A Mexican guitar was the catalyst for the formation of Intercooler in 2001. Had it been made in the US, perhaps the story would read a little differently.

Jaded by the ‘struggling artist’ cliché, Joel Potter (bass) hung up his instrument and pissed off to the UK, perhaps resigned to the fact that running around in circles for the sake of music wasn’t worth it.

Meanwhile, back in Oz, vocalist and guitarist Phil Ballantyne was getting restless. He knew of the possibilities he and Potter could explore if they gave it an honest shot. An epiphany of sorts occurred when the guitar Ballantyne had his sights on turned out to be a sub-standard Mexican copy and unfavourable trade for his beloved Telecaster. Not interested, he took the $1400 on offer, added a further $12 and bought himself a plane ticket to London to drag Potter home.

Arriving back home two months before Potter, Ballantyne enlisted the services of drummer Damon Cox and guitarist Michael Caso (later replaced by Darek Mudge), and the Intercooler line-up was almost complete. As though they were organising a show for a homecoming queen, the three put all they could into developing their raw rock sound for Potter’s return. So impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of his band mates, who had been slogging away at it for the past couple of months, Potter’s inspiration for music was rediscovered.

In late 2002, Intercooler released it’s debut Old School Is The New School, to critical acclaim. The band’s crossover of pop/rock, sophisticated melody, strong hooks, layered harmonies and rhythmic beats ensured the tunes were a winning combination for the listening public. Triple j radio, Fly TV, Rage, MTV and Channel [V] showed their support by instantly adding tracks from Intercooler’s debut to their playlists.

Following the release of the album, Intercooler toured up and down the east coast of Australia, playing alongside some of Australia’s biggest names including The Living End, The Casanovas, Dallas Crane and Grinspoon – and supported international acts Teenage Fanclub, The Buzzcocks, Gomez and Maximo Park.

Continuing it’s progress, Intercooler went on to play the Big Day Out and Livid festivals in 2003. That same year the band also toured the US and supported Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens Of The Stone Age. With such a positive response from US audiences, Intercooler headed back to the US in 2004 and 2005 for further tours.

Somewhere amongst all this activity, the boys managed to release their EP Dance Of A Thousand Promises – also a hit, spending 41 weeks in the top 20 of the Australian Independent Charts. And Intercooler doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

2006 saw the boys play the Big Day Out again, and lock themselves away in the studio to record their second album. Produced with Magoo (Midnight Oil, Regurgitator, Butterfingers), the album flaunts the evolution of Intercooler over the past five years. The band’s signature pop/rock sound is still there, but teamed now with elements of electronica, beats, mature harmonies and melody – it’s an album that proudly crosses boundaries, a courageous body of work that’s both daring and sincere.

Intercooler’s sophomore album entitled Forever Or Whatever is out now on Plus One Records/Shock.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.