Formation
The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The name was derived from a music class for the unemployed, where students improvised on various 'instruments'. After banging on some trash cans, someone mentioned Frank Sinatra and the band name was born. The original band members included Frank Reader (bass), Davy Hughes (guitar and vocals), George McDaid (guitar) and Paul Forde (drums). By late 1986/early 1987, the line-up had changed to include Paul Livingston (guitar), John Douglas (guitar) and Stephen Douglas (drums), along with Frank Reader moving to vocals and Davy Hughes to bass. While the band has included other members for short periods of time over the years, this is the line-up that would record the bulk of the Trashcan Sinatras' music to date.
Cake
The band was spotted by Simon Dine in 1987 and quickly signed to Go! Discs. Using their signing advance, the band purchased a recording studio in Kilmarnock, naming it Shabby Road. Work began on their debut album, which was eventually released in 1990. Cake featured the band's largest worldwide hit single, Obscurity Knocks, as well as a couple of other hits (Only Tongue Can Tell and Circling the Circumference). The band was often compared to The Smiths and the success of Cake in the United States, where it spent three months in the Billboard 200, led to extensive touring in both the UK and North America in support of the album.
I've Seen Everything
The follow-up record, I've Seen Everything was released in 1993. The song Hayfever made an appearance on the MTV animated series, Beavis and Butt-head. The band released two singles (Hayfever and I've Seen Everything) and toured the UK, North America and Japan in support of the album.
A Happy Pocket
The band's third album, A Happy Pocket, was released in 1996. It was released in the UK and Japan, but was unavailable in the U.S. after the band's American distributor declined to release the record. The band released four singles from the album (The Main Attraction, Twisted and Bent, How Can I Apply...?, and To Sir, With Love, a cover of the 1967 Lulu #1 hit). The Trashcans did not tour in North America, only the UK and Japan.
After their record company Go! Discs was acquired by Universal in 1996, the band was dropped from the label, and subsequently forced to sell their Shabby Road recording studio and declare bankruptcy. The Trashcans kept a low profile in the following years, not playing any concerts until early 1999 (in Japan and Ireland). The Japanese concerts occurred at the same time the band was recording a new single, Snow (a cover of the Randy Newman song), which was released by Sony Japan in December 1999.
Weightlifting
In March 2000, the band set up camp in Hartford, Connecticut to record their fourth album. Between March and June, the band recorded around a dozen songs and played a handful of shows in the northeastern United States, their first shows in America since 1993. After returning to Scotland, the band decided to scrap the album as too dark and sombre (a reflection of their struggles over the previous few years), also feeling that the song writing was not really finished.
The band only performed four concerts in the UK in 2001, instead focusing on writing additional songs and recording demos for their fourth album. In March 2002, recording began at Riverside Studios in Glasgow. The band recorded a dozen songs on and off over the course of a year. In 2003, the band started to raise its profile by playing concerts and festivals in Scotland. They hired New York City based record producer and musician Andy Chase (of the band Ivy) to mix the new album tracks, which was completed by the end of the year.
With a new album ready for release, the Trashcans stepped up their activity in 2004. The band played in Spain and London, before heading to the United States in March. They appeared on the Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show with Nic Harcourt in March, the day of their sold out show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles California (their first appearance on the west coast of the U.S. in 11 years). From there, the band headed off to Austin, Texas for five appearances at the South by Southwest music festival. The Trashcans garnered quite a bit of press and record label attention, which led to a licensing deal with New York-based spinART Records.
The Trashcan Sinatras finally released their fourth album in August 2004. Weightlifting was warmly received by critics and the band completed a 25-date U.S. and Canada tour in September and October 2004. They had follow up U.S. tours in December 2004 and in April and May 2005, while also extensively touring Scotland, England, Ireland, Japan and Australia during 2004–2006. The Weightlifting album included the song All the Dark Horses, which was featured prominently in the first episode of the ABC Family Channel series Wildfire.
In the Music
The band's fifth studio album, In the Music, was recorded with producer Andy Chase between November 2007 and February 2008, at Stratosphere Sound in New York and in Martha's Vineyard. In July 2008, Carly Simon recorded backing vocals for the song Should I Pray?.
A single, Oranges and Apples, was released as a download-only single on 13 October 2008. The song was inspired by Syd Barrett, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd. The single was released in connection with The City Wakes, a festival in tribute to Syd Barrett that took place in Cambridge and London in October 2008.
The album was released (with bonus track Astronomy) in Japan on 22 April 2009 (on Victor Entertainment), in the United Kingdom on 14 September 2009 (on Lo-Five Records), and 27 April 2010 in North America (also on Lo-Five Records, with digital distribution by Ingrooves and physical distribution by Fontana Distribution). The North American release includes eight live bonus tracks, which are live acoustic recordings taken from the band's November 2009 UK tour. Lo-Five also released a limited, numbered deluxe edition of the album in July 2009, which featured two additional bonus tracks (I Can't Stand Tomorrow and I Just Don't Know How) and an in-depth booklet of liner notes, photos and a listing of everyone who pre-ordered the release.
The album received strong reviews from print and online media, with The Guardian describing it as "Gentle, grown-up popcraft that reveals more with each listen," and the BBC calling it " . . . tender, affecting music which impresses with increasing listens."
The band supported the 2009 album release with nearly 40 concerts and promotional appearances in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom between July and November 2009, and with a follow-up tour of Japan in March 2010. On the follow-up Japanese tour, the band was supported by Japanese act Sunny Day Service, with whom they also recorded and released English-language and Japanese-language versions of the single "Town Foxes/yume iro no machide". The band also completed an 11 date USA promotional tour in June 2010.
A live acoustic album Brel - Acoustic Performances from Glasgow (recorded in Glasgow in 2009), a follow up to the band's 2005's acoustic live album Fez (recorded in New York City), was released on 9 November 2010. This was set to be followed by the release of Earlies... a 4-album box set marking the 20th anniversary of the release of Cake, comprised of the 3 Go!Discs albums and Weightlifting, digitally remastered with additional tracks and packaging including mementos reflecting the band's distinguished career. However, to date Earlies... has not been released.
Wild Pendulum
In October 2014 the band announced through social media that it would begin recording its sixth album in the coming months and offered fans the opportunity to pre-order it through PledgeMusic, with a series of "exclusives" offering unique content, merchandise and updates throughout the recording process. On 21 October 2015, the first track, Best Days On Earth was released to the band's PledgeMusic supporters in a project update on the site. In the same update, the band confirmed that the new album would be titled Wild Pendulum.
In an August 2015 project update, the band announced that the new album would be released in January 2016. A second track, Ain't That Something, was later released to PledgeMusic supporters, and the album's release was pushed back. On a 1 March 2016 project update, the band announced that a digital download of the complete album would be made available to supporters on 22 April 2016, with the album's release on physical CDs and vinyl to follow.
It's a Miracle
The Trash Can Sinatras Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No lack of trying on our part
As i was saying to the others
It's a miracle we try anything at all
You pour your heart out
Knowing full well
It could fail, fail, fail
It's a rare old grail, pricelessly to fail
Older sins cast longer shadows
When we watch them fade and die
It's a lovely day in sunlight's golden ray
But that just slips away - isn't it a shame
And it's cold now at night
And i hear your name
Calling me back through the days
You're a rare old flame, burning bright again
All those things that we shared matter now
I just can't say goodbye
Do i have to try?
Honey, it's no crime to lose your way
Everyone, in their turn, gets to fail
Well how could we know back then?
Such a rare old grail, (pricelessly) to fail
Older sins cast longer shadows
When we watch them fade and die
It's a miracle
The Trash Can Sinatras' "It's A Miracle" is a nostalgic reflection on the ups and downs of life, love, and pursuing our dreams. The song focuses on the concept of trying despite the possibility of failure, acknowledging that failure is a necessary part of life. The opening lines "Gone... it didn't last too long / No lack of trying on our part" suggest that the subject tried hard to achieve something but ultimately it did not work out. The chorus offers a positive outlook on this failure, saying "It's a miracle we try anything at all." The song then shifts to reminiscing and reflecting on a past love. The singer remembers sharing experiences and memories with this person, and how they still feel the pull of that person despite time and distance. The song ends with the question, "Do I have to try?" suggesting that despite the pain of failure and loss, we still have to try to move on and find new experiences to enjoy.
The lyrics are very relatable and introspective, exploring the themes of failure, regret, nostalgia, and acceptance. The song's message is to embrace the journey of life and not to be afraid of failure. The lyrics acknowledge that while we all experience disappointments and setbacks, we can find solace in the knowledge that at least we tried.
Line by Line Meaning
Gone...it didn't last too long
Whatever happened didn't last very long and it ended quickly.
No lack of trying on our part
We did everything we could to make it work.
As i was saying to the others
As I was telling the others earlier,
It's a miracle we try anything at all
It's a wonder that we even bother trying considering how often we fail.
You pour your heart out
We put everything we had into it.
Knowing full well
We were fully aware
It could fail, fail, fail
That it could fail again and again.
But how could we know back then?
But how were we supposed to know at that time?
It's a rare old grail, pricelessly to fail
It's a unique achievement, being able to fail repeatedly and still try again.
Older sins cast longer shadows
The mistakes we made in the past still affect us today.
When we watch them fade and die
We can only watch as those mistakes slowly fade away.
It's a lovely day in sunlight's golden ray
It may seem like everything is perfect now with the sun shining so bright,
But that just slips away - isn't it a shame
But that perfection doesn't last and it's a pity that we can't keep it forever.
And it's cold now at night
Now that it's nighttime it's cold and lonely.
And i hear your name
And I still hear your name everywhere I go.
Calling me back through the days
Reminding me of everything we used to have.
You're a rare old flame, burning bright again
You are a rare and special memory that still has the power to evoke strong emotions in me.
All those things that we shared matter now
Everything that we shared together is still important to me.
I just can't say goodbye
I can't bear the thought of saying goodbye to you.
Do i have to try?
Do I really have to try and let go of you?
Honey, it's no crime to lose your way
It's okay to feel lost and unsure of where you're going.
Everyone, in their turn, gets to fail
Everybody makes mistakes and nobody is immune to failure.
Well how could we know back then?
But how were we supposed to know at that time?
Such a rare old grail, (pricelessly) to fail
It's a unique achievement, being able to fail repeatedly and still try again.
Older sins cast longer shadows
The mistakes we made in the past still affect us today.
When we watch them fade and die
We can only watch as those mistakes slowly fade away.
It's a miracle
It's really amazing.
Contributed by Charlie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.