Doug's Music Snobbery Band Profile: The Church
The Church is the best and most prolific band in the world that you don’t know much about. They are the focus of the first of a series of band profiles I plan to add here at Doug’s Music Snobbery, so I hope you enjoy it!
They are from Australia although not all of them were born there, and for a band that has been making records for 40 years and had at least one major hit in the U.S. that most of you probably do know - “Under The Milky Way” - they are woefully under appreciated. On one hand for those of us who have been with them for decades it kinda allows them to be “ours” and not everyone else’s. That has its charm and appeal, I mean after all when they come to Detroit I can see them at places like The Magic Bag in Ferndale, Seventh House in Pontiac (of blessed memory lol), The Magic Stick in Detroit, or even The Ark in Ann Arbor among a few hundred people for 25 bucks (leaves me with extra money for merch). And I’ve met them and chatted with them just hanging around at many of these gigs. Could you do that with Tool or say, The Rolling Stones? No way.
On the other hand it’s criminal that these guys haven’t had the impact on more people that they’ve had on me. There’s no band like them really, and I can say that about many bands but in this case it’s the varied styles and the flat out volume of original music they’ve produced. There’s no other band that can come close - I challenge anyone to find one.
Consider this - the band has released:
28 albums by The Church - basically my count of full length studio recordings
15 solo albums by Steve Kilbey (lead singer and bassist)
4 solo albums by Peter Koppes (guitar, harmonica, relative stage indifference, vocals - even lead on a few)
6 solo albums by Marty Willson-Piper (guitar, rock posturing, vocals - some lead, no longer with the band)
20 full length Steve Kilbey side projects (these are just the ones I have - there seem to be a lot more)
6 full length Marty Willson-Piper side projects (the ones I have etc.)
This adds up to 79 full albums of music by The Church and the members of The Church. I’ve probably fully digested 75 of them and that doesn’t include many EPs, collections of B-Sides, Live Recordings and other obscure releases (there are plenty) that I didn’t count. I literally can’t keep up with these guys if I want to still listen to anybody else… Think about that! I’ve been listening to these guys since 1988, so on average I’ve had 2-3 new Church (and Church related) albums to get through per year, every year, for 32 years, and it seems to have picked up pace in recent years with Steve Kilbey seemingly just casually dropping masterpieces on the regular like it’s nothing. The guy just channels art, oh and yeah he’s a prolific artist too - he’s painted many of their album covers and a lot of very cool self portraits. The artwork on one of my concert tees I bought from one of their gigs has his work on it and it’s a great convo starter - one of the coolest shirts I own. And yeah he writes poetry too…
Some Memories:
I’ve seen these guys live so many times I’ve lost track but I’m going to guess it’s around 15 times (?). I’ve seen a Marty Willson-Piper solo gig, and I saw Steve and Marty do an acoustic gig just the two of them at Nautica in Cleveland back in 1994 on a Saturday afternoon on what was one of the most insane weekends of my life. Me and my buddy Chris saw Pink Floyd the night before at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and then later Saturday night we went to see Ted Nugent and Lynyrd Skynyrd. 3 separate concerts in 2 days.
I picked up The Blurred Crusade (their second and possibly best album) in a used CD store in Philly and I distinctly remember listening to the part of “The Interlude” when it kicks in as I was driving across the Ben Franklin Bridge right around the 2 minute mark. It wasn’t planned but it’s a moment that has stuck with me. Save that idea for yourself if you think of it. Pick a bridge - any bridge, and do it. Blast it LOUD.
Listening to Gold Afternoon Fix on a drive to Hillsdale on October 27th, 1990 - 8 months and 5 days after it was released, and the month after I turned 20. Was a perfect album for that drive at a time when I was really peaking on that album while going to see my friend Todd Gesund play for Grand Valley State - he torched Hillsdale for 121 receiving yards and a TD on only 4 receptions even though they lost…
Listening to Sometime Anywhere in the airport and just in general on my trip to Israel in 1994. One of those albums that can transport me back to that trip along with The Division Bell by Pink Floyd - oddly enough it’s the travel that it takes me back to - the anticipation, not necessarily Israel itself. Not that that trip wasn’t transformative for me - it absolutely was. I’m just talking about where that album fits into that memory. Weird. Such a masterpiece and the only album with no contribution from Peter Koppes while he was taking a break from the band. The band has had a little internal conflict over the years along with some addiction thrown in… but by and large they’ve been “stable” in their consistent output.
The power going completely out right in the middle of their set during the song “Night Friends” at the Magic Stick in Detroit on the tour supporting the After Everything Now This album… That was a little startling - have never seen that happen before or since at any concert I’ve been to. They started “Night Friends” over…
Chatting with Steve and Marty before one of their gigs in Ferndale back in 2005 and handing my Treo smartphone to a guy standing there and asking him if he didn’t mind taking our picture. He was totally cool and obliged. He was Rob Dickinson - the opening act and former lead singer of The Catherine Wheel!!! I felt a little embarrassed I didn’t realize who he was - but he didn’t take offense at all. Steve Kilbey said I should get Rob’s solo album - that it’s great and he doesn’t usually like anything lol… He was right - Fresh Wine For The Horses is a great album. Meanwhile I think I had dropped my Treo in Columbus, Ohio at a T-Mobile business meeting and that photo was on it. It’s lost forever!
Listening to the song “0408” as I was getting close to Dealey Plaza in Dallas for the first time. Another incredible song tied strongly to a moment - I think these things happen to me with historical visits a lot just because they have such an impact on me. I’m not only a music guy - I’m a history guy too. The excitement mixed with the dread of laying my own eyes on that horrible scene in person… “0408” put a poignant and touching vibe on it.
Steve Kilbey putting me on the guest list for a show in Royal Oak once - that was so nice of him. They were opening for the Psychedelic Furs (which is crazy to me as much as I also do love the Furs) and I didn’t have a ticket. I waited too long and I’ve never had that much trouble finding one ticket just for me. I saw Steve stopped on foot waiting at the train tracks for a train go by in Royal Oak and I went to say hello - he asked if I was going and when I told him it’s sold out and I couldn’t find a ticket he just made a quick call and had me added to the list! Like I’ve said - these guys are just down to earth regular guys. I told him once at another show that my mission is to make everyone I know a fan of The Church and he said “Well just imagine if only we had a million more people like you!”
Let’s talk about the music
How do I describe The Church’s music? It ranges… sometimes it rocks but it’s never “noisy”. Many of their best moments come in uptempo jangly guitar melodic tunes, but so much of it is extremely ethereal as well. Like a soundtrack for walking on the moon. There is gorgeous mellow balladry and there are amazing extended instrumental freakouts. Steve Kilbey’s voice is soothing and deep often with a little extra emphasis in your ear on the consonants that end the words… His voice is a unique instrument. If you hear a higher pitched voice on tracks like “Appalatia”, “Fly Home” or “Spark”, that’s Marty. And by the way, as bummed as I am about Marty no longer being in the band, Ian Haug has fit in quite nicely, and the two albums they’ve recorded with him haven’t suffered because of Marty’s absence. Ian is great live - a real pro, and he’s a really nice guy on top of all of it. Tim Powles isn’t the original drummer either, but he’s a monster of a player - just awesome live and from what I understand he’s added a ton to the band with his talents in the studio. He’s been the guy behind the kit for about 25 years now.
So I put together a playlist on Spotify. It’s kind of in a reverse chronological order of many of my favorite tracks starting with a couple tunes from the last album they released in 2017 Man Woman Life Death Infinity. It was HARD for me and not everything is available on Spotify, but most of it is and this is a pretty good representation. Feel free to shuffle it. Many recordings by The Church don’t lend themselves to a “mix” - especially a piece like Bastard Universe which is just an 80 minute instrumental release in 6 “stages” as the second CD to Hologram Of Baal and is not available on Spotify anyway. There are 45 songs here and just over 4 hours of music - that’s a lot to chew on I know…
If you’re convinced after an hour or you prefer to just pick an album and start with that then you can always abandon the list and start diving into the albums one by one.
I would consider the following order:
The Blurred Crusade (1982)
Starfish (1988)
Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017)
Gold Afternoon Fix (1990)
Forget Yourself (2003)
Priest = Aura (1992)
Sometime Anywhere (1994)
Uninvited, Like The Clouds (2006)
After Everything, Now This (2002)
Untitled #23 (2009)
Magician Among The Spirits (1996)
Remote Luxury (1984)
Hologram Of Baal (1999)
Further, Deeper (2014)
Heyday (1985)
Back With Two Beasts (2005)
Seance (1983)
Of Skins And Heart (1981)
From there I’d then dig into some of the collections of extras or bonus EP’s like Parallel Universe, Hindsight, A Quick Smoke At Spot’s, Beside Yourself, Jammed, Sing Songs, Box Of Birds (great covers album), The “El Momento” albums (very cool stripped down reworked versions with a few originals thrown in), A Psychedelic Symphony, Shriek, etc… anything you can get your hands on, and then move on to the solo and side projects if you find yourself in hardcore territory like I am.
So there you go… profile of and my thoughts on The Church. A fitting one to start with. If you’re a fan I’d love to hear your comments - your favorite songs, albums and memories of this band. And if you’re not yet, I hope you give them a listen and let me know what you think! Comment below and share!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
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