Kim Salmon and the Surrealists

Infobox musical artist
Name = Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Flagicon|AUS Perth, Australia
Genre = Alternative rock
Years_active = 1987 - 1999
2006
Label = Black Eye Records
Red Eye Records
Half a Cow Records
URL =
Current_members = Kim Salmon
Stu Thomas
Phil Collings
Past_members = Brian Hooper
Tony Pola
Greg Bainbridge

"Kim Salmon and the Surrealists" were an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists. When the Scientists stopped, Salmon continued the Surrealists as his main band, while also playing in The Beasts Of Bourbon.

Biography

Salmon formed the first lineup of the Surrealists in mid-1987, with Brian Hooper on bass and Tony Pola on drums. He formed the band to record the album "Hit Me With The Surreal Feel", using minimalist lo-fi approaches to recording a basic trio: recording the band live with microphones around the studio capturing the entire sound, rather than one instrument per track. The recording and mixing cost was AUD$240 total. The band also played live around Perth in mid-1987. The album was released in October 1988.

The Surrealists did a few songs by the Scientists (particularly "Shine" from "The Human Jukebox") and had a similar sound, in that Salmon remained the leader and primary songwriter, but the feel of the music was notably different: far less tense and confrontative.

The second album, "Just Because You Can't See It ... Doesn't Mean It Isn't There", was recorded more conventionally in 1989 and released in early 1990. Comparing this album with "The Human Jukebox", there is a similarity in songwriting but a difference in feel is readily apparent. The band's third album, "Essence", was released in 1991, and followed by "Sin Factory" in 1993, which arguably gained the most attention for the band. The sound by now was strong rock riffery, blending their take on Blaxploitation music.

When The Beasts of Bourbon reformed in early 1988, Salmon started touring with that band too. When James Baker and Boris Sujdovic left The Beasts of Bourbon to go full-time with The Dubrovniks, Hooper and Pola joined to replace them.

Salmon fired Tony Pola from the Surrealists in 1993, replacing him with Greg Bainbridge. Brian Hooper later left as well and was replaced by Stu Thomas in 1995. This new trio put out "Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing" in 1997, touring Australia and Europe once more, and USA for the first time. A horn section was added to the band soon after.

In 1999, Salmon renamed the band Kim Salmon and the Business.

In September 2006, Kim Salmon & The Surrealists 'reformed' for a show in Spain at Azkena Rock Festival. This line-up of Kim Salmon (guitar/vocal), Stu Thomas (bass) & Phil Collings (drums), also played later in Melbourne.

Discography

* "Hit Me with the Surreal Feel" (1988) Black Eye
* "Just Because You Can't See It ... Doesn't Mean It Isn't There" (1989) Black Eye
* "Essence" (1991) Red Eye/Polydor
* "Sin Factory" (1993) Red Eye/Polydor
* "Kim Salmon and the Surrealists" (1995) Red Eye/Polydor
* "Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing" (1997) Half a Cow Records

External links

* [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=343 Kim Salmon and the Surrealists] (Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop by Ian McFarlane)
* [http://blackeyerecords.blogspot.com/2005/11/kim-salmon-surrealists-surreal-feel.html Story behind The Surreal Feel album and fish cover art]