Panel of Judges
Australian musical group
Panel of Judges are an Australian indie rock band from Melbourne. Dion Nania began the group in 1998 as a solo project, then added Alison Bolger, Michael Nichols and Paul Williams soon afterwards.
Nania, originally from Geelong, had played with the Golden Lifestyle Band; Bolger, originally from Brisbane, had played bass in Clag and Sleepy Township and in looser configurations such as an improvisational group with Mia Schoen and Ellen Turner; Williams had been a member of Perth group Molasses and, in the early days of Panel of Judges was also drumming in Melbourne band Jaguar is Jaguar; and Nichols had been a formative figure in the Hanshalf Trio in Melbourne, Crabstick and Blairmailer in Sydney, and the 'travelling' group Ruff Buff.
Panel of Judges' first release was an EP, Blind as a Bat on Chapter Music in 1998; their debut album Cool Fool was released later that year after which Nichols left and the band continued as a three-piece. They travelled to Europe in 2002, playing in London and Paris, and returned in 2004 to record their second album No Scandal - No Future - In Heaven, the title of which was 'stolen from a card left on Serge Gainsbourg's grave'. They have since toured Japan and New Zealand; their third album, Bad Vibrations was released on Mistletone in late 2008.
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