The Temper Trap is an indie rock band which formed in 2005 in Melbourne, Australia. The band consists of Dougy Mandagi (vocals, guitar), Lorenzo Sillitto (guitar, keyboards), Jonathon Aherne (bass) and Toby Dundas (drums).
The Temper Trap's story begins with Dougy. Born in Indonesia and immersed in an artistic and musical family, with some rich influences from singing in church choirs with his aunt and uncle and listening to his dad, a country music fan, play guitar. These influences evolved around Dougy, as he moved consistently from different islands in Indonesia to Hawaii and then eventually to Australia. After moving to Australia, Dougy started working as a portrait drawer at $25 a pop; he also sang for loose change in downtown Melbourne.
Dougy eventually ended up working at the same retail store as Toby. Dougy had thought of starting a band for years and after a few months of boring work hours and finding out Toby was a drummer and a walking musical dictionary, the first band practice began, minus a bass player. In one of the coincidences that the band have come to rely on, Jonny worked a couple of stores down and was called in. He had known Dougy for years, back in the busking days when Dougy first arrived in Melbourne. Jonny, the 13 year old dreamer and son of a missionary, wanted to learn some guitar and Dougy helped him out. A brotherly friendship was formed with some sense of common ground, both drawing life from music and their spiritual upbringings, and unaware of the musical union which would be formed 6 years later.
The three of them came together, practised like crazy and played some shows for a year. One, two skip a few (guitarists), ninety nine Lorenzo. An old school friend of Toby's, Lorenzo had been dancing around bands and playing guitar from the age of 12. They bonded over skateboarding, but it didn't take the 2 teenagers long to start jamming covers and writing primitive songs in the garage. Years down the track and in another perfect twist Lorenzo's previous band called it a day just as the other tempers second guitarist departed and the band was formed.
The Temper Trap, led by frontman Dougy, have been writing and touring Australia, catching the ears of many. With a series of epic new tracks set for release on their much anticipated debut album, the band has conquered adventurous new territory, building on their rich foundations in a natural progression. Legendary Arctic Monkey's and Kasabian producer Jim Abiss flew over to Melbourne to be at the helm.
From Wikipedia:The Temper Trap is an alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia noted for its atmospheric sound, featuring grand guitars set to pulsating rhythms. The band is signed to Infectious Records worldwide, except for Australia and the United States. In Australia, the group is signed to Michael Gudinski's label Liberation Music, and in the United States it is signed to Glassnote Records. The band released their debut album Conditions in 2009 to favourable reviews and commercial success.