Go Go years (1994–1999) Life Was Better EP In April 1994, Magic Dirt split however, the group again reformed and released a second EP, Life Was Better in November. The EP included the tracks "Ice" and "Amoxycillin" and debuted at No. 1 on the Australian alternative music chart. It remained on that chart for 75 weeks, eventually selling 20,000 copies. Life Was Better went on to receive four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 1995. In early 1995, the band performed on the Big Day Out festival tour across Australia, with Hole (Magic Dirt also supported their other Australian shows) and Silverchair. The success of Life Was Better had attracted international attention and Geoffrey Weiss, of Warner Music in the United States, traveled to Australia to see the band perform at the Big Day Out. Weiss negotiated a deal with their manager, Gavan Purdy and the band signed a two-album deal with Warner. In August 1995, Daniel Herring left the band. His final recording with the group was the 10" vinyl single, "I Was Cruel", which featured the words "Thankyou, Daniel. Goodbye" etched onto the vinyl. Dave Thomas, of fellow Geelong band Bored!, who had managed Magic Dirt at the early stages of their career, was recruited as Herring's replacement on guitar. Friends in Danger In late 1995, Dirt Records released the band's debut album in the US. The album was a compilation of their first two EPs, along with the track "Goofy Gumb", and titled simply Magic Dirt. In March, Magic Dirt began recording their debut album proper, Friends in Danger, in Sydney with Paul McKercher (You Am I) producing. The music style was a reaction to the accessibility of their earlier material. While Warner had expected more songs in the vein of "Ice", the band offered tracks like the 8-minute "Bodysnatcher". Warner were less than impressed, and went so far as to offer the band additional time and money to re-record the album. The band refused, and when Friends in Danger was released in September, the label put little effort into promoting it. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "[it] matched the band's fearless experimentation with a dark, unhinged sound that went from moments of eerie near-silence to full-tilt guitar noise". Friends in Danger peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and went on to sell 10,000 copies in Australia, helped along by "Sparrow",