Hunters & Collectors

The 'classic' Hunters and Collectors line up (for the last ten years together):. She is now remembered best for her powerful, distinctive voice, which was significantly divergent from the soft folk-influenced styles more common at the time, as well as for her lyrical themes of pain and loss.
. The movie The Rose, with Bette Midler in the lead role, was loosely based on Joplin's life. Their breakthrough commercial success was the album Human Frailty which featured the single "Throw Your Arms Around Me". The album Pearl was released six weeks after her death. However, the record, regular airplay on the radio station JJJ (then Sydney-based) and video play on Countdown and other music video shows, and especially their consistent live performances brought Hunters & Collectors a strong and devoted following on the Australian pub scene. She was cremated in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, and her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

It featured the single "The Slab", which was an underground success (mainly thanks to the support of radio station Triple J), but didn't make any inroads on the commercial music scene, possibly because of the masturbatory subtext of the lyrics. Shortly thereafter, Joplin died of an overdose of unusually pure heroin on October 4, 1970 in a Los Angeles, California motel room, at the age of 27. The first album featuring the new line up was The Jaws of Life (1984). She made it there, but it would be one if the last decisions of her life. This line up also featured keyboards and a three-piece horn section. This was the period during which Hunters & Collectors enjoyed their greatest success. Her last public appearance was on The Dick Cavett Show in 1970, where she said that she was going to attend her 10-year high school reunion, although she had formerly said when in high school there she was "laughed out of class, out of school, out of town". In 1984 they briefly disbanded but reformed later in the year without Lubran. The result was the posthumously released Pearl (1971), which featured a hit single in the form of Kris Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee and the wry social commentary of Mercedes-Benz, written by beat poet Michael McClure.

The band was signed to White Label, part of Mushroom Records. Their first single was "Talking to a Stranger" which was accompanied by an influential music video directed by Richard Lowenstein, who went on to make many successful videos for INXS and the features 'Strikebound' (1984) and 'Dogs In Space'(1987) (which starred INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence). That group broke up, and Joplin then formed the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Seymour is also the older brother of bassist Nick Seymour of Crowded House and in the mid-1980s he was romantically involved for a time with Do Re Mi (band) lead singer Deborah Conway. Splitting from Big Brother, she formed a backup group, named the Kozmic Blues Band, which backed her on I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! 1969 (year she played at Woodstock). As lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter, Seymour was the lynchpin of the group, and Archer and Falconer are widely regarded as one of the best rhythm sections ever to emerge from the Australian rock scene. (The D.A. Pennebaker documentary Monterey Pop captured Cass Elliott in the crowd silently mouthing "Wow" during part of Joplin's performance.) Their 1968 album Cheap Thrills featured more raw emotional performances and made Joplin's name. Tosti-Gueira was later replaced by Martin Lubran, then Barry Palmer. The band's big break came at the Monterey Pop Festival, which included a version of Big Mama Thornton's Ball and Chain and featured a barnstorming vocal by Joplin.

The first version of the band was: Mark Seymour (guitar & vocals); John Archer (bass); Doug Falconer (drums); Geoff Crosby (keyboards); Greg Perano (percussion); Ray Tosti-Gueira (guitar); and Robert Miles (who would stay with the band throughout their career, usually being credited with "live sound" and "art direction/design"). However, the lack of success of their early singles led to the album being withheld until after their subsequent success. The band took its name from the track "Hunters & Collectors", on the German band Can's album Landed. The band signed a deal with independent Mainstream Records and recorded an eponymously titled album in 1967. The sound was in the vein of Remain in Light, the Talking Heads album of 1980. After a return to Port Arthur to recuperate, she again moved to San Francisco in 1966, where her bluesy vocal style saw her join Big Brother and The Holding Company, a band that was gaining some renown among the nascent hippie community in Haight-Ashbury. The original band was influenced by the Krautrock genre and the productions of Conny Plank and featured strong percussive influences, coupled with noise guitar and driving bass lines. She was a heavy drinker throughout her career, and her trademark beverage was Southern Comfort.

They were noted for songs such as "Throw Your Arms Around Me", "Talking To A Stranger" and "Say Goodbye" and were renowned as one of the best live acts of their day. She also used other intoxicants. Hunters & Collectors were an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1980. Around this time her drug use began to increase, and she acquired a reputation as a "speed freak" and occasional heroin user. Ray Tosti-Gueira - guitar, backing vocals (1981-1982). Cultivating a rebellious manner that could be viewed as "liberated", Joplin styled herself after the beat poets, left Texas for San Francisco in 1963, lived in North Beach, and worked occasionally as a folk singer. Greg Perano - percussion (1981-1983). There, she began singing blues and folk music with friends.

Chris Malherbe - trumpet (1981-1982). Joplin graduated from Jefferson High School in Port Arthur in 1960 and went to college at the University of Texas in Austin, though she never completed a degree. Andy Lynn - trumpet (1981-1982). She grew up listening to blues musicians such as Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton and singing in the local choir. Martin Lubran - guitar (1982-1983). Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas. Geoff Crosby - keyboards, artwork (1981-1985). Joplin released four albums as the frontwoman for several bands from 1967 to a posthumous release in 1971.

Nigel Crocker - trombone (1981-1982). Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970) was an American blues-influenced rock, R&B, and soul singer and occasional songwriter with a distinctive voice. Michael Waters - trombone, keyboards, finance (1981-1998). Download sample of "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" from I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!. Jeremy Smith - French horn, guitars, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1981-1998). Mark Seymour - lead vocal, lyrics, guitar (1981-1998).

Barry Palmer - lead guitar (1988-1998). Robert Miles - live sound/mixing, art/design (1981-1998). Jack Howard - trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals (1981-1998). Doug Falconer - drums, percussion, programming, backing vocals (1981-1998).

John Archer - bass guitar, P.A., backing vocals (1981-1998). Natural Selection (CD, 2CD, DVD) (Liberation BLUE034.5, 13 October 2003). Collected Works (CD, video) (White Label TVD93338, 19 November 1990). Under One Roof (live) (White Label MUSH33176.2, 11 November 1998).

In Large Rooms And Lounges (White Label D98017, 27 November 1995). Living .. The Way To Go Out (CD, video, DVD) (White Label L27148, 6 May 1985). Living Daylight (April 1987).