The tale of Fourth Floor Collapse began in the suburbs of Perth as far back as playgroup when Michael and Rhys first met in a sandpit. Dan was living only a suburb away, honing his guitar playing skills on his wooden ruler, before finally finding himself at the same high school as Michael. And so, a group of teenage boys with guitars, a garage and a need for an outlet for their songwriting talents came together and created what eventually became Fourth Floor Collapse in 1998.
Songwriting for the band is a democratic process as Dan, Rhys or Michael will bring in a song in basic form and the band will work on it as a whole. By looking at the world around them they can be inspired by friends, films, books, music, people, emotion, and even happy accidents to create music that turns raw emotion into richly layered songs.
Their music is honest, they feel it, they play it and sometimes they feel good, and sometimes they feel bad but they're always honest. It's music that doesn't waste your time and doesn't take the listener for granted at any stage.
Some of the characters may have changed as the story has unfolded but Michael, Dan and Rhys have remained constant. Now these ex-Perth boys are citizens of the world and have been joined on their travels by local Melbourne drummer, Mick Parker.
Fourth Floor Collapse shifted their base from Perth to Melbourne in 2005 to give them opportunity to play their music to more people, more often. Tucked under their collective wings they brought with them the makings of their latest record, Books with Broken Spines.
Books with Broken Spines is the third album for Fourth Floor Collapse due for release in February 2006 through Creative Vibes.
To date, the band has received extensive national airplay with tracks such as Made Believe, Sun, Stories Unglued, and Night Under Lights from their first two albums and regularly tour Australia. They have supported international acts such as The Tea Party, Badly Drawn Boy, Counting Crows, Teenage Fanclub and Turin Brakes.
