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s artists
Say Yes To Apes were a loose, noisy, often sloppy and usually creative Dunedin-then-Christchurch-based underground rock outfit formed by frontman Kevin Smith (several years before his acting career took off), drummer Pat Faigan (aka Duane Zarakov of Space Dust, King Loserand multi-instrumentalist Steve Watson, born out of the earlier Picnic Boys.
h artists
Hyphen-Ears was an underground group formed by South Island-based duo Kevin Smith (aka Hyphen-Smythe) and Steve Watson (aka Legacy of Ears) as a sideline to their Dunedin-based group Say Yes to Apes - which itself was an outgrowth of the The Picnic Boys recording collective). The two Hyphen-Ears releases were some of the last by the TV Eye collective - vocalist Kevin Smith was soon channelling his creativity into acting... #nzmusic #hyphenears #tveye
p artists
The Picnic Boys was a loose collective formed around the core trio of Kevin Smith, Patrick Faigan and Steve Watson (who later became Say Yes to Apes). At Faigan's behest the various members recorded their own take on 'experimental' music to tape, which was later compiled into a handful of cassette releases on the groups TV Eye label in the early 1980s. #nzmusic #thepicnicboys #sayyestoapes #tveye
Record Labels
Celebrate Psi Phenomenon is a drone, noise and experimental music-focused label from Upper Hutt's Campbell Kneale, the prolific performer behind Birchville Cat Motel and Black Boned Angel. The label often utilises a distinctive wallpaper aesthetic to their cover designs. The label was particularly prolific from the mid 1990s until around 2008. #nzmusic #experimentalmusic #dronemusic #celebratepsiphenomenon
Live Music Reviews and Photos
Flashback to January 29th, 2011 with a terrific, off-beat show from 47 Diamantes, Tommy Ill and Shorty K at Goodbye Blue Monday. #nzmusic #livemusic #musicphotography #47diamantes #tommyill #shortyk
Interviews
Flashback to January 2006 and an article I wrote for A Low Hum on Christchurch Indie-pop group The New Originals, based around an interview conducted with vocalist and song-writer Tim Moore. #nzmusic #theneworiginals
s artists
Biography Straitjacket Fits were a corner stone in New Zealand independent rock from their formation in 1986 till their inevitable break-up in February 1994.…
Record Labels
Short-lived Wellington-based label. Their catalogue is book-ended by a couple of compilations, but otherwise their roster included releases by a handful of local rock'n'roll groups, the most well-known of which is probably The Raskolnikovs. #nzmusic #monsterrrecords #theraskolnikovs
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Marginal Era were a synth and based-driven pop act formed in 1981 by song-writer Warwick Paul Agar (ex Vivid Militia). Probably best known for 'This Heaven', originally an instrumental track that would later become the theme to the popular 'Radio with Pictures' television show. #nzmusic #marginalera
Record Labels
Prolific cassette, CDr and lathe-cut label run by Clayton Noone (aka CJA) and utilised by a fair few New Zealand (and some overseas) artists since the mid 1990s. Their first few years of releases had distinctive spray-painted covers. The original Don Lonie was billed as 'America’s No. 1 high-school assembly speaker', who recorded several albums for popular Christian record labels in the early 1960s. #nzmusic #undergroundmusic #rootdonlonieforcash
h artists
Extremely wild Dunedin old-school rock'n'roll from a handful of underground experimental or lo-fi musicians. I managed to catch them once at the Provincial Lounge in Christchurch and was blown away by their stage antics; which included jumping on the Prov's bar, kicking over drinks. #nzmusic #thehodogs
b artists
Fuzzy guitar-rock with surf-trash overtones from Stink Magnetic one-man band (and purveyor of classic New Zealand guitars) Aidan Moody; formerly of super-group The Dallas Pro-Drag Allstars. Moody started out in the Manawatu region but moved to Christchurch around 2006. Expanded to a 3-piece for a handful of shows with support from 'The Dirty Germs', a pickup group featuring the likes of his Grand Chancellors bandmate Luke Wood (drums) Violet French (bass) and others. #nzmusic #badevil #stinkmagnetic
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3-piece indie-rock group formed by the Melted Ice Cream label's Brian Feary in August 2009. Though connected to the label the trio never recorded and released any material, with Feary playing in a whole swag of other groups. #nzmusic #magiceye
s artists
Dunedin based avant-indie trio featuring Mike Dooley (Toy Love and Snapper - Drums) his step-daughter Maxine Funke (Guitar) and Brett Moodie (Guitar), that formed out of the Dooley / Funke duo The Beaters. Their debut EP was a meditative production guided by Arc Life engineer (and member of David Kilgour's Heavy Eights) Tom Bell, whilst their follow-up Dance The Dervish is closer to a live recording, though still capturing their eclectic strengths - both released on the bands own Horrible Records (the name, not the quality) label. #nzmusic #thesnares
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A well-liked melodic indie-rock group that emerged from Palmerston North in the early 1990s, self-recorded a cassette before being picked up by Rob Mayes Failsafe Records label for their discography highlight; 1992's 'Etch' EP. #nzmusic #feastofstevens #failsaferecords
