The Waifs
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The Waifs are a folk-rock band from Western Australia. Their 2003 album Up All Night has gone double platinum in Australia and reached the top 5 of the Australian album charts. and the band won four ARIA Awards in October 2003. The band has enjoyed two top fifty singles in Australia - the London Still EP in 2002 and Bridal Train EP in 2004. The band owns Jarrah Records, an independent label with John Butler of the John Butler Trio and their records are released in Australia under that label. The band so impressed Bob Dylan when they supported him on his Australian tour that he asked them to support him in his 2003 North American tour including in his gig at the Newport Folk Festival.
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Fisherman's Daughters - the early years
The Waifs formed in 1992 from a duo called Colours consisting of sisters Donna and Vikki Simpson who met up with Josh Cunningham while playing in Broome. The band changed its name to the Waifs a year later and commenced touring extensively in Australia.
In 1996, the band recorded their first self-titled album The Waifs with Jen Anderson and Michael Thomas of folk-rock band band Weddings Parties Anything and commenced a year long tour. The second album Shelter Me was recorded in Adelaide and was supported by another year long tour.
The band released its third album Sink Or Swim in 2000 and had started to tour folk festivals in Canada and the US. In 2001, the band made its first appearance at the Newport Folk Festival with the Newport Daily News acclaiming them as "the darlings of this years festival". The growing international reputation of the band led to the release of Sink Or Swim in the US in 2002.
Chart success
The Waifs released the London Still EP in June 2002 in Australia. The EP made the Australian top 50 singles charts while the song was number 3 on the Triple J Hottest 100 behind tracks by Queens of the Stone Age and Grinspoon.
The success of the London Still EP sparked the success of the fourth Waifs album Up All Night in Australia. Released in January 2003, it debuted in the Australian charts at number 3. The album was certified gold 4 weeks after release, went platinum in October 2003 and double platinum in February 2004. The Lighthouse EP was released in April 2003 as a second single.
Vikki Simpson told the Sydney Morning Herald on October 1, 2003 that the success of the album had taken the band by surprise. "We were nonchalant about releasing albums. We'd released three already and had learned not to put too much hope behind an album because you're usually disappointed. So it was a surprise but we took it in our stride. It was all very exciting but it didn't seem real to us because it was such a new experience."
The band supported Bob Dylan on his Australian tour in March 2003. Dylan was so impressed by the band that he offered them the support slot on his tour of North America in 2003. This was a great thrill for the group as the band started off playing Bob Dylan tunes before they started writing their own songs.
The Waifs won ARIA Awards for Best Roots and Blues Album and Best Independent Album in the 2003 awards. In addition, they won awards for Best Produced Album and Best Engineered Album.
The Bridal Train EP was released in March 2004 and made the Australian Top 50 singles charts in April 2004. The title track tells the story of Vikki and Donna Simpson's grandmother who was a war-bride of a sailor in the US Navy and boarded the so-called "Bridal Train" between Perth, Australia and Sydney to travel to San Francisco to meet up again with her husband. The Waifs will release a double live album in May 2004 and will be having some time off while Vikki Simpson has her first child with her partner Mat.
Band members
As of 2004, the Waifs consists of:
- Donna Simpson (guitar and vocals)
- Vikki Simpson (guitar and vocals)
- Josh Cunningham (guitar and vocals)
The tour band also features:
- Dave MacDonald (drums)
- Ben Franz (bass)
Discography
Albums
- The Waifs (1996)
- Shelter Me (1998)
- Sink Or Swim (2000)
- Up All Night (2003)
- A Brief History (2004)
EPs and singles
- London Still EP (2002)
- Lighthouse EP (2003)
- Bridal Train EP (2004)
External links
- The Waifs official site (http://www.thewaifs.com.au/)
- The Waifs All Music Guide page (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70311071654390588&sql=Bdek9ikxabb19/)
- The Waifs Rolling Stone Page (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=2046517&cf=2046517/)
- Sydney Morning Herald article about US tour with Bob Dylan (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/30/1064819923316.html/)