My Vitriol biography
My Vitriol are an alternative rock band from London, England. The band name is taken from the novel Brighton Rock by Graham Greene. The band is often credited with initiating a new wave of shoegaze, sometimes referred to as nu gaze, which bears comparison to bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.
The band currently comprises Som Wardner (vocals, guitar and lyrics), Ravi Kesavaram (drums), Seth Taylor (guitar) and Laura Claire (bass). The band had success in the early 2000s with three Top 40 hit singles in the UK Singles Chart and a UK Top 40 album,
Career
Beginnings (1998-1999)
Kesavaram and Wardner met at UCL in early 1998. They lived opposite each other in halls and were both were studying similar degrees; Wardner studying genetics and Kesavaram studying biochemistry. They were both involved in the local music scene, but it was not for a year and a half until they played together. Wardner had written a few songs and a friend of theirs decided to help them record a demo as a project for his studio engineering course. Kesavaram played the drums, and Wardner played the rest of the instruments, and they put together an EP called "Delusions of Grandeur" in the space of two days.
About 250 CD-R copies of "Delusions Of Grandeur" were pressed but only about thirty actually worked, due to technical reasons. However, one was handed to BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq at a gig. Within days, Lamacq had broadcast a track on the Session Unsigned slot, which led to publicity for the band in the form of the track' "Grounded" being used on the Organ Radio 5 compilation album.
The twosome met guitarist Seth Taylor (bassist of Mint 400) at a Mint 400 gig, and discovered Carolyn Bannister playing bass at another gig. The band soon released their début, double A-side single "Always: Your Way/Pieces", on Org Records on the 6 December 1999.
Finelines (2000)
In the last week of 1999, the band signed a recording contract with Infectious Records, home to other acts such as Ash and Garbage. Their first single under this new label was "Losing Touch", released in April 2000, and the second was "Cemented Shoes" which made number 65 in the UK Singles Chart in July that year. Their third single, "Pieces", charted at number 56, but the fourth, "Always Your Way", was the first to reach the Top 40, peaking at number 31. Soon after this, the band's debut album,
Finelines was released and it made number 24 in the UK Albums Chart in March 2001. Almost every song on
Finelines was recorded utilizing various unusual guitar tunings. The final single from the album, and their also their biggest hit was "Grounded" which peaked at number 29. The video for "Grounded" starred Vincent Gallo. The single release included an unexpected cover version of Madonna's 1989 song "Oh Father".
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