ORIGINS: Penrith, NSW
GENRE: Alt-Metal, Metal
YEARS ACTIVE: 2001-2004
MEMBERS:
- Katrina Noorbergen - Vocals
- James Gatt - Guitar
- Aaron - Guitar
- Alan Dodd - Bass (2001)
- James O'Hanlan - Bass (2002-2004)
- Kurt Reichel - Drums
RELEASES:
- Self-Titled (2002) - Download Here.
- 1. Drip
- 2. Caged
- 3. Buoyancy
- 4. New Hypocrite
SUMMARY: Forming out of the remnants of Penrith metal band Cherub Mafia, Vanity Star was a more alt-metal entity that played several shows in the Western Sydney area over the course of a couple of years. The band recorded a self-titled EP but did not release it officially and broke up in 2004 when band members decided to pursue other projects.
Vocalist Katrina Noorbergen went on to sing in well-known indie band Cassette Kids and competed in Europe as a songwriter in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 (her song came second that year).
SHOWS:
- The Big Thing Youth Festival, Colbee Park, McGraths Hill - Saturday 6th April, 2002
ORAL HISTORY:
JAMES G.: I met Aaron, our other guitarist, at a house party one night and we got talking about the Deftones album, Around the Fur. We decided to start jamming. Kurt was a mate of mine from playing in Cherub Mafia, and Katrina and Alan were friends of Aaron's from the Hawkesbury area. We just started writing songs and it all came together really nicely and easily. We rehearsed at Kurrajong as Katrina and Alan were out that way. The name 'Vanity Star' was from a Deftones lyric and a general idea of how everyone wanted to be cool.
James Gatt (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
KURT: I was asked by James to come jam in a garage with some mates. We eventually moved from James's garage to Alan's garage, then to Symphonic Sound Studios. We did a few small-time gigs around the Richmond area, a few birthday party gigs, but I wasn't driving back in those days so I didn't always pay attention to where the shows were.
Kurt Reichel (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
JAMES O: There was another bass player before me, I don't know what happened to him but when he left the others asked me to join. I was high school friends with Katrina and Aaron. My first show with the band was a Penrith PCYC gig. It was a metal night. We later played other shows at the Bull and Bush in Castle Hill and Paddy Maguires in the city.
James O'Hanlan (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
Vanity Star playing a song at Blaxland Tavern, 2002. Filmed by Wayne Bennett.
JAMES G.: We just played everywhere we could. Blaxland Tav shows stood out, we were young kids having a blast. We recorded an EP but we never named it. Didn't think that far ahead. The best thing about Vanity Star was writing shit without caring what people though, having fun with mates, and playing music all the time.
James Gatt (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
KURT: The demo was recorded in the Doonside area - we recorded after the change of bassplayers. It was just the only 4 tracks we had - I don't think we had any other completed songs. The cover was a black and white photo of the band members standing around James's car. It was printed on printer paper. Very cheaply done!
Kurt Reichel (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
JAMES G.: The band finished when I got asked to join Notion, who I absolutely loved - I couldn't say no. They were a band I saw and fell in love with instantly. Vanity Star was a really good, carefree time in my life and I hope it was the same for the other guys.
James Gatt (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
JAMES O: Katrina went on to be a successful singer-songwriter and performed onstage at Eurovision a few years back! Playing in Vanity Star was a lot of fun, we were really just kids bashing it out in the garage so we never really managed to make it a sustainable band, but it made for some good memories.
James O'Hanlan (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
RELATED BANDS: Cherub Mafia, Notion, Casa Del Disco, The Penny Record Project, Dyasphere, Laura Mosa, The Arbitrary Method, Cassette Kids
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