THE MELNIKS

Sometime around 1990 a band called Toadstool was born. The band consisted of Jason Cassidy (drums/vox), John Swingle (vox/guitar), Nick Schoeffler and a guy called Porky. However, soon after the band formed Nick left and the remaining three members decided to change their name to The Melniks. The Melniks enjoyed telling lies about how they came up with their name. For example, they claimed to have borrowed the name from: Monty Melnik, the longtime Ramones tour manager Melnik the Smiling Killer, from the Get Smart episode Perils in a Pet Shop Melnik, a town in the Czech Republic renowned for its rock formations.

Apparently, the real way the Melniks came up with their name is that one night Cass was watching TV and saw the video for the Ramones song "I Wanna Live". In one frame there was a light board at a venue saying "Ramones here tonight.... No Melniks." In between playing shows around Brisbane, Cass, John and Porky managed to record and release a cassette in 1991 called 'I Was A Cartoon Pornstar'. Shortly after the release of the cassette, Porky left the band and was replaced by a dude named Steve. However, after only a short time Steve left the band as well.

At this point, Cass and John placed an advertisement saying that The Melniks were looking for a female bass player. A young fellow by the name of Trevor Ludlow replied to the ad, auditioned for the band and landed the gig. Around this time a hyperactive young whippersnapper called James Straker also joined the band as second guitarist. James has previously been in a band called Custard Gun (an early incarnation of Custard) but had been given the boot after only a couple of shows. This lineup issued a cassette called 'Melniks Are Uncool' around 1992.

John Swingle then quit the Melniks to go overseas. However, Cass, Trevor and James kept the band going - until Trevor decided to quit as well. Things weren't going well. Coming to the rescue of Cass and James was Terry Devantier, who became the band's new bassist. Shortly afterwards a young gent named Trent McNamara (vocals/guitar) was also drafted into the Melniks. Trent had previously played in the Rubber Jonnies and Cocksure. At this point the revolving Melniks line up settled down for a good three of four years, and the classic "four-piece Melniks" got down to business, recording several albums and touring up and down the east coast of Australia.

In May 1993 the Melniks entered Vibrafeel Studios in Brisbane to record their first album, a low-fi gem called 'I Know You Are But What Am I?' The Melniks' sense of humour is evident throughout the album, not only in the lyrics, but by the fact that they included the same recording of the song "Little Old Green Man" as both the first and last track on the album! Hidden after the latter version is a cover of the Zit Remedy Song from the TV show Degrassi Jr High, plus some audio snippets from the show.

The Melniks' second album, 'Have You Ever Noticed That Gordon From Sesame Street Looks Exactly Like Errol From Hot Chocolate'? was recorded at Charles Stuart University in Wagga Wagga. On this album The Melniks once again included an imaginative unlisted track. It consists of 30 minutes' worth of audio snippets from classic TV shows and films such as Monty Python, The Simpsons, The Young Ones and Fast Times at Ridgemount High. It's an amusing listen. The first two Melniks albumss were self-released, however the band's third album, 'Schmelnicks' (1996) came out through Shagpile/Shock. There is a big step up in the recording and mastering quality of 'Schmelnicks'. The band's penchant for silly unlisted tracks continued. After the album's eleven songs are complete, there is a silent track, after which the album plays over again, albeit in a slightly different order. Once the second play of the album is complete, it starts over for a third time!

Two singles were lifted from 'Schmelnicks' - "Drew Romance" and the double A-side "Chunky Doh / Anna". "Chunky Doh" was remixed for the single. The singles include some great b-sides, including a cover of the Beastie Boys' tune "Sabotage". Sometime after the release and touring for 'Schmelnicks', James left the band. Trent, Cass and Terry continued on as a three piece, issuing one last album, 'Fairway to Seven' (1997). It is decidedly less fuzzy than 'Schmelniks', arguably the band's best release. Sometime after the release of 'Fairway to Seven' the Melniks decided to call it a day. At the band's final show, they gave away a tape called 'Behind the Tandoor' to the first fifty punters through the door. 'Melniks Are Uncool' and 'I Was A Cartoon Pornstar' were rereleased in 2020 on the Brisbane Music Graveyard label.

Members

Jason "Cass" Cassidy (drums, vocals), John Swingle (guitar, vocals), Trevor Ludlow (bass),
James Straker (guitar), Terry Devantier (bass), Trent McNamara (vocals, guitar)

References

http://www.musiciscrap.com/themelniks/bio.html