Ball Park Music

Ball Park Music is a five-piece indie rock/pop band based in Brisbane, Australia,[1] made up of frontman Sam Cromack (lead vocals, guitar), Jennifer Boyce (bass, backing vocals), Paul Furness (keyboards, trombone), and twins Dean (guitar, backing vocals) and Daniel Hanson (drums, backing vocals).[2]

For their eponymous album, see Ball Park Music (album).

Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music on the Puddinghead Tour in 2014
Background information
OriginBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres
Years active2008–present
LabelsStop Start Music / Inertia
Associated acts
  • My Own Pet Radio
  • Little Planes Land
Websitewww.ballparkmusic.com
MembersSam Cromack
Jennifer Boyce
Paul Furness
Dean Hanson
Daniel Hanson
Past membersBrock Smith

Their 2011 single "It's Nice to Be Alive" was featured in the 2014 film Blended and the fifth season of Gossip Girl.[3]

Origins

Ball Park Music was originally the name given to Sam Cromack's solo work. The band all met while they were studying music together at the Queensland University of Technology.

Career

2008–2009: Early years

Ball Park Music independently released their debut EP Rolling on the Floor, Laughing Ourselves to Sleep in April 2009.[4] The EP was quickly championed by triple j presenter Stephanie Hughes who gave an early version of "All I Want Is You" and "Black Skies" their first national airplay.[5] Richard Kingsmill said "Rufus Wainwright called. He wants his song back. So he should. This is a pretty good one." about their song "Black Skies" and gave it four out of five stars.

2009–2010: Conquer the Town, Easy as Cake and "iFly"

In 2010, Ball Park Music released their second EP Conquer the Town, Easy as Cake. The EP spawned their first Triple J hit in "iFly" which immediately was added to high rotation and gained a five star rating from Richard Kingsmill[6] Another song "Western Whirl" was nominated for both Best Alternative and The Courier Mail People's Choice Awards at the 2010 Q Song Awards.[7][8]

In October 2010 the band embarked on their first Australian tour in October with Hungry Kids of Hungary and Big Scary[9] and released a brand new single "Sad Rude Future Dude"[10] which was placed on rotation by triple j.

In November 2010, they were named as a triple j New Crop artist – "one of the 20 best new bands in Australia" – and was also offered a slot at the triple j Ausmusic Month Party in Brisbane where they collaborated with Custard's David McCormack on a cover of Custard's hit song "Apartment". Following this, the band was announced as the Queensland winner of a triple j Unearthed competition and won the chance to play at Big Day Out 2011 on the Gold Coast. Additionally, the band played several festivals in summer of 2010/11 including Falls Festival, South Bound, Sunset Sounds and Good Vibrations.

2011: Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs

In June 20011, Ball Park Music released "Rich People Are Stupid" which was put on high rotation on triple j.[11] On 24 June 2011, Ball Park Music signed to Sydney label Stop Start Music[12] to release their debut album. "It's Nice to Be Alive" was released in July 2011 and was once again supported by triple j.[13] The video for the song achieved a Channel [V] Ripe Clip of the Week, beating out competition from The Kooks's "Junk of the Heart" and Kanye West/Jay-Z's "Otis".[14] "It's Nice to Be Alive" was featured in the film Blended (2014).[15]

The band's debut studio album Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs was released in Australia and New Zealand on 9 September and debuted on the Australian ARIA Album Chart the following week at No. 36. Ball Park Music embarked on a four-date headline tour with Adelaide rock outfit City Riots on the How I Met Ball Park Music Tour which was followed by another headline tour to launch their debut album in October with Northeast Party House and The Jungle Giants. Immediately following that, they embarked as main support for Boy & Bear on their "Moonfire Tour".

In November, Ball Park Music were named the Unearthed Artist of the Year at triple j's J Awards. They were also nominated for the 2011 J Award but were beaten by Gotye and his album Making Mirrors.

In December it was announced that Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs was voted No. 10 in Triple J's Top 10 Albums of 2014 and No. 2 in The AU Review's album poll.[16] The third single, "Figuratively Baby", was serviced to radio and TV, and it quickly achieved rotation on Nova Brisbane and Channel [V].[17] To finish off the year, the band played Peats Ridge Festival, Pyramid Rock and No Years on New Year's Eve in Brisbane.

2012: Museum

Ball Park Music began 2012 by announcing The 180° Tour; "their most ambitious tour yet".[18] They were initially to play 14 dates with supports Nantes and Cub Scouts but added more shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne due to popular demand.[19] The band was also added to the 2012 Groovin' the Moo line-up[20] as well as Splendour in the Grass.[21]

On 23 March 2012, Ball Park Music were invited to do Triple J's Like a Version, where they performed their single "All I Want Is You" followed by a cover of the Flaming Lips song "Do You Realize??".[22] This was also filmed for triple j tv at the time.[23]

On 20 July 2012, it was announced that the band would release new music in the form of a single called "Surrender" leading into their set at Splendour in the Grass.[24] In a radio interview on Triple J with Zan Rowe, Cromack revealed that band were working on a new album, and they'd be releasing something "soon enough".[25]

In August, Ball Park Music announced their second album, Museum and a headline tour with Loon Lake in support.[14] In a press release, Sam Cromack said he was "inspired by the swift turn around in which the likes of The Beatles would deliver new records every six to 12 months" and issued the band a challenge to release another album in 12 months.[14]

Museum was released in Australia on 5 October 2012[26] and it was named Triple J's Feature Album the following week.[27] The album peaked at number 9 on the ARIA charts.

2014–2015: Puddinghead

The band released their studio album Puddinghead on 4 April 2014 and the album peaked at number 2 on the ARIA charts. The album spawned the singles "She Only Loves Me When I'm There"[28] and "Trippin' the Light Fantastic".[29]

2016–2017: Every Night the Same Dream

The band's fourth studio album, Every Night the Same Dream was released on 19 August 2016. A change to their sound resulted in an album with more of a psychedelic rock feel, that was acclaimed by fans and critics and was toured nationally to sold out theatres across Australia.

2018–2019: Good Mood

The band's fifth studio album Good Mood was released on 16 February 2018.[30] Ball Park Music subsequently embarked on a national tour in February and March being supported by Ali Barter and Hatchie. This was followed by a national tour in which they partnered with San Cisco, Ruby Fields and Tia Gostelow. The single "Exactly How You Are" enjoyed success on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2017 coming in at #18,[31] and the album track "Hands Off My Body" was added to the official NBA 2K19 soundtrack curated by Travis Scott.[32] Ball Park Music also released a limited edition 'Pizza Box' Boxed Set of vinyl LP's that contained their album catalogue from 2011's "Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs" to 2018's "Good Mood". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for three awards; Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year and Best Cover Art[33]

2020–present: Ball Park Music

The band's sixth album was announced with the title of Mostly Sunny in March 2020, alongside the release of single "Spark Up".[34] The following month, the band announced they were changing the title of the upcoming album to Ball Park Music.[35] A scheduled tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, although the release of the self-titled album in October 2020 was followed by a concert residency at a venue in Brisbane.[36] The album included the track "Cherub", which was considered a strong contender to reach #1 in the lead-up to the Triple J Hottest 100, 2020.[37] It placed on the list at #4, beating their previous best, "She Only Loves Me When I'm There", from 2014.

Band members
  • Sam Cromack – lead vocals, lead guitar (2008–present)
  • Jennifer Boyce – bass guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
  • Paul Furness – keyboards, trombone (2008–present)
  • Dean Hanson – rhythm guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
  • Daniel Hanson – drums, backing vocals (2008–present)

Former members

  • Brock Smith – lead and rhythm guitar (2008–2011)

Other projects

Sam Cromack now records his solo work under the moniker My Own Pet Radio and has released three solo albums, Suburban Lemon Shops and the Bruxer in My Bed (2009), Unidentified Flying Collection of Songs (2010) and Goodlum (2015).

Jennifer Boyce records solo work under the moniker Little Planes Land.

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions shown
Title Album details Peak positions
AUS
[38]
Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs 26
Museum
  • Released: 5 October 2012
  • Label: Stop Start/EMI
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download
 9
Puddinghead
  • Released: 4 April 2014
  • Label: Stop Start/Inertia
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download
 2
Every Night the Same Dream
  • Released: 19 August 2016
  • Label: Stop Start/Inertia
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 3
Good Mood
  • Released: 16 February 2018
  • Label: Stop Start
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 5
Ball Park Music
  • Released: 23 October 2020
  • Label: Prawn, Inertia
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 2

Extended plays
List of EPs, with release date and label shown
Title Details
Rolling on the Floor, Laughing Ourselves to Sleep
  • Released: 30 April 2009
  • Label: Ball Park Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
Conquer the Town, Easy As Cake
  • Released: 21 May 2010
  • Label: Ball Park Music (MBBPM2752)
  • Format: CD, digital download

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Year-end positions Album
AUS
[39]		 Triple J
Hottest 100
[40]
"Sea Strangers (I Don't Really Know You)"[41] 2009 —— Conquer the Town, Easy As Cake
"iFly"[42] 2010 ——
"Sad Rude Future Dude"[43][44] —— Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs
"Rich People Are Stupid"[45] 2011 ——
"It's Nice to Be Alive"[46] —31
"All I Want Is You"[11] —38
"Figuratively Baby"[47] ——
"Surrender"[48] 2012 —27 Museum
"Coming Down"[49] —23
"She Only Loves Me When I'm There"[50] 2014 7019 Puddinghead
"Trippin' the Light Fantastic"[51] —99
"Pariah"[52] 2016 —— Every Night The Same Dream
"Nihilist Party Anthem"[53] ——
"Whipping Boy"[54] ——
"Exactly How You Are"[55] 2017 —18 Good Mood
"The Perfect Life Does Not Exist"[56] —39
"Hands Off My Body"[57][58] 2018 ——
"Spark Up!"[59] 2020 —— Ball Park Music
"Day & Age"[60] —63
"Cherub" 524

Music videos
List of music videos, showing year released and directors
Title Year Director(s)
"Sea Strangers (I Don't Really Know You)" 2010 Alex Barnes
"iFly"
"Rich People Are Stupid" 2011 Devin Bowles
"It's Nice to Be Alive" Alex Barnes
"All I Want Is You"
"Figuratively Baby"
"Surrender" 2012 Dan Graetz
"Fence Sitter" 2013 Andrew Wilson
"Bad Taste Blues (Part II)" Dan Graetz
"She Only Loves Me When I'm There" 2014
"Trippin' the Light Fantastic" Alex Barnes
"Pariah" 2016 Jaymis Loveday
"Nihilist Party Anthem"
"Exactly How You Are" 2017 Nick Maguire
"Hands Off My Body" 2018
"Day & Age"[61] 2020
"Cherub"[62] Dean Hanson

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
AIR Awards of 2012[63][64] Ball Park Music Best Independent Artist Nominated

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
J Awards of 2011 Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs Australian Album of the Year Nominated
Ball Park Music Unearthed Artist of the Year Won
J Awards of 2014[65] Puddinghead Australian Album of the Year Nominated
J Awards of 2020[66] Ball Park Music Australian Album of the Year Nominated

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
National Live Music Awards of 2018[67][68] Ball Park Music Best Live Act of the Year - People's Choice Nominated
National Live Music Awards of 2020[69] Ball Park Music Live Act of the Year Nominated

Concert tours

References
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  2. "Ball Park Music at FasterLouder". FasterLouder. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
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  4. "The Buzz today!", The Cairns Post, 11 November 2009
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  9. "Select Music News". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
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  13. "Song".
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  22. "Like A Version". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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  37. Peak chart positions in Australia:
  38. Peaks in Australia:
  39. Positions on the Triple J Hottest 100:
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