MEDIA PRESS KIT

CONTACT INFORMATION

Band Management: Justin Francis & Scott Bassham 0448 916 323 seawitchmusic@yahoo.com.au
Recording Label: Seawitch Music 0448 916 323 seawitchmusic@yahoo.com.au
Touring Agency: Corney Music - Justin Francis 0448 916 323 corneymusicaustralia@gmail.com

ill Starred Captains Biography

“The road to recognition and respect has been a long one for Australian Folk/Punk/Surfadelic two-piece band Ill-Starred Captain and it’s true to say, they wouldn’t have it any other way! In today’s ever-changing music scene, Scott Bassham (guitar and voice) and Justin Francis (drums), have chosen to build their sound and career based on tried and true principles of mixing inspiration with sheer hard work. Over almost twenty years of crafting and evolving their sound, both as a powerhouse live act and across five highly regarded albums, Ill-Starred Captain’s music is all about passion, persistence and belief in the transformative power of music. In the words of Scott Bassham, “From the start of this band’s journey, we’ve developed a sound and a work ethic that we knew would take years to evolve, and that was the path we chose to take, and are still following today.

” Both Scott and Justin were experienced original musicians long before they formed Ill-Starred Captain back in 2000. Scott’s pursuit of song writing excellence had already taken him a long way from his tiny isolated hometown of Port Lincoln in South Australia, and he had written for and performed in a slew of great bands in Australia and overseas by the time he met Justin Francis in 1999. “I’d just returned from a long stint living and playing in Ireland, and had just released my first complete album, “Tunakarma” in ‘99”, remembers Scott. “Justin was touring through town with his band the Sunday Roast, and I played a support slot for them.” The Sunday Roast was riding high at the time, having just played the Adelaide Big Day Out Festival and recording an album with Ed Kuepper, but things were winding down on the touring front for them.

“Justin and I got talking over the next few months, and soon realised that we had a lot of the same ideals about what we wanted from music.” Both musicians loved the touring life and felt that all their favourite music had some common denominators, “We both loved music that had the road in it. We liked the idea that, for us, the best music always comes from passion and struggle, as opposed to glamour and glitz! So, we decided to devote ourselves, as fearlessly as possible, to pursuing our music by removing all safety nets and throwing ourselves in at the deep end. A month later, we were touring the wilds of Eastern & Western Australia, then we went straight to Ireland! Everyone we knew assumed we were crazy, and I’m not sure that’s ever changed!”

That journey has continued unabated and has taken Ill-Starred Captain from the concert halls of the UK and Ireland to the tiny mining camps of Australia’s Western Deserts, and everywhere in between. It has also seen the band release five self-produced and much-loved albums on their own Seawitch Music label, with their latest album, “Get Lucid on the Transcendental” due for release in March 2019. With a hugely diverse range of musical influences, from traditional folk to explosive garage Rock’n’Roll, Ill-Starred Captain continue to grow and develop outside of the usual bounds of the music industry, taking their music far beyond the safety of city scenes, into the stranger quarters of the world.

“We’ve always kept our freak flag flying, making music to inspire the hearts and minds of our audience, as well as getting their bodies jumping on the dance floor,” says Scott. “It’s always been our mission to create awesome music from our lives, no matter how tough the road, and it’s been a wild ride so far, and we plan to keep on enjoying the journey!