San Cisco

San Cisco is an Australian four-piece indie pop band, which formed in 2009 as King George in Fremantle, Western Australia. The band consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals), Nick Gardner (bass), and Scarlett Stevens (drums, vocals). All members except Stevens share duties on keyboards. In November 2011, the band were signed by Albert Productions. The label describes San Cisco’s sound as «rough, low-fi garage pop» mixed with «bright catchy hooks».

The members of San Cisco attended the same high school in Fremantle. Singer-guitarist Davieson and drummer Stevens have known each other since early childhood, and were formerly members of the rock groups The Real Life Animators and The Flairz respectively. Stevens is the daughter of Phil Stevens, founder of Jarrah Records and manager of John Butler Trio and The Waifs. In late 2009, Davieson, Stevens and gutiarist Biondillo started playing music together, and were later joined by bass guitarist Gardner. Initially called King George, they changed their name to San Cisco after surveying friends and fans. According to the band, «there is no link between the city San Francisco and our name San Cisco. … The reason we went with San Cisco was because it is nothing; like a blank canvas which we were able to sculpt into whatever we wanted.»

In late 2010, San Cisco recorded their debut EP Golden Revolver in Perth at Blackbird Studios. The EP’s five songs were co-produced by Little Birdy drummer Matt Chequer and veteran engineer-producer Steven Schram (Little Birdy, The Waifs, Cat Empire, Little Red). «Golden Revolver», the EP’s critically acclaimed lead single, received heavy airplay on Australia’s leading alternative music station Triple J. XFM London DJ Mike Walsh said of «Golden Revolver»: «If this song was brought to me as the next Vampire Weekend single, I would not be disappointed.» The music video for «Golden Revolver» shows the band sailing along the Margaret River on a makeshift boat. Also featured on the EP is the group’s second single «Girls Do Cry» and a cover of Perth band Tame Impala’s 2010 single «Solitude is Bliss». Prior to Golden Revolver’s early 2011 release, San Cisco was profiled on a December episode of Triple J Unearthed, and subsequently nominated for the 2011 Unearthed J Award.

As Golden Revolver continued to gain popularity, San Cisco performed at numerous festivals throughout 2011 including Fuse Festival in Adelaide, BIGSOUND in Brisbane, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Melbourne, Pyramid Rock Festival on Phillip Island, Peats Ridge Festival in Glenworth Valley, and the Western Australian stops of the Big Day Out and Groovin’ the Moo festivals. They also supported established Australian acts including The Grates, Jebediah and Architecture in Helsinki, and made appearences on BalconyTV and 3 News, New Zealand.

In late 2011, the band were signed by Albert Productions, the home of major Australian acts including AC/DC and Megan Washington.