Since their earliest shows Tripod have made a consistent habit of juggling comedy,music and narrative in endless exhilarating combinations, consistently evading neat definitions whilst always striving to stay worthy of their fans’ time.
The boys started out in the thriving Melbourne pub scene of the mid 90s, a strange anomaly even then, opening for cranking horn-driven party bands with a meager three voices and one guitar, harmonising quirky pop oddities before a largely nonplussed punter. Miraculously they gained a keen following, who happily stuck with them as they underwent the first of many metamorphoses–in this case, into regulars of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Soon afterwards Tripod became an institution on national radio via their Song in an Hour segment on the triple j morning show, where their facility to concoct a fully-fledged tune complete with harmonies and middle eight–according to deliberately obtuse listener suggestions–endeared them to a generation and provided an invaluable training ground for a rich career in songwriting of all shapes and sizes.
TV followed, including four seasons as writer/performers on network TV sketch show“Skithouse”–the album of which, “Middleborough Road”, won them an ARIA–as well being regulars on the exuberant cabaret showcase “Sideshow” on the ABC,where they performed with everyone from the Cat Empire to Colin Hay.
The boys have had significant success on the international stage–including one particularly scorching season at the Edinburgh Festival where the Scotsman newspaper gushed “..sometimes Five Stars isn’t enough”. They have created numerous musicals including the magical “Tripod Versus the Dragon” in collaboration with Megan Washington and Elana Stone, and have toured the smash hit cabaret show “Perfect Tripod: Australian Songs” where they showcase their singing chops in a breathtaking a-capella quartet with Eddie Perfect.
Perfect Tripod also appeared on Network Ten’s Oxfam Gala, backed by the 60-voice Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, released a single with Gotye for Save Live Australian Music and sung with Missy Higgins on the ABC. Somewhere in there,Tripod also made yet another record: “Men of Substance”, with producer John Castle(Bamboos, Washington, Vance Joy).
Tripod continues to compose and arrange, including a stint as songwriters for the Cartoon Network. Their commission for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, an all-original symphonic love letter to gaming entitled “This Gaming Life” (in collaboration with BAFTA winning games composer Austin Wintory), opened at Hamer Hall to rave reviews. The boys went on to collaborate again with the MSO, this time on a show about Leonard Bernstein, “Incongruous”.
Tripod continued their relationship with Wintory through many forays into game music, including songwriting for Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate”, which picked up multiple Original Soundtrack of the Year awards.
I mean how much more detail do you want here? They’ve put out a songbook (“101 Tripod Hits”), they’ve put out 5 (and counting) seasons of a Podcast (“Perfectly Good Podcast”), they’ve done like 20 plus records and DVDs, and a larger number still of Comedy Festival shows, and also they can knit. One of the above isn’t true.
Well done if you’re still reading this!! Long story short: Tripod has set the bar when it comes to combining comedy and music in rich and surprising ways–and in the process the “band” has become a much-loved cultural fixture across Australia. You know what, maybe we should have just put this bit at the start.