Distressed Infants Society is an indie rock group hailing from suburban Melbourne, Australia. The band was initially formed by bass guitarist Tegan Kennedy under the name of 'Left Of Centre' in 2007. Since then, the band has experienced many line-up changes, Rachel and Will Sloan being the only constants. The precocious teens are noted for their song craft and distinctive, metallic roar.

History - Formation

The band has humble origins. In February 2007, aspiring bass player Tegan Kennedy was receiving lessons from the accomplished multi- instrumentalist Cedric Scheerlinck, when she suggested the two formed a band. Within weeks the duo was competently performing [[Green Day]] and [[AC/DC]] covers. After a brief audition, virtuosic drummer Rachel Sloan was recruited. Sloan's writing and playing style had a strong impact on the band's sound. Although in earlier recordings, classically trained Cedric Scheerlinck's influence is most prevalent. Subsequent to the trio's first rehearsal, Sloan suggested younger brother Will Sloan join the band as a second guitarist, once again revamping the group's sound and look. The band was hastily dubbed 'Left Of Centre'- an expression of Kennedy's left-wing political views.

Early days

Later that year, Left Of Centre required a vocalist for an upcoming festival. Friend Andy Newman agreed to fulfil such a role. After only one rehearsal, he was abruptly eradicated for inadequate "vocal ability", but was invited back to play backing guitar, his stay with the band was short-lived . ''"He insisted our genre should be britpop, you know, like his hero Liam Gallagher, and all those other monobrowed singers, but we weren't fuckin' British."''reflected Will Sloan in a 2009 interview. As the months progressed, Tegan Kennedy's once uncompromised dedication to the band had begun to wane; her bass playing abilities, although adequate for someone of her experience, were below the lofty standard of her fellow musicians. This resulted in close friend Rachel Sloan gently encouraging her to move on. It was January of the following year when she finally did so.

The subsequent stressful months saw many line-up changes, something the band would later become notorious for. "We thought her (Kennedy's) departure would be like starting a-fresh, a new chapter, you dig? But alas, she left a gaping ironic chasm in the soul of the band." Scheerlinck proposed Conrad Kieplein, a tender, impressionable 10-year-old guitarist whose repertoire consisted of [[AC/DC]] hits and Iron Man (Black Sabbath) joined the group. With Kieplein, the band embarked upon recording the Today EP, which comprised of four similar renditions of the [[Smashing Pumpkins' song Today. His idiosyncratic interpretation of the humble power chord (played without the third or fourth finger) earned him little respect amongst his distinguished superiors. He later withdrew from the project stating "lack of direction" and "too much drugs" as his reasons.

Rebirth

Succeeding Kieplein's departure, the band experienced something of a rebirth. They christened themselves 'God's Mistake', and began producing music of such sheer majesty and complexity that on two occasions they were close to landing themselves a contract with Decca Records. On both of these occasions, the youths were dismissed as juveniles albeit prodigies. The trio had developed a reputation that preceded them.

The 3rd of December, 2008, saw the band's legendary performance at Mount Waverley Secondary College. 'God's Mistake' received high appraisal, but were themselves, profoundly disappointed with the show. "Oh, that was really bad," Scheerlink had informed journalists shortly after the performance. "I mean we should of [sic] just kept on playing..... that stupid bitch..... could have been worse..... you can't bridle us like that...... no creative flow." Their performance suffered from poor sound mix, due to incompetent teachers with "low IQs" fearing for the health of the children. "That's how hardcore we were," Rachel Sloan laughs. "I can see what where she was coming from though, that movement in 'The Figurehead' sounded like an abortion hitting the floor, only with twice as many decibels. [sic]"
'The Derry And Riley Experience' had also performed at the School. Rachel Sloan afterwards invited the group's bass player (Riley Prince) to join 'God's Mistake.' It was Prince who proposed the name 'Distressed Infants Society'. The outlandish band name derived from DISA (Distressed Infants Support Association) an organisation dedicated to helping relieve the symptoms of acid reflux in babies.

The band's adoption of the Oasis song, 'Live Forever' became iconic subsequent to the show. The intricate weavings of melodies and Sloan's pounding grooves propelled the song (and the group) to legendary status amidst their peers.
At this stage of their short yet illustrious career, the band's repertoire consisted mainly of covers. Songs such as 'If Only Tonight We Could Sleep,' 'The Figurehead', 'Fascination Street' (The Cure) 'Jesus Loves Your More If You Can Drive', (The Driven) 'You', 'Climbing Up The Walls' ([[Radiohead]]) and numerous other were all revamped and "given new life" (Comment made by Rolling Stone magazine June, 2008) by the band.

Prince's presence in the group, although at one stage invaluable was becoming a hindrance, due mostly to a "conflict of tastes". Whilst Sheerlinck, Sloan and Sloan were embarking upon a cover of the prog jazz masterpiece, 'Birds Of Fire', Prince was still insisting the band conformed to the "whole seamless pop rock thing." Once even suggesting they covered the Madness song 'House of Fun'. Prince did however have redeeming qualities. "He owned a bass, he was willing to play and was a likeable person"; and it were these attributes that assured his position in the band.

The Sloan siblings were at this time composing the ironically titled jazz grunge fusion masterpiece 'A is For Anarchy'. The piece was an elaborate symphony comprising of prog rock, jazz, funk and discordant elements. Although commended by Scheerlinck, the song was dismissed by more closed-minded individuals as "too obscure to be music". It was such dogmatic views that ultimately led to the creation of the band High On Rebellion, a progressive group consisting only of the two Sloan siblings. A debut album is expected to be released by February 2010.

Recruitment of Sam Shepherd and Battle of the Bands

Distressed Infants Society had grown wearisome of the seemingly perpetual search for a tolerable vocalist. Bass guitarist Riley Prince advised the recruitment of Sam Shepherd, a self proclaimed "inept multi-instrumentalist" Rachel Sloan was acquainted with Shepherd prior to Prince's suggestion, and was adequately impressed by his taste in music. Shepherd became the band's first long term vocalist.

Succeeding Shepherd's joining; Riley Prince was unofficially fired from the band. The topic of his dismissal is controversial and largely undiscussed. Vocalist Shepherd is believed to have been the driving force behind the banishment of the bassist, although feelings throughout the band were largely mutual. Concurrently Scheerlinck had moved house, making commuting difficult. For many weeks the band consisted of only three members; Sloan, Sloan and Shepherd. Mutual tastes in music amidst the trio benefited their productivity; both the Sloan siblings and Shepherd admired the Pixies and Nirvana amongst many other acts.

It had been Shepherd who initially sighted the poster advertising the City of Monash FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands competition for bands under the age of twenty one. Lamentably, by this stage auditions had already been open for numerous months leaving the band scarcely a week to record and send in a demo tape. The band began rehearsals immediately although too little avail, each member had his or her own vision as to how a song should sound. The group settled with a cover of the Jimmie's Chicken Shack song Another Day as their first track. Damien Tune was admitted into the band to "fill the gaping chasm of bass player." Succeeding nine days of arduous rehearsals and recording sessions, the group had produced what they would dub 'The Pizza Box Demo'. The title was said to have been an "inside gag"

Guitarist Will Sloan was shortly informed by 'MYFS' (Monash Youth and Family Services) that his band had earned themselves a place in the competition. An exceptional achievement considering the rich musical culture of the City of Monash. Arduous rehearsals were again resumed in preparation for the event, which was to occur on the 26th of June.
Following the first few days of prep, Samuel contracted a potentially life threatening stomach virus, the singer quite admirably continued attending rehearsals needless. Within the week, drummer Sloan was suffering from the same debilitating illness- the band had no songs and an epidemic on their hands. With only three days to spare, the trio re-enlisted Scheerlinck as a second guitarist and hurriedly assembled a set for the night. They would open with the renowned 'Insomnia', the band's trademark five minute long progressive rock anthem.

'Distressed Infants Society' competed commendably; playing with the likes of 'And I Swear It's The Last Time', 'Bionikus', 'Breath Their Last', 'Lunacy Pact', 'Three Last Words', as well as the 2008 winners 'The Quarters'. The group received high appraisal from judges and fellow competitors alike, ranking fourth overall. Such an experience would be the band's first taste of mainstream success.