The Problem:
Led by cornerstone Sean Kelly, alongside original members Andrew Duffield and Mark Ferrie, and recent addition Ash Davies, Models are recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative and imaginative bands. But without a web presence, how are they to tell their story? More importantly, how can they sell their merchandise?
My Pitch:
Talking with the band we identified a number of areas they wanted to cover: the fact that even though the band were formed in 1978, they were still going strong with performances and new music releases.
Celebrating their older catalogue while also highlighting new music and more importantly: upcoming gigs. The live performance is incredibly important to this group.
The visuals should be based on their previous promotional works, while allowing for growth.
The Result?
First up, an interactive timeline was developed which shows all the important events in the bands 40 year history; from the pre-Models band Teenage Radio Stars which first saw Sean Kelly team up with Pierre Voltaire and James Freud, through to their experimental zenith and commercial breakthrough in the 80’s, right up to recent releases GTK and Memo.
Compiling the information for this timeline took quite a long time, mainly from online sources, with confirmation from current band members.
Once this was completed, and primarily liaising with keyboardist, producer and songwriter Andrew Duffield, the rest of the site was laid out: a gigs page first and foremost, news for general information as well as the venue for releasing historical items, a music discography of not only band releases but also offshoot items, images, videos, the obligatory contact page, and an about page which would feature the timeline plus biographies on current and previous members. Finally, and just as importantly, a shop to allow for sales of CDs and band merchandise.
The site will continue to be a work in progress, with the ability to flesh out information about each music release, add photos from official and fan sources, and see where the next evolution of Models will take us.
