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The Verlaines

Constant Pain

Constant Pain were a sadly under-recorded group featuring brilliant underground noisy guitar legends Cameron Bain and Roddy Pain, along with a revolving drummers seat of some of New Zealand’s finest drummers. Walls of wailing feedback and rolling rhythm drive some immense tunes. Both guitarists passed away in the 2010’s.

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Double Happys

Double Happys brought together former Bored Games bandmates Shayne Carter and Wayne Else – originally with an unreliable drum-machine (named ‘Herbie Fuckface’), but eventually replaced with their High School friend John Collie. A wonderful, sometimes confrontational group who came to a tragic conclusion with the accidental death of Wayne Elsie in June 1985.

Trash

Noisy Dunedin rock group formed by Ex-Alpaca Brothers Bruce Blucher and Paul Cahill. Robbie Yeats was their primary drummer, but their recordings feature contributions from a number of well-known underground performers. Released 3 albums and a couple 7″ singles.

Snapper

The key group of New Zealand underground legend Peter Gutteridge (despite being a founding member of BOTH the Clean and the Chills). Snapper made driving, droning guitars-infused with synths post-punk throughout the 1980s and 1990s before Gutteridge disappeared from the public eye.

Nick Smith

One of the lesser-known Flying Nun Records releases, young singer-songwriter Nick Smith put out a largely unremembered EP on the label in 1987 after appearing on the ‘Outnumbered by Sheep’ compilation.

He also recorded a preceding EP (with the help of Chris Knox), released on record store Real Groovy Records own imprint back in 1986.
Smith would go on to have a successful career as a journalist.

Throw

Christchurch-based shoegazey indie-rock group that started out as a studio project but became a fairly successful touring group with 2 albums and an EP on band member Rob Mayes Failsafe Recordings.

The Chills

Biography Over the years the Chills have released a number of brilliant pop songs, right from the outset their material has been catchy and melodic, and have a certain eerie quality to them that separates them from most mainstream pop… Read More »The Chills

Chug

Biography On paper chug sound like a bit of a super-band. Featuring the wonderful Norma O’Malley (formerly of criminally under-rated all-girl janglers Look Blue Go Purple) on vocals, along with Alf Danielson (Goblin Mix), Stephen Kilroy (Stephen and about a… Read More »Chug

Alpaca Brothers

Biography Dunedin based outfit comprised of Nick Wilkinson, Bruce Blucher and a young Steve Cournane. They were fast furious guitar [band] with thumping bass, made one EP and had a great song called ‘The Infinite Tick’. Later they became Trash… Read More »Alpaca Brothers

The Weeds

Biography [Profile thanks to Tim Davey] The Weeds were around for about a year in the mid-80’s, formed with the intention of having fun and seeing just how stupid they could be, while also entertaining people. The band provided a… Read More »The Weeds

Brown Velvet Couch

Biography Essentially the group Trash with Paul Cahill, Bruce Blucher (Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, Alpaca Brothers), Robbie Yeats (The Renderers, The Dead C, The Verlaines) performing under his Bo Martak alias, , but fronted by Viv Crowe (Fats Thompson). Brown… Read More »Brown Velvet Couch

The Stones

The Stones were an anarchic, anything goes rock band – in Matthew Bannisters’ Positively George Street novel on the Dunedin scene, Bainnister recalls Wayne Elsey (The Stones brilliant singer / guitarist) exclaiming in disgust that Sneaky Feelings think about their… Read More »The Stones

Sneaky Feelings

The Sneakies were a young and naive pop band discovering the world of music from a distinctly dunedin perspective. In original member Matthew Bannisters’ Positively George Street book, which describes their experience and neglectance to accept the ‘Dunedin Sound’ that… Read More »Sneaky Feelings