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Sick Puppies

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Sick Puppies
Sick Puppies performing in 2007
Sick Puppies performing in 2007
Background information
OriginSydney, NSW, Australia
GenresAlternative metal,[1][2] hard rock, post-grunge, nu metal (early)
Years active1997–present
LabelsVirgin, EMI
MembersShimon Moore
Emma Anzai
Mark Goodwin
Past membersChris Mileski
Websitewww.sickpuppies.net

Sick Puppies is an Australian rock[3] band, formed in 1997. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Shimon Moore, bassist Emma Anzai and drummer Mark Goodwin.

Sick Puppies rose to prominence in 2006 when their song "All the Same" was uploaded along with a video to YouTube. The video supported the Free Hugs Campaign which was launched in Sydney, and has since received over 70 million views on the website. This success followed up with Dressed Up as Life in 2007, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 181. Their third studio album is titled Tri-Polar.

Band history

Early career

The band was formed by singer/lead guitarist Shimon Moore and bassist Emma Anzai in the music room of Mosman High School in 1997, when they double booked the room and bickered over who got to practice. They soon became friends because of their love for Silverchair. Initially with Shimon on drums and Emma on guitars, the duo would frequently meet up to play Green Day, Rage Against the Machine and Silverchair songs and eventually felt compelled to write their own material. When Chris Mileski joined the band to play drums, Emma switched to bass and Shimon to guitar and vocals and they became the Sick Puppies.

There are two stories as to how the band name was conceived. The official version is that Shimon Moore thought of the name himself when the band members were brainstorming, and then came home a few days later to find his father Phil reading the book Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen. The side version is that a neighbor's dog entered the garage during a rehearsal and vomited on their equipment. An early fan made the comment, "That's one sick puppy" and the name stuck.

Emma Anzai took up a job as a telemarketer and Shimon took a job holding a sandwich board in the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney, Australia. Through their own financing and with help from Shimon's father (a musician and producer), the band released their debut EP Dog's Breakfast.

Triple J Unearthed competition and Welcome to the Real World

The band entered the Triple J Unearthed band competition in 2000 with a demo of their song, "Nothing Really Matters",[4] and went on to co-win the Sydney-region along with Blue and Ariels.Spans.Earth.[5] which led to a management deal with Paul Stepanek Management. This deal enabled the band to release the full album of Welcome to the Real World and the EP Fly. The band decided they needed a fresh start when the record label they had signed a contract with had folded and their drummer Chris Mileski left the band due to a death in the family. They decided to move to Los Angeles when rock photographer Robert Knight, who would later co-star in a documentary called Rock Prophecies with the band, said to their manager, "You should move the band over here, I really think they will do well".[6] As they were without a drummer, the band posted an ad on Craigslist, where they found their current drummer Mark Goodwin.

Dressed Up as Life and Tri-Polar

In 2007 they released their second studio album (first on a major label), Dressed Up As Life. The album came after the huge success of the "Free Hugs Campaign", and featured their breakout single "All the Same". The song reached number eight on the U.S. Modern Rock chart and is also featured on the video for the Free Hugs Campaign video which won YouTube video of the year in 2006. They followed up their debut with the single "My World", which peaked at No. 20. The band also released "Pitiful" and "What Are You Looking For" as singles in 2008.

The band went into the recording studio in December 2008 to write, record and produce their next studio album that was released on 14 July 2009. They also wrote a song for Capcom's video game Street Fighter IV called "War" and it has been used in the advertisements and promotion for the game.[7] It also reached the top 40 on the iTunes top rock songs. "War" was used during the Washington Capitals 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs introduction video.[8] The song was also included as the first track on Tri-Polar.[9] Their first single off Tri-Polar, "You're Going Down" reached No. 1, and was used as the theme song for the WWE pay per view "Extreme Rules" in June 2009 and is also used in SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, the My Soul to Take (2010) movie trailer, and also in the trailer and opening credits of "Tekken (2010 film)". The second single from the album, "Odd One", hit radio on 10 November.

Sick Puppies released a new song called "That Time of Year" on NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack - Vol. 2 and through their MySpace page for the holidays.[10] The third single from the album, "Maybe", hit radio stations on 22 June. "Maybe" topped at No. 1 on Billboard Heatseekers, No. 15 on Rock, and No. 6 on Alternative. It is the first Sick Puppies song to be on the Hot 100 chart, making it the most successful song of the band.[11] The album's fourth single is "Riptide", which was released in February 2011 and peaked at number 6 on Billboards Rock Chart. Tri-Polar was released in the UK on April 4, 2011.

Live & Unplugged and Rock Prophecies

On 7 April 2010, Sick Puppies released an acoustic EP titled Live & Unplugged featuring three tracks from their Tri-Polar album and one B-Side from that album. The versions of "Odd One", "So What I Lied", and "The Pretender" were recorded in a studio, while "You're Going Down" was recorded live in a Chicago radio station during an interview. To promote the EP, Sick Puppies offered a merchandise package that included Tri-Polar and Live & Unplugged with a limited edition lithograph; this package was sold at their concerts.

On 14 August 2009, Sick Puppies made their film debut in Rock Prophecies, a documentary about the career of acclaimed music photographer Robert Knight. This award winning film features his life as he started out filming music greats such as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, and his current mission to find today's up and coming bands and help them become tomorrow's top rock acts. This includes him convincing the Sick Puppies to leave their homes to pursue success in the American music industry in Los Angeles.[12]

According to bassist Emma Anzai, "(Robert Knight) was like, 'Hey I want to put you in my film.' So we were like, 'All right, cool.' So now it's two years later and he documented when we did the first album, the first show, all that kind of stuff. It was really cool. He wanted a new band to . . . develop." [13] During the process, the band was filmed for a few days at a time, and said that they would forget the cameras were there and act accordingly, so this film captures the band and their true interactions out of the spotlight.[14]

It was partly due to their involvement in this project and Mr. Knight's endorsement that they were able to acquire their first American record deal with RMR/Virgin/EMI. This record deal then led to the first U.S album, Dressed Up as Life.[15]

Rock Prophecies was nationally aired on PBS and became available on DVD on 14 September 2010.[16]

Polar Opposite and fourth album

On 1 March 2011, Sick Puppies released their all acoustic seven track EP Polar Opposite which includes acoustic versions of "Riptide", "Don't Walk Away", and more. It was recorded in studio, along with string ensemble accompaniment. Emma also does some more major lead vocals.

The band is currently in the studio recording the follow-up album to Tri-Polar, which will be released in 2013. The band has stated on UStream that the working title is Under the Black Sky and that there is a song by the same title.[17] On 16 October 2012, Sick Puppies had to leave the Triple Threat Tour with Seether due to personal reasons.

Band members

Current members
Former members
  • Chris Mileski - drums (1997–2003)

Discography

Main article: Sick Puppies discography

EPs

  • Dog's Breakfast (1999)
  • Fly (2003)
  • Sick Puppies (2006)
  • Live and Unplugged (2010)
  • Polar Opposite (2011)

Awards and nominations

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2001 Nothing Really Matters Triple J Unearthed Competition Won[18]
Sick Puppies Australian Live Music Awards' "Best Live Act" Won
2003 Sick Puppies The National Musicoz Awards' "Best Rock Artist" Nominated[19]
2006 Free Hugs (All the Same) Youtube Video of the Year' "Inspirational" Won[20]
2007 Sick Puppies Yahoo! Music's "Who's Next" award Won[21]
2011 Sick Puppies Bandit Rock Awards' "International Breakthrough Award" Won[22]
2012 Maybe BMI Pop Award Won[23]

References

  1. ^ "Sick Puppies - Welcome To The Real World (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Tri-Polar Review | Sick Puppies | Compact Discs | Reviews". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  3. ^ Sick Puppies Biography
  4. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/unearthed/archive/sydney/default.htm
  5. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/unearthed/past/
  6. ^ http://88mileswest.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/test.html
  7. ^ "Street Fighter". Streetfighter.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Washington Capitals 2009 Playoff intro". YouTube. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Live at House of Blues (Cleveland) - Available Now". Sick Puppies. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Happy Holidays van Sick Puppies op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Synopsis". Rock Prophecies. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Emma Anzai of Sick Puppies interview". Hollywood Music Magazine. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Sick Puppies stick around | The Weekender, Northeast PA". Theweekender.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Online Music Reviews". Chordstruck Magazine. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  16. ^ "Rock Prophecies". Rock Prophecies. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  17. ^ "UStream".
  18. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/sick-puppies
  19. ^ http://www.musicoz.org/about/default/success_stories/sickpuppies/
  20. ^ http://www.musicianphotojournal.com/index.php/2011/09/18/spotlight-artist-sick-puppies/
  21. ^ http://www.pluginmusic.com/news/article/sick-puppies-win-yahoos-whos-next-release-album-cover-art
  22. ^ http://ssanibo.blogg.se/2011/april/bandit-rock-award-winners.html/
  23. ^ http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/carole_king_named_bmi_icon_at_60th_annual_bmi_pop_awards/
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