Guitar Heroes

The Drones are a rare breed. You won't hear them on commercial radio, yet they are one of Australia's most celebrated bands. Their reputation has grown steadily over the last decade, fuelled by word of mouth, critical acclaim and a rigorous international touring schedule.

With Music Touring support from Arts Victoria, this hard-working act has become one of our best music exports.

Led by Gareth Liddiard on vocals and guitar, with Fiona Kitschin on bass, Dan Luscombe on guitar and Michael Noga on drums, The Drones formed in Perth in 1998, but moved to Victoria shortly afterwards to reap the benefits of our thriving music scene. Influenced by a variety of bands and soloists including Neil Young, The Velvet Underground, Bad Brains, Suicide, Green on Red, the Birthday Party, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone, they released a self-titled EP in 2001 and were immediately embraced by the Melbourne media, with The Age declaring them the year's 'Best New Local Talent'.

Following the release of their debut album Here Comes The Lies in 2002, their profile took another leap. The record was selected as Album of the Week on 3PBS 106.7FM, 3RRR FM and Beat Magazine in Melbourne, and garnered excellent reviews in independent music press around the world.

When The Drones made their second album in 2004, they were supported with funding through Arts Victoria's Music for the Future program. The resulting work, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (2005), became a major milestone in the band's career. It helped them to secure their first international distribution deal through All Tomorrow's Parties Recordings in the UK and earned them a nomination for Triple J's J Award for Australian Album of the Year.

In 2006, Wait Long by the River… also won the inaugural Australian Music Prize - a prestigious $30,000 prize celebrating creative excellence in contemporary music.

According to Liddiard, that seminal record could not have been made without Arts Victoria'a support:

"Without the generous help of Arts Victoria we would have really struggled," he says, "You can't make and promote a record without any money."

Over the next few years, The Drones toured tirelessly in Australia and began to build a live presence overseas. In 2007, the band mounted a 54-date European tour, playing small venues virtually every night for two and a half months. They followed it with an extensive American tour supporting indie rock legends Built to Spill, funded with another Music Touring grant.

Havilah was the fourth Drones' album, released in September 2008 through world-renowned festival label ATP Recordings. The record received phenomenal reviews and the band set off overseas yet again to promote it. In the first half of 2009, they played SXSW in Austin ahead of their seventh American tour, which culminated in two Californian gigs with Band of Horses.

In 2009, The Drones began to see the impact of their tireless international schedule. With another Music Touring grant from Arts Victoria, they spent May to November criss-crossing Europe, playing sell-out shows and earning rapturous reviews wherever they went.

"Put simply, Arts Victoria has made it possible for us to tour overseas many times and has therefore had a huge hand in making us the success we are worldwide," says Liddiard.

When they returned home, The Drones trumped a field of domestic and international bands to win 'Best Live Act' at the Rolling Stone Music Awards in January 2010.

But there was no resting on their laurels after all the accolades. The Drones have recently released a new live DVD, A Thousand Mistakes, with footage of concerts across the world from the East Brunswick Club to the Haldern Festival in Germany and have hinted that this DVD is a step in a new direction. Exactly what that means, the Drones are not quite sure, but we do know that with a stellar career so far, they'll be a raging success.