, and you know, no one complained about the lack of SK. Of course, a part of that is that the crowd knew the band couldn't afford not to play -- and therefore get paid -- so they just took it for what it was.) When he's 'on' he's fabulous to watch and hear (but when he's off he can be hideous ), whereas SK is a much more reserved performer (but I like SK's voice and lyrics much better).

 

[indra]

Very old shot -- they look about 12! l to r: RP, MWP, PK, SK

Another oldie (I found a trove of oldies ), but a nice one of Peter, and SK is so skinny there. l to r: MWP, RP, PK, SK

The original lineup. Back to front: SK, Nick Ward, MWP, PK. Also explains why Nick Ward got the boot....there ain't no way you can be a member of The Church wearing those shoes. And that's exactly what SK looks like he's thinking too.

MWP I like this one of Marty. I think it was at his solo show in LA in 2004.

MWP w/Spanish guitar (and the much revered stool -- you kinda had to be there ) during "The Theatre and It's Double."


More useless Church triva: Marty has a massive record (and now cd) collection. Over 30,000 now.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

More useless Church triva: Marty has a massive record (and now cd) collection. Over 30,000 now.

...wow. That'd make for a good afternoon-hanging out and listening to all that music. Wonder what all he has in his collection?

Also, I'm liking these early days pictures of the guys in particular . Some of them are rather cute . And the ones of Marty are cool, too.

Angela

 

[indra]

PK in back, then l to r: RP, SK, MWP

PK in Newcastle. 2003. w/borrowed Ric

Heyday-era (1986). l to r: SK, RP, MWP, PK

SK in 2000, in Bondi, at the performance that would be released as Acoustic & Intimate Excellent cd.


More useless Church trivia:

SK is quite the boot connoisseur.

"As soon as Beatle boots came out I was obsessed. My whole assessment of you would be based onto what kind of boots you had. There was this kid at school that had suede Beatle boots, they were almost black but were blue. They had these chiselled toes and to me this guy was a man of impeccable taste. I didn't have to know anything about him. I have a large collection of boots and a friend of mine once said, when you walk into my room your head just goes down to the boots. I also once said never trust a man with brown shoes, and I have since found that to be quite true, excluding brown suede Beatle boots, of course."

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

SK in 2000, in Bondi, at the performance that would be released as Acoustic & Intimate Excellent cd.

Nice picture . He looks good.

Originally posted by indra
More useless Church trivia:

SK is quite the boot connoisseur.

"As soon as Beatle boots came out I was obsessed. My whole assessment of you would be based onto what kind of boots you had. There was this kid at school that had suede Beatle boots, they were almost black but were blue. They had these chiselled toes and to me this guy was a man of impeccable taste. I didn't have to know anything about him. I have a large collection of boots and a friend of mine once said, when you walk into my room your head just goes down to the boots. I also once said never trust a man with brown shoes, and I have since found that to be quite true, excluding brown suede Beatle boots, of course."

LOL. Interesting way of getting to know people...

Angela

 

[indra]

...wow. That'd make for a good afternoon-hanging out and listening to all that music. Wonder what all he has in his collection?

Angela

Actually I think hanging out and listening to Marty's collection was what prompted them to record Box of Birds their covers album. They must have been planing to record something at that time (perhaps they were getting started on what would become After Everything Now This ), because they never have really just gotten together to hang out.

Anyway, apparently they were looking through and listening to albums in MWP's collection picking out songs they had always liked. So they took a couple of weeks to record them and voila, Box of Birds was born.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Actually I think hanging out and listening to Marty's collection was what prompted them to record Box of Birds their covers album. They must have been planing to record something at that time (perhaps they were getting started on what would become After Everything Now This ), because they never have really just gotten together to hang out.

Anyway, apparently they were looking through and listening to albums in MWP's collection picking out songs they had always liked. So they took a couple of weeks to record them and voila, Box of Birds was born.

Oh, yeah?

Good way to get inspired for that kind of an album. And looking at a couple of the artists you mentioned in the "What are you listening to" threads whose songs they covered, they have some good taste .

Angela

 

[indra]

And looking at a couple of the artists you mentioned in the "What are you listening to" threads whose songs they covered, they have some good taste .

Angela

Yep. I've found a few bands I really like by checking out bands one or another of them likes. Sea Ray, a band MWP liked and picked to open for most of The Church's 2004 US tour was one of those bands. Gersey, a band SK really likes and opened for them on a few of their OZ shows in 2003, is another.

And, of course, the bands and artists that influenced them are also often worthwhile also.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Yep. I've found a few bands I really like by checking out bands one or another of them likes. Sea Ray, a band MWP liked and picked to open for most of The Church's 2004 US tour was one of those bands. Gersey, a band SK really likes and opened for them on a few of their OZ shows in 2003, is another.

And, of course, the bands and artists that influenced them are also often worthwhile also.

Very cool . The answer to this one may be obvious, but what band was the biggest influence on them?

Angela

 

[indra]

Very cool . The answer to this one may be obvious, but what band was the biggest influence on them?

Angela

My guess would be Pink Floyd, but you don't really hear it so much in the early work. And SK loved early Marc Bolan/T Rex stuff (but thinks the later work sucks).


Gad! Have I bored everyone else to death already?

Ah well, isn't the first time...won't be the last either....

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

My guess would be Pink Floyd, but you don't really hear it so much in the early work.

*Nods* I could see where they were an influence, yeah...

Originally posted by indra
And SK loved early Marc Bolan/T Rex stuff (but thinks the later work sucks).

Heh, oh, yeah?

Originally posted by indra
Gad! Have I bored everyone else to death already?

Ah well, isn't the first time...won't be the last either....

Aw *s indra*. Hopefully more people will pop back in here soon .

Angela

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

More useless Church triva: Marty has a massive record (and now cd) collection. Over 30,000 now.

damn! and thanks for posting those pics too. he's definitely a cutie!

all this info is interesting. i checked out the track listing for a box of birds to see who they covered. there are some nice choices there!

 

[indra]

All from the Gone South festival in 2003.

MWP

PK

Tim Powles, the "new" drummer. Tim's a Kiwi, but now lives in Glebe.

SK

one of my favorite SK photos -- it's my pc's wallpaper. love the image reflecting in his sunglasses.


Useless Church trivia: SK was hit by a car in 1998 while crossing the street and broke an arm.

The following was related by a guy who called SK to inquire about a bass Steve was auctioning off (cash is often tight):

"...he must be a very polite gentleman because he told me late in the conversation that he had just been hit by a car, was bloody and probably had a broken arm. He was crossing the street when a Mercedes clipped him at 50 kph. He was questioned by police for two hours and then sent home. He thought he might have to go to a hospital."

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

one of my favorite SK photos -- it's my pc's wallpaper. love the image reflecting in his sunglasses.

Heh, I know it's the lighting, but his hair looks funny .

Originally posted by indra
Useless Church trivia: SK was hit by a car in 1998 while crossing the street and broke an arm.

The following was related by a guy who called SK to inquire about a bass Steve was auctioning off (cash is often tight):

"...he must be a very polite gentleman because he told me late in the conversation that he had just been hit by a car, was bloody and probably had a broken arm. He was crossing the street when a Mercedes clipped him at 50 kph. He was questioned by police for two hours and then sent home. He thought he might have to go to a hospital."

Oh, wow. That's scary. Thank goodness he was okay.

Angela

 

[blueeyedgirl]

The image of Steve standing there bleeding and with a useless arm hanging while he's trying to sell a bass is boggling the mind!

Some nice pics there Indra. I do prefer SK without the face fungus, I'm more "young boys in paisley and eyeliner" (aren't we all?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I'm more "young boys in paisley and eyeliner" (aren't we all?

i know i am

 

[indra]

Heh, I know it's the lighting, but his hair looks funny .

Angela

One person saw the pic on my pc and asked "Does he have green hair?" She was really disappointed when I said "no, more like light brown going grey."

Oh, wow. That's scary. Thank goodness he was okay.
Angela

The image of Steve standing there bleeding and with a useless arm hanging while he's trying to sell a bass is boggling the mind!

It really is quite an image. He was pretty desperate for cash.

It seems to have been a case of "what more can go wrong?" In 1996 they had no record label, but released an album (Magician Among The Spirits -- get the rereleased Magician Among The Spirits And Some it's better ) on their own. They had a deal with a small distributor in the US and they manufactured and shipped off the agreed upon number of copies of MATS...then the distributor promptly went bankrupt, and the band couldn't even get the blasted cds back (They may have gotten some of them back eventually), so it was a pretty major financial disaster for them.

SK and Karin had split up and she moved back to Sweden with the Twillies. SK missed his girls so much that he sold off everything he owned (except clothes -- and boots apparently -- and a few guitars) and moved to Stockholm in late 1997. I'm pretty sure he didn't make much money there...plus he had a pretty bad drug habit at the time. All in all, he was in the midst of a long downward spiral. ...and then he gets hit by a car....

 

[indra]

Some nice pics there Indra. I do prefer SK without the face fungus, I'm more "young boys in paisley and eyeliner" (aren't we all?

Thanks!

The SK -- with beard or without -- debate can get heated on Church sites (despite not having a Pleba-type forum ). One guy was ragging on the beard (and ponytail too) saying it made SK look like a "dirty old hippy" that no one was ever going to listen to. Personally, I thought that was kind extreme. Anyway, SK likes to read the Church forum (there is also a email list, but he doesn't read that - nah, nah, nah, nah -- sorry, but some of the email people have been major pricks lately. I adore the band, but some of the fans I swear I'd love to strangle. ) and he got a kick out of the old hippy thing, so started making sure to refer to himself as such.

I've always rather liked him with a beard, although there are some really nice pictures of him without it too (esp. when he was a young pup). A friend of mine who wasn't too thrilled with it in photos had a change of heart when she met him...then she felt it really worked for him. That pretty much sums it up for me too -- I don't like beards on everyone (and certainly don't ever want to see a ZZ Top-type beard on him), but I think it works for him now.

Now MWP....I don't ever want to see a beard on him.


They were mighty cute in their eyeliner, paisley shirts, stovepipe pants and boots though, weren't they?

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

One person saw the pic on my pc and asked "Does he have green hair?" She was really disappointed when I said "no, more like light brown going grey."

LOL.

The SK -- with beard or without -- debate can get heated on Church sites (despite not having a Pleba-type forum ). One guy was ragging on the beard (and ponytail too) saying it made SK look like a "dirty old hippy" that no one was ever going to listen to. Personally, I thought that was kind extreme. Anyway, SK likes to read the Church forum (there is also a email list, but he doesn't read that - nah, nah, nah, nah -- sorry, but some of the email people have been major pricks lately. I adore the band, but some of the fans I swear I'd love to strangle. ) and he got a kick out of the old hippy thing, so started making sure to refer to himself as such.

Hehe, hey, I have no problem with the hippie types.

Also, yeah, I've met people who've said similar things about some fans of various artists I like over the years, seen some pretty stupid fights go on about the silliest stuff regarding a band. Some people are weird.

Originally posted by indra
I've always rather liked him with a beard, although there are some really nice pictures of him without it too (esp. when he was a young pup). A friend of mine who wasn't too thrilled with it in photos had a change of heart when she met him...then she felt it really worked for him. That pretty much sums it up for me too -- I don't like beards on everyone (and certainly don't ever want to see a ZZ Top-type beard on him), but I think it works for him now.

Personally, I'm generally not much of a beard person for any guy-most guys I like tend to look a lot more attractive to me sans facial hair, although there are occasions when it can work on them.

However, at the same time, if someone's into the beard look, and if a guy wants to sport one, then hey, I say more power to 'em. Whatever works for you.

Originally posted by indra
They were mighty cute in their eyeliner, paisley shirts, stovepipe pants and boots though, weren't they?

Yeah, they do look kinda nice in their eyeliner and all that other stuff. God, I wish I'd been old enough in the 80s...whenever I see videos from new wave/alternative bands on VH1 Classic, I've noticed that there were some really cute guys from some of those bands roaming around then! Hell, some of them are still not all that bad-looking to this day. Heh.

Angela

 

[indra]

You know -- U2 is a perfect example of how to achieve commercial success in music; The Church is the perfect example of how NOT to achieve commercial success in music.

They should be every band's cautionary tale.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Funny you should say that. As I said earlier, in the early 80's they were a big band in Australia, on TV shows, songs like Almost with You were in the charts. They went to England very early on and it was expected they would do well. You can never predict how these things go.......

 

[indra]

Funny you should say that. As I said earlier, in the early 80's they were a big band in Australia, on TV shows, songs like Almost with You were in the charts. They went to England very early on and it was expected they would do well. You can never predict how these things go.......

They've never been particularly well received in the UK...not quite sure why. And, of course, once the UK rags started jumping on them, they became, for the lack of a better term, a "difficult" interview, which didn't help any.

They did get a very nice review for their last album (well, last "proper" album) Forget Yourself from NME -- 8 0f 10 stars. Very probably their best ever review from a UK source.

The Church – Forget Yourself

8/10

Aussie legends’ erm, 17th album

The Church were a bunch of early-80’s Sydney psych obsessives whose second album ‘The Blurred Crusade’ is, no doubt, fondly remembered at Syd Barrett conventions to this day. Unnerving then, to discover that they’ve continued their orbit ever since, spanning drug busts, internal squabbles, and the recording of a none-more-Tap 80-minute jam entitled ‘Bastard Universe Stages 1-6’.

Which brings us to this. And guess what ? It’s brilliant. Recorded at their own Spacejunk Studios in an effort to conjure up their old lysergic spell, it creaks with class. ‘See Your Lights’ finds Steve Kilbey murmuring like he’s just woken up from a 15-year laudanum coma, while Marty Willson-Piper’s 12 strings still sound like they’re beamed from a Byronic lair in Alpha Centauri. Space-rock odysseys don’t get much woozier.

Charlie Peace

Well...it isn't SK on vocals on "See Your Lights" (it's MWP), but we'll forgive 'em just this once.

Although I really think that their personalities and determination to follow their own musical vision hurt them commercially (they were known as difficult), when they did get to a point where they almost broke it big they had a bastard as a manager, who screwed them out of not only cash (apparently quite a bit too), but also the chance to work with John Paul Jones as producer of an album. He loved their work and wanted to do the job (this was after Starfish their best known work). The band was delighted and wanted to work with him. Great, right? Apparently their manager didn't see it that way (don't know why, except that it probably would have cost more and he wanted that money for himself ) and told Jones the band did not want to work with him, while telling the band Jones had changed his mind about working with them. I would have loved to have heard what they would have come up with. Asshole. Man should burn in hell.

Anyway, they did the album Gold Afternoon Fix with the same producers they had on Starfish, but Ploog had a meltdown midway through and left and and GAF never really got off the ground. It sold OK, but not well enough for the label, and that was that. Interestingly, many people (me included) consider their next album, Priest = Aura to very possibly be their best work. But it's not at all commercial and so must have further horrified the Arista execs.


Useless trivia regarding The Church:

indra has four cats with Churchy names: Isidore (the SK/Jeffery Cain of Remy Zero music project); Miss Myrrh (named after the song Myrrh); Loki (my Norse god kitty -- named after the SK solo song); and Rickenbacker Straticaticus (because Marty and sometimes Peter use Rics and also Strats -- plus the cat needed a pretentious name, and they don't get much more pretentious than that! )

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

They've never been particularly well received in the UK...not quite sure why. And, of course, once the UK rags started jumping on them, they became, for the lack of a better term, a "difficult" interview, which didn't help any.

That's a shame. Especially when it's unclear as to why they weren't well-received.

Originally posted by indra
They did get a very nice review for their last album (well, last "proper" album) Forget Yourself from NME -- 8 0f 10 stars. Very probably their best ever review from a UK source.

That's good.

I don't read NME, but (I think it's this magazine I'm thinking of this with) from what I've heard about it, it seems they're quite critical of a lot of artists.

Originally posted by indra
Although I really think that their personalities and determination to follow their own musical vision hurt them commercially (they were known as difficult), when they did get to a point where they almost broke it big they had a bastard as a manager, who screwed them out of not only cash (apparently quite a bit too), but also the chance to work with John Paul Jones as producer of an album. He loved their work and wanted to do the job (this was after Starfish their best known work). The band was delighted and wanted to work with him. Great, right? Apparently their manager didn't see it that way (don't know why, except that it probably would have cost more and he wanted that money for himself ) and told Jones the band did not want to work with him, while telling the band Jones had changed his mind about working with them. I would have loved to have heard what they would have come up with. Asshole. Man should burn in hell.

Charming .

Jerk managers.... Again, that is why I have a load of respect for Paul McGuinness...I haven't heard any stories like that about the guy. That really sucks that the Church got a bad deal there.

Originally posted by indra
Anyway, they did the album Gold Afternoon Fix with the same producers they had on Starfish, but Ploog had a meltdown midway through and left and and GAF never really got off the ground. It sold OK, but not well enough for the label, and that was that. Interestingly, many people (me included) consider their next album, Priest = Aura to very possibly be their best work. But it's not at all commercial and so must have further horrified the Arista execs.

Heh. Executives are another group of people that can be real pains.

Originally posted by indra
Useless trivia regarding The Church:

indra has four cats with Churchy names: Isidore (the SK/Jeffery Cain of Remy Zero music project); Miss Myrrh (named after the song Myrrh); Loki (my Norse god kitty -- named after the SK solo song); and Rickenbacker Straticaticus (because Marty and sometimes Peter use Rics and also Strats -- plus the cat needed a pretentious name, and they don't get much more pretentious than that! )

LMAO...that's cool! . You realize pictures of these cats should be shared now, right? .

Angela