San Cisco

JOSH + SCARLETT + JORDI + NICK
Long time pals from Fremantle, Western Australia.
Playing tunes since 2009.
San Cisco are an Australian indie pop band that formed in 2009 under the original name of King George, in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia. The band are a four-piece, and consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals), Nick Gardner (bass) and Scarlett Stevens (drums, vocals)—all members, except Stevens, share duties on keyboards. In November 2011, the band was signed by Albert Productions, but moved to Fat Possum Records for the release of its debut album. In October 2012, the band described its 'vibe' as "squelchy, crispy, streamlined, hairy, indie". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Dance Release for the album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.
Formation
The members of San Cisco attended the same high school in Fremantle. Singer/guitarist Davieson and drummer Stevens have known each other since early childhood. At only thirteen Davieson's first band was The Real Life Animators. The band formed in early December 2005, with Albert Loss on lead guitar and vocals, Davieson on rhythm guitar and vocals, Bill Lawrie on drums, and Theo Campbell on bass guitar. The band played around Fremantle, supporting other bands such as The Watts and The Flairz. Stevens' first performances were in December 2003, at age ten, as the drummer for the rock trio, The Flairz, together with Dion Mariani and John Mariani. Meanwhile, Biondillo and Davieson also bonded over a shared interest in skateboarding, the water, and music. Stevens is the daughter of Phil Stevens, who co-founded Jarrah Records with both the John Butler Trio and The Waifs, two bands that Phil Stevens also manages. Biondillo has explained, "I started playing guitar when I was in high school, about year 8 or 9, but it was mostly just playing music in my bedroom. So I did that until I met Jordi and then we started jamming together."
In late 2009, Davieson, Stevens, and Biondillo started playing music together and were later joined by bass guitarist Gardner. Initially called "King George", the band changed its name to "San Cisco" after surveying friends and fans. According to the band, "there is no link between the city San Francisco and our name San Cisco. .... The reason we went with San Cisco was because it is nothing; like a blank canvas which we were able to sculpt into whatever we wanted".
Golden Revolver EP
In late 2010, San Cisco recorded its debut EP Golden Revolver in Perth, Western Australia at Blackbird Studios. The EP's five songs were co-produced by Little Birdy drummer Matt Chequer and veteran engineer/producer Steven Schram (Little Birdy, The Waifs, Cat Empire, Little Red). "Golden Revolver", the EP's critically acclaimed lead single, received heavy airplay on national Australian radio station Triple J. XFM London DJ Mike Walsh said of "Golden Revolver": "If this song was brought to me as the next Vampire Weekend single, I would not be disappointed".
The music video for "Golden Revolver" shows the band sailing along Western Australia's Margaret River on a makeshift boat. The group's second single "Girls Do Cry" and a cover of Perth band Tame Impala's 2010 single "Solitude is Bliss" are also featured on the EP. Prior to the release of Golden Revolver, San Cisco was profiled in a December episode of Triple J Unearthed.
Awkward EP
The band's second EP, Awkward, was released in February 2012 and the concept behind the title song was revealed in a backstage interview with Davieson: "It's a bit of a weird story about a stalker, involving me and Scarlett. It's completely made up". The recording was released through the band's own record label Island City Records, with distribution provided by the MGM company. The Uber Rock website reported that the EP was well received by the British music press and radio, and that the band had received support from media outlets such as NME, This Is Fake DIY, XFM, BBC 6Music, Absolute Radio, Betacross, BBC Radio 1 and Amazing Radio.
As of 27 April 2013, the music video for "Awkward", published on the band's YouTube channel "sanciscomusic", had received over 5.6 million views—the video was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.
San Cisco
In late 2011, the band was signed by Albert Productions, the home of major Australian acts such as AC/DC and Megan Washington—the label described San Cisco's sound as "rough, low-fi garage pop" mixed with "bright catchy hooks". However, in September 2012, the band left Albert Productions to join the roster of United States (US) label, Fat Possum Records—a deal that was made in partnership with RCA Records—for the release of its debut album San Cisco in all territories, except for Australia, on 23 November 2012; in Australia, the band made the decision to release the album, together with the singles "Wild Things" and "Fred Astaire", through Island City Records.
The band is the first-ever Australian act to be signed to the Fat Possum label; other bands on the Fat Possum roster are The Black Keys, Spiritualized, Townes Van Zandt and Dinosaur Jr. The label has provided the following description of the band on its website: "In a year of viral mega-hits from Down Under, a ground of four youthful musical friends have reached the upper echelons of the Australian pop charts with an intoxicating ear-worm of a song called "Awkward" ... If you were wondering what might be the song of the Fall, you'll find it right here." In response to a question regarding the band's deal with Fat Possum, the band exclaimed, "Awesome! Fat Possum is amazing. We’re all stoked to be a part of the label."
A music video for "Wild Things", the first single release from the band's debut album, was published on the band's YouTube channel on 16 October 2012 and was directed by Kasimir Burgess. The single was also previewed on the website of national Australian radio station Triple J. A bonus song is also featured on the debut album; entitled "John's Song", the song consists solely of Davieson's vocals and guitar.
San Cisco recorded a cover version of the Daft Punk song "Get Lucky" for the "Like A Version" segment of national Australian radio station Triple J on 30 May 2013. The band uses slap bass and bongo drums for their rendition and also incorporate the N*E*R*D song "Hypnotize U".
San Cisco has stated in late 2013 in an interview that they plan to release a new album soon.
San Cisco has confirmed their sophomore album, 'Gracetown', would be released on 6 April 2015.
Awards and accolades
In the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown for 2011, "Awkward" was voted into the seventh position and represented the band's first ever Hottest 100 appearance. The song "Awkward" also won the "Most Popular Single" and "Most Popular Music Video" awards at the 2012 Western Australian Music Industry (WAMI) Awards. Awkward was certified Gold by the ARIA Accredidations 2012. The band was also nominated for an Unearthed J Award in November 2011.
In December 2012, Triple J announced that the station's listeners had voted San Cisco into the #10 position in the "Listeners Top 10 Albums Poll". In the 2012 Hottest 100 the singles "Wild Things" and "Fred Astaire" were voted into positions 53 and 48, respectively.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Breakthrough Artist - Release, Best Independent Release and Best Dance Release for their debut album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.
Touring
As Golden Revolver continued to gain popularity, San Cisco performed at numerous festivals throughout 2011, such as Adelaide's Fuse Festival, BIGSOUND in Brisbane, the Melbourne, Victoria leg of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival, the Pyramid Rock Festival on Victoria's Phillip Island, Peats Ridge Festival in New South Wales' Glenworth Valley, and the Western Australian stops of the Big Day Out and the Groovin' the Moo festivals. The band has also supported established Australian acts, such as The Grates, Jebediah and Architecture in Helsinki, and made appearances on the Australian version of BalconyTV (filmed in Brisbane, Queensland) and 3 News.
Prior to the release of its debut album, the band completed its first European tour in October 2012 and appeared at the CMJ Festival that is held in New York, US. Writing for the Bullett website, Luke O'Neil presented the band's CMJ showcase in a positive light:
Better off not planning to do anything and hope you accidentally stumble across something you didn’t know you wanted to see and avoid disappointment. That’s what happened last night ... I found an Australian band called San Cisco playing, and against all odds, their breezy indie charms—something of a cross between Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys, put the first smile on my face of the night.
On 29 January 2013, the band began its first US tour, opening for The Vaccines at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Massachusetts San Cisco recently started touring Europe as the opening act for Darwin Deez and Kaela Slavik.
On 16 July 2013, the band began a headlinging North American tour in Boston, MA with opening acts Supercute! and Smallpools. The tour will consist of 18 concerts in American and Canadian cities.
In anticipation of the UK release of their self-titled album, the band began their UK tour on 19 August 2013 in Southampton at the Joiners venue. The album was released on 7 October 2013 and the final date of the tour was 17 October in London.
Influences
The band has identified MGMT, The Flaming Lips and Vampire Weekend as influences on its songwriting and, as of January 2011, Stevens worked in a record store, a connection that the band members have explained "creates new influences and ideas, which we can apply to our own music."
Other projects
Stevens is responsible for the backing vocals on the Bob Evans (Kevin Mitchell, of Jebediah fame) song "Go", from his fourth album Familiar Stranger. She is also the drummer for the Ghetto Crystals, a new post-grunge project featuring her and guitarist/vocalist Doug May (formerly of Abbe May). She also featured on Australian rapper Illy's song Tightrope.
Band members
Jordi Davieson – guitar, vocals, keys
Josh Biondillo – guitar, vocals, keys, synthesizers
Nick Gardner – bass guitar, keys
Scarlett Stevens – drums, vocals