Undercurrents, The Hatemen and French for Rabbits [https://thebigcity.co.nz/articles-interviews-live/live-music/undercurrents-the-hatemen-and-french-for-rabbits]
Flashback to an oddball booking on December 2011 at the then-new Dux Central comprised of the whimsical French for Rabbit, boisterous Hatemen and the always good Undercurrents.

#livemusic

The Chills [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/c/the-chills]
The Chills, led by Martin Phillips, were a seminal New Zealand band central to the Dunedin Sound. Formed in 1980. Despite struggles, including the death of drummer Martyn Bull and Phillips' drug dependency and health issues, they continued producing acclaimed albums until Phillips' unexpected passing in 2024.

#thechills #martinphillips #nzmusic

Regular Cadets [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/r/regular-cadets]
Regular Cadets were part of the Gisborne live music scene of the early to mid 1980s. Members Martin Kirk and (future television celebrity) Jackie Clarke would go on to find more success in later group Marching Orders.

#RegularCadets #NZMusic

Marching Orders [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/m/marching-orders]
Gisborne-based chirpy synth-pop 4-piece featuring the vocals of future comedian / television personality Jackie Clarke and F Star Records' Martin Kirk. Thanks to an association with Doug Hood (who engineered their recording) the group put out an obscure 12" single on Flying Nun Records, before disbanding.

#MarchingOrders #NZMusic

High Street Project [https://thebigcity.co.nz/resources/venues/high-street-project]
High Street Project was a long-running art gallery set up as an artist-run, not for-profit project with a particular focus on emerging artists. Housed by multiple venues (in and around Christchurch's High Street) over the course of 19 years, it also functioned as a performance space for a number of underground or experimental acts prior to the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 - 2011.

#nzmusic #artgallery #highstreetproject #musicvenue

Ride On Super Sound [https://thebigcity.co.nz/resources/venues/ride-on-super-sound]
Ride On Super Sound is fundamentally a record store, stocking a wide variety of new and used vinyl along with comics, zines and merchandise as well as being the retail touch point for Johnny Electric Lathe Cuts, offering musicians the opportunity to cut, package and release their own records in a single location.

#recordstores #local #culture #comics #rideonsupersound

Lyndon and the Liars [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/l/lyndon-and-the-liars]
Short-lived Christchurch group fronted by Ross Humphries after the dissolution of the legendary Pin Group and featuring a young Lyndon Frasier prior to his stint in Ballon D'Essai, plus the future Bats duo of Kaye Woodward and Malcolm Grant.

#lyndonandtheliars #nzmusic

The Axemen [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/a/axemen-the]
A well-known, yet thoroughly underground troop that often swelled in numbers (sometimes up to as many as 10 members in the mid 1980's). The group have been known for their artistic endeavours as well as their music.

#nzmusic #theaxemen

Trimasterbate [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/t/trimasterbate]
Trimasterbate was a ridiculous Wellington Eletro-Sex-Pop act from Gemma Syme and (Holiday with Friends and Dianna Rozz) with Nicola Higham and Sasha Rainbow, plus Matt Beauchamp-Buck (Holiday with Friends and Crackhouse 5) handling production.

#nzmusic #trimasterbate

Nocturnal Projections [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/n/nocturnal-projections]
Excellent post-punk four piece that came out of small-town Taranaki in 1981, featuring the first recordings of Peter Jefferies haunting baritone vocals. Over the course of 2 years the group released 2 demo cassettes, 3 EPs and a terrific single before disbanding, giving way to later group This Kind of Punishment.

#nzmusic #nocturnalprojections #thiskidofpunishment

Daisy Chain Halo [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/d/daisy-chain-halo]
Hamilton rockers (who describe themselves as having a heavy acoustic sound) Daisy Chain Halo are a trio comprised of ex-Wellington group Porch members Carl Watkins and Corrina Watts, along with a succession of drummers, eventually settling on Hamilton-native Luke Hale in mid-2002.

#nzmusic #daisychainhalo

3 Voices [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/t/3-voices]
3 Voices is an extraordinary release in the history of New Zealand underground pop. The group was formed by the core song-writing duo of Rob Sinclair and David Bowater, with brilliant slick drummer Steve Garden, and an assortment of talented musicians contributing to the sole album. Sinclair and Bowater had both been in Schtung, then briefly formed the group Ray A - which is where most of this material originates from.

#nzmusic #3voices

Black Albino [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/b/black-albino]
Black Albino was the name of a trio Hodgson fronted as guitarist for a single show in 2004.

The show reunited last-generation Incisions members Tim McDonald (Drums) and Karl Jensen (Bass) for a balls-to-the-wall explosion of noise - excellent stuff and an indication of what Hodgson can do given the context.

#nzmusic #blackalbino

Dave Edwards [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/e/david-edwards]
'Gleefully Unknown' Wellington-based New Plymouth-raised lo-fi homebrew musician releasing material under his own name (on his own fiffdimension mail order label), under the fiffdimension or Dave Black aliases, as well as in collaboration with other like-minded artists.

#nzmusic #daveedwards #fiffdimension

Interview: Ascension Band [https://thebigcity.co.nz/articles-interviews-live/interviews/ascension-band-feb-2004]
Flashback to 2004 and an interview I conducted with Dave Edwarfs and Nigel Patterson of Ascension Band on the eve of their performance at the Wellington Fringe Festival.

#nzmusic #ascensionband #daveedwards

Lesley Speaker [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/l/lesley-speaker]
Lesley Speaker was a Dunedin trio fronted by Kitset's Peter Hobbs, putting out a 7" lathe cut single and a CDr EP on the Beat Atlas label in 1998. Hobbs went on to become a movie soundtrack composer and studio engineer.

#nzmusic #lesleyspeaker

TV Eye [https://thebigcity.co.nz/resources/record-labels/tv-eye]
TV Eye was a collective rather than a label, with releases comprised of group, duo and solo material from the musicians that made up the South Island recording collective The Picnic Boys, plus a couple of hard-to-find compilations that include the same groups and a handful of others who may or may not feature key members Kevin Smith, Steve Watson, Pat Faigan, and Tim McCleod.

#tveye #nzmusic #thepicnicboys #sayyestoapes

Return Of The Wahlbergs [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/r/return-of-the-wahlbergs]
Experimental recording alias of Wellington-based musician Brett Garrity, who formed the Stinkbuzz Recording Co-Op label with Julian Desmond (Letterbox Lambs) in 1999. Garrity had a stint as Marineville's bassist during the period they recorded their well-liked debut Ready for the Dance.

#nzmusic #returnofthewahlbergs

Vibraslaps [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/v/the-vibraslaps]
Vibraslaps were an all female post-punky outfit best known for an EP put out on Flying Nun Records in 1985, and for (briefly) being at the forefront of New Zealand's lesbian feminist music scene during the turbulent mid 1980s.

#nzmusic #vibraslaps

Marie and the Atom [https://thebigcity.co.nz/artists/m/marie-and-the-atom]
Marie and the Atom were an experimental pop group created as a performance and song-writing vehicle for Gill Civil. The group released 3 boundary-pushing EPs in the mid 1980's and are best remembered for their song 'Isol'.

#nzmusic #marieandtheatom