left to right : David Pagano- guitars, main vocals / Paul Cartwright- bass guitar, keys, vocals / Toby Lang- drums, percussion, vocals

Gone to Earth
Australia

Formed in August of '98, the trio performed a unique brand of moody guitar pop with an edge, but with the potential to crossover to a wide audience.

The seed was sown when Toby Lang heard a cassette of 4 track song demos written by David Pagano. Liking what he heard, he organized a session with David and Paul Cartwright to put the songs into some kind of shape. Intended more as a fun, creative experiment, the trio soon realised the songs had potential beyond the rehearsal room.

They soon entered the studio and recorded 10 songs, six of which became their debut EP titled "V".
After passing around copies within the local industry, one made its way to Triple J representative John Thompson Mills, who, liking what he heard, booked the band to play a live session for the radio station.
Gone to Earth then re-recorded the song that was getting the most attention - "Mildred's Modern Way" - to their satisfaction. Triple J, taking a liking to it, added it to their play list, playing the song on high rotation.

The second single "Kill Flowers" was released a year later on when on to achieve the same if not better results then "mildreds".
With national airplay on their side, negotiations began with Shock records, which took on the bands distribution.

GTE went on to chart on the ARIA charts and also won an APRA award (Emily Burrows Award) for their contribution to the South Australian music scene.

The band have so far released 2 e.p's a single and their debut album "Semaphore".

All members are now living in different states.

Airplay

1. Triple J- "Mildreds modern way" was added to Triple J's play list and has received high rotation since April 2000.
2. Triple J - Oz music show: The band were invited to record three tracks live in the ABC studios, which was aired in January 2000. Three more songs have recently been recorded and will go to air some time in the near future.
3. "Kill Flowers" added to high rotation.

Reviews and Articles

" That word 'independent' can be a debilitating suffix. It's not intended to imply a foray to independence; rather, it is a pigeonhole, which sometimes enforces it. Not in the case of this ascending band. This is well-rounded, widely palatable sound from Gone to Earth"
Mike Gribble "The Advertiser" 1/6/00

"Sophisticated rock music for the discerning listener... The vision is clear, and the results justify the time and effort spent on 'V'"
Alex Wheaton Db Magazine.

This Rock is Tectonic (db Magazine)

" Its definitely a band about the songs rather than any fad I suppose," suggest Toby Lang about his band Gone to Earth. We're going for songs with melody and trying to get a lateral feel to it," he explains as one reason why Triple J has taken to their song Mildreds Modern Way in a big way. It's a song with an instrumental hook as well as vocal appeal, and it sounds not unlike a Church single.
Mildreds Modern Way is in some ways quite distinctive from the other songs on the EP. " I think that's partly to do with the double vocal take on it, and that came along as a bit of an accident," Lang responds That song hopefully has been a bit of a foot in the door…to open peoples ears to the next lot, which still have that easy melodic feel to them.
Triple J has been playing the band for three months solidly; its not a case of not knowing the song, it's a case of not necessarily knowing the band behind the song. That's Gone to Earth. Toby Lang is their drummer; a man who's played with more bands around Adelaide than any other musician I can think of, and this is a big break for him in terms of doing his own thing; performing his own music.
"…We first got through to Triple J from a demo CD we were passing around," he recalls. "With 'V' it all started from some four track demos David (Pagano, the bands principal songwriter and singer) brought along and the band put them into song format, so that started to develop, which was great."
A copy of the CD made its way to Adelaide's Triple J man, John Thompson Mills, and some help along the way came from people around Adelaide who liked what they'd heard. Thompson-Mills "…really liked the demos and booked us for a live to air session". After that the band re-recorded the song which was getting the most attention (Mildreds Modern Way) and finished it off to their satisfaction…"and they started going nuts on the bloody thing. Not that I'm complaining," he adds hastily.
The ball had begun rolling, but the CD itself was available for sale only around S.A. Negotiations were begun to get the band wider distribution to capitalise on their success. The 'V' EP has been on sale around Adelaide, but now the band want the opportunity for their music to be more widely available, and Shock Records has become the label to pick up the bands distribution.
"It's been pretty cool, and we're selling a few at gigs," says Lang, "but I think our next step is to get more promotion out there so people who like the band can identify them.
"The airplay started before we were established as any sort of live act, so we're in 'catch up time'." And with radio airplay, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth.
For the members of Gone to Earth, their success has bought a significant shift in their working arrangements, since all the members have background performing in covers bands. Coalescing around David Pagano, Gone to Earth have become a more permanent entity, and they're relishing the opportunity to explore their original music.
"I was thinking about it the other day, and though I still do a lot of freelance work there's been a real shift," Lang agrees. "There's not very much other band work anymore. I still fill in for the Borderers, and recording is a lot cheaper now, so there's a lot more of that work.
"We're having a ball. We're quite happy to spend all our time on it. It'd be nice to come out with a few recordings and be able to sustain our live career."
The next few months should tell the story: plans are afoot to film videos (for Mildreds… and possibly, The V Song), and touring plans are likewise being drawn up. "Now that we've got the CD out there we're really looking forward to all the promotional 'musts'," says Lang, who can feel the opportunities opening up.
Alex Wheaton. Db magazine