Guest Editorial 04 Jun '06
Posted: Mon Jun 5, 2006 12:30 pm

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Guest Editorial thanks to Dylan from Orkid. Please post any comments below.

Hello, my name is Dylan. I play with a band called Orkid. We began in '98, we have been in Christchurch since 2000. This is just a wee rant about the bands in Christchurch who have infuenced and enhanced my time here.

Fuce, who are now Gasoline Cowboy, were/are one of my favorites. Powerful singing and awe inspiring guitar work, tight rhythm section and sick humour. Songs which you could sing or listen to for days and not get sick of them. From my point of view and many others I've talked to they had it all ready to go and could have established themselves amongst any of todays "great" acts, except the members themselves thought they sucked, a common mistake made by many musicians I've found.

Mountains of Murray were another band I adored, their music was intense and tight but again the humour shone through I would go to their shows and get loooooooooose, dance my ass off with out a care in the world, something I always look to do. If any one them are reading this or some one who knows them tell them to get back together as they were just before their time and people will "get it now".

Degrees K were our awesome Soul brothers, we would play together a lot and support each others bands whenever possible. Their music still makes me swoon like a woman in love and dance alone in my lounge.

Another great thing about having all these bands around was it got us all of our ass and inspired us to be better musicians, something which I havent seen in Christchurch for while.

Is it style over substance now?

I know these days I hear about a band and see their photos before I hear their music unless it's on MySpace lol

I'm just surprised there aren't more bands like these to be found in Christchurch. Bands who don't follow a trend or fad who just play music for the sake of playing music and strive to at least break a little new ground for the audience and those musicians still to come.

Orkid is one of the last of these type of bands still based in Christchurch. We've had our moments of almost breaking up and still argue and sulk over stupid things and think we suck, but our music's evolving and getting better and really thats all that matters in the end.

A response to Orkid's guest editorial 5/6/06.
Posted: Mon Jun 5, 2006 4:28 pm

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There are now quite a few good bands emerging in Christchurch but style over substance is not a problem they suffer from. Not So Experimental, Cold War Babies, fiveandahalfminutes, A Million Lights and Frase are just a few.

The good thing about Chch is that gig goers DON'T follow trends and a band’s status is purely down to their ability to draw a crowd and get them going. While RDU champions local bands it maintains a healthy quality control so not everyone is guaranteed airplay. To do well in Chch you have to give the audience 100% from your live show and something they haven’t heard before, which with the wide demographic that makes up the gig going community here, isn’t easy.

Sadly there are a few bands that have been trudging along for years but maintain a footing in people conscious through a gig at the Dux every 6 months. The reality is in the last few years the stakes have been raised by the newer Chch bands that gig regularly, building up support, radio play and press, and some of the older bands just really aren't up to the new standard. I don’t like to have a go at other musicians but Orkid have been trawling familiar territory for too long to be making comments about breaking new ground. If they were, Christchurch would embrace them as a vital part of the live scene the way they have with others.

Finally myspace is a worldwide phenomenon because bands are able to create a de-facto website free of charge and those with interest can download their music, book them for gigs and communicate directly with the band members, which when operating out of a town like Chch is priceless.

Kit
Pig Out & House Of Dolls

RE: Guest Editorial 04 Jun '06
Posted: Tue Jun 6, 2006 1:51 am

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any time you guys wanna do a gig together with orkid
give us a yell

[email protected]

what are your songs about?