Mix CD 35 - We Love You! - The Best of Regurgitator

Eighteen years ago, July 2000, I got the opportunity to travel to Australia, specifically Adelaide plus a few days in Sydney, for a couple of weeks. It was a bit daunting travelling so far on my own but who knew if a chance like this would come around ever again? I plumped up the courage and booked the flights.

Other than a couple of notable bands like Shihad and Frenzal Rhomb, I didn't really know much about Australian (and Kiwi) music and assumed it was all going to be Pub Rock bands along the lines of AC/DC, Jimmy Barnes, Screaming Jets etc. It turns out I couldn't have been wrong and they had a strong, vibrant music scene and a ton of fantastic bands. One thing I found, and I think it's probably still true today, is that a lot of bands had an almost naive charm about them; an exuberance for music that hadn't been neutered with cynicism like so much UK (and US music) I think that joy comes through in a lot of the music.

With help from Mardi (the person I visited), Alternative music radio station, Triple J and the pushy bloke at the record store in Glenelg, I ended up leaving with a suitcase full of CD's by bands like the aforementioned Shihad and Frenzal Rhomb plus Grinspoon, Skulker, Nitocris, You Am I, The Whitlams, Something For Kate, 28 Days, The Superjesus, The Mark Of Cain, Powderfinger, Killing Heidi, Sunk Loto, Blood Duster and some others I forget. One band though has stayed with me above all the others through the years, and that's Regurgitator.

(L-R) Martin Lee, Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans

As a band name, Regurgitator perfectly represents the band as Punk, Hip Hop, Pop, Folk, Funk, Metal, Synth Pop, Disco and all manner of musical genres are thrown in and then spewed out as the intermingled concoction that's Regurgitator. For all their large repertoire of styles, each song is always instantly recognisable as Regurgitator, this gives their albums a sense of cohesion it could quite easily lack. The fact they have a knack for big, memorable hooks and a wicked sense of humour probably contributes to that.

Originally formed as a side project by Quan Yeomans of Zooerastia, Martin Lee of Brazilia and Ben Ely of Pangaea. Both Quan and Ben take lead vocals though I didn't realise just how many songs Ben sings until compiling this, er, compilation, Once they were signed and their first two EP's (Hamburger and New) were successes, Regurgitator became the trio's main focus. their first three albums (Tu-Plang, Unit and ...art) were their most successful and are generally considered their best
During that time 'personal differences' were causing tension between Martin Lee and Quan that, eventually, saw Martin leave the band.

Their fourth album, Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War on T-Wrecks, was more Hip Hop influenced than either Unit or ...Art and the first to feature new drummer Pete Kostic. He was originally a temporary fill-in as he was still in the band Front End Loader, though he eventually became a permanent member.
Their next album was recorded somewhat differently; the band, a producer, an engineer and a VJ were locked into a big glass room in the centre of Melbourne for three weeks, unable to leave until the album was recorded.  The whole thing was filmed and broadcast as Band In A Bubble, a kind of a Big Brother type programme. The result was the album Mish Mash! Personally, I think it's probably their best album so maybe the process worked!

(L-R) Seja Vogel, Ben Ely, Pete Kostic, Quan Yeomans

Following that, they added Keyboardist/vocalist, Seja Vogel and this line up recorded their sixth album, the excellent Love And Paranoia. I thought she added an interesting dimension to the band. Unfortunately, this is the only album of theirs she plays on,

They released a further two albums, SuperHappyFuntimesFriends and Dirty Pop Fantasy, both quite eclectic, before going on the dreaded indefinite hiatus in 2013. Thankfully this didn't last too long and they started touring Australia again in 2015. Hopefully, there'll be a new album at some point soon.

I did manage to see them live on their 2003 UK Tour and they didn't disappoint and were a lot of fun. The venue was pretty small (300 capacity) and there were about half a dozen VERY excited Australians down the front. After the show, Quan and Ben stood by the main door shaking hands and thanking people for coming as they left. Before that Ben was stood in front of me in the queue to sign up to the mailing for one of the support bands, Electric Eel Shock from Japan who were, quite frankly, sensational and wiped the floor with every band on the bill that night, including Regurgitator.

(L-R) Ben Ely, Quan Yeomans, Pete Kostic

This mix will be one of the most eclectic Rock albums you'll probably ever hear, but also jam packed full of some of the most enjoyably catchy songs too. Almost all of them will get stuck in your head if you let them.  I've tried to take songs from their entire career so there are quite a few that should be here that I had to cut so the mix would stay to length; I'm sure there's plenty of songs that another fan of 'The Gurge' would be apoplectic about their omission  As with all these band specific mixes I've done, take it as an introduction to the band and expect there to be a wealth of quality material on the full albums. If I can make even a couple of new Regurgitator fans with this then I'll consider it job done.

There's a couple of tracks I would most definitely have included if I hadn't already used them on previous mixes.

"Mountains" was previously used on Mix #12 - The Elephant's Graveyard

"I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am" was previously used on Mix #21 - NSFW

Tracklisting
We Love You!
Happiness (Rotting My Brain)
Everyday Formula
! (The Song Formally Known As)
My Ego
The Lonely Guy
Future Is Plastic
Music Is Sport
Uncontactable
Romance Of The Damned
If This Is The Blues Why Do I Feel So Green?
Answering Machine
Blubber Boy
Couldn't Do It
So Tuff
Miranda July
Don't Go To Sleep
I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff (Live)
One Day
Hullabaloo
Drinking Beer Is Awesome!
Crush The Losers
Miffy's Simplicity
Metal Is Big In The Baltic States
Fun Fun Fun
I Wanna Be A Nudist
Black Bugs
Fuck The Goddamn World


You can download the mix HERE if you want, no worries. There's blurb about every track below if you fancy a read too.

THIS is their Facebook Page
And HERE is their Spotify Page
HERE's their website for more info, merch, CD's tour dates and all that.
They've got a fair bit up on Bandcamp, the majority of which is Name Your Price, HERE
There's a great interview with Pete Kostic you can listen to on, Australian Podcast, Long Gone Loser HERE

Cheers,
Luke
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