Wikipedia
Grinderman was an Australian-British alternative rock band that formed in London, United Kingdom, in 2006. Since its inception, the band included Nick Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola, guitar, backing vocals), Martyn P. Casey (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and Jim Sclavunos (drums, percussion, backing vocals).
Formed as a side project to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the band was originally known as Mini Seeds and was formed by Cave as "a way to escape the weight of The Bad Seeds." The band's name was inspired by a Memphis Slim song, "Grinder Man Blues," which Cave is noted to have started singing during one of the band's early rehearsal sessions. The band's eponymous debut studio album, Grinderman, was released in 2007 to extremely positive reviews and the band's second and final studio album, Grinderman 2, was released in 2010 to a similar reception.
Following extensive touring after the release of Grinderman 2, Grinderman disbanded after a performance at the Meredith Music Festival in Victoria, Australia in December 2011. The band split up in order to focus on The Bad Seeds upcoming material. However, Jim Sclavunos later said: "I can't predict what the future of Grinderman is – if there is a future." The band reunited for a one-off performance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California in April 2013.
Grinderman is the eponymous debut studio album by alternative rock band Grinderman, a side project of members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on March 5, 2007 on Mute Records in Europe and ANTI- in the United States. Aiming to recreate the more raw, primal sound of all former related projects such as The Birthday Party, Grinderman's lyrical and musical content diverged significantly to Nick Cave's concurrent work with The Bad Seeds, whose last studio album, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2004), was primarily blues, gospel and alternative-orientated in stark contrast to the raw sound of the early Bad Seeds albums. Incidentally, the musical direction of Grinderman influenced The Bad Seeds' next studio album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008).
According to producer Nick Launay, the recording sessions for the album only lasted four days, during which time the band also recorded a number of extra material. Some of this material was later featured as b-sides to the album's three singles, " Get It On," " No Pussy Blues," and " (I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free." Upon its release, Grinderman received unanimous critical acclaim and charted internationally, debuting at number one on Billboard Heatseekers in the United States.