What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

It would be on the knife between our E.P release just gone at Dog’s Bollix and Stoner-Fest ’08 at Al’s Bar in Christchurch. Our E.P release was off the hook and it was a great turn out, heaps of mates came which created a wicked atmosphere. We had a mosh-pit cranking and there were two stage dives, but I think I’m going to go with Stoner-fest, purely because I’ve had more time to romanticize about it in my head and until then the farthest we’d played was Raglan, so actually leaving the North Island was a bit of a trip (ba-dum-chish!). Also there was the added bonus of stepping off the plane with a guitar in my hand, which made me feel kinda bad ass. People were looking at us like “I don’t know who these guys are, but I feel like I should know…” At least that’s what I tell myself they were thinking anyway. But all that aside, I just sincerely believe that was our tightest, well oiled show to date. We got a great reaction from the crowd, played alongside some awesome bands and Al even let us drink our Double Browns in the car park. Hard to beat really.

What is your favourite NZ venue?

I’m a sucker for the Kings Arms. It’s where I grew up in the sense of live music and late night debauchery. I’ve seen some amazing gigs there and Harry, the bar manger is a top bloke. Plus it’s got a pool table, a massive outside smoking area and Mark the sound man is a master of his craft. Personified it would be the kid at school that could’ve been in the “cool” crowd but chose to kick it root down. I like to think of it as the Kiwi CBGB’s.

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

Happy Hearse, The House of Capricorn, Soulseller, Second Gear Grind, The Twitch, Vesto Slypher, Made In China… They’re all great bands and good people that seem to be just teetering on making the next step, and when they do I know they’ll all be received by rapturous applause. It’s just that whole catch 22 exposure vs. fan base thing.

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

Mid ‘08 we played a killer show at the Raglan Yacht Club with the Skinks and celebrated well into the night accordingly. Pete the owner, who’s a real good dude, hooked us up hard with discounted beer, which coupled with the excess amount of alcohol we had in our cars left us all pretty hammered. As the night progressed we thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of quad-bikes out on to the beach (don’t ask where we got them from) and take turns at getting towed behind them on a piece of rope. Sam (lead guitarist) made the first attempt but couldn’t hold on as the rope would just pull right through his hands. Drunkenly trying to remember my Scouts knot tying days I tied what I thought was a sturdy loop at the end of the rope for a make-shift handle and lay in waiting for what would prove to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done – which is quite a big call to make.

As the bike started to pull away the rope became taught and I soon realized my handle was a slipknot and I had effectively hog-tied myself. Impressed that I was some how managing to hold on, unaware that my hands were trapped, Kieran the sound guy, who was riding the bike began to speed up, an up, an up, mistaking my screams of pain for testosterone fueled shouts of excited achievement for maintaining my grip. As the unforgiving sea-shells cruelly placed along the beach like land mines scrapped my belly I imagined how my tombstone would read: “Drunken idiot dies of voluntary motorbike lynching”. And with that in mind, determined for it not to eventuate I painfully wrenched my hands free, sacrificing a little sliver of flesh from my left index finger to allow the lee-way I needed for my escape and was sent skimming across the sand like a stone across water.

Luckily the damage was nothing a beer or two couldn’t fix and we continued to campaign well into the morning, Jordan (bassist) ending up passed out in a boat. The next day when we went to grab our gear the bar still wasn’t open and me and Sam, (who had somehow lost his pants) stood outside for a good three hours, haggard and hung-over, me with a bloody ripped t-shirt exposing a raw sand eaten chest and stomach, and Sam next to me pant-less. Over this time I swear every person in the community must have walked past us, all sharing the same bemused and disgusted expressions on their faces as they gave us side long glances as if to say “Look at these two munted outsiders stinking up the street.” - Which we were. So yeah, that was pretty embarrassing.

How did you come up with the name Interconnector?

We were stuck for a name for ages. Me and Sam were in a band in High School together called Idle Hands and our drummer Steve’s old band Six Pack Happy had just broken up, but we all agreed to veto those names and spawn a new one to represent the new line up. 'Love Is The New Hate' had just dropped so we were all consumed by Shihad fever and being that we were all massive Shihad fans we decided upon Interconnector (not only is it a mean song but the name it self just sounds so cool). We saw Shihad play Powerstation the night before we played our first gig at a mates house party, then the next day me and Sam road-tripped it down to Welly with our mate Double D to see them again. The show was goosebump-good and afterwards the band came out to meet everyone. I fan-boyishly told them we had just started a band called Interconnector and if that was alright by them. They thought it was choice as, so I asked if they could sign my jacket to officiate us. Jon headed the top of my jacket with “INTERCONNECTOR” and then one by one they all signed underneath. It was so awesome. I still have the jacket - it hangs like a trophy in my pool room.

How do you describe your music?

Heavy guitar driven party starter good times rock ‘n’ roll with a sprinkling of Kiss. We are the soundtrack to your raucous boozy Saturday night and the cure to Sunday’s hangover.

What can we expect to see from Interconnector over the next year?

Hopefully a video and if not an album at least another E.P supported by a national tour.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Well, I still consider myself an aspiring musician but I guess I would say that it doesn’t hurt to spend some time in the basement honing your sound, but in saying which, you don’t want to lock yourself down there too long waiting for perfection because you’ll never leave. Most importantly though just have fun. I know that sounds cheesy but if you’re not doing it for enjoyment then why are you doing it? It can’t be for the money, there is none. In my opinion if you’re a true musician you’ll be playing music whether or not that big break comes because you love it, so just roll with the punches and chalk everything up to experience. If it happens it happens and if it doesn’t it doesn’t, but at least you’ll come away with some cool stories to tell and feel safe in the fact that you gave it a shot.

Interconnector is Rupert Laffery (vocals, guitar), Sam Manning (lead guitar), Steve Granshaw (drums) and Jordan Young (bass).

Website Links

Muzic.net.nz Page
MySpace Page
Amplifier Page

Interconnector's self titled debut EP is out now, and you can download the tracks 'Fucked In The Head' and 'Piglet' from muzic.net.nz!

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

The Emergenza competition Australasian final last December at The Metro Theatre in Sydney, where we were the only kiwi band - Before then the biggest venue we had played was the Kings Arms, so The Metro Theatre seemed massive. It must be a similar size to the St James I guess. When we first walked in, some Aussie band was soundchecking and it sounded like a stadium which was hugely intimidating seeing we'd been gigging for less than a year at that stage, but on the night we ended up coming 3rd out of the 14 bands in the final (out of the total 260-ish bands that had entered the comp) in front of a sizable crowd, which was awesome, especially seeing heaps of the bands were 80's rock. Beating Australian 80's rock bands in a competition feels great.

What is your favourite NZ venue?

From the venues we've played so far, the Kings Arms is pretty choice with its old, dingy rock atmosphere and its beer drenched charm. We've played some memorable gigs there so it's kind of a favourite for that reason also. We're looking forward to playing some of the bigger venues though; we like a bit of room on the stage.

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

You can't really get enough of Shihad to be fair, but that isn't really news. I did always wonder why they didn't get noticed more overseas though. The Checks seem to be bringing out some great stuff and they're very entertaining live. If Stardrunk or Eight were still around, more of them would be sweet.

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

A gig at the Dogs Bollix where all our equipment seemed to fail. In one song there's a part where it drops down to vocals and one  guitar, and the electric guitar putted out just as that bit kicked in. Cue awkward vocal solo.

How did you come up with the name The Zoup?

Sound of fly zipper + fart

How do you describe your music?

As our bio says, we "combine crunchy and powerful  guitar melodies, unique and exploratory vocal patterns and subtle, atmospheric sounds" to build our form of modern rock / alternative rock. We try to keep it pretty raw, we don't use any synths or anything. We like it nice and grunty and aim for diversity between songs, but also try to keep it reasonably approachable from a commercial perspective.

What can we expect to see from The Zoup over the next year? 

More recording. We'll be recording lots of demos over summer so hopefully some of those will come out sweet and we'll record a couple more singles. Touring and gigs to support our debut release ('The Zoup' EP) will also be on the cards.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Your aspirations should be just to play music, any success on top of that it's a bonus. Along with two cups of hard work, a dollop of perseverance and some thyme, that's what we think the recipe should be.

The Zoup is Jaydn de Graaf (vocals, guitar), Dominic Mauger (guitar), Dave Johnston (drums) and Tom Chou (bass).

Website Links

Official Website
Muzic.net.nz Page
MySpace Page
Amplifier Page
Twitter Page
Facebook Page

The Zoup's self titled EP is out now, and you can download the track 'Control' from muzic.net.nz!

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

We did the Parachute Festival a while ago - that was a pretty big buzz playing a couple of shows in front of 2000 people. The best gigs have been some of our Headlining shows in Auckland - the Album release launch just gone was pretty insane. It was the first time we've hit capacity at a Headlining show. To add to that - the crowd were LOUD!

What is your favourite NZ venue?

For bands like us, you can't really go past the Kings Arms. It's a big room with a killer sound system but it also retains enough intimacy so we can really interact with the crowd. We've had a lot of awesome shows there.

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

I wouldn't say there's anyone one specific artist or group who's not in the spotlight enough - but I'd definitely like to see a wider spread of NZ musicians getting mainstream attention. We have so many bands and artists with huge international appeal in NZ and so many seem to be getting overlooked by our own market.

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

Personally, Finishing up a set at Shadows in Auckland and I was lying all over the foldback monitors, really selling the intense rock and roll pose. I'd been drinking well before the show and during so when I tried to get back up to a standing position I ended up arsing it off the stage and into the crowd. A bit dazed I stood up, gave my guitar to someone in the crowd and walked off only ro realise I'd just offloaded my guitar to a complete stranger. I went back, grabbed my guitar and returned backstage. The two beer limit was implemented not too long after that...

How did you come up with the name These Four Walls?

Our old guitarist Spencer came up with it, We were sitting around the old practice space (a tiny soundproof booth) and we started talking about the four walls that we practice in. I'm sure there's a deeper meaning in there somewhere but it's roots are in the tiny space that we began in.

How do you describe your music?

It's pretty much our interpretation of what we listen to. Steve and I are both metal heads, Chris is a rock junkie and Brad is steeped in the grunge era. I've always been fascinated by heavy riffs and guitar layers but always hated how they're ruined by over the top vocals or tasteless drums - especially the trend that lingered from the turn of the century to stick to half time! So I just write music that I'd like to hear and this is what comes out.

What can we expect to see from These Four Walls over the next year?

Lots of shows. Lots of touring. More singles. More of everything really. We're about ready to kick open the door and charge on through. The album is out and we've got no reason to not get our asses everywhere!

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

First of all (and I know I sound like a prick saying it but...) don't suck. Once you know what you want to do - learn to do it well. There are SO many bands in NZ and if you want to get noticed, you need to have your A game in your back pocket at all times.

Secondly - Believe in what you're doing - if you don't care, you can't expect your audience to care.

These Four Walls are Steve Gibb (vocals, guitar), Gray Vickers (guitar), Brad Vickers (drums) and Christopher Treeby (bass).

Website Links

Official Website
Muzic.net.nz Page
MySpace Page
Amplifier Page

The debut album from These Four Walls 'Down Falls An Empire' is out now!

New Zealand Music Award Winners 2009

Vodafone Album of the Year

Winner: Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke

Finalists:

The Mint Chicks - Screens

Midnight Youth – The Brave Don’t Run

Cut Off Your Hands – You And I

Fat Freddy’s Drop – Dr Boondigga and the Big BW

Vodafone Single of the Year

Winner: Ladyhawke – My Delerium

Finalists:

Midnight Youth – All On Our Own

P-Money – Everything featuring Vince Harder

Smashproof - Brother

Kids of 88 – My House

Steinlager Pure Best Group

Winner: Midnight Youth

Finalists:

Fat Freddy’s Drop

The Mint Chicks

Vodafone People’s Choice Award

Winner: Smashproof

Finalists:

Fat Freddy’s Drop

Ladyhawke

Midnight Youth

The Black Seeds

Best Male Solo Artist

Winner: Savage

Finalists:

Dave Dobbyn

Don McGlashan & The Seven Sisters

Mazda Best Female Solo Artist

Winner: Ladyhawke

Finalists:

Boh Runga

Ladi 6

Pacific Blue Breakthrough Artist of the Year

Winner: Ladyhawke

Finalists:

Midnight Youth

Smashproof

C4 Best Music Video

Winner: Chris Graham – Brother (Smashproof)

Finalists:

Sam Peacocke – I Can’t Stop Being Foolish (The Mint Chicks)

Tim Van Dammen – Turn Around featuring Iva Lamkum (Sola Rosa)

PPNZ Best Rock Album

Winner: Midnight Youth – The Brave Don’t Run

Finalists:

The Mint Chicks - Screens

Cut Off Your Hands – You And I

42Below Best Urban/Hip Hop Album

Winner: Ladi 6 – Time Is Not Much

Finalists:

Smashproof – The Weekend

Savage – Savage Island

Kiwi FM Best Aotearoa Roots Album

Winner: Fat Freddy’s Drop – Dr Boondigga and the Big BW

Finalists:

The Black Seeds – Solid Ground

The Woolshed Sessions – The Woolshed Sessions

Best Dance/Electronica Album

Winner: Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke

Finalists:

Antiform – City In Exile

Sola Rosa – Get It Together

Best Gospel/Christian Album

Winner: Mumsdollar - Ruins

Finalists:

Parachute Band - Technicolour

The Ember Days – EP

Primalband – Your Way

Best Classical Album

Winner: David Bremner – Gung Ho

Finalists:

Gareth Farr – Gareth Farr: Tangaroa

Ogen Trio and NZ Chamber Soloists - Ahi

Highest Selling NZ Single

Smashproof feat. Gin - Brother

Highest Selling NZ Album

the feelers – The Best: 1998-2008

NZ on Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year

Tiki Taane – Always On My Mind

International Achievement

Ladyhawke

Brooke Fraser

The recipient of the New Zealand Herald Legacy Award is Ray Columbus and the Invaders. Ray Columbus and the Invaders will also be inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.

WINNERS OF TECHNICAL AWARDS:

Best Album Cover to Ruban Nielson for Screens (The Mint Chicks)

MAINZ Best Engineer to Andrew Buckton for The Brave Don’t Run (Midnight Youth)

MAINZ Best Producer to Fat Freddy’s Drop for Dr Boondigga and the Big BW (Fat Freddy's Drop).

The Mint Chicks take on Ray Columbus and The Invaders

Fifteen finalists named for Handle the Jandal 2009

There were 133 entries but now there are just 15 set to compete for the Golden Jandal. And oh boy there's some totally weird wackery to behold from the cream of emerging filmmakers.

Radio Active 89FM today announced the 15 finalists for the 2009 Handle the Jandal DIY Music Video Competition. Each video will be shown in its entirety at the star-studded awards ceremony to be held October 29 at the sumptuous Embassy Theatre in Wellington.

The Final 15 were announced live on the Radio Active 89FM Breakfast show with Liam Luff at 9am Friday October 9. They will compete for six technical categories and the overall winner, the Golden Jandal, awarded from the audience vote.

Full Article

Big Day Out 2010 - First Announcement

As 2010 looms on the horizon like a sci-fi sequel it’s time to announce what’s confirmed for the next instalment of travelling mayhem known as the Big Day Out.

This time around we intend to deliver a monster series of shows designed to put a smile on your face. The biggest party in the world featuring what we believe is one of our strongest line-ups ever.

In keeping with the Big Day Out tradition of presenting dynamic emerging acts as well as the world's most significant artists across many musical styles, we are very proud to welcome back the hottest band currently on the planet to close our 2010 event: Muse.

So from all at BDO to music fans far and wide, we would like to present to you our first round of incredible artists.

BIG DAY OUT 2010: Muse, The Mars Volta, Lily Allen, KORA, Groove Armada, Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, PNC, Peaches, Ladyhawke, Girl Talk, Dimmer, Rise Against, Mastodon, Karnivool, The Horrors, Gin Wigmore, Powderfinger, Calvin Harris, The Decemberists, Eskimo Joe, The Temper Trap, Minuit, James Duncan, The Checks and many more to be announced...

Full Article

Rhythm and Vines Locked and Loaded Tickets available now

Are you really keen to get to RHYTHMS & VINES this year, but are a little strapped for cash right now?

Never fear - Rhythm and Vines are helping to make things easier on your pocket with R&V Locked & Loaded Tickets. With this special, you can Lay-buy your ticket now, and pay the rest off by 1st December to ensure you won’t miss out on all the festival fun this summer!

It’s simple:

1. Place an $80 (+ bf) deposit down on your ticket (3-day festival ticket including bus pass)
2. Save your pennies over the next few months
3. Pay the remaining amount by 1st December

Those who put their deposit down before 31st October are also in to win 1 of 4 highly coveted Yellowglen Lounge Upgrades (that’s the VIP area at R&V).

Full Article

First Line-up Announcement for Parihaka International Peace Festival 2010

The first confirmed acts have been announced for the fifth anniversary Parihaka International Peace Festival. Up to 30 other acts will be confirmed before the event, held at the historic Parihaka Pa in South Taranaki between 7 and 11 January 2010.

Confirmed are Brisbane bands Kooii and Kingfisher, the newly-formed Bellbirds, Herbs, King Kapisi, L.A. Mitchell, Ladi 6, the Lewis McCallum Orchestra, Moana & The Tribe, Rio Hunuki Hemopo and SJD.

• Kooii and Kingfisher are fronted by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Peter Hunt, making his third appearance at the festival – in 2007 he performed with Yeshe & The World Citizens, and last year with Parihaka band Nga Morehu. Kooii and Kingfisher are partly sponsored by a scholarship, a collaboration between the Parihaka International Peace Festival and the Island Vibe Festival held on Queensland’s Stradbrook Island.

• The Bellbirds will be making their first major public appearance at Parihaka and is comprised of Sean Donnelly (SJD), Don McGlashan, Sandy Mill and Victoria Kelly. The band describes its sound as “a baroque ‘60s pop sensibility with bitter-sweet lyrics.”

• Herbs will be making a rare public appearance, featuring Dilworth Karaka, Tama Lundon, Tama Renata, Thom Nepia and Morrie Watene. Their extended set will be culled from their 30-year career.

• King Kapisi’s set will include guest performers, including Teremoana Rapley. Kapisi and Teremoana will also host a teenagers’ performance workshop during the weekend.

• Rio Hunuki Hemopo, formerly of TrinityRoots and who has recently toured overseas with Fat Freddy’s Drop, will be fronting his own band in one of his first major public performances.

Full Article

Rhian Sheehan Presents 'Standing In Silence' Live for the first time!

After the release of the beautiful, thought-provoking and highly acclaimed album, Rhian Sheehan is proud to present the first incarnation of 'Standing In Silence' live in Wellington.

This one-off concert is part of Downstage Theatre's Soundstage season, celebrating Wellington bands through showcase performances on Sunday evenings.

Rhian Sheehan's live band includes key collaborator Jeff Boyle from Jakob along with Tom Pierard (Strike), Raashi Malik (Rhombus), Jeremiah Ross (Module), Steve Bremner (NZSO, Strike), Jess Chambers, Andy Hummel, Brent Skinner, Al Frazer (all Woolshed Sessions), plus a 5 piece string section and visuals by Nektar.

Following on from the silent exhibition album launch in Auckland, Nektar will project full length moving image to accompany the performance, and once again the audience wil lbe able to participate in a unique way.

100 of the specially made and very limited 'Standing In Silence' music boxes will be available to purchase for $10 in the foyer before the show. The music boxes play the opening tune, and key melody of Part 3 of 'Standing In Silence'. Those with music boxes will be encouraged to play along during these sequences, extending the experience and moving the performance throughout the theatre in a dynamic way.

Tickets are $35 (+bf) and available through www.downstage.co.nz. Be sure to book soon as over half the tickets have sold already.

'Standing In Silence', the album was released on February 24, 2009 and is available through stores and online at www.loop.co.nz.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s5yvlckSIU
www.rhiansheehan.com

Site of the Moment: Creative Sounds

Home to The Stomach, Creative Sounds is Palmerston North's premiere community music centre.

Creative Sounds is a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to the encouragement of musical, artistic and performance activities, and is proudly supported by the Palmerston North City Council.

Official Creative Sounds Website

Competitions

Congratulations to S. Kelland from Rotorua for winning The Zoup's debut self titled EP.

Past competition winners can be viewed here.

Enter today for your chance to win the following competitions:
Please note - you must be logged in to enter competitions.

Win a ticket to PHAT 10! 3 nights of the very best drum n bass, dubstep, reggae, breaks, tech & dub from around Aotearoa & the world, presented over 2 arenas this New Years Eve in a magical remote rain forest valley complete with river with swimming holes on the wild West Coast of the South Island... Enter Here

Reviews and Photos

Check out our latest reviews:

- These Four Walls - 'Down Falls An Empire' album review

- Electric Wire Hustle - 'Electric Wire Hustle' album review

- The Upbeats - 'Big Skeleton' album review

Thanks to Duke Mule, we now also have the following new photos up on the site:

- The Phoenix Foundation

- The Mint Chicks

- Hera

- High Dependency Unit

- Goodnight Nurse

- George and Queen

- Flip Grater

- Emeralds and Greenstone

- Dubwize

- Dr Sanchez

- dDub

- Clap Clap Riot

- The Broken Heartbreakers

- Bang Bang Eche

- Autozamm

- Atlas

- Anika Moa

All our latest reviews can be viewed here
All our latest photos can be viewed here

Tour Features

Every feature we have ever had on the site can be viewed here.

Information about muzic.net.nz newsletters

The next muzic.net.nz newsletter is going out on
25 October and will feature Kabanaz.

There is space available in our newsletters from 8 November onwards. The last issue for 2009 will be going out on 6 December. This means there are only 3 issues remaining for the year with space available for features. If you would like to have a newsletter feature before the end of the year, you should contact Lisa now to avoid disappointment.

You can request a date in advance that suits you, or feature in the next available newsletter. We can feature you even if you have already featured in a newsletter from a previous year. Newsletter dates can be viewed at the bottom of this forum.

With our newsletters being sent out to over 7760 members and this number growing every day, featuring in our newsletter provides awesome exposure for you or your band. And, as the people who receive our newsletters have subscribed to them, they are more likely to read what you have to say.

If you would like to advertise your next album release or tour in our newsletter and/or gig mail out, email Lisa. It is 100% FREE to feature or advertise in our newsletter and gig mail outs! We also offer advertising on the muzic.net.nz website for very competitive rates.

We can also feature record labels, venues, music websites and anything else that has something to do with NZ music.

Our next gig mail out is going out on 18 October.

- The muzic.net.nz team

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