City Riots were an indie rock band from Adelaide, which formed in 2005 and active until about 2014. Their lead vocalist and front man was Ricky Kradolfer. They played in Australia, United States and the United Kingdom, touring with Smashing Pumpkins, Cobra Starship, Midnight Juggernauts and others
History The band formed in 2005. Their 2008 single "Burning Me Out" received national airplay on Triple J, were one of the station's Next Crop Acts and were an Unearthed J Award nominee in 2008.
They played in Australia, United States and the United Kingdom, touring with Smashing Pumpkins, The Academy Is..., Cobra Starship, Midnight Juggernauts and Operator Please.
In 2010 the band performed at South by Southwest, and the track "She Never Wants to Dance" later appeared on the band's debut album, Sea of Bright Lights, in 2012, and received high rotation on Triple J. The associated tour started with a gig supporting the Living End in November 2012.
In 2013, Ricky Kradolfer won the Best Music Manager award in the Fowlers Live Awards (now South Australian Music Awards).
The last post on their Facebook page dates from February 2016,Archived FB page for City Riots and by November 2016 the group had disbanded, with Ricky Kradolfer appearing with Sydney-based High Violet.
Reviews
Tess Ingram of The Music reviewed Sea of Bright Lights (22 October 2012) and observed, "With breathy vocals, soaring synths, jangly guitars and hook-laden pop tunes, [this release] is the perfect album for a summer road trip or a long day at the beach. The aforementioned sonic combination could come across as fake and irritating, but [the group] have found the perfect balance of indie rock and dream pop to make this a debut with enough variation to be an easy listen." Members
Daniel Kradolfer: – drums, percussion, backing vocals Ricky Kradolfer: – vocals, guitars, synthesiser, organ Mark Seddon: – bass guitar John de Michele: – bass guitar, percussion, backing vocals Matt Stadler: – keyboards, synthesiser Matthew Edge: – bass guitar, vocals, guitars, keyboards
Discography Albums + List of albums, with selected details Title Details Sea of Bright Lights Released: 22 October 2012 Label: Inertia Music (CITRIOT12) Format: CD, digital
Extended plays + List of EPs, with selected details Title Details City Riots Released: 6 November 2006 Label: City Riots (CITYRIOT06) Format: CDSocialize Released: 2008 Format: CDMatchsticks Released: 2011 Format: CD
Awards and nominations Fowler's Live Music Awards The Fowler's Live Music Awards took place from 2012 to 2014 to "recognise success and achievement over the past 12 months [and] celebrate the great diversity of original live music" in South Australia. Since 2015 they're known as the South Australian Music Awards.
| 2013 | Ricky Kradolfer (City Riots) | Best Music Manager
J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.
| J Awards of 2008 |themselves | Unearthed Artist of the Year
References
Further reading Triple J Unearthed: City Riots