The Welcome Mat

The Welcome Mat was a four-piece indie guitar Australian musical group which formed in Sydney in 1989, and broke up in January, 1997. [McFarlane, Ian (2000). "The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop". Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864487682] The original line-up of the band consisted of Wayne Connolly on lead guitar and vocals, Cory Messenger on rhythm guitar and vocals, Peter Bennett on drums, and David Moss on bass. Moss was replaced in 1991 by Leo Mullens, whose addition to the line-up meant that, along with Connolly and Messenger, the band would feature three singer-songwriters. Songs recorded by The Welcome Mat include 'Cake', '10,000 People with the Same Idea' and 'Landspeed'. They were the first band ever to play Australia’s Big Day Out festival.

Biography

The Welcome Mat was formed in mid-1989 by songwriters Wayne Connolly and Cory Messenger, who had played together in various Sydney independent bands in the late 1980s. Drummer Peter Bennett and bassist David Moss worked with Connolly at Fairlight digital audio company, and were asked to join the as-yet unnamed band to help work on the songs Connolly and Messenger had been demoing on a Tascam four-track recorder. The songs themselves were mostly guitar-based tunes, heavily influenced by the bands associated with the Flying Nun Records label from New Zealand, as well as US Indie rock performers R.E.M., Husker Dü, the Replacements, Dinosaur Jr, Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and UK bands The Smiths, Stone Roses and The Wonderstuff.

Inspired by the unexpected commercial success of their friends The Hummingbirds, Connolly and Messenger approached local promoter Steve Pavlovic, and for their live debut landed a mid-week headlining slot at the Landsdowne Hotel in inner-city Chippendale in January 1990. The name The Welcome Mat was chosen at the last minute by Connolly, in the belief that it was reminiscent of the name of another musical influence, The Wedding Present.

After several other low-profile headlining and support gigs Waterfront Records founder Chris Dunn agreed to distribute a vinyl 7-inch single, Connolly's 'Last of the Great Letdowns', backed with Messenger's 'The Spin Doctor', recorded at Sunshine 16-track recording studios in Surrey Hills in May 1990. Despite the fact that the UK-born engineer halted the session mid-way through in order to watch the Manchester United-Crystal Palace FA Cup final, and that the band could only afford to mix the A side of the single, the record appeared on the band's own Plenny O'Hooks label in late 1990.

After appearing as the opening band at the first Big Day Out, the band was signed to Regular records in 1992, and recorded their debut album, Gram, at Paradise Studios with US production team Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie (Dinosaur Jr., Hole, Radiohead, Warren Zevon, Sebadoh). They released a second album, Lap of Honour, produced by Brad Shepherd of the Hoodoo Gurus, on id/Mercury in 1996, as well as several EPs with independent label Summershine. Many of these releases topped the Australian alternative charts, but did not achieve mainstream commercial success.

The Welcome Mat also toured extensively around Australia with the likes of the Hoodoo Gurus, Hunters and Collectors and Died Pretty, and played international supports for Buffalo Tom, The Lemonheads, The Wonder Stuff and Bob Dylan. They played their final show at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney in 1997. Connolly and Mullens have since played with Knievel, 2 Litre Dolby and The Small Knives.

Discography

1991 - Fairydust (Debut EP)1992 - Spare (EP)1993 - Gram (Debut LP)1994 - Headset (EP)1996 - Lap Of Honour (LP)

References

*McFarlane, Ian (2000). "The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop". Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864487682
*Spencer, Chris (1996). "Who's Who of Australian Rock" . Five Mile Press. ISBN 1865038911

External links

*"All Music Guide" entry http://wc10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
*Australian Music Online entry, http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=1441
*Stu Kahn’s Wellies site, http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/3611/wellies.htm