Noise Addict debuted in
Sydney, Australia in
1993, and did their first show at a library book sale. Headed up by
Ben Lee (recently popular indie rocker, friend of
Sean Lennon and
Evan Dando, long time boyfriend of
Claire Danes), the Sydney high schoolers put together their first 7", "
I Wish I Was Him," on a small label called
Fellaheen Records. Shortly after that,
Thurston Moore (from
Sonic Youth) signed them to his label
Ecstatic Peace, saying their work was "the best all time interpersonal fractured songwriting ever put on tape." On
Ecstatic Peace, the band released "
Def."
"
Def" is cool because it was all recorded on a
4-track machine, so you can hear the guys unplugging a mic to plug in a guitar for their pre-pubescent guitar solos. Keep in mind, these are 14-15 year old kids, just banging with the songs for fun and for something to do - between lusting after the high school girls, and going to hang out at Bondi Beach.
Not too much later, in June of 1994,
Mike D. from the
Beastie Boys heard the kids and signed them to
Grand Royal, which, at the time, wasn't all too well known. On there they put out "
Young & Jaded," featuring precious tracks like a remake of "
I Wish I Was Him," and an early version of "
Pop Queen," which would later be redone on
Ben Lee's first solo album, "
Grandpaw Would."
After enjoying a fairly large amount of success from the
indie rock scene and
college radio, Noise Addict, who had transgressed from an awkward
geek-rock band into a confident,
power-pop band, broke up. Citing schedule
conflicts and changing priorities, the childhood friends disbanded and
Ben Lee went on to begin what is now a very successful
solo career.
There are some interesting stories (rumors) about the story behind their 1993 release entitled "
Noise Addict vs. Silverchair." Apparently, a representative from
Murmur records (a subsidiary of
Sony) had come to
Sydney to check out
Noise Addict in an Australian talent contest, and picked up then-unknown band
Silverchair instead.
Silverchair put out their first album, "
Frogstomp," which became very popular, and they assumed a role that Noise Addict expected to be theirs, as young
Australian prodigies.
On tour back in
Sydney, it's said that
Daniel Johns (lead singer/guitarist,
Silverchair) offered
Ben Lee the opportunity to have
Noise Addict open for them. Feeling this was an attack on his band, Ben Lee punched Johns in the face and, alledgedly,
knocked him out.
Hence the new
demo,
Noise Addict vs. Silverchair.
Though Noise Addict has broken up, you can still buy their old albums through
amazon.com and other online stores. I recommend doing so - their later stuff (particularly "
Meet the Real You") is oozing with melencholy-coming-of-age-angst-ridden-female-confused pop rock, and has everything from the fast tracks of "Sixteen" and "My Pathetic Friend" to the slow melodious ballad of "
Boyfriendship,"
my personal favorite.
Also, be sure to check out
Ben Lee - his more veteran catalog is a worthy companion to Noise Addict's
coming of age.
some info borrowed from the happy (and very nice) fellows at ben-lee.com