The Frustrations

There are at least two artists who have performed under the Frustrations moniker, including a rock/ska/reggae band from Washington DC and a raucous post-punk combo from Hobart, Tasmania.


1) The Frustrations - Washington, DC

The Frustrations, a rock/ska/reggae band out of Washington DC, have recently taken the Beltway by storm. Combining the collective might of previous DC bands Runaway Jim and Dr. Zaius, this hard-rocking, hard-partying quintet have earned a loyal following, and their high-energy shows have both sold out local venues and drawn attention outside the borders of the District.

The band has recently released their first EP, Monday Night Tiki Bars, to much acclaim in the DC community. The five-track, which has sold out of its first pressing, was recorded at Inner Ear studios under the auspices of legendary engineer Don Zientara.

The Frustrations are:
Kristen Soltis (vocals)
James McEvoy (guitar)
Lee Stafford (bass)
Nick Marinakis (drums)
Andrew Swanekamp (saxophone)


2) The Frustrations - Hobart, Australia (1994-2002)

Julian Teakle (guitar/vocals) and Mike Harris (drums), schoolfriends for many years, formed The Frustrations in 1994 in Hobart, Australia. Playing countless shows, they honed their raucous passion, never really deviating from their honest, bristling, to-the-point polemics and jerky, angular rhythms, or outgrowing their suburban roots of eastern-shore Hobart (hardly Detroit), but infused with a palpable glorification. There was no mistaking, no one else was singing about the subjects that inspired Julian Teakle.

Playing gloriously heartfelt shows to tiny audiences, they soon assembled a sizable local following, becoming a mainstay of the vibrant Tasmanian music scene of the mid-90s for several years.

The Frustrations released their Ace Driver 7-inch in 1995 on local label Fear Of Children and, the It's Time To Move On CD - often accompanied on Casio keyboard by Ben Consumer - in 1998 on Varispeed Recordings, coinciding with the duo's move to Melbourne.

Once there, they again built up a decent following, gaining some credible support slots and playing several live-to-air radio shows, but seemed to be a few years too early to capitalise on the bass-less, stripped back approach which would come to epitomise rock in the early 2000s.

Their compliation CD The Dole Years (2002) was a powerful summation which points to the likelihood that history will be kind to the duo, spilling over with integrity and a self-depreceating wit that characterises all their songs and the between-song banter that was a staple of their shows.

Disbanding in 2002, the duo returned to Hobart, with Teakle performing with Bad Luck Charms from 2004 to 2007, while Harris went to school in 2006.

http://www.myspace.com/thefrustrationshobart

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL....

READ MORE