Grinderman biography
Grinderman was an alternative rock band formed by Nick Cave (vocals, electric guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (electric tenor guitar, Mandocaster, violin, viola, acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Martyn P. Casey (bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals) and Jim Sclavunos (drums, percussion, backing vocals) in London, United Kingdom in 2006. All members are also active musicians in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the band, originally known as Mini Seeds, were formed as "a way to escape the weight of The Bad Seeds." The band's name is inspired by a Memphis Slim song, "Grinder Man Blues," which Cave is noted to have started singing during one of the band's early rehearsal sessions. Their eponymous debut album, Grinderman, was released in 2007 to extremely positive reviews. The band's second studio album, Grinderman 2, was released in 2010 and received a similar reception.
History
Formation and debut album: 2006-2008
After extensive touring throughout 2005 with The Bad Seeds in support of the band's double album,
Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, frontman Nick Cave began composing songs on guitar, an instrument he'd rarely played; his rudimentary playing gave the new material a rawer feel than much of The Bad Seeds' output at the time. (Though early Bad Seeds albums such as From Her to Eternity had a raw post-punk style, the band's sound had evolved to be come more lush and orchestrated over the years.) Cave formed Grinderman with fellow Bad Seeds' musicians Warren Ellis, Jim Sclavunos and Martyn P. Casey to experiment his new material with. The newly-formed side project entered the Metropolis Studios in London to record the original Grinderman demos and it was this material that would eventually become the basis for the band's debut studio album
Grinderman. The album was recorded with long-time friend, producer Nick Launay in April at the RAK Studios, London and mixed in October at the Metropolis Studios.
The band's debut single, "Get It On", was Grinderman's first release on 8 January 2007. "No Pussy Blues", now one of the band's signature songs, was released as the band's second single on 19 February, in order to promote the upcoming album. Grinderman was released in March 2007 and was applauded by critics for its rough energy, similar to that of Cave's celebrated post-punk project The Birthday Party. Alongside its release, the band's official website was unveiled the same week and featured The Grinderman Podcast, a podcast series of recording segments from the band's writing sessions. New episodes were said to appear regularly over the following weeks however, only five recordings appeared. The band made their live debut at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Somerset the following month and on 30 April, the band released the third and final single from the album, "(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free". Following the eventual releases, the band appeared on the BBC television show Later... with Jools Holland on 11 May, performing "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" and "No Pussy Blues." To finish promotion of the album in the United Kingdom, the band ended with a one-off show at The Forum in London on 20 June.
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