David McCormack

McCormack grew up in the west Brisbane suburb of Kenmore, Queensland, and attended Ipswich Grammar School. He started his musical career as a vocalist and guitarist in Brisbane blues hip hop rock outfit, Who's Gerald? in 1986. The band included school teachers Paul Medew on bass guitar and Glen Donald on keyboards, and they later recruited Cathy Atthow on drums.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPReleaseTracks.php?band=241440&userasks=37964 WHOS GERALD]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. They released a cassette, Who's Gerald's Greatest Hits in the same year on their own Gerald Corp Records. In March 1988, they released a single, "Wrestle Wrestle" and had the track, "Pins and Needles" on that year's Youngblood compilation.

Atthow, McCormack and Medew briefly formed Automatic Graphic in 1988 with Scott Younger.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=10015 AUTOMATIC GRAPHIC]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010.

{{Main|Custard (band)}}

In 1989, McCormack and Medew formed Custard Gun with Shane Brunn (later in Hugbubble, Vanlustbader) on drums and James Straker (later in Melniks).Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=49795 CUSTARD GUN]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. After a number of performances, Straker left in early 1990, the band was renamed Custard, and Straker was replaced at year's end by Matthew Strong on guitar.

Custard existed for about a decade, with a number of different drummers including Gavin Herrenberg, Danny Plant, John Lowry and Glenn Thompson (later of The Go-Betweens). The band released five studio albums in the 1990s: Buttercup/Bedford, Wahooti Fandango, Wisenheimer, We Have the Technology and Loverama, a number of EPs and singles and a greatest hits compilation entitled Goodbye Cruel World.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=49700 CUSTARD]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. A DVD video clip compilation called The Spaces by the Side of the Road – A Digital History of Custard was released in 2007.{{cite news|last=Mathewson|first=Catriona|title=Cream of the Custard|work=The Courier-Mail|publisher=News Corporation|date=21 November 2007|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22797318-5003421,00.html|access-date=23 February 2010}}

Custard reformed for a concert on 10 December 2009, as part of the Queensland Proclamation Day, 150th Anniversary Celebrations.{{cite news |last=Mengel |first=Noel |title=Powderfinger and Custard pay homage to Queensland music |publisher=Brisbane Courier Mail |date=10 October 2009 |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,26187790-3102,00.html |access-date=15 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013115716/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0%2C20797%2C26187790-3102%2C00.html |archive-date=13 October 2009 }}

Custard released a new album in November 2015, entitled Come Back, All Is Forgiven, which was followed by 2017's The Common Touch.

The single 'Funky Again' was released in March 2020, ahead of the band's eighth studio album Respect All Lifeforms.

The single 'Molecules Colliding' was released in August 2024 along with 'Someday' in September 2024. In October of 2024 the album Suburban Curtains.

File:DMc NY Xmas.jpg

McCormack was moonlighting in other bands during the 1990s, which formed in and around Custard's practice rooms. The Cows from 1993 (later styled as COW or C.O.W. – for Country or Western) had Thompson and Robert Moore on bass guitar;Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=45980 COWS, THE]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. as well as Maureen Hansen on vocals, Susie Hansen on vocals and Mark Lowry (twin brother of John Lowry) on bass guitar by 1995.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=45905 COW/ C.O.W (Country or Western)]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. COW released Beard in June 1996.

McCormack, Moore and Thompson recorded with Robert Forster (ex-The Go-Betweens) for his second solo album, Calling from a Country Phone, released in 1993 and toured with Forster as Silver Backwash.

Frank 'n' Stein from 1995 had Moore and McCormack join with his brother Dylan McCormack (ex-Biro) and Ian Wadley.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=78220 FRANK ?N? STEIN)]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{sic}} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. Miami, also from 1995, had Maureen Hansen (also in COW and McCormack's then girlfriend), Nick Naughton on drums and Medew.Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=136640 MIAMI)]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. Miami released two CDs: Costume of Sand (March 1997) and Feel the Seed (1998). Computor was another collaboration between McCormack and Moore,Spencer et al, (2007) [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/PHPTracks.php?Band_ID=43615 COMPUTER]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{sic}} entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010. which was electronic sounding and they released a tape called Floppy Disk.

Around the break-up of Custard, McCormack formed The Titanics circa 1999/2000 with his then wife Emma Tom,{{Cite web |date=2002-09-20 |title=Thinker, tailored |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/thinker-tailored-20020920-gdfnd4.html |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} Glenn Thompson and film-maker, Tina Havelock Stevens. During their three year run, they had at least seven releases: Their debut album Size Isn't Everything (2000), and its three other alternate variations, and their last album Love Is The Devil (September 2000) which spawned two singles: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (2000) and Shoulda (2001).

In 2001, McCormack released a solo album of electronic songs The Matterhorn.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sanity.com.au/products/362145/Matterhorn-The|title= Matterhorn, The|website=Sanity|access-date=6 August 2023}}

In 2002, McCormack recruited a backing band called The Polaroids. Together, they released the albums, Candy (2002) and The Truth About Love (2004), and the DVD Save Dave: David McCormack and the Polaroids Live At The Hopetoun Hotel Sydney June 2003 (2003, DVD){{Cite web |title=David McCormack And The Polaroids – Save Dave - Live At The Hopetoun Hotel Sydney June 2003 (2003, DVD) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/8501363-David-McCormack-And-The-Polaroids-Save-Dave-Live-At-The-Hopetoun-Hotel-Sydney-June-2003 |access-date=June 27, 2024 |website=Discogs}}. McCormack reunited with The Polaroids in February 2024 to record 8 songs. This collection was released in June 2024 as a vinyl only EP called “Get Old” on his label Das Kong.

In 2006, McCormack was one of the two weekly 'mystery' guests on the Australian television show RocKwiz on SBS One.{{Cite episode |title=Jade McRae and Dave McCormack |series=RocKwiz |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0775746/ |access-date=25 February 2012 |work=SBS One |date=11 March 2006 |season=2 |number=14}}

In November 2006, under the guidance of JJJ, McCormack assembled a band to perform a concert at the Tivoli in Brisbane as a tribute for the late Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens. Early in 2007, McCormack then went into the studio to produce a tribute album to the band, called Write Your Adventures Down.

In October 2009, McCormack released the album Little Murders.

Since 2009, McCormack has been responsible for many film and television scores including The Tall Man, Rake, Redfern Now, House Husbands, Wild Boys, and Blood Brothers. Additionally, McCormack has also composed film scores for Alex Proyas's Garage Days{{cite news|title = Garage Days (2002) Full Cast and Crew|publisher = IMDb|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280696/fullcredits|access-date = 15 November 2009}} in 2002, and for Daniel Krige's West in 2006.{{cite news|title=West (2007) Full Cast and Crew|publisher=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480053/fullcredits|access-date=15 November 2009}}

Since 2018, McCormack has starred in the critically acclaimed ABC Kids Australian animated television series Bluey, voicing the titular character's father, Bandit Heeler.{{cite web |last1=ABC |first1=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |title=Bluey |url=http://www.abc.net.au/abcforkids/shows/s4894252.htm |website=ABC KIDS |access-date=2 April 2019}} He was initially approached to read what he assumed would be merely "a couple of lines," only to voice the character for the entirety of the pilot. McCormack performs his voice work for the series remotely in Sydney, and his voice recordings are then sent to the production company in Brisbane. He does not hear any other voice actors or view footage while recording, and does not alter his own voice to produce Bandit's dialogue.{{Cite web |last=Stafford |first=Andrew |date=16 May 2019 |title=Custard's Dave McCormack on voicing Bluey's dad: 'I'm popular at school drop-off time' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/16/custards-dave-mccormack-on-voicing-blueys-dad-im-popular-at-school-drop-off-time |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604200116/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/16/custards-dave-mccormack-on-voicing-blueys-dad-im-popular-at-school-drop-off-time |archive-date=4 June 2019 |access-date=16 November 2019 |website=The Guardian}} The series won a Peabody Award at the 84th ceremony for "its unparalleled ability to seamlessly unite childhood bliss with meaningful life lessons."https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/bluey/ McCormack is set to reprise his role as Bandit in the upcoming film adaption, slated for release in 2027.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-22 |title=The 'Bluey' Movie Is Coming! All the Details We Know (So Far) About the Beloved Dog’s Big-Screen Debut |url=https://people.com/bluey-movie-everything-to-know-8762635 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=People |language=en}}

In 2023, he voiced the character Orbo in the Max American adult animated television series Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake.{{cite web |last1=Khanna |first1=Aryan |title=Bluey fans rejoice as Bandit joins Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake as The Scarab's boss Orbo |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-bluey-fans-rejoice-bandit-joins-adventure-time-fionna-cake-the-scarab-s-boss-orbo |website=Sportskeeda |date=September 22, 2023}}

File:Dave McCormack.jpg

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 1999

| Andrew Lancaster and David McCormack for "Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us)" by Custard

|Best Video

| {{won}}

| ARIA Award previous winners. {{cite web|url=https://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/award/Best-Video?view=list|title=Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)|access-date= 12 December 2019 }}

|-

{{end}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite encyclopedia|last=McFarlane |first=Ian |author-link=Ian McFarlane |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop |title=Whammo Homepage |url=http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp |access-date=23 February 2010 |year=1999 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=St Leonards, NSW |isbn=1-86508-072-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041010033414/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp |archive-date=10 October 2004 |ref=none}} Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
• {{cite book|title=The Who's Who of Australian Rock|last=Spencer|first=Chris|author2=Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry with notes by Ed Nimmervoll|orig-year=1987|year=2002|publisher=Five Mile Press|location=Noble Park, Vic.|isbn=1-86503-891-1|ref=none}} Note: [on-line] version established at [https://web.archive.org/web/20091015024603/http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/aboutww.htm White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd] in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.

{{Refend}}

• [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1256136 David McCormack] on IMDb
• [http://www.custardband.com/ Custard's Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208201500/http://www.custardband.com/ |date=8 December 2015 }}

{{custard}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, David}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people

Category:APRA Award winners

Category:Australian male singers

Category:Australian male voice actors

Category:Musicians from Brisbane

Category:People educated at Ipswich Grammar School