About Us

The band came into being back in 1989 as a vehicle for a.d's original music while he played with other bands.

a.d. and a couple of friends played live sometimes, labelling the band The Jordans. They didn't think they were very good but they enjoyed their two or three gigs.

a.d. kept the band name when he put out a tape of his own through the UK fanzine Red Roses For Me, even though the other guys only played on one song, as it seemed easier to relate to a band name than a set of initials.

Following the premature demise of the first lineup of the Steinbecks, a.d. had a bit more time so more songs got written and things happened.

Dan Goldwag of Sonorama Records approached the band for a demo tape with a view to putting out a single. A demo of eight songs, creatively named 'eight', was put together, impressing Dan enough to come back with an offer to put out a CD.

a.d. did just about everything on the album himself, including the cover artwork and recording the 13 songs on his 4-track, which he bundled up for the Fedex man late 1996, to return some months later as Katydid. Sadly the album was never 'launched' or distributed in Australia, but did okay in the 'States.

A lull ensued for a couple of years while a.d. focused on other things, producing new material every now and again, some finding its way onto friends' compilations.

A prolific songwriting period in 1998-99 saw a.d. produce all the songs for the second album - The Hallelujah Mine. Long time friend and fellow musician Shane Hill joined a.d. for weekly jam sessions, which at some stage got extended to include working on the album on Sundays; Shane had joined the band.

A first cut of the songs was put down before a.d. relocated to the country and Shane changed careers. A lack of permanent neighbours promised unfettered use of the borrowed drum kit, however distance and ridiculous workloads for both guys halted album proceedings during 2000, with them barely scraping together enough studio time to put out a couple of songs for the Airpop and Red Roses For Me compilations.

July 2000 saw Lee (a.d's wife) agree to apply her organisational skills as band manager. While the band focused on making music, it would be Lee's job to get things moving. And eventually they did. A drummer was recruited to provide the final tracks for the album, a bassplayer joined the ranks, and finally The Hallelujah Mine was launched at the Central Club in Richmond, Victoria.

Many adventures ensued with that lineup before the band "went quiet" once again. Shane is enjoying new fatherhood, and a.d. is very involved with podcasting.

But there's always something in the wings - new songs appear from time to time, and an album is definitely in the works, tentatively titled "Small Things At Lightspeed". Whether it is published as a physical CD or as a download-only album is anyone's guess, but it's scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2006.