In late 2021, Stranges called on Apicella to see if he was interested in co-producing and working with a talented singer they both knew. This connection resulted in the birth of SATURDAY’S CHILD.
SATURDAY’S CHILD will record and produce both original and unique versions of classic timeless songs featuring guest vocalists. Although SATURDAY’S CHILD is essentially a studio project, their creativity knows no bounds.
SATURDAY’S CHILD’s debut single on Australian label, Pop Preservation Society, is titled ‘Cola’ and features Melbourne R&B Singer Ema Jay.
ABOUT
A chance meeting in March 2021 at Thirty Mill Studios (Melbourne, Australia) resulted in the birth of Saturday’s Child. Victor Stranges and Frank Apicella were separately attending a recording session run by Mark Opitz (AC/DC, INXS, The Angels, Cold Chisel, The Divinyls) alongside studio engineer, Colin Wynne (INXS, Monique Brumby, Matt Walker, Jeff Lang, Ashley Davies).
Opitz was producing a four-track EP for Victor’s son Sam’s indie band, LIPSTEREO. Apicella , a long-time friend of Opitz’s, often sat in on the producer’s recording sessions to learn and observe. Stranges was there to give his son moral support.
“I bought the cannoli and Frank made the espresso,” said Stranges. “And I later found out that Frank had been in the studio with Mark (Opitz) for eight years,” he added. Stranges and Apicella’s backgrounds are Southern Italian, with similar life experiences growing up.
Frank Apicella was born in Italy and raised in Sydney, Australia. He claims his introduction to music was found in the DIY punk ethos. Whilst following the bands of his youth including Generation X and The Ramones, he was inspired to pick up the guitar and front his own band as lead singer. He cut his teeth in the Sydney band scene, from the late 1970s to the 1990s with his group, Disciple. As up and comers, they played with a host of local and touring bands including The Hitmen and Uriah Heep.
In 1980, Disciple secured a demo deal with the late Australian guitar legend and producer, Lobby Loyde. The project was never fully realised as Loyde’s commitments with various Mushroom Records projects, including The Sunnyboys, were all consuming. Apicella’s passion for music and songwriting saw him open his own Sydney recording studio; engineering and producing bands. He eventually relocated to Melbourne.
Victor Stranges was born in Melbourne, Australia and began his music career behind a drum kit and mastered the pop rhythms of his favourite drummers, Jon Farriss (INXS) and Manny Elias (Tears For Fears). At the age of fifteen he was on $3 an hour working local markets and couldn’t afford many concerts, and he recalls sneaking in to a Melbourne Tears For Fears show in 1985.
Stranges was playing pubs from the age of sixteen in a punk band called Drunk ‘n’ Disorderly. His early days in the 1980s saw him grace the stage with iconic Australian groups including Weddings Parties Anything, The Johnnys, Sacred Cowboys and Celibate Rifles. The post-punk movement was the catalyst for an interesting musical direction and drawing from such great writers as Joe Strummer/Mick Jones, Elvis Costello and Ray Davies, Stranges embarked on a journey of thumbing through their songbooks. He picked up the guitar and played in several Australian groups including Caravan and more recently, Victor Stranges & The Methinks. One of the line ups included Men At Work bassist, John Rees, who departed before his brother, Michael Stranges (Kim Salmon, Ripe, Morning After Girls, John Dowler’s Vanity Project), was recruited.
Victor Stranges released two albums and in 2010 was signed to U.S. power pop label, Not Lame Records and This Time (Japan). His 2009 album, "Hello Me To You", was named as one of the Best Albums of 2009 by Pop Underground. His most recent production work was for two singles for Melbourne indie rock group, Man City Sirens.
