PANTS BIOGRAPHY - Pants was a four-piece progressive guitar-pop band from Sydney, Australia. Their one and only album, 'General Malarky' marked the much-anticipated arrival of a band able to marry its diverse influences and create songs with intelligent lyrics, big choruses and enormous musical sensibility. Shane, lead vocalist, picked up a guitar and started songwriting at the age of 14 during the heady days of the Oz Rock era. He was heavily influenced by the likes of Midnight Oil, Crowded House and Hunters and Collectors. Shane's classical training saw him set for a career in musical theatre but bass player, Paul Prammer, realised that Shane was infinitely more corruptible and persuaded him that his true destiny lay as Rock God, Superstar rather than the lead in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Paul admits to originally picking up the bass guitar in high school because 'everyone else wanted to play lead guitar'. Paul has embraced all styles of music from punk and swing to pop and hard rock. He brings his enthusiasm for thumping tempos in and around the melodies of every Pants' song. Shane and Paul played in a number of Sydney bands over the years earning critical acclaim from the music press. "Killer songs laden with hooks, excellent melodies and real energy. It's pop but it's not twee, a yardstick for intelligent guitar-based pop ... Besides being an excellent songwriter, Shane is a fine vocalist ..." Stuart Coupe, 'On The Street'. Pants acquired lead guitarist David McCarroll in 1999. David's fondness for punk and any other form of music likely to cause spontaneous internal bleeding is unleashed in a welter of ferocious rhythm guitar interspersed with blistering, to-the-point solos. Combine this with an affinity for the atmospheric/ambient sounds of Brian Eno and Andy Summers and their ilk and you have pop that jumps from first to fifth gear taking the listener on a hell of an enjoyable ride, mercifully free of the usual boring guitar-hero histrionics. Unlike other groups united by a common love of say the Beach Boys (fine as they were), you have three guys who love ELO, Queen, Phil Spector, English New Wave, Frank Zappa, The Clash, Steely Dan, Abba, the list is probably endless. With a united lineup however, the reckless abandon all fell into place, coalescing their diverse influences into a glorious musical baking fest. The band kick-started their first year as runners-up in the 2MMM band comp and had 'Cynic of the Year' played as demo of the week in the same year. As Michael Smith of 'Drum Media' noted "There's no denying that this band has that big, classic, power pop sound." 'General Malarky' is an album as much born of the band members' diverse tastes in music, as it is of their mutual love of harmony and melody. From the fist-pumping, anthemic chorus of their first single 'Smile!' to the sweet harmonies of 'The Boy With His Foot In His Mouth'; from the swoony strains of 'Sleepy' to the invective snarl of 'Dead Cat in Villawood', 'General Malarky' is an impressive debut from a band that defines intelligent guitar-based pop. Says Shane, "Through sheer dogged persistence and the wonders of affordable modern technology Pants have managed to pull off our grand vision of producing our own album. With a whole lot of gumption and a distinct lack of compromise I feel we've crafted a diverse mix, rich in energy, melody, harmony, satire and sentiment. Our sensibilities are definitely on our sleeves with this album. General Marlarky has been great fun to make and we can't wait to unleash it on the unsuspecting world!" General Malarky Song List Dead Cat A white racist celebrates the depths of his own ignorance. We Are Populace A song with its hands around the neck of a choking Zeitgeist. The name of the album 'General Malarky' was lifted from the lyrics in this song. Smile! Life sucks so enjoy it. A big chunk of fist-pumping, anthemic cock-rock. Over The Ropes A dark little pop song. Underneath it's jovial, sea-shanty chorus lurk some twisted lyrics about unrequited love, infidelity and the satisfaction that only a crime passional can bring. A favourite with stalkers the world over. Sleepy A swoony, soporific number about succumbing to that snooze button on a Monday morning. Will make you yawn, stretch and sigh for all the right reasons. The Boy With His Foot In His Mouth A sentimental boy-meets-girl-and-stuffs it up ballad that has, on occasion, inspired punters to spontaneously whip out their cigarette lighters and sway along. Johnny Hates Jazz A song for pathetic 30-somethings who are numbed by the banality of their own lives. Spiky An ode to our secret vices. Our sins will find us out ... never seems to stop us though. Market Research The death of anonymity in a world where market researchers are the new thought police. Cynic of the Year Next time you throw stones, beware of glass walls. Call Centre Murder Suicide Fear this is a warning of something that's bound to happen some day. Call Centres are today's answer to Henry Ford's production line, filled with battery hens in white collars. Leaving on a Greyhound It's my way or the highway. Hope Bomb A musical ode to early '80s Oz Rock and a lyrical plea to give up pipe-dreaming, seize the day and just roll with it. Written and recorded live within an hour in a barn surrounded by Byron Bay bushland.