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The Church interviews & articles



Togatus: Steve Kilbey

This is an interview with Steve Kilbey from April 1996.

Gold Afternoon Fix

This is a post Gold Afternoon Fix article about The Church.

How can we miss The Church when they won't go away?

Here is an interview with Steve Kilbey and Jim Sullivan from "The Boston Globe" about The Church from October 30, 1998.


NOTE: I did not write the above articles and they are NOT on my server, therefor I cannot be held responsible for problems on those servers.


The following is the press release for the Church's 2001 album After Everything:
THE CHURCH TO RELEASE AFTER EVERYTHING APRIL 24 ON THE TELEGRAPH COMPANY

First Recording of New, Original Material in 3 Years to Coincide with SXSW Appearance and Be Followed by Summer Tour

The Church will make their debut on The Telegraph Company with After Everything on April 24, their first U.S. release of new, original material in three years. They will preview songs from the new recording with an appearance at SXSW in March, followed by a series of club shows and record-release parties in key markets. A North American tour being planned for summer will be their first since 1999.

"When we heard After Everything we knew it was The Church's strongest material in years," said Jerod Gunsberg of The Telegraph Company. "Church fans are loyal ones, and have been with them throughout the years. This record more than proves that this kind of loyalty is well deserved. With our efforts to really call attention to the band in the States, we're confident that this album will open up an entirely new audience for them as well."

Original members Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes, plus drummer Tim Powles, who joined in 1994, say they chose the title After Everything because after a period of musical experimentation, they have found that their strength lies in simply being themselves. Contemporary-sounding, yet retaining The Church's trademark atmospheric sonicscapes on such favorite albums as Heyday, Starfish and the critically-acclaimed Priest = Aura, After Everything marks a refreshing, welcome addition to today's musical climate.

The Church's guitar-driven, dreamy pop music with lyrics of grace, beauty, power and melancholy has drawn comparisons to a diverse array of artists over the years including Pink Floyd, Neil Young, David Bowie and R.E.M. Critics and fans alike view them as an important link in the chain that goes from Bowie to U2 to Radiohead. On After Everything, The Church carries on that tradition in "Numbers" and "Reprieve," which recall such earlier works as "You Took" and "When You Were Mine." On "Chromium Plated," The Church modernizes the ringing feedback and shimmering guitars of their early hits "The Unguarded Moment" and "Metropolis," while fans of Starfish will find plenty to like in the title track. Among the other stand-out tracks on After Everything are "Radiance," "The Cross" and "Invisible."

Formed in Australia in 1980, The Church released their debut album in both Australia and the U.S. the following year. The album launched their career with the hit, "The Unguarded Moment." The success of their next two albums, The Blurred Crusade and Séance, plus two hit EPs led to their second U.S. release, Remote Luxury in 1984, followed by Heyday in 1986. Two years later, they hit the Top 40 with "Under the Milky Way" and the album, Starfish, went gold. 1990's Gold Afternoon Fix, which contained "Metropolis," was followed by a world tour and in 1992, they released what some call their finest work, Priest = Aura. The Church continued to record throughout the '90s, releasing Sometime Anywhere, Magician Among The Spirits, Hologram of Baal and a collection of cover versions, Box of Birds They returned to touring in 1998.

With After Everything The Church begins an exciting new chapter in their distinguished career.

For more information, go to www.thetelegraphcompany.com and www.thechurchofficial.com Press please contact Susan Clary at Big Monkey, scbigmonkey@earthlink.net or at 323-653-4987.

The following is a story sent to me by Bob and Lois Schweitzer from Salem, Virginia:
Bob and Lois
The Church: Dream comes true at Carrboro, NC
Since becoming a huge fan of The Church in 1985, I jumped at the chance to see them in concert for the very first time in October, 1998 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC The show was all that I had hoped for and more. My wife Lois and I traveled some 250 miles from our home in Salem, Virginia in order to catch the show. This time around, thanks to Chrispy's Tour page (we had the pleasure of meeting Chrispy at Polly's in DC ) we opted to attend the Carrboro, NC show at the Cat's Cradle on October 6, 1999, some 70 miles "closer" to home. We both had to work that day, so we were unable to depart until 6:00PM. Because the trip was some 180 miles with very few major highways to traverse, we arrived at the Cat's Cradle at precisely 10:00PM. "Should I bring the camera?", Lois queried. "No", I said, "they probably won't allow them", I said. As we picked up our tickets at the door, the warm-up act Senseless Happy was just beginning their first number. Talk about timing! As we entered and walked past the stage, Lois snapped "too loud, too smoky!" So we retreated to the back of the place, purchased a few beers and found a comfortable couch. The place was relatively un-crowded, I estimate only 150 people at the most. I felt much better after my first beer, and started to talk to the patrons, several of which wore Hologram of Baal tee shirts. We do not remember too many of their names, but one was Eric Peace, whom I know from the Seance mailing list. Since I have read so many reports of Seancers getting to meet some of the guys in The Church, I brought with me my booklet from the new CD "Under the Milky Way, just in case we might be so lucky. Just a dream, I thought. We also befriended a couple of older fellows (like us, we felt as if we were the oldest people there!) from Wilmington, NC (George and Dennis Williams) who also sported Hologram shirts which they picked up in DC. We chatted mostly about The Church, of course. After another round of beers and a game of pool with Lois, the first band was finished. They did sound pretty good, but we really were not paying too much attention. George was busy asking the bouncers for some of The Church posters stapled to the walls. He managed quite a few, and presented one to Lois. It was time! Since the crowd was so sparse, any place in the room afforded a great view of the band. Lois and I were about 15 feet in front of Marty to the right of center stage. None of us knew of Steve's problem in New York City (I found out the next day via internet). Steve came out to a huge ovation and announced the problem of their equipment not arriving and that they would do their best. Interesting, to say the least. I braced for the first tune.... Fantastic sound, fabulous vocals, WOW! They played about a 100 minute show, which I later understood to deviate from their normal tour playlist, including the two encore tunes. Our personal favorites from this magical evening were "Grind", "Destination", "Reptile" and " Two Places at Once". The performance just seemed to go so fast! Lois and I knew all the songs except for one, which must be a new one. If Steve had not announced their equipment was missing, we probably would not have known it. They sounded terrific! If only I had let Lois bring the camera, several others were taking photos all evening, and one guy was taking videos! Dream crushed. The crowd filed out, and Lois and I were preparing to depart. George and Dennis came up to us and said "if you want to meet the band, then hang with us". We waited about 20 minutes, the staff started to mop the floors. Marty was the first to come on stage and he was packing up his guitar and cables. There were only about 10 people milling about the stage including ourselves. As the eager fans waited, I was the first to say " Great show Marty, can you please sign my CD?". He replied "Sure, give me a minute". We shook hands. chatted for a few minutes, and we talked about his new CD. He signed my CD booklet "love, Marty". Lois was next in line and Marty signed the poster. Peter and Tim came out next. Most of the remaining fans went in Peters direction. According to Dennis, Peter's autograph is the hardest to get. I opted to chat with Tim, which lasted over 5 minutes. He signed my booklet "to Bob and Lois". I also managed to get Peter's handshake and signature just as he was leaving. Lois had already gotten her poster signed by both Tim and Peter already! The bouncer said we have to leave now. NO STEVE!. Well, amazingly just as we were to exit the place, George said he saw Steve in a room off to the side. "Lets go in!" he said. So we did. Steve was sitting on a couch with one of the roadies, puffing a cigarette. We all introduced ourselves, and chatted. We told him we traveled 180 miles to see the show and he was appreciative. Steve was very cordial and signed both the booklet and the poster!. Cool, all four autographs! A Church dream come true. Too bad we did not get any photographs! As we left the room Steve said "Goodbye Bob and Lois!" We ended up accompanying George and Dennis to their motel to party a little more and talk about this most enjoyable evening, and thanked them for showing us how to meet The Church.. Lois and I hadn't even found our motel yet. We finally arrived to the Holiday Inn in nearby Durham, NC at 5:00AM! (Nice place). Check-out time was 12 noon, and needless to say, that is precisely when we did. As we proceeded to the motel lobby, a man was sitting on the curb just outside the entrance, next to an airport van. Lois said "Isn't that Marty?" It was! He was cutting up an avocado. He offered some to a man sitting in the van. It was Peter. We said hello to Peter, but he did not speak. Marty was friendly and chatted with us, the Tim came out, started putting bags in the van and also chatted. "Lois, get the camera!", I exclaimed. Tim posed for a photo with me and Marty posed solo for the camera, Lois snapped a most amazing daylight shot. When we went into the lobby to check out, I heard Steve's voice around the corner. He was on the telephone with his girlfriend. When he came around the corner, he spied us and said "Hello Bob and Lois!" Cool, he remembered our names! We talked for just a moment. Lois was able to get two photos of Steve and I together. Then it was goodbye. A Church dream came true.
BOB AND LOIS SCHWEITZER, Salem, Virginia USA