Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Little More Than You

ORIGINS: Penrith
GENRE: Ska-punk
YEARS ACTIVE: 2000-2002
 
MEMBERS:
RELEASES: 
 
  • Rhymes with Orange (2001) - Download Here.
    • 1. The Kiss
    • 2. That's Life
    • 3. Cartoon Girl
    • 4. Loves What It's All About
    • 5. Crapitalism
    • 6. Give a Damn
  •  Unreleased Live Album (2001) - Download Here.
    • 1. Cartoon Girl
    • 2. Love's What It's All About
    • 3. Dependency
    • 4. Play Some Farkin' Barnssssyyy
    • 5. Crapitalism
    • 6. Girl Named Heartache
    • 7. What More
    • 8. That's Life
    • 9. Give a Damn
    • 10. Missing You
    • 11. The Kiss
    • 12. Shifting Sands
    • 13. Big Red Secret
    • 14. Crapitalism (Swing Version)
 
SUMMARY: Little More Than You initially grew as a four-piece (Joey, Martin, Flavel, Adam) out of Speckled Foam at the end of 1999/beginning of 2000, with Martin playing guitar and Adam playing drums. Martin and Adam swapped instruments after about 6 other guitarists were audtioned and then the band accumulated members until the point where they could round out their 3-piece horn section as a fully-fledged '90s style ska-punk band. The band quickly became one of the most popular Penrith acts at the time, with some of their performance at the Grounded Festival broadcast on Channel V. 

Sometime around the beginning of 2002, Joey left to join Unpaid Debt. He was replaced by a new singer, Scott Pierce, for about four months before the band folded due to a range of conflicting commitments (band members doing their HSC exams or moving on to other styles of music).
 
 
SHOWS: 

Setlist

ORAL HISTORY:
MARTIN: It came out of the back of Speckled Foam. Joe and I wanted to started a band with a bigger sound, with a full time horn section. We dabbled with it in Speckled Foam but that wasn't a full time part of that band. We used it at some points, and we had sort of started merging into a lot of the ska sound already (which you can hear in the Speckled Foam recordings), which was really fun and I think we were enjoying it at the time. That's probably how Little More Than You began.
Martin Birrell, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
JOEY: At the time, with me and Marty in Speckled Foam, there seemed to be this increasing trend for local bands and Sydney bands that suggested the band was way better than the audience and there was this whole ego thing going on and the band name - we just wanted to suggest that we aren't really more than the audiences, we're all part of the same scene - we need them and they need us and they're as important as we are.
Joey Catanzaro, Obzine Issue 23, February 2002 
 
JOEY: After Speckled Foam parted ways Bizz (drummer Martin BirrelI) and I were determined to get a ska band with horns off the ground. It was a time-consuming challenge building a 7 piece band from scratch. Bizz and I had no idea who to draft so we went scouting. We didn’t really know any of the members who would eventually form the band, not well, anyway. Getting Brendan on bass was a key moment (he went to school with my sister). He brought in Fuzz, who initially auditioned for drums, but ended up on guitar. (Fuzz was and is a lovely bloke who had a strange fixation with wanting to fight me. Presumably he still does). The horn section was the tricky part. Scott (trombone) was a great guy who had been the year above me at school... He was also a clown, as in, literally a children’s entertainer. The balloon animals were the best! Tim (trumpet) brought the Boho jazz vibes. Chloe was in the scene already and a musical virtuoso. She was responsible for a lot of the brass lines that really made the band sing. Didn’t hurt that her mum booked a local venue! It took what felt like forever to get it off the ground… (have you ever tried to schedule a band practice around 7 people?) But when it did happen, it really took off in the West.
Joey Catanzaro, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
FLAVELL: I used to go and see Joe in his little second hand shop and fuck around with guitars and the drum machines and shit and he asked me to come along for an audition so I did and then I brought along Timmy cause I used to go to school with Tim (Purtell) and after that I brought in Fuzz (Adam Kenny), who originally played drums for us.
Flavell, Obzine Issue 23, February 2002

MARTY: I wanted to play guitar. I was sick of being up the back.
Martin Birrell, Obzine Issue 23, February 2002

CHLOE: I was playing with Badtown Allstars before Little More Than You, even though I didn't play any gigs with them.
Chloe Keeble, Obzine Issue 23, February 2002

CHLOE: I was in the scene and mates with Spudgun, and apparently was scheduled to join them on sax but I made the immediate switch to Little More Than You since it was more the ska vibes I liked. I was what - 15 at the time? The other members were all 19-21 so my parents were a bit shocked, but supportive in the end (they came to every Kelts Bar show to sign me off as a minor, but they loved the music too... or so they told me haha!). Highlights included the Grounded Festival (also because I frothed we were on the same lineup with other great bands) and playing with and hanging out with Area 7 while all of us were wearing Panthers jerseys!
Choe Keeble, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

JOEY: We need a trombone player and I knew Scott from primary school, but I didn't have his number or anything, and I'd been to his house once in Year Five. So me and Marty went around, like walking the streets, to find his house and we found it. And yeah, he was up for it.
Joey Catanzaro, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 
MARTIN: The band community at that point seemed fairly close-knit and supportive of each other which was very cool to me. It was a highlight to be entertaining people who cared enough to bother to come and see us or whoever we were playing with. Without an audience it's just a rehearsal. It was honestly a really fun to be a part of back then. Don't know anything about it now but I hope that's continued.
Martin Birrell, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

JOEY: We sent in a bio and a demo to Channel V and apparently the guy who was choosing what got played was a big ska fan, so he was really impressed - and it was really good, I had heaps of fun doing it, it was cool. There's heaps of talent in Western Sydney, it's heaps underrated, and I was just happy to represent Penrith on TV.
Joey Catanzaro, Obzine Issue 23, 2024

JOEY: We did a TV appearance, we recorded an EP (Rhymes with Orange), we had some great times. We would put on gigs at places like Blaxland Tavern, we’d pull the crowd and pack the place, but we would always make sure all the money was divided equally amongst all the bands. There were some non-band members who were really important to the band and part of the community who supported us. Geoff (Blockbuster, stage invader) among them. Our EP launch was one of the greatest gigs I have ever played. It was my last with LMTY, and my first with what was (at the time) a ska punk band called Unpaid Debt. The gig was packed, at least 500 people were there. They all knew the LMTY songs. I still to this day don’t know what would have happened if I had stayed with LMTY. They went on to play with Scott Pierce on vocals for some time after. It was a great time in the Western Sydney ska punk scene. And I am so grateful to everyone who made it what it was. “Love’s what it’s all about!” Still is.
Joey Catanzaro, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CHLOE: After Joe left for Unpaid Debt, I also was trying to finish my HSC and decided to focus on school eventually. The band just kind of fizzled afterwards.
Chloe Keeble, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

SEE ALSO: Speckled Foam, Unpaid Debt, Strength Within, The Rumjacks, Badtown Allstars, Moneypenny, The Clearview, The Paper Tigers, Black Boy Bear, Badanga


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