TLOT TLOT

Tlot Tlot formed in Melbourne in 1986 as alternative rockers, Man in the Wood, with Owen Bolwell on bass guitar and lead vocals, Andrew Briant on lead guitar, and Stanley Paulzen on drums and lead vocals. Their debut release was an 7-inch single, "Rain" in 1989, followed by an eight-track EP, 'Thumper', released in 1990, which included "Rain". The single and 12" EP were produced by Aka Setkya and Malcolm Dennis for the Manhole Productions label. All the tracks were co-written by Bolwell and Paulzen. The songs on 'Thumper' were much darker than other Tlot Tlot songs.

 
In 1991, Briant left Man in the Wood and was replaced by Rob Clarkson and the group were renamed as Tlot Tlot. This band name was taken from the Alfred Noyes poem, The Highwayman (1906). As well as the name change, the music style changed from Man in the Wood's dark and depressing post punk to a more poppy style of music with light-hearted and humorous lyrics. Tlot Tlot's first release was a five-track EP, 'A Day At The Bay', in 1991. After its appearance Clarkson left the band. Tlot Tlot continued as a duo of Bolwell and Paulzen and in 1992 they issued a studio album, 'Pistolbuttsa'twinkle'. The title is also from The Highwayman. Most of the songs date back to the 1980s and were performed at Man in the Wood gigs, but a few were written specially for the album. It was closely followed by a single, "Old Mac", which peaked at #5 on the 2XX Independent chart in April 1993. Their track "Birthday" appeared on the various artists compilation, 'Live at the Empress'.

In 1993 Tlot Tlot issued a compilation album, 'Pistolbuttsatwinklea'twinkle', which combined material from the studio album and 'A Day At The Bay'. Later that year they followed with another album, 'The Live Set - Volume 1', which contained previously unreleased tracks and new recordings of older ones. The following year, Paulzen formed a side project called Fred Astereo with Briant.

In 1995 they signed to EMI and issued a single, "The Girlfriend Song" in April, which reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 it was nominated for 'Best Pop Release'. In May of that year, they supported Things of Stone and Wood at the ANU Bar. They released their next studio album, a covers album entitled 'Fashion Takes a Holiday', in July that year. The album contained covers of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" and the Romantics' "What I Like About You". The band also produced and co-wrote Merril Bainbridge's debut album 'The Garden' that year, which received worldwide success.

The band did not release any further new material and disbanded in 1996. "The Girlfriend Song" appeared on the 'Collision 4' various artists compilation later that year. "When We Were Young Stars", an unreleased track from the 'Fashion Takes a Holiday' sessions, appeared in 1997 on another compilation, 'A Minute Or Less', on Candle Records. Bolwell became a recording engineer and wrote Merril Bainbridge's second album 'Between The Days', while Paulzen and Clarkson formed Ruck Rover with former Things of Stone and Wood member Michael Allen.

Members

Stanley Paulzen (vocals, drums, guitar), Owen Bolwell (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, CD player) Andrew Briant (lead guitar), Rob Clarkson (guitar)

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlot_Tlot