Biography
Bizarre and theatrical jazz / art-rock performance group. Released an album and a self-titled EP in 1983 after receiving a Council Creative grant. Made up of an impressive assortment of well-known performers and composers (Ivan Zagni, Wayne Laird of From Scratch, Benny Staples of the Newmatics and Tim Mahon of Blam Blam Blam).
A jazzy-cum-classical nine-person ensemble with clarinets, cello, tuba and bassoon (in addition to guitar, bass and drums), New Zealand’s determinedly oddball Avant Garage sounds like something Zappa might have done in his Dada orchestral phase.
The music is generally pleasant (despite occasional skewed digressions, as on the instrumental “Funky Cockroach”); it’s the lyrics and vocals on songs like “Garage Sale” and “Mr Granite” that give this its modern, boundary-breaking character. Intelligent, esoteric and fascinating.
Ira Robbins: Taken from Trouserpress.com
Members
- Ivan Zagni ( guitar, Avant Garage, Big Sideways)
- Mike Laen (guitar / vocals, Avant Garage)
- Pamela Gray (cello / vocals, Avant Garage)
- Wayne Laird (percussion / tuba, Avant Garage, From Scratch)
- Mark McEwan (bassoon, Avant Garage)
- Prasala (flute / sax, Avant Garage)
- Peter Scholes (clarinet / bass / saxophone / tablas / vocals, Avant Garage)
- Ben Staples (percussion / vocals, Avant Garage, Miltown Stowaways, The Newmatics)
- Tim Mahon (Bass/Vocals, Avant Garage, Blam Blam Blam, Dead Sea Scrolls, Export Lamb, Strangeloves, The Plague, Whizz Kids, Zolo And The Bantams)
Discography
- Music (1983, Unsung Music, UN11)
- Avant Garage (1983, Jayrem, JAY733)