CHUGANAUT - 11:11 PHENOMENON
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:50 pm

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During the early stages of the band's' development, vocalist ‘Solid’ Stu had noticed days when, having not looked at a clock all day, he would be mysteriously drawn to the clock and witness 11:11 tick over. This started occurring at band practices and at various gigs.

Wondering if he might be alone in this, he discussed it with the band to discover that they had each noticed it at certain times also. Over time, this lead to a group awareness - 11:11 began to be noticed more and more often. Gradually this progressed to the idea of starting their gig sets at 11:11 (wherever plausible to do so) and continued through to the concept of a double album: 11:11 ONE and TWO.

There are numerous websites dedicated to 11:11 that have an assortment of different theories on it; several sites based on coincidences surrounding the number 11 in general. One site in particular has a theory based on 1111 spiritual guardians watching over various people and using the individuals' awareness of particular moods and situations during the 11:11 minute to help guide your thoughts positively.

This ‘struck a chord’ with the fact that Chuganaut’s lyrical content is charged with positive creamy goodness intended to inspire personal power and universal harmony.

The FOUR ONES can represent the four band members - both albums were recorded with Scott ‘Sonic’ Newth in his underground bunker in 2006 via Protools on a Mac, with cheese.

Each band member took an average of 11 days to record their individual tracks! There was a delay of 6 months before the mixing process could be started due to a prior arrangement with ‘Sonic’ going to the UK to mix on tour with ‘the Datsuns’.

Chuganaut released the single ‘Part of This’ on 11/11/06 (which was mixed in the UK)! Once ‘Sonic’ was back from overseas ....IT WAS ALL ON!!!!
A lengthy journey to edit, mix, balance and tweak the first album took
approx 5 months of mind-numbing repetitive listening; ‘Sonic’ and ‘Solid’
Stu collaborating to fine-tune the final mixes.

From recording end to mixing end ‘coincidentally took 11 months!

Once these final mixes were approved by Chuganaut collectively, they were taken to MoreCoreAudio (MCA) in Auckland to be mastered, which involves compression, limiting and the overall EQ of the album as a whole, along with track and album titling.

From the day MCA studios was booked to the day the final version was received took 11 days!

The album cover art was done by Nadine @ Skinks Tatoos. The album booklet art was designed and created by ‘Solid’ Stu with PJ Artforms Ltd.

It took 22 days (11+11) to create and edit and a further 11 days to finalise!

The finalised album went to be pressed and printed and took 11 days turn-around!

If you have any tales you’d like to share with us related to this phenomenon, we’d love to hear them: Please email your stories to: [email protected] or [email protected]

Chuganaut - Wolf EP Out Now!
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:06 am

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Chuganaut's new 6 track EP entitled 'Wolf' is available now at music stores - CD & DVD Store in Hamilton, Tracs in Hamilton, Sounds in Taupo, Mango Music in Palmerston North and other selected stores around the country.

Recorded at Area 51 Studios and released through Intergalactic Records and Global Routes, two of the six tracks were Chuganaut's prize for winning the 2004 World Battle of the Bands.

Fresh Talent : Chuganaut
Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:13 pm

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NZ Musician
Author: Ben Christie

According to our dictionary, a Juggernaut is ‘an overwhelming, advancing force that crushes or seems to crush everything in its path’. Add beer and you have Waikato based Chuganaut - a band who, ‘…strive to entertain audiences by whatever means necessary,” according to guitarist and former budding Olympic wrestler, Nail.

It’s a sound that drummer Lil, Waikato’s Sexiest Musician of 2002, describes as “somewhere in the realms of twisted alternative rock metal”.

Lead singer, Stu, who paints his shaven dome for every gig, has played with Nail and Lil for years in covers bands before they formed Chuganaut three years ago. Munro (bass) joined the band a year ago.

Lil says they live to play their original material. “Chuganaut is the first original band I’ve been in, but that’s all we want to do. When I play covers now, it’s just to keep Chuganaut on the move, it’s the only means of keeping ourselves running.”

Their intense live show and song originality won them this year’s National title in the Battle of the Bands and they then went on to become the first band to win the World Battle of the Bands competition in November.

“We’re all into it so much it just kind of oozes out of us, the energy and that. We all love what we’re doing and that seems to rub off on people - we’ll do whatever it takes to get people into it,” says Stu.

Chuganaut are self-financed and have almost completed their debut long player, recorded at Hamilton’s Downbeat Studios. Nail says there is still some polishing to do and they may yet add some of their new material. They are committed to their music despite not yet being able to secure any funding grants.

“Our first two singles and our first video clip (Party Geek) have all be done independently. We’re not prepared to sit around and hope that we’re going to get funding, so we’ve decided we are just going to go out and make it happen ourselves,” says Nail.

Chuganaut have enjoyed good radio support from local Waikato station The Generator as well as the Rock FM’s Axe Attack with Paul Martin. Their Waikato fans are invaluable and travel with the band to out of town gigs in a bus. After their World Battle of the Bands success, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Chuganaut have had to hire another bus.

RE: Chuganaut's Big Day Out
Posted: Thu Feb 3, 2005 1:27 pm

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Awesome gig Chuggers - you certainly drew the crowd and rocked them hard! Good on ya. See ya at Shake the Lake!

RE: Chuganaut's Big Day Out
Posted: Wed Feb 2, 2005 4:30 pm

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Good on them. Nail's a top man, very humble!

Chuganaut's Big Day Out
Posted: Wed Feb 2, 2005 10:31 am

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Chuganaut opened this year’s Big Day Out with a bang as thousands of people piled into the outer arena at Ericsson Stadium in glorious weather for the 10.15 start of this one-day annual event. Spread over six stages, more than 60 bands from NZ and around the world were lined up ready to perform. There was a small panic when Chuganaut’s bassist, Munro, discovered he had no battery for his bass wireless. “It was remedied with the help of awesome stage crew,”he said.

Chuganaut’s 30-minute set began on the Green Stage with ‘Flow’, which instantly motivated a rhythmic mass of head banging and arm waving. Said to be the largest crowd ever for an opening band, they were certainly given their money’s worth and a great start to their day. The moshpit hoses were a very welcome respite under the hot NZ sun. “It was a pretty wicked feeling seeing a sea of people in front of us,” said guitarist Tony (Nail), “we played a tight and energetic set and had a wicked response”.

Chuganaut’s singer, “Solid Stu” said, “I entered the stage to see a few thousand people, lots of familiar faces cried out for Chuganaut, it was awesome to hear people’s recognition. Individual heads became a greater mass, a wave of pulsing people. We had a most excellent time on stage, leaping around like crazy and playing up for the crowd.”

“We thank our fans for making the effort and getting there early, they rocked out hard!” Munro added.

Chuganaut met the guys from Slipknot, System of a Down, Rise Against, Hatebreed and The Bleeders and hung out for a short while with 8ft Sativa, 48 May and Steriogram. Meeting the guys from Slipknot was one of Chuganaut’s highlights of the day. “Interesting to get to see behind the masks” said Stu, “good to see they’re normal humans underneath!”

Many times during the day Chuganaut was asked for autographs and photos with fans. It was pretty hard to walk from one place to another without a few requests on the way. They had an awesome couple of days, meeting people from all over NZ, as far away as Dunedin. Even though Munro managed to sprain his foot at some point on stage, overall it was a wonderful experience that Stu, Lil, Nail and Munro will remember for a very long time. They only wish they could have seen and met most of the other bands.

EXTRACT from NEXUS (March, 2004)
Posted: Thu Sep 9, 2004 8:21 pm

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Chuganaut are a Hamilton based band, formed in 2002, consisting of : Stu, Vocals & Guitar, Nail on Guitar&Bv's, Munro on Bass&Bv's & Lil on the drums. During their time together they've played shows with bands such as: 8 Ft Sativa, Shakhan, World War IV, 48May, Stardrunk, Cripple Mr Onion & Daisy Chain Halo to name a few. They took out last years Generator Battle of the Bands at Altitude as well as taking home awards for people's choice, best guitarist & best drummer. They also went on to compete in the National Battle of the Bands in the Bay of Plenty area and won, so went on to compete in the National finals in Auckland.

Chuganaut's musical style is hard to define, mainly based around rock & alternative styles with mellow and heavy extremes but, with a twist. "Twisted Metal" Chuganaut love to play live - and it shines through in their energetic & passionate performances.

Their first single "Party Geek'' was released last year, and now finally they have the chance to film their first music video for it and send it nationwide, so if you would like to be in the audience for the filming, turn up to Diggers Back Bar on Friday the 19th of March from 7 - 9 pm and go crazy! Also at 11.11 pm that evening Chuganaut will be having a release party for their second single "GrrrOOvage" and playing their whole repertoire. Entry is free for all and there will be CD Single giveaways etc. See You There!

EXTRACT FROM WAIKATO TIMES (MARCH 20, 2004)
Posted: Thu Sep 9, 2004 8:19 pm

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CHUGGING ALONG

Hamilton band Chuganaut have a cunning plan - but it might all change tomorrow.
By Tracy Cooper.

A Hamilton ‘twisted metal’ band are sticking to the Six Ps principal on the rocky road to success. Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance could easily be a catchphrase for Chuganaut, who released their second single GrrrrOOvage at Diggers last night.

The band, one of the city’s hardest working, oversee every aspect of their performance and manage themselves to ensure everything they do is the way they want it.

For last night’s gig, the band hired the venue from Thursday to allow them plenty of time to kit out the room exactly right. It’s a stark difference from many other bands that simply turn up and play with whatever happens to be around.

The band - whose music is a sometimes confusing, but enjoyable mix of heavy metal, alternative and guitar-driven rock - are set up as a company with lead singer Stu Rice working in the office, taking care of the paper work and doing the behind-the-scenes stuff, while the rest of the band are out at their day jobs.

“We do our own posters - we’ve got an office set up and our own CD machine, we’re pretty self-sufficient,” guitarist Tony ‘the Nail’ Vincent reckons. Vincent, the Te Awamutu fencer who came within a flying riff of taking out the New Zealand Air Guitar Champs in 2002, says most people don’t realise the work that goes on to stage a successful gig. “People are uneducated about what’s involved,” he says. “It’s a full-on production. We’ve got to have a sound crew, hire equipment, a light desk. It’s big stuff.”

And big stuff gets big results. Chuganaut took out last year’s Battle of the Bands competition on the back of an energetic performance, including band members leaping off stage to play in the middle of the dance floor.

“It’s important to entertain people and I think we provide that,” Vincent says.

In last year’s final, Rice - born in Wales - threw his tall, wiry frame around the stage like a madman, all the time begging the question of just why he paints his shaved head for each gig. “I can’t remember why I started painting my head but it just works,’ he says.

The four-piece band’s rhythm is provided by bass player Munro “I don’t have a last name” and Fraser High School old-girl Lynley Alderton - voted Hamilton’s sexiest musician in 2002 - on the drums.

Vincent says the band definitely have a plan for success “but it’s subject to change’. “It’s all going to happen in 2004,” he says, only slightly tongue-in-cheek.

To pay for their music - the video filmed last night will cost them about $5000 - the band play covers at the Cue Bar in Hamilton under the name Signs of Life. They say Hamilton station The Generator, the new station at Wintec, Revolution Radio and Paul Martin’s Axe Attack on the Rock have all supported their music.

“We’re not really radio friendly,” Alderton says. “But we’re trying to appeal to different levels.” That doesn’t mean they are likely to start releasing catchy, radio-friendly pop songs just to become a commercial success. “We’d rather play stuff we want to play and stuff we’re good at,” Vincent says. Alderton points out it took The Datsuns near enough to 10 years to make it big, “so you’ve got to stick at it”.

Chuganaut have been together for about two years and have played as far south as Wellington and up to Whangarei. When touring, they pile into the Chuganaut bus, another way to keep costs down. “You’ve got to travel,” Rice says. “It’s hard to get Auckland people to come to gigs, anything south of the Bombays they ignore.”