Tumbleweed are an Australian rock group formed in 1990 in Tarrawanna. Three of their studio albums appeared on the ARIA top 50: Tumbleweed (1992), Galactaphonic (1995), and Return to Earth (1996). Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the group as the "ultimate stoner's band for the 1990s. From within a post-psychedelic underground haze that evoked the spirit of 1969, [they] came on with lashings of fuzz-drenched wah wah guitar riffs, hard-driving beats, languid vocal melodies and more hair than any band had a right to possess!"
History
1990–1994: Formation and self-titled debut
Tumbleweed were formed in October 1990 in Tarrawanna, a northern suburb of the sea-side city of Wollongong after the demise of The Proton Energy Pills. The three Curley brothers: Dave on lead vocals, Jay on bass guitar, Lenny on guitar and Richie Lewis on drums. Their initial line up only lasted a few months, they recorded a 7" single, "Captain's Log", which was produced by Mudhoney's Mark Arm, in December 1990 and released in August the next year on Waterfront Records. McFarlane noted that it was "a distorted slice of voodoo acid-rock". Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described Tumbleweed as the "ultimate stoner's band for the 1990s. From within a post-psychedelic underground haze that evoked the spirit of 1969, [they] came on with lashings of fuzz-drenched wah wah guitar riffs, hard-driving beats, languid vocal melodies and more hair than any band had a right to possess!"
By the time "Captain's Log" was released Paul Hausmeister (ex-Unheard) had joined on lead guitar before Dave was replaced on vocals by Richie Lewis, and Steve O'Brien (also ex-Unheard) took over the drums. The new line up issued a second single, "Stoned"/"Holy Moses", in December 1991 and that month they supported United States grunge group, Nirvana on their Australian tour. They soon followed with a three-track extended play, Carousel (aka Theatre of Gnomes), released in April 1992. In August 1992, they released another five-track EP, Weedseed, which was recorded by John Hresc and mixed by Doug Colson.
In November 1992, they released the single, "Acid Rain" and ended the year with the release in Australia of their debut studio album, Tumbleweed, which was also produced by Colson. It peaked at No. 48 on the ARIA Albums Chart on 13 December 1992. The group undertook a tour of the US and Europe.
In late January 1993 Tumbleweed appeared at the Sydney venue of the Big Day Out concert. They spent most of the year touring locally, including a joint national tour with fellow Australian group, You Am I, in May and June. Tumbleweed then toured internationally. In March they issued an EP, Sundial, with the which peaked at No. 35 on the ARIA Singles Chart. They followed with another single, "Daddy Long Legs" in January 1994, which peaked at No. 53.
In 1994 they appeared on the national Big Day Out tour. In June they supported Rollins Band on their Australian tour. The band were signed to the Polydor label by Craig Kamber and they recorded their second album, Galactaphonic, with Paul McKercher producing. Tumbleweed released "Gyroscope" in November 1994 ahead of the album.
1995–1998: Galactaphonic and Return to Earth
The group's second album, Galactaphonic, was released in June 1995 and peaked at No. 6. McFarlane described it as "epic masterwork, a strident album full of fierce, booming metal-boogie and catchy, hard-edged rock'n'roll. As well as the band's formative influences, Galactophonic also revealed a debt to the likes of Monster Magnet, The Stooges, Sonic Youth and even The Beatles". By then they had toured on the Big Day Out series in January and issued another single, "Hang Around", in April 1995. At the end of the year Hausmeister was replaced on guitar by Dave Achille (ex-Full Tab) and O'Brien by Nik Reith (of The Celibate Rifles) on drums.
In February to March 1996 they toured as a double headline with Monster Magnet on their Australian tour. Tumbleweed's third album, Return to Earth, was released in September 1996, which reached No. 11. The album was also produced by McKercher with early copies featuring a 10-track bonus disc, Ready by Wednesday. The associated singles "Lavabread" and "I Remember" preceded the album. In October to November they promoted their recent releases with a national tour and were supported by Magic Dirt. Also in October Tumbleweed issued another single, "Silver Lizard".