Fast Facts

The Merlin Bird are a two-piece band based in Melbourne, Australia. In order of height and presumed sanity, they are Geoff Dawes (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Dan Moloney (drums, percussion, keyboards and sense of humour).

Previous line-ups have boasted up to five members at a time.  A full line-up probably needs at least six, but we’ve never had that many so we wouldn’t really know.


Bio



Birdies present 



Geoff Dawes is distantly related to George W. Bush, in the same sense that Humpty Dumpty is distantly related to Mount Everest. He sings, plays keyboards and guitar, and divides his time between contemplating the inner mysteries of the universe and mowing the lawn. (That's Geoff, not Humpty Dumpty.) 



Daniel Moloney played guitar and keyboards both, before settling on life as a drummer. His hobby is saving the world from cosmic disaster, although on weekends he watches TV, so Saturdays and Sundays you're on your own. 



Birdies past 



Shakira Searle is the only Merlin Birdy who is currently immortal - a condition that is expected to last almost as long as she does. When not singing (rather divinely), she indulges her lifelong passion for Destiny Ball - the Astral plane's most popular competitive sport. For those of you that know the game, she plays Transcendental Mediator, which is a sort of goalkeeper for extra-dimensional thought. 



David O'Toole has spent a number of lives as a cat, before electing to incarnate as a guitarist. He still tends to claw the curtains when he's had too much coffee, although these days he usually prefers a plain saucer of milk ( - slightly warmed.) 



Jessica Nabb is the direct descendant of one the world's oldest wizarding families, although they naturally keep this pretty quiet after all those nasty witch-burning episodes a few centuries back. Without wanting to sound too cute, her singing and songs do indeed have a magic all their own, although this impression could well be due to a subtly executed Charm spell whenever she plays.

Mark Kral is studying to be a god. The course usually lasts a number of lifetimes, however, so while he is completing the undergraduate program he has chosen to spend an incarnation or two mastering the bass guitar. On attaining his deification he is hoping to be made God of Amplifiers. Failing that, he will either go for God of Cutlery, or become an all-powerful music critic. 



Dylan Stevenson bestrides the landscape of the human mind like a veritable colossus. Leaping chasms of paradox with a single bound, he is usually to be found exploring the uttermost fringes of mental dilemma and discontinuity armed with nothing but a bass guitar and a Lonely Planet Guidebook to the Subconcious. He also sleeps a lot.



Birdy Friends 



Beck Sian Robson is the kind of unofficial band member. She lives in a different country than the rest of us, so would probably be more "un" than "official" if she did not regularly attend rehearsals via psychic projection.

Beck did most of the female vocals on the Reason and Rhyme CD, and is cousin once removed to English rock diva Kate Bush. (Oddly enough, that's actually true.)

She is also one of the few human beings able to spontaneously levitate. (Although, to be honest, we've never really put that last bit to the test.)

Instant Interview  



Melbourne band The Merlin Bird are currently in the studio working on their second CD - a full-length album to be titled "Chapter and Verse". 



"The great thing about rock is that there really are no limits" says singer Geoff Dawes. 

"Where else could we put bits of Grand Opera and acoustica beside overdriven guitars and still have it work?" 



Drummer Dan Moloney agrees: "We seem to have ended up with a pretty distinctive sort of sound. There are certain trademarks I suppose - the multi-layering of the tracks and the occasional odd time signature - but somehow we just never seem to sound like anyone else." 



You can hear their songs at  MySpace. 

Their Reason and Rhyme EP is available www.cdbaby.com.