untold/animals said about 2 years ago or at 1:58PM on Tuesday, September 29 2009 in music
Has anyone seen these guys? I haven't, but they're really sweet young kids from Christchurch, and I've met them a few times. It seems like they have toured a total buttload and yet I have no idea how popular they are or anything. They played at Camp A Low Hum this year, and also at the Espy I think. Can anybody fill me in a little more?
Yeah they're real sweet dudes but it's not my bag. They play their gear well like most of those young kiwis. I can't tell you that much. First time I watched them I walked away after 15 seconds then I saw them again and sat on a hill watching the kids dance.
Do some youtubing.
They won some big ass youth band comp I think which I assume gave them the dollars to tour. Who knows who knows.
Their fans did get mad when Bang Bang Aids went to play camp last year and we had ''Stolen their name''. Awesome.
They actually got massively mega featured in CMJ in 2007 or 2008 or something, included in the top five something or other along with Broken Social Scene, um, hang on... from Wikipedia:
Seems kind of big, right? Maybe it's because I don't listen to Triple J, but I've never heard them on the radio or anything, nor ever heard any mention of them in Australia.
I saw them at Homegrown in Wellington earlier this year. They werent really my thing. Very young but having a good time. Very full of energy
Which is kind of what surprised me the most - I met them without knowing they were in a band (in fact, they kind of denied it) and they were the most quiet, gentle, tiny teens ever. Really shy. And then I come home and see footage of them on the internet going freaking bezerk.
is this the same band as the bang bang aids tshirt i've seen switchy wear?
I don't think they're that big. They have some following but those stats are just what they are.
I stumbled across their show at the espy and was pretty impressed – good, fun dancey rock, awesome stage attitude. Made me wish I was a teenage rockstar. But now I'm just an old loser. Not that old. I'm doing ok though I guess. I get out from time to time, have fun. Yeah. I'm alright.
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trafficsounds said 38 minutes ago:
is this the same band as the bang bang aids tshirt i've seen switchy wear?
nope, thats a Bang Bang Aids shirt TS. these kids aren't really my bag either, but seem pleasant enough.
Bang Bang Aids are not pleasant enough, which might be why I like them much much better.
Crabs
I saw them at sxsw this year, was walking past the venue and stopped for a listen. By the end of their set there was a decent crowd gathered on the street watching through the front window.
they're popular in the right circles in NZ, i'm a CHCH chap and yeah. i'm not being libelous when i say they upset a few promoters when they got a 'tude based on their ''success'', gawd, it's NZ after all and our industry is meh. i admire the energy, the yoof spirit etc. but to me they're a tad, well, yeah whatever. we seem to be producing bands that sound a whole lot like pitchfork at the moment perhaps... but then again i was arguing with a guy the other day about what exactly constitutes ''nz music'' and we could only agree on the fact that most think about bad bob marley style BBQ reggae sounds (or drum n bass and FFS can we all just let it go by now?)....
i think you may understand if you've recently been a part of the slug guts debate?!?!
ooh now the nz music mafia may come after me
I can live without them. The production on their songs is horrible - that thin digitally distorted sound 'the kids' seem to dig. Their stuff is s generic, I wouldn't have known they were from NZ.
I understand that there's no point aping the sound of early Flying Nun or Xpressway bands, but at least those bands managed to reflect the culture and environment they came from and develop an original sound (much as they were influenced by a whole bunch of stuff as well).
I'm sure there's plenty of cool stuff happening in NZ right now though that we haven't heard about yet. I can't wait to go there and check it out in Feb 2010.
h-o-r-r-i-d
I'm sure there's plenty of cool stuff happening in NZ right now though that we haven't heard about yet. I can't wait to go there and check it out in Feb 2010.
We'll be surrounded by the green and golds again. EGAD.
I understand that there's no point aping the sound of early Flying Nun or Xpressway bands, but at least those bands managed to reflect the culture and environment they came from and develop an original sound (much as they were influenced by a whole bunch of stuff as well).
I don't know if it just the bands I have seen there or not but none of the newer acts seem to be taking on the Nun sound at all or even shit out of the Finn's book. There's synth drowned rock coming out of the ears and rarely just a decent song. For the most part they don't do it half bad but it gets a bit generic after a while. Arguably though while we were talking to Kiwi's about Melbourne bands last year we figured they would all agree most of the bands here sound the same.
Style over substance.
This happened to Pig Out as well. Why do these NZ bands have such massive egos?
no comment.
to me - and not to massage egos - but the aussie scene is about 5 years ahead of the NZ scene to use the metaphor. yes, population plays a part but I think Aussies are
(a) more willing to represent, acknowledge and be aware of their (musical) history
(b) less likely to give a shit about trends
(c) less likely to be able to make a living playing to their friends
(d) less likely to make it if not good - competition (see a)
(e) less likely to ape americanisms
(f) more likely to give it a go - we're a pretty self conscious lot in NZ
and we feel we have to leave to make a mark. In OZ you can be as big as powderfinger and never do anything anywhere else....
in short - NZ small pond, so it's easy to become a big fish. It's often just not worth getting wet (to truly mangle the metaphor)...
our best bands are trade secrets!
Imo I don't think the kiwi scene is behind or ahead. They are both just different. I found it extremely refreshing to see all the young bands playing CALH. There is only so much melbourne drone you can take. There were some young non-jaded bands that were a breath of fresh air over there.. Mean street/street chant, rifles, Sharpie Crows, those syth kids in the animal suit under the pine trees. and a bunch that played renegade shows that I can't remember. And energy.. these kids play with life!! There was a free spirit that I've only really seen in Massachusetts.
Once you live in Australia for a while you'll see that Aussies are just as big style whores as anywhere else.
The Family Cactus. They're alright those guys.
i agree that there's shit bands in aussie, no arguments there! i think there's just a few things at play in kiwiland at the moment. there's a lack of awesome small venues, a lack of indie labels and an attitude that kiwi bands should play for free! for me probably where it's at are the real weird left field shit like the campbell kneales of the world (brichville cat motel) or the arch hill label - a mix of classic and new indie. i think i've already confessed my love for midium label (post rawk etc) and an emerald city is worth a look if you like postrawk etc.
mistletone's picked up lawrence arabia and batchelorette who are awesome, you all know about diediedie and mint chicks, i guess my blindspot is all the electronica stuff that we seem to do well and that is a law unto itself...
seems to be an alt country strain blowing through also, but my pick of the lot has to be lawrence arabia. pop perfection with help from members of the phoenix foundation who's horse power album is one of our very very best....
I agree with your general sentiment there, timmyd.
The bands that are doing great stuff in NZ probably do so in relative obscurity due to the fact that the market is even smaller than Australia's. But isolation can breed originality if people are willing to do it the hard way, rather than aping international trends (that have in all likelihood already peaked). I can only compare it to Tasmania really. It's a shame that great original bands like Hobart's Native Cats and Ivy St aren't better known - and they're only across Bass strait from mainland Oz.
I met a man in Dunedin who owns a venue in Hamburg (from memory - But it's important if I have it wrong). He has hosted some of the A Low Hum bands that come through and was hanging out for a few weeks.
He told me a tale about how Bang Bang Eche set their GPS for Hamburg only to arrive in a different hamburg five hours away from where they were meant to be. Bang Bang Idioso.