Iron On

The city of Brisbane was named one of the world's top five music hot spots in Billboard magazine in 2007, and the credit for that is due to a scene containing hard-working bands like Iron On. Their handclap-happy indie power pop with skillfully interwoven vocal harmonies has made them stalwarts of the city's live rock scene. Kate Cooper and Ross Hope, who met while in the final year of their university degrees in 2002, share both lead vocal and guitar duties. They enlisted bass player Ian Rogers, who was working as a property evaluator at the time, and drummer Nicola Phoenix based on similar tastes for the music of the '90s. They named themselves after a Superchunk song and began their frequent gigging. After releasing several EPs on their own Ruth Street label, in 2005 they recorded their first album, Oh the Romance, for Plus One Records. It was recorded at Black Box Studios, a former church. The album was produced by Magoo, who worked with Midnight Oil, Regurgitator, and later Cooper's other musical project, An Horse. After the album's release, Phoenix was replaced by Marieca Page on drums. In 2006 Iron On toured Canada after being nominated for Best International Band at the Canadian Indie Awards, despite having never visited the country before the nomination or even released any material there. The Verse, an EP of new material recorded while working on their second album, was released in 2007. © Jody Macgregor /TiVo