Biography
Say Yes To Apes were a loose, noisy, often sloppy and usually creative Dunedin, then by 1985 Christchurch-based underground rock outfit formed by frontman Kevin Smith, drummer Pat Faigan and multi-instrumentalist Steve Watson, born out of the earlier Picnic Boys.
Though The Picnic Boys were more of a collective, with line-up combinations putting songs together and compiled as one-entity, Say Yes to Apes was formed as a streamlined ‘power-trio’. The group released a handful of home-made lo-fi tapes on their own TV Eye label, and eventually even some (now extremely sought after) vinyl.
The group were driven by Faigan and Watson’s obsessive music collections – listing a great deal of influences at the time:
The Stooges, The Fall, Captain Beefheart, Bo Diddley, Swell Maps, The Clean, Meat Muppets, Flipper, Can, Love, The Seeds, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, early Pink Floyd, Pere Ubu, etc etc etc
Patrick Faigan
Kevin Smith was the band’s vocalist. He was a rugby-playing half-Tongan who had married young. He was good-looking and confident, and came from a completely different demographic than that usually associated with weirdo arty bedsit combos from the deep south. The intensely abstract Patrick Faigan (aka Duane Zarakov) on drums and multi-talented Steve Watson on bass, synth, violin, guitar, piano and percussion made up the rest of the band, with Tim McLeod sometimes appearing on guitar and violin.
AudioCulture profile of Say Yes to Apes
Later joined by Tim McCleod, Say Yes To Apes were the last and most successful of the TV Eye collective. TV Eye released Watsons’ Legacy Of Ears, Faigan’s Semolina Island and Smiths’ Hyphen-Smythe solo material, all with distinctive hand-scribbled sleeves and home-brewed production techniques. The group disbanded in 1986 when Pat Faigan moved away – Smith and Watson carried on as Hyphen-Ears for a short while after.
Each of these releases are now highly rare and thoroughly collectable. As the group had all been living in Christchurch for quite a while by the time it was recorded, Faigan has described the unreleased last album ‘The Immortal Say Yes to Apes‘ as the collectives best album – but despite plans it has yet to see an official release.
Tragically, Kevin Smith lost his life with injuries sustained from a fall while filming a movie in China in February 2002.
Members
- Kevin Smith (aka Hyphen-Smythe, guitar / vocals, guitar / vocals / drums / piano / bass, Hyphen-Ears, Hyphen-Smythe, Say Yes to Apes, The Picnic Boys, The Wide Lapels, vocals / guitar)
- Steve Watson ( Rhythm Doktor, The Four Donkeymen Of The Apocalypse, bass / violin / synth, bass / vocals / piano / synth / harmonica / trumpet / percussion, Hyphen-Ears, Legacy of Ears, Rhythm Doktor, Say Yes To Apes, The Four Donkeymen Of The Apocalypse, The Picnic Boys, vocals / guitar / synthesizer / bass / drums)
- Patrick Faigan (aka Duane Zarakov) (drums, Axel Grinders, Brother Love, Cease to Exist, Duane Zarakov, King Loser, National Sex Grid, Revolution 10, Say Yes To Apes, Semolina Island, The Elephant Tranquilisers, The Hitone Destroyers, The International Telepaths, The Picnic Boys, Wolfskull)
- Tim McCleod (Deluxeboy, guitar / violin, Say Yes To Apes, The Picnic Boys)
Discography
- Who’s That (Fucknose) (1983, TV Eye, APES001)
- ‘Knife’ 7″ (1983, TV Eye, APES002)
- The Decline And Fall Of Say Yes To Apes (1984, TV Eye, APES003)
- The Brainshake Cassette (w/ The Impeccable Nasals, 1984, TV Eye, APES0004)
- Say Yes to Apes and The Puddle: at the Oriental 2 November ’85 (w/ The Puddle)
- The Immortal Say Yes To Apes (unreleased)
lol “meat muppets”
hi daune ! would love to possibly reissue some of this stuff — evernever.records@gmail.com
hope to hear from you!!