Trashcan Sinatras

The band is currently on a month-long North American tour playing intimate acoustic sets (March 2011).

"In the Music" released April 27th 2010, with 10 studio tracks and 8 extra live tracks (exclusive to the North American release).

The Trashcan Sinatras presently have six members:

George McDaid -- Bass
Davy Hughes -- Bass
Grant Wilson -- Bass

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The Trashcan Sinatras were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986, primarily as a cover band. They were signed to the Go!Discs label (no longer with us). Their music is characterized by jangly yet melodic guitars and clever lyrical word play. Their early sound has been compared to other Scottish bands of that era such as Aztec Camera, with a witty lyric style similar to that of the Smiths. While their early sound was pre-grunge alternative ("modern") rock, their more recent sound has been more in the vein of adult album alternative.

Their first album "Cake" in 1990 featured their debut single and ultimately their biggest worldwide hit single, "Obscurity Knocks". Other songs on the album that received air-play mainly on college and alternative stations were "Only Tongue Can Tell" and "Circling the Circumference". Their second album "I've Seen Everything", released in 1993, contained the singles "Hayfever" and the title track.

Things started turning sour for the band in 1996 with the release of their third disc "A Happy Pocket". The band's American distributor declined to release the album in the U.S, resulting in the band not touring North America in support of the album. The record was only released in the U.K. and Japan. Four singles ("The Main Attraction", "Twisted and Bent", "How Can I Apply...?" and "To Sir, With Love") were released with little to no fanfare. To add insult to injury, Universal acquired Go!Discs in 1996 and promptly dropped the band. Much of the music of that era was more of the grunge/alternative style and less the melodic and harmonious Brit-pop of the Trashcans.

TCS were forced to declare bankruptcy and thus maintained a low profile for a few years. No concerts were performed until 1999 (Japan and Ireland). At around the same time, they recorded the single "Snow", which was a cover of a Randy Newman song, but this was only released in Japan.

The Trashcans spent the better part of the next 4 years writing songs , recording demos, and finally laying down the tracks for their fourth album "Weightlifting". In preparation for the release in August 2004, the band spent the first part of that year performing at more live venues after having spent the previous few year doing few live appearances. They continued to tour through 2006 in support of the album.

Their fifth album, "In the Music", was released in the US at the end of April 2010. TCS had toured North America extensively since then in support of the album, and are currently on a month-long acoustic tour (March).

I've culled together all of the Trashcan Sinatras' singles and well as other songs I feel are fine examples of their songcraft. The official videos for some of the singles have been taken down from YouTube and are not available. In those cases, I have included a representative live performance.

No video was made for this single (at least one that I could find), and no live concert clip is available either. However, the band's website has an audio streaming function with several live concert audio recordings, including "The Main Attraction" (found here -- just scroll down the list of the songs on the audio player until you get to the "M"s). Take a listen to the other tracks as well!

North American tour has been completed; stay tuned for details on the UK tour this fall and acoustic US tour in the winter.

There is a line in the Trashcan Sinatras' first single, "Obscurity Knocks", where it is lamented how record industry executives at the start of their career would comment on their songs by saying, at least maybe not literally but in effect, "I like your poetry, but I hate your poems". TCS has long been known for their clever use of the English language in their lyrics, which are filled with puns, twists of word meaning, odd turns of a phrase, and other types of word play. Below is a representative but by no means complete list of such lyrical genius:

rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
looking at my watch and i'm half-past caring

and the calendar's cluttered with days that are numbered

i'm on a b road heading for the sea
to see if hands across the ocean
shake or wave

listen son if you'd spent
your life in the last lane
you would have an accent to grind

rest in pieces

at the toss of a coin
i end up head in the dirt
and tail in the air

and if you don't give a damn
you're welcome to keep it

hands of the clock give me a round of applause
for getting out of bed

you came into my life like a brick through a window
and i cracked a smile

she says she doesn't like my style
but i loved her in my own fashion

long in the tooth and short on wisdom

so typical - a battle of wits
and i've come half prepared
i know all the ropes
but i haven't a hope
of pulling you back to me

and now i've swallowed my pride
i promise you i
couldn't eat another word

though i knew what argue meant
and i knew what punish meant
and i knew what embarrass meant
i never found out what achieve meant

over the moon and under the influence

you're out of sight and out of your mind

but i've seen them rehearsing, reversing the hearse in
i know you must try
to overtake the undertaker

every actor hides a heckle, doctor hides a jeckyl

all our love was made on sheets we'd left unmade

spread eagled illegally

summersaulted, autumn tumbled

should i embrace you
or embalm you?

beauty is sin deep

the pirate in me turned a blind eye

like the book that we've strummed,
we're dog-eared and well-thumbed
we don't fold the pages,
we know where our place is

if money talks,
i've pursed lips,
and i've left
my tongue at home

i'm pondering
which science
i'll leave my body to

i know i'm no better,
i know i'll know better

so long afternoons would go up in balloons
as we killed our time just watching it die

little bohemian lost his sheep

sssh it's so quiet, you could hear a name drop

it won't be very long till cliche guevara's home

more to come!!!!