| Not Enough Rope | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Genre: | Folk, rock |
| Years Active: | 1994 - 2001 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Current Members: | Matt Galligan Matt Kealley Todd Lynch Michael D. Lane Steve Bow |
Not Enough Rope were a five piece folk-rock band[1] that came from Perth, starting in 1994 before their break-up in 2001.
Not Enough Rope began in 1994 over a few beers at the Kalamunda Hotel in Perth, Western Australia. The initial idea was to get together, play a few songs and tell a few yarns. The group soon grew from three to five and it was regular rehearsals in the original bass player's (Adrian Conti) orchard packing shed.[2] Soon the band were performing regular gigs, supporting Things of Stone and Wood in 1995 and even finding Jewel joining them on stage for an impromptu gig, after she had performed a major live show elsewhere that evening.[3]
The name Not Enough Rope arose by accident, while rehearsing at Keally's garage, the band was brainstorming a name and eventually agreed on Not Enough Rope. It eventuated from a makeshift rope clothesline that had fallen down due to the end fraying and breaking, the band deciding that the name reflected their sound and style.[2]
Even likened to The Pogues in their early days, there was something in their music that, if not touching the heart, it imbued a wistful and melancholy feeling with a touch of sweetness.[4]
Their debut EP was I'll Tell You When I See You in 1996, followed by their debut album Fingerpistol and My Way EP (both in 1998) and Paying Off My Radials album in 2001, which features a cover of The Triffids' "Wide Open Road".
Matt Kealley now plays in acoustic folk rock band, Jigger, Matt Galligan is a professional photographer, Todd Lynch and Michael D. Lane went on to form King Brown and Shanks Pony, a group Lynch is still actively involved in. Michael performs regularly, generally in Fremantle, as a solo artist and a guest player for local original artists, and as a facilitator of inclusive music sessions with the community organisation Catch Music.
Byron Mavrick now works full-time as a Chartered Accountant in Perth, and is also a keen open-water swimmer. In 2012 he led a four-man team ("the Men in Grey Suits") in the Rottnest Channel Swim in a time of 6 hours and 6 minutes.