Welcome to the first muzic.net.nz newsletter for 2007!
We hope you had an awesome Christmas and New Years!
2007 is going to be a very exciting time for muzic.net.nz and we have lots in store for you. Not only is there going to be a brand new site released in the coming months, but we have also been working on an impressive new project which will be up and running by the end of this year - watch this space as all will be revealed closer to the time!
The new website is going to be stacked full of fantastic new features which will make muzic.net.nz even more user-friendly and interactive. We will be keeping most of the old content from the current site and intergrating it all into the new site, which means you will be able to get the most and the best out of NZ music - all from the one convenient website.
In the meantime, here's to an awesome 2007 - may it be filled with the most spectacular gigs and releases from our passionate, diverse and talented musicians.
~ The muzic.net.nz team.
What is your greatest achievement?
Rob - Watching 5 Bruce Lee movies in a row on Christmas Day.
Willis - Recording and mixing the EP with our bare hands.
Jeff - Sleeping 19 hours straight after being awake 30 hours straight.
Charles - Music writing, EP cover design, hearing our songs been played on radio stations.
What do you think could be done to make NZ music even better?
Rob - First of all I have to make sure what we are doing is not making it worse.
Charles - Encourage different ethnic group of musician contribute to the NZ industry.
Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Rob - Jamming with Jimi and Stevie.
Willis - I hope that doesn’t mean Rob will be 6 feet under… I see us eating ice-blocks in the dressing tents of a music festival overseas.
Jeff - I see ourselves being 5 years older than we are now and Charles having a moustache.
Charles - I see a stage overseas; I see a bald guy playing bass.
What is the best thing about making music?
Christina - The best thing is to speak and express through the instrument.
Rob - So I don’t have to cut my hair and get a ‘real job’.
Willis - That occasional feeling of ‘everything into a right place’.
Jeff - Making music that we, ourselves like to listen to.
Charles - After 50 years when you look back, you can show your music to your grandson and say “you see your granddad? I was famous also!”
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Christina - Draw and laugh as much as you can.
Rob - Go hard and have fun, you need to have the balance.
Willis - Greet every opportunity with sincerity.
Jeff - “It’s not if you’re the best then you win, It’s if you win you’re the best”.
Charles - Life is too young to live, do what you think is worth spending time for.
During 2007 Infinite Flying Kick have decided to record a new album which will take up a good part of 2007. In saying this we'll be cutting back on the live shows a bit, roughly once every two weeks which will give us a good balance on writing new material and testing them at the shows.
Infinite Flying Kick is Willis Hsu (vocals, guitar), Christina Chen (keyboard, synth, percussion), Robin Liu (guitar), Charles Wang (backing vocals, bass) and Jeff Hsu (drums).
These questions were answered by Shane (guitar) and Sypho (vocals)
What is your greatest achievement?
Releasing 'Kindergarten Crackwhore' after years of failed attempts, band splits and general carnage.
What do you think could be done to make NZ music even better?
More DIC on NZ radio - and eradicate hiphop or make it more grindcore.
Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Hiding on an island somewhere off the Bahamas after failed plastic surgery, or touring with Hello Sailor in a fleet of wheelchairs.
What is the best thing about making music?
Offending people, making peoples ears bleed and free piss.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Don't quit your day job - or better yet, never get a day job to start with, that way you'll never be any broker than when you started.
DIC is Sypho (vocals), Mucka (drums), Mr Duncan (guitar), Rua (guitar) and Jarrod (bass).
These questions were answered by Logan (manager and drums).
What is your greatest achievement?
I think our greatest achievement was forming a band where all the members want the same thing and pursue the same goals. Its really important that all members know what we need from each other. Musically our biggest achievement has been the recording of our very first single 'You're Yuck' and the corresponding video. These were self funded entirely by the band. The video was made by the band, director Andrew Burfield and a group of friends for $300. Both the song and video can be checked out on our Donkeypunk.com and our myspace page.
What do you think could be done to make NZ music even better?
I personally think the New Zealand music scene is really really strong. There are so many great bands out there it's awesome! I don't think much needs to be done to make the music better, I think commercial support is the area that needs some thought. Kiwi FM and bFM are the only mainstream stations in NZ that support almost any song recorded professionally by New Zealand artists. I also think the record companies could think outside the box a little when it comes to supporting bands in New Zealand. So many bands here would do very well representing NZ overseas. Unfortunately there is not alot of support for bands to do so.
Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
In 5 years time DonkeyPunk will be performing at the biggest and most exciting music festivals around the world, and pursuing a world tour continent by continent. We will be writing material for our 3rd album, and we will be making music for a living instead of working two jobs to support our passion! We will also be helping and supporting young up and coming NZ bands break into a commercial market. Just as bands have done for us.
What is the best thing about making music?
The best thing about making music is without a doubt playing live shows and having the audience sing our songs back to us, and see the excitement on our younger audiences faces. That feeling is one that cant be matched by anything else. Seeing a song take shape then hearing it played back when it has that special magic, or certain something about it, is also a really awesome feeling.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Don't be afraid to dream, and don't shy away from hard work. Making music for a living is something only a small amount of bands get to experience, we are yet to have that feeling, however we realise we have to earn that chance. Just follow your dreams, practice really hard, and remember that you are privileged to have an audience to play to, not the other way round, so give them their moneys worth!
In 2007!!
In January we are touring the North Island! We are going to be recording our second single and filming our second music video in early February. Again this is All self funded. After that we plan to play a few shows in the South Island. Mid year we are recording our debut album! We are also in the planning stages of a tour of Japan late 2007. We Also hope to play in Australia before 2008.
DonkeyPunk is Sam Polwart (vocals), Richard Hurliman (guitar), Logan Wedgwood (drums), Al 'Fingers' Grainger (bass), Peter Rowlands (guitar).
Competitions
We are giving away a copy of the latest album from The Feelers 'One World'. Featuring all of their hot new tracks, this is the one Feelers album that you should not miss! Enter today for your chance to win!
Lucky Winners!
PNC's new album 'Rookie Card' went to G. Cartwright from Hawera and Gianmarco Liguori's debut album 'Stolen Paintings' went to J. Lester from Auckland and L.Willis from Marton.
We are more than happy to send two of our lucky members to the 2007 Big Day Out and they are J. Gardner from Palmerston North and E. Ginders from Napier.
Congratulations to our latest competition winners!
Reviews
Since the last newsletter in 2006 went out we've have had a couple of new reviews get added to the site. They are:
Photos from Rhythm and Vines will be up on the site soon.
The Feelers Interview
We also had an awesome opportunity to interview The Feelers. You can check out the full interview here.
New Artists
We have been very busy over the last few weeks adding heaps of new artists to the site. They are:
Don't miss the next issue of the newsletter which will be featuring Jakob and the Cornerstone Roots!