Volume #016 by APN Media Services

#016 ER 2011

MB 20 DECE

– S A M X Y L O P Y R E AV ESS IN S U B D E H IS IN F SIONE’S 2: UN PETE ROCK – SOUL SURVIVOR

JUNIOR MARVIN – MARLEY AND ME

Bernard Sumner Stephen Morris Gillian Gilbert Phil Cunningham Tom Chapman 27th February Vector Arena Auckland www.ticketmaster.co.nz 0800 111 999 Presented by Solid Entertainment, 95bFM and Vector Arena

POWERSTATION MON 16 JAN BEIRUT THURS 19 JAN ODD FUTURE WED CATCH 25 JAN THE DAMNED .44 FRI 27 JAN THEDRESDENDOLLS TUES 31 JAN KITTYDAISY&LEWIS WEDS 22 FEB THESISTERSOFMERCY THURS 23 FEB MAYERHAWTHORNE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DIE HARD 2 RENNY HARLIN TUE 28 FEB THEBLACKLIPS THURS 1 MARCH ROOTSMANUVA TUE 6 MARCH URGEOVERKILL WED 7 MARCH ROKYERICKSON WED 14 MARCH THEDIRTYTHREE IF YOU ARE GOING DOWN, TAKE EVERYONE WITH YOU.

SOLD OUT

Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed and Deborah Ann Woll star in the tough, sexy story of three hit women sent to intercept a big money dope deal.

Rent or Buy on Blu-ray & DVD December 15

BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS

“An amazing war ﬁlm… hurls you head-on into the warzone.” ZOO MAGAZINE UK

NICK LOWE

www.powerstation.net.nz

SAT 31 MARCH

Rent or Buy on Blu-ray & DVD December 15

Available at all leading retailers

Choo-hoo! To see out the year and 16 issues of VOLUME, we sat the cast of Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business around a Xmas table heaving with a whole pig, taro, chop suey and brews. Joining them were Brotha D, Sione’s composer Don McGlashan and spiritual and cultural advisor Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua, along with Savage, David Dallas, Aaradhna and Home Brew, part of the gang of musicians who soundtrack inner-city Auckland the sequel. Once we had the cover shots we needed, the whole spread disappeared in a matter of minutes. There’s no nuptial on the cards this time, but the Duckrockers return to cinema screens next month with Leilani, Tania and Bolo in tow – well, apparently his name is Paul. Like Sione’s Wedding, the sequel delivers you straight to the streets of inner-city Aukilagi with music trawled from Frequency Media Group’s back catalogue and beyond. As McGlashan tells Sione’s 2’s Teuila Blakely in Talking Heads, he’s added colour and texture to songs from locals like PNC, P-Money, Ria, Home Brew and Mareko, and come up with a love song to Auckland City that drives the tempo of the Duckrockers’ new mission. Manuia Le Kerisimasi, VOLUME readers – grab a plate and pull up a chair for our last issue of 2011. Wherever you are in the country, thanks for picking up this new thing of ours piping hot each week. See you in the New Year for plenty more heaped servings. Duckrockers 4 Life.

EDITOR Sam Wicks sam.wicks@volumemagazine.co.nz WEB EDITOR Hugh Sundae hugh.sundae@nzherald.co.nz DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME SALES John Baker john.baker@volumemagazine.co.nz DESIGN Xanthe Williams WRITERS Gavin Bertram, David Carroll, Chris Cudby, Matthew ‘Recloose’ Chicoine, P Digsss, Marty Duda, Duncan Greive, Jessica Hansell, Leilani Momoisea, Joe Nunweek, Hugh Sundae, Aaron Yap ILLUSTRATION Hej Ganias PHOTOGRAPHERS Ted Baghurst, Roger Grauwmeijer, Nick Kingstone, Erin McNamara, Milana Radojcic AN APN PUBLICATION

JEAN POMPEY – TRINITYROOTS’ DRUMMER You stepped into the some big shoes when you made your debut with TrinityRoots in September. How does it feel to be behind the drum kit? I feel pretty blessed. The Powerstation show in Auckland was the flashest gig I have ever done. Even when we are rehearsing now, I catch myself buzzing out on playing the songs, where I am and who I’m making music with, thinking to myself, ‘This is choice as... don’t fuck up!’ Warren, Rio and Riki were famed for their live chemistry. What was the process of “bedding in” with their sound? When I first joined the roopu, we met for a kai and korero where I shared with the boys that I wanted to carry their messages and intentions of Kotahi Aroha through their waiata correctly – weighing those aspects was just as important as the beats and to mihi mihi Riki Gooch. Do Warren and Rio call you bro or sis? I call them “The Boys”, they call me “Sis”. With Rio, it’s “Cuz” because we recently figured out that we are cousins from our Ngati Tuwharetoa, Taumaranui connection, which is choice! TrinityRoots are hitting some good lookin’ summer spots on the tour. Where are you looking forward to playing the most and why? TrinityRoots’ summer tour will be tu meke no matter! Matakana with Freddy’s will be awesome because lots of my whanau are coming to tautoko that gig, so I’ll be playing for them. When will we hear new TrinityRoots recordings? I’ll ask The Boys and let you know. TRINITYROOTS SUMMER TOUR Sunday 25 December – The Station Village Complex, Lower Hutt (w/ Ladi6) Wednesday 28 December – Butlers Reef, New Plymouth (w/ Ladi6) Friday 30 December – Coromandel Gold Monday 2 January – Fat Freddy’s Drop’s One Drop, Ascension Vineyard, Matakana

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Building on the success of David Dallas’ The Rose Tint, his Champagne Gang comrade PNC is gearing up for the release of a new album which mines samples from artists like Adele, Gotye and The Throne, all chopped – not slopped – by new beatmaker, Matt Miller. Presented by Crooks and Castles and VOLUME, Under the Influence will go live on Saturday 17 March – St Patrick’s Day – and, like The Rose Tint download, this one’s on the house. Watch this space for news on singles, tour details, Under the Influence giveaways and more.

MORE FOLDBACK MATTHEW ‘RECLOOSE’ CHICOINE – DJ AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION TEACHER I work at MAINZ, the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand – I’m the programme leader of a new course on DJing and electronic music production. It’s a logical projection from my background as a DJ and producer. Up until the last 10 years or so, there was no such thing as a school where you could study these types of contemporary music forms – electronic music production, beat-making, how to use an MPC, how to develop your scratching skills and mix records together, how to sample – these were all skills

that you would have previously learnt from your peers in studios, in clubs etc. While there’s a lot more structure to what I do now, it isn’t a major leap because we pass on these skills in a way that is true to the way that we learnt them. It feeds into my own music as well because, as a teacher, I have to teach for instance how to make really rumbly, nasty-ass basslines – which is not something I was very in to – so I have to be constantly upskilling my production.

SEND ME A POSTCARD P Digsss and Shapeshifter are on the road with Horace Andy and Sunshine Sound System this summer. They play Matakana’s Ascension Vineyard on Thursday 29 December, Nelson’s Riwaka Hotel on Monday 2 January, Mt Maunganui’s Brewers Field on Friday 6 January and the Waihi Beach Hotel on Saturday 7 January.

A N A K A T A E T A M T S E E IN

W N O I S N E C AS

Y R A U N A J 2 Y A D N OTS O ND

ITY N I R T , P O R DY ’S D

FAT FREDRNERSTONE ROOTS

S D R A Y E N K BARN VI

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TH J7 ARY U N A Y A D SATUR NUDGE ROP & THE D ’S Y D D E FAT FR .NZ MASTER.CO OM TICKET TICKETS FR CO.NZ & VENUES IER. ALL AGEASMPLIF

GOT YOUR EARPLUGS, BRO?…

It’s hard to reconcile that the Auckland Big Day Out is turning 18 next month without the horrifying thought that not only was I alive 18 years ago, I was already old enough to maintain a reasonably adult conversation.

THERE ARE THREE distinct memories I have of that first Big Day Out. It was the only time I’ve been and not stepped foot in the main arena. Believe it or not (and there is really no reason not to), I was a 16-year-old roadie. Assigned to the second and third stages, which in those days were housed in the Supertop. I had few qualifications to be a roadie, aside from eagerness, three-quarter length black shorts, and a spanner attached to my belt with a carabiner. Plenty of reasonably sized acts had floated about backstage without a hint of attitude, until Silverchair’s dads turned up. I think they were also their managers. I remember one of the dads approaching me frantically: “Does anyone here know how to tune a guitar?” The band was only metres away, so the only possible explanations were A: they didn’t know how to tune their guitars (unlikely, but would explain their back catalogue) or B: they were too big to tune them themselves. The second memory was listening to live broadcasts on bFM by young Steve. Before Nick D was Nick D, he was Nick and Steve, and there were two of him. The young duo were broadcasting

prodigies and would often provide the most entertaining live crosses at these events, such as Steve being moments from vomiting while broadcasting from inside the Gravitron. The third was the disdain from the mainstream media who now court such events. That morning the Hauraki breakfast jocks were taking the piss out of the Big Day Out by making up band names. “Yeah, heading out to Mt Smart today to watch Gothic Nail Biter and really looking forward to Shitchildren’s set too,” kind of stuff. Oh, how things change. I find the annual brickbats/bouquetfest over the lineup a bit like listening to talkback. Irritating, entertaining and irrelevant all at the same time. Sure, it’s easy to say this when you don’t buy your ticket (usually working media), but the strength or otherwise of a particular year’s lineup doesn’t make much of a difference to the day. The BDO is an annual rite of passage for music fans and the music-indifferent alike.

“Plenty of reasonably sized acts had floated about backstage without a hint of attitude, until Silverchair’s dads turned up.”

It’s wandering about in the crossstream of three different bands’ sets coming at you from different directions; it’s trying to sneak into the Immortals Lounge without a pass; it’s catching the end of a band’s set as you wait at the adjacent stage and wishing you’d got there a bit earlier because they sound much better live than they do on the radio. You may not have heard of a lot of the bands, but if you’re somewhere else on Friday 20 January, there is probably a part of you that still wishes you were at Mt Smart. Even just to bitch about it on Twitter.

MORE GRAVY Dictaphone Blues

A lot can happen between deadline and hitting the street, and so it was last week. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Unknown Mortal Orchestra had to pull out of their Sundae Session, but luckily Dictaphone Blues stepped in at the last minute, pulling off a frantic and exciting eight tunes. I’ve long been a fan of Eddie Castelow’s songwriting (and pretty much everything else about him) and had an eye on the band for a session early next year. But bringing them forward was an early Xmas gift – they have some great new songs and even did an old fav of mine – ‘Spooky Room’. There are still a few Drab Doo-Riffs videos to get online this week, and then Dictaphone Blues will start drip-feeding online over the break. Merry Xmas.

DON MCGLASHAN Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business – the sequel to Sione’s Wedding – is released nationwide next month, and the sounds of an urban Pacific Auckland are again up front and centre, driving the storyline. Sione’s 2 actress Teuila Blakely talked to the film’s composer, Don McGlashan, about soundtracking the streets of Aukilagi. Photography Ted Baghurst Make-up Meggie Mapper for M.A.C Cosmetics TEUILA BLAKELY: I have to say, it’s quite an honour that you have come on board as the composer for Sione’s 2. How did that actually come about? DON MCGLASHAN: Well, they didn’t have a composer as such for the first one, and I think the idea was always that there’s such a great storehouse, a great resource, of amazing urban music – hip hop and rap music – in Auckland, and also the close relationship between South Pacific Pictures and Dawn Raid meant that all that stuff was available, so that’s why they didn’t have [a composer] for the first one. But then for the second one, it’s a different director and a different kind of story. Simon Bennett was pretty adamant that they’d need some dramatic music just to sort of link it, and then when I read the script and saw the film, I really agreed. I was able to go into it and work out what I needed. I ended up using drums, strings, bass, lots of guitars, percussion, lots of stuff I could play, horns and mandolins. There’s a whole sort of hallucinatory story which I can’t give away, as you know, and that needed spooky, angelic sounds. And then there’s a big choral aspect to it too, so we used two choirs. I got a choir from St Joseph’s Church in Grey Lynn and another choir

from Aorere College – beautiful choirs – and they came together and really complimented each other. And all of that had to happen in a decent big studio, so we used Roundhead, which has got everything that opens and shuts and good coffee. Neil Finn’s studio, yes? Yup. You said when Simon [Bennett] sent you the script for the film, you wanted to do it. Did you think it was going to be challenging in terms of the subject matter? It’s quite an urban film. Had you ever worked on a film like Sione’s 2? Well, I worked on films that had gritty locales – there’s a film called Matariki which I really loved working on and a lot of that’s set in South Auckland, but the main thing about working on this film was that what it needed from me… it had all this wonderful music from Dawn Raid/Frequency Media Group – David Dallas, Devolo, J Boog and Monsta, Savage and Ria, lots of P-Money stuff, Aaradhna. So it had an amazing set of stuff which I could use as, like, theme music or – because a lot of the film takes place in bars around Grey Lynn and around Auckland, there’s a hell of a lot where the music is in the background and there’s a conversation going on, but the music’s acting like a character, commenting on stuff. So I knew that was a given – part of my job was to find the tracks and listen to them and work out how to edit them and muck around with them. There’s also a big aspect to the

TEUILA BLAKELY

film which is it’s a “quest movie”, and quests have a solid structure because it’s a really old form that goes right back to the beginning of movies. My job was to write a score which reflected that. You’ve got lots of control as a composer over stuff that you’re writing, but then when you pull in a piece of music that’s been on somebody’s album, you don’t muck around with it – it just sits there and it’s kind of sacrosanct. It’s a moral copyright issue and, in any case, the composer might be in Paris or somewhere, and you haven’t got the time to negotiate with them. But with this film it was different because all of these artists were local and they were generally on the FMG stable, so I just said, ‘I think I’m going to need to modify these pieces of music – is

“It’s cool being a Palagi working on it too – I’ve got my own love song to Auckland and it’s different from that of the first movie.” – DON MCGLASHAN that alright?’ I got access to all these people and I got to talk to Savage and talk to Brotha D. Brotha D came into the studio and saw what I was doing and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine – you can do it’. So I got stakeholding from all these different people, which you normally wouldn’t have on a film. It’s a hell of a journey, the film, but I love those projects where I’m bringing in everything I’ve got and I’m coming out of it having learnt a huge amount, and this was one of them. What do you think you learnt from doing the music for this film?

I learnt a lot about hip hop music, I learnt a lot about the way the stories work, the way they build character through a piece, and just being able to talk to the artists, because with licensed music that you pull into a film, you don’t have that contact. I got to talk to people about the songs that they’d written and hear why they’d made certain choices – it was very cool. I think what we’ve ended up with is a kind of love song to Auckland. It’s cool being a Palagi working on it too – I’ve got my own love song to Auckland and it’s different from that of the first movie. Everybody’s got their own contribution to make, but I was able to put in my two cents worth.

To watch the video of Don McGlashan and Teuila Blakely in conversation, head to nzherald.co.nz/volume – live from 2pm Tuesday. Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business Soundtrack featuring Don McGlashan, Savage, Ria, Home Brew, PNC, David Dallas, Mareko, P-Money, Aaradhna and more is out now on Frequency Media Group. Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business is in cinemas nationwide 19 January.

Soul Brother Number One Pete Rock visits New Zealand for the first time on New Year’s Eve, bringing his deep crates to the Highlife festival in Matakana. Ahead of his pending journey, two Detroit musical natives, HouseShoes and Recloose, talked shop with the hip hop legend. Text Matthew ‘Recloose’ Chicoine PETE ROCK IS as important as they come in the hip hop universe. His signature production style was a cornerstone of hip hop’s “Golden Age”, a period roughly spanning the late 1980s to the mid1990s, which gave rise to some of the most inspired albums, MCing, DJing and production the culture has witnessed (think Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and more). Along with DJ Premier and Wu-Tang’s RZA, Pete Rock is credited as one of the most influential hip hop producers of that period, if not of all time. As a record buyer in the 1990s, seeing his name on a record was instant confirmation of freshness, a tested seal of quality. Real hip hop fans didn’t hesitate to reach for the wallet – they knew his basslines had more bounce, his samples had more soul, his drums more knock. His work was, in short, consistently untouchable. And when you got the record on the platter at home, you could bet you’d have your head down, hands in the air, involuntarily hollering “ooo-wheee!” in your best Pete Rock voice (his ad-libs, legendary themselves, are laced all over his production). Putting a finger on Rock’s signature sound is difficult, but what he continues

to create could best be described as “touch”, an unconscious artistic finesse that inspires the listener and confounds the imitator. Rock revealed this “touch” was literally passed to him from the Godfather of Soul himself. “I met James Brown when I was seven years old, and he passed something to me when he touched my hand. I know that sounds crazy, but I think something happened there – I was never the same. I was a huge fan of James Brown since I can remember – three, four years old. Listening to him, a lot just made me create a soulful type of sound that was funky and soulful at the same time.” Rock’s classic productions and remixes embody these complimentary styles of funk and soul, exemplified by big basslines and a backbeat coupled with floating hornlines and vocal hooks. Listen to any of his work from the early to mid-1990s – his albums with CL Smooth (Mecca and the Soul Brother, The Main Ingredient), guest productions for MCs like Nas (‘The World is Yours’ from Illmatic), and numerous remixes (Rock cites Public Enemy’s ‘Shut Em Down’ remix along with ‘They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)’ as his own favourite

productions) – and you’ll have undeniable proof that Pete Rock has a gift for inspired, timeless production. This body of work influenced anybody with a pair of ears and a sense of rhythm. Most notable was the late Detroit producer James Yancey AKA Jay Dee AKA J Dilla, who credited Rock with helping to shape his sound. DJ

“I met James Brown when I was seven years old and he passed something to me when he touched my hand.” HouseShoes, Detroit’s unofficial hip hop ambassador and longtime friend of Dilla, was along for the interview and asked Rock about his memories of working with the young producer. “I reached out to Dilla and then I arranged for Q-Tip to come out there to meet him. I went over to his crib and we chilled out and spent the night in the basement.” Dilla’s basement is a place

of legend, an unsung beatmaking mecca that was frequented by all kinds of hip hop talent throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. “Moms [Dilla’s mother, Maureen ‘Ma Dukes’ Yancey] was upstairs cooking breakfast for us and everything, and I was making beats down there on his stuff – it was beautiful, man.” The relationship bloomed over the years, and Rock and Dilla stayed in regular contact, often catching up on the phone to compare production techniques and name-drop records they were listening to. A few years after Dilla’s passing in 2006, his friend and collaborator was enlisted to construct a radio-styled mixtape from Dilla’s ample collection of unreleased beats, which was released in 2009 as Jay Stay Paid, a fitting tribute from one legend to another. Rock’s artistic vision and talent for collaboration has maintained a dedicated following since he first broke out in the early 1990s. Most recently he’s been working on joint projects with Smif-nWessun, Camp Lo and fellow hip hop architect, DJ Premier, who he has recently been touring and performing with. “Me and Premier always talked about doing it since we was doing the DJ thing together. We just said, ‘Fuck it – let’s do an album together’. This shit ain’t never been done – we’re melding our sound together. He’s made some stuff, I’ve made some stuff, and we’re going to just gel with it. It’s going to be incredible.” Longevity in hip hop is no small feat. Rock, like most artists involved in the music industry before its post-2000 “redefinition”, is well acquainted with the difficulties of maintaining a passion and a living at the same time. But his continued fire for his own music and the art of hip hop continues to inspire the true believers out there. When asked about advice for aspiring producers, he sagely offers the following: “Own your sound. Own who you are as a person first, and then if the music’s in you, if it’s in your blood and you’re tryining to tap it out, then you own it. You’ve got to try to create a sound that nobody is doing and stand there and hold it. And you have to always love it regardless. You’ve got to roll with the punches, the ups, the downs, the ins and outs, you know what I’m saying.” Pete Rock plays the Highlife NYE Experience at the Matakana Country Park with Crazy P, DJ Spen, A Skillz, Vandalism, P-Money, The Arc and more on Saturday 31 December.

A column in which Duncan Greive scours the world’s charts in the hope of finding, if not the perfect beat, then something worth whistling at least. THE GREATEST RACE

There is no title in pop music more revered than the UK Xmas No 1 single. It doesn’t make you the most money, or mean you’re the most popular singer in the world, or that you’ll have a lasting Mr Blobby career. But it has a whiff of history about it – like pop immortality is bestowed when you take it out. That’s in spite of – or more likely directly related to – the monumental ridiculousness of the event and the fanfare with which it’s greeted. It’s roughly as important to the English as a general election is to us here in New Zealand, with similar participation levels. There are so many fantastically absurd elements to the race – it speaks to that cheerfully demented side of the British psyche, and the wilfully blind part too. So there is tremendous coverage of it, without there being any real doubt about who will win, thanks to the accuracy of real-time chart reporting. There’s a sense that it’s incredibly important, when prior winners have included Bob the Builder, Benny Hill and Band Aid II. And for the last few years it hasn’t really been a

competition at all, with The X Factor winners taking it out five of the last six years. The only time they missed out was when Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ was campaigned to the top, but even this one moment of quasi-people power has now become a cliché, with numerous social media-petitioned singles touted as alternatives to The X Factor dominance, while simultaneously being even less creatively inspired processwise than the manufactured pop artists they’re whinging about. So who’s winning this year? Little Mix took out The X Factor, and as we go to print they’ve just been announced, shockingly, as this year’s Xmas No 1. Their cover of Damien Rice’s ‘Cannonball’ is pretty neat, I reckon – all synth drums, madly portentous strings and a nearSteinman level of melodrama. All the more impressive given that the original is the proverbial pint of warm sick. We in New Zealand don’t have that obsessive pop music culture, which is not to say we couldn’t develop it. It’s looking like the song which deserves it (Rihanna’s fourth quarter-dominating ‘We Found Love’) will lose out to a depressingly worthy charitable single ‘Wherever You Are’, by The Military Wives (seriously!). There’s still time for something more appropriate to make a run (One Direction would be my preference), but don’t count on getting a decent present in 2011.

RIANZ TOP 10 NEW ZEALAND SINGLES CHART 1 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’ 2 LMFAO – ‘Sexy and I Know It’ 3 One Direction – ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ 4 Bruno Mars – ‘It Will Rain’ 5 Coldplay – ‘Paradise’ 6 Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – ‘Young, Wild and Free’ 7 Six60 – ‘Only To Be’ 8 David Guetta ft. Sia – ‘Titanium’ 9 Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’ 10 Gotye ft. Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

UK TOP 10 SINGLES CHART 1 Little Mix – ‘Cannonball’ 2 Coldplay – ‘Paradise’ 3 Olly Murs – ‘Dance with Me Tonight’ 4 Lloyd ft. Andre 3000 & Lil Wayne – ‘Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)’ 5 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’ 6 Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’ 7 Avicii – ‘Levels’ 8 Leona Lewis – ‘Hurt’ 9 Ed Sheeran – ‘Lego House’ 10 T-Pain ft. Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen – ‘5 O’Clock’

DUNCAN’S FAVOURITE UK XMAS NO 1S OF ALL TIME 1 Slade – ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ (1973) 2 Girls Aloud – ‘Sound of the Underground’ (2002) 3 The Human League – ‘Don’t You Want Me’ (1981) 4 Jackie Wilson – ‘Reet Petite’ (1986) 5 Whitney Houston – ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992) 6 Pet Shop Boys – ‘Always On My Mind’ (1987) 7 Spice Girls – ‘2 Become 1’ (1996) 8 East 17 – ‘Stay Another Day’ (1994) 9 Elvis Presley – ‘Return to Sender’ (1962) 10 Mr Blobby – ‘Mr Blobby’ (1993)

MUSIC 101 KIRSTEN JOHNSTONE’S TOP FIVE BANJO SONGS

Live Series: Volume One (Golden Retriever) JUST IN TIME for Xmas, here are captivating live documents of two remarkable albums from our greatest young composer. Dudley Benson’s concerts are world-colliding events – performances where waifish 19-yearold hipsters meet scholarly classical music columnists meet members of the “art community proper”. You could tease apart the reasons for this – his choral upbringing, his awareness of residing in a New Zealand cultural landscape of which pop music is just one facet – but the key might be his meticulous perfectionism in bringing two impossibly elaborate records to life. THE BLACK KEYS El Camino (Nonesuch) An ugly car turned kitsch icon; two musicians who are, from all accounts, monumental arseholes making a career of sounding breezily affable; a mash-up producer turned rockist bulwark; a confection of glamstomp garage-blues that doesn’t suck in 2011. All told, El Camino is another very good instalment in The Black Keys’ tightrope of a career. GYM CLASS HEROES The Papercut Chronicles II (Fueled by Ramen) These guys were quite big for their vaguely offensive emo-metal rapcrossover a couple of years ago, and I can say with total honesty that this is exactly what you can expect a vaguely offensive emometal rap-crossover’s difficult fifth album to sound like. Features Adam Levine. MAGAZINE No Thyself (Wire-Sound) Hailed more than once as “postpunk’s ground zero”,

The Awakening is here an immaculate chamber-pop piece, as performed at St-Matthew-inthe-City in April 2008. The live Forest, based primarily around the compositions of Hirini Melbourne and recorded entirely via the human voice, is on another level entirely – an astonishingly crisp and precise yet vibrant reconstruction of that album. Neither live album follows the exact trajectory of its parent, finding time for Kate Bush covers and swooning standards. The packaging is exceptional, too. What a set-up for the next one. Review Joe Nunweek

this is Magazine’s first record in 30 years – the squiggly guitar heroics which have taken the place of deceased guitarist John McGeoch are pretty tacky, but the music drips with the same queasy irony and lyrical venom they had before. Unlike many contemporaries, little has mellowed. BEATKAMP Beatkamp (ft. Jeremiah Rahmeel) (Beatkamp Muzik) A triple-threat New Zealand-born, Australia-based hip hop album that does it pretty okay – one-third producer whiz (Aaron Ngawhika, one of the big hitters behind the success of Savage’s ‘Swing’), one third r’n’b (Xy Latu), one third-rapper (Jeremiah Rahmeel, who slips between patois and a rougher-hewn delivery). Slick, compact pop-rap. GOLD MEDAL FAMOUS 100 Years of Rock (Powertool) Latest project of Chris Wilson (Full Chrome Logic, The Buster Wilson Experience). Previously, they were best known for the minor viral sensation ‘John Key is a Dick’. That’s interchanged for titles like ‘Chemo Heavy Hard Core’ and ‘I Want to Make You Come’.

1: Karen Dalton – ‘Katie Cruel’ – Dalton’s version of this trad song is a home recording from 1963, which has a phone ringing at the beginning and birds chirping in background. The song that made me go into Alistair’s Music in Wellington and buy a banjo. 2: Abigail Washburn – ‘City of Refuge’ – This woman has the most incredible banjo tone; deep, plonky and lyrical. Along with Sarah Jarosz, she’s bringing the modern sound of clawhammer. 3: Doc Watson – ‘Shady Grove’ – The first song I learnt on banjo. It’s in Sawmill tuning – (G)DGCD – which is a bit modal and a bit haunting, which makes it perfect for murder ballads. 4: The Books – ‘Lemon of Pink’ – My favourite glitch-folk-collage artists have banjo plastered all over their first three albums. Along with Le Loup’s album The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly, this shows the banjo in a different, more improvisational context. 5: Neil Young – ‘Old Man’ – Okay, not strictly a banjo song, but listen again to the penultimate chorus. Banjo! And it’s beautiful!

Fans of Mötem (reviewed two weeks ago) would be wise to check out this sloppy, hilarious mess. RAMMSTEIN Made in Germany: 1995-2011 (Universal) You know what else was made in Germany and was a devastating industrial force? That’s right. Einstürzende Neubauten. I’m reasonably sure Rammstein have played every Big Day Out ever but if one year they stop just blame Kanye, sob a little, and throw this on. Includes inexplicable/amazing Pet Shop Boys remix. VHS OR BETA Diamonds and Death (Krian Music Group) Overcooked, desperately dated dance-punk that blasts on mindlessly with no sense of its context, its purpose, or the fact that its social currency and relevance is all but gone. The musical equivalent of the ACT Party. PINK MARTINI A Retrospective (Inertia) Thirteen-member “little orchestra” formed in Portland in the ’90s as an exercise in nostalgia, cocktail

chic, and soundtrack placement (you’ve probably heard them, interchangeably, in films like Mr & Mrs Smith and Josie and The Pussycats). I’m sure they have done very well out of this sort of mood music, but there’s basically no reason for this best-of to exist. BUSH The Sea of Memories (Zuma Rock Records) Quay/kwei/, Middle English “quaye” : verb. The accumulated sonic residue of processed male vocals, resembling emotionally distraught gravel going down a bung shower drain, or alternatively, an autotuned Eddie Vedder. Example usage: “This Bush reunion album is a big stinking heap of quay.” COBRA SKULLS Agitiations (Fat Wreck Chords) Fat Wreck Chords punk – you know the drill if you’ve come this way before through NOFX or Against Me! This Reno, Nevada, trio split the difference between the straightforwardness of the former and folksy agitprop bent of the latter, though sadly they’re not quite as easy to fall for to my inner 14-year-old. Reviews Joe Nunweek

“When you make a promise to Bob Marley you try to keep it!” says Junior Marvin, the singer and guitarist most widely known for his work in the late ’70s with Bob Marley and The Wailers. He had plenty of stories to share with VOLUME recently, about working with The Beatles and saying “no” to Stevie Wonder, as well as life after Bob. Text David Carroll BORN IN JAMAICA, Donald Hanson Marvin Kerr Richards Jr (variously known as Junior Marvin, Junior Kerr and Junior Hanson) moved to London when he was nine years old. Already a musical child, he landed a role in The Beatles’ movie Help: “The Beatles were all pretty short and I was tall for my age,” Marvin remembers. “We were at Pinewood Studios and it was made up to look like the Bahamas, and I was the police, chasing Ringo. “I was playing keyboards and singing then, but when I was 16 I saw Jimi Hendrix, and thought I had to play guitar,” enthuses Marvin. “Later, my friends in England were in bands which were part of what was known as the “British Invasion”, going to the US and touring with Jeff Beck and with Traffic, and I thought, ‘I gotta go,’ because that’s where everyone else is going!” Marvin continues: “My original plan was to go to a music school in Boston, but I met a manager who had heard me playing and he said, ‘Look, T-Bone Walker needs a guitar player and I think you’re good enough’. Of course, I thought I was nowhere near good enough,” he laughs, “but I spent a year with T-Bone Walker, and I met Billy Preston, Ike and Tina Turner and Sly Stone.” When Marvin moved back to the UK, he worked with Steve Winwood, Toots and the Maytals and the Keef Hartley Band – and was a member of the London cast for the stage musical Hair, before forming his own group, blues-rockers Hanson. And, in February 1977, Marvin

experienced another of those rightplace-right-time moments. “I met Chris Blackwell and he says, ‘Hey, come to this hotel and meet a friend of mine’ – he didn’t tell me who it was,” Marvin chuckles. “Just as I was walking out the door, my phone rings and it’s Stevie Wonder offering me a job in his band. I said I would think about it and get back to him, as I had this meeting to go to. So I meet with Chris Blackwell and walk into this hotel room, and there’s Bob Marley sitting there, and he says, ‘Junior, I want you to join my band’.”

“There’s Bob Marley sitting there, and he says, ‘Junior, I want you to join my band’.” Marvin laughs at the memory: “I got home and I had to call my friends and family and decide whose offer to accept! I went with Bob because he was Jamaican, and there was more encouragement to do it.” Junior Marvin appeared on four albums alongside Bob Marley, including Exodus, which Time magazine labelled the “Best Album of the 20th Century”. After Bob’s death in 1981, Marvin continued with The Wailers, recording four more albums and performing across the globe. “We were in Germany when Bob was ill,” says Marvin quietly, “and he said to us, ‘Listen, if anything happens

you should stick together’, so we felt we owed him. We made a promise to him and it felt right, you know – everyone had the same vibe. Bob had a unique message, and I was very honoured to be able to continue to spread that message. I still think it was the right thing to do.” In the late ’90s, Marvin decided to leave The Wailers, moving to Brazil (where he hung out with Gilberto Gil for a few years), before heading back to the US and joining with fellow guitarist Al Anderson to tour as The Original Wailers. Junior Marvin released his long-overdue solo debut, Wailin’ For Love, in 2007, and songs from that album – alongside Bob Marley classics – are what New Zealand audiences will hear when Marvin brings his touring band with him to perform at Ragamuffin. “I can’t wait to get back to your beautiful country,” Marvin says excitedly. “I was there with Bob, and again shortly after his passing. It’s going to be an exciting, extremely lively show with audience participation encouraged. One Love!” Junior Marvin plays Raggamuffin 2012, 27–28 January, at the Rotorua International Stadium with Sly & Robbie, Arrested Development, Marvin Priest, Ali Campbell and more.

JUNIOR MARVIN’S TOP 10 MUSICAL MOMENTS 1

‘What It Is’ from The Keef Hartley Band’s 1972 album Seventy Second Brave – A footstompin’ blues-rock bar brawler.

‘Rain’ from Hanson’s 1973 album Now Hear This – Funky psych-tinged blues-rock.

‘Three Little Birds’ – Exodus (1977)/‘Is This Love?’ – Kaya (1978)/‘One Drop’ – Survival (1979), all with Bob Marley and The Wailers – We’ll just call it a three-way tie…

‘Hail H.I.M.’ from Burning Spear’s 1980 album Hail H.I.M. – Deep Rasta vibes.

‘Spanish Dancer’ from Steve Winwood’s 1980 album Arc of a Diver – Gorgeous guitar-work for the blue-eyed soulman.

‘Dub Softly’ from Sly and Robbie’s 1982 album Dub Rockers Delight – Beautiful mellow guitar work.

‘Reggae Got Soul’ from Toots and The Maytals’ 1989 album Reggae Got Soul – A storming stepper with a classic guitar line.

‘One Draw’ from Rita Marley’s 1990 album Who Feels It Knows It – A hilariously controversial ode to sinsemilla.

‘Give Them the Rights’ from The Congos’ 2005 album Give Them the Rights – Righteous reggae and the characteristic falsetto of founding member Cedric Myton.

‘Where Is Love?’ from Junior Marvin’s 2011 album Wailin’ for Love – Classic good-times reggae vibes.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL Director Brad Bird Starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol arrives with high hopes that its director, Brad Bird, making his live action debut, will re-energise the franchise with some of the visual elan he’s brought to his animated films such as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. Excluding a handful of thrilling set-pieces, it pains somewhat to say that his transition to the world of fleshand-blood beings isn’t quite as distinctive and stylish as one would hope. Ghost

Protocol stays closer to the slick, safe, welloiled anonymity of J.J. Abrams’ third film, rather than the unmistakable auteurism of Brian DePalma’s initial and John Woo’s second entry in the series. If anything, Bird’s film might be the most preposterous of the lot, featuring some truly silly high-tech gadgetry and far-fetched scenarios that push our suspension of disbelief to breaking point. Sometimes it works, as in the muchballyhooed scene where Cruise climbs the Burj Khalifa using a pair of sticky Spider-Man gloves. And the multi-levelled automated car park fight towards the end is neat, combining the playfulness of Pixar slapstick with the added dimension of human brutality. But the film peaks much too early, and there are things here that are over-thetop even by M:I standards, particularly its race-against-time climax where you’ll find Jeremy Renner levitating while Paula Patton turns Anil Kapoor into a drooling, pussy-whipped puppy. The plot’s rudimentary stuff, with the whittled-down IMF crew scrambling for some nuclear launch codes that have been stolen by a yawnsome, personality-vacuum-of-a-villain named Curt Hendricks (Michael Nyvqist). Review Aaron Yap

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis 8490558AB

with Delaney Davidson

Powerstation Tuesday 31st January Tickets from Ticketmaster

Patty Jenkins has left Thor 2 due to “creative differences”. Marvel is currently looking at veteran TV directors Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan to replace her. Shooting on Paradise Lost, Alex Proyas’ adaptation of John Milton’s epic poem, is being postponed as studio execs try to keep its budget from spiralling out of control. Charlotte Gainsbourg is in talks to star in Lars von Trier’s next film Nymphomaniac, which will follow “the erotic life of a woman from age zero to 50”. Lionsgate is planning a reboot of American Psycho. David Fincher protégé Noble Jones has written the script, and may direct too.

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD Director Martin Scorsese

GOD BLESS OZZY OSBOURNE Director Jack Osbourne

BOB DYLAN, THE Rolling Stones and The Beatles. With George Harrison: Living in the Material World, director Martin Scorsese gets his chance to align himself with the “Big 3” of 1960s’ rock royalty, having already directed Dylan’s No Direction Home and The Stones’ concert film, Shine a Light. While I’m a bit suspicious of Scorsese’s musical credibility, his name attached to this project meant that the co-operation of all the necessary players was almost guaranteed. And they’re all here to heap praise on Harrison – bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, best buddy Eric Clapton, wife Olivia Trinidad Arias, ex-wife Pattie Boyd, producers George Martin and Phil Spector, Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle, and racing legend Jackie Stewart. The one face noticeably absent is Dylan, who wrote a few songs with Harrison, appeared at the Concert for Bangladesh and was one of the Travelling Wilburys. Despite the fact that this doco has a running time of 205 minutes, long-time fans of Harrison will find precious few new details about Harrison’s life here. The most memorable moments come

near the end, when Arias gives a blowby-blow account of the very physical battle they were engaged in with a man who broke into their home and almost killed them. Starr’s account of his last visit with Harrison is also quite moving. Scorsese’s directing style is serviceable, but nothing out of the ordinary. The archival Beatle footage looks very good in Blu-ray. The handful of bonus features seem on the skimpy side. But I guess all of the footage was used in the final cut, which ends appropriately enough with the song ‘Long, Long, Long’. Surprisingly, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, a doco produced by Osbourne’s son Jack, is the better film. Jack too has access to everyone in Osbourne’s life (McCartney makes an appearance here as well). Rather than a white-washed version of the controversial rocker’s life, this is a warts and all example of what drinking and drugs can do to one’s life and how it affects their family – even one as dysfunctional as the Osbournes. An entertaining and sobering experience, plus plenty of excellent Black Sabbath footage. Reviews Marty Duda

FIRST NZ SHOW IN 25 YEARS!

PO W ER STAT IO N AN W E D 25 J TICKETS FROM TICKETMASTER

HISTORY MADE...

DJ Rhys B at the 1990 DMC World DJ Championships

DJ RHYS B AT THE 1990 DMC WORLD DJ CHAMPIONSHIPS HAMMERSMITH PALAIS, LONDON 20 MARCH 1990

DJ Rhys B represented New Zealand at the 1990 DMC World DJ Championships at the Hammersmith Palais in London… and met Tupac Shakur.

I WAS ONLY 20, so it was a big experience for me. I competed in the first New Zealand DMC Final at The Gluepot – competition was tough, but I took it out. The prize was a trip to London to compete in the World DJ Championships. I travelled with Simon Grigg who ran the DMC competition in New Zealand, and it was my first time in the Northern Hemisphere. I was excited to be the first Maori DMC champion to represent Aotearoa in an international DJ competition. It was a bit overwhelming at first, especially in the elimination round when you’d see all these other competitors that you’d read about. DJ Dave from Germany – he won the competition that year, the Japanese guy DJ Yoshi, the Italian

guy Francesco Zappala, the American champion was Baby G – there were heaps of big names. I had Twin Hype in my set – a song called ‘Do it to the Crowd’ – and I used ‘Jam Master Jay’ by Run-D.M.C., I had a couple of 12-inches of those. It was more back-to-back and scratching and body tricks in the early ’90s. The DMC is a six-minute competition and they want to see all-around DJ skills, scratching, beatjuggling and beat-mixing, all in one package. There were 23 competitors in the eliminations and they chose 10. I came 12th, and I’m proud of that. It was a very eye-opening experience and I’m lucky to have had it. This is probably when the DMC competition was at its height, and lots of people played. I met A Tribe Called Quest, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. – I went to McDonald’s with them and they were real cool. Public Enemy and Professor Griff were there, Inner City, 3rd Bass,

“I met A Tribe Called Quest, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. – I went to McDonald’s with them and they were real cool.”

Digital Underground. That’s where I met Tupac – he was a dancer for Digital Underground, and it was funny because everyone was around Shock G ’cause he was the star of the show, and just to the side was Tupac and their DJ, Money-B. This is before Tupac had the tattoos and stuff. I just walked up to him and introduced myself: ‘Hi, I’m Rhys B from New Zealand’. I was pretty starstruck with some of those people but I figured I wasn’t going to get an opportunity like that again. I just did the New Zealand thing, walked up and said, ‘Gidday, mate – how’s it going?’

...AND IN THE MAKING

k Magnetic

Fans of Stin

STINK FEST 13

THE DARKROOM/DUX LIVE, CHRISTCHURCH Thursday 15 December – Saturday 17 December Review Chris Cudby Photography Erin McNamara STINK MAGNETIC RECORDS might be New Zealand music’s best-kept secret. They’ve always worked on the periphery, putting out work by musicians united by a love of scuzzedup party sounds, songs about cool stuff and getting boozed. Or, as the catalogue for Stink Fest 13 put it, “No shit bands”. Over one weekend in Christchurch the label celebrated its 13 th birthday, marking its transition into the tumultuous teens with style and a shitload of fuzzed-out guitars. Full disclosure is important here: I played at the festival with my band Golden Axe. So take these words as you like – objectivity’s pretty much out the window. We flew in on Friday, missing out on what was by all accounts a killer first evening headlined by local hero Delaney Davidson. The second evening at great new venue The Darkroom was opened by I Drink Your Blood who hypnotised the crowd with his sharp space-vampire attire, smooth dance moves, hauntingly echoed vocal grunts and catchy, dubbed-out organ melodies. Next up was Christchurch legend Richie Venus. Armed with just his singing voice, a customised gold jacket and some superb backing tracks, Venus showed the audience what live entertainment is all about. Stink Magnetic banner act Planet of the Tapes packed the house and brought the party with their “esoteric

The Bloody Souls

Commander

Robot

I Drink Your Blood and Planet of the Tapes

space trash” surf-rock’n’roll, a festival highlight. Last up was Golden Axe, and we had a great time zooming through eight songs in 18 minutes to meet the 1am closing deadline. The audience and the bar was awesome – you can drink beer while browsing records at neighbouring Galaxy Records!

“Marking its transition into the tumultuous teens with style and a shitload of fuzzed-out guitars.” The final evening was located at the new Dux Live venue. Kicking off, one-man-band Monosonic kept the bar high with reverbed vox, skronking guitar lines and cool songs about topics such as drinking a cup

Ritchie Venus

of tea. Next up was the mysterious T.A. Maracas, creating a Twilight Zone of sound with organ, voice and minimal percussion. Eerie vibes and Suicide-like no-wave energy spikes – apparently “polarising” to jerks who don’t know. Compere Bad Evil maintained a smooth transition between acts with snappy wit and hot guitar. Boss Christ was another festival highlight – mesmerising guitar, an unreal voice and truly passionate songs about topics close to his heart, like tractors. His acapella song and dance was a show-stopper. I somehow missed the Grand Chancellors – what a dick. Closing up was The Bloody Souls, tearing it up through Andrew Tolley’s epic songbook. Things were pretty bleary by that stage as Stink Fest 13 finished on a heavily distorted, beersoaked note. Too many great bands. What a sweet weekend!

AUCKLAND

Cassette Allstars – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Good Shirt with guests Stereobus – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $25-$35 Mark Cunningham – Union Post Brewbar, Ellerslie, 9pm, Free Plasmalytes, Black Science, DJ UnKarl – CrossRoads Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 9pm, Free Granduo – Florrie McGreals Irish Pub, Takapuna, 9:30pm, Free Open Mic – Malones, Waiheke Island, 9pm, Free DJ Manuel Bundy & Guitarist Dixon Nacey – The Deck, Auckland CBD, 6pm, Free Ben Fernandez & Maria O’Flaherty – C.A.C. Bar & Restaurant, Mt Eden, 6:30pm Derek Bean – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, Free Funky Chill Out with Dan Zino – Club Waterfall And Function Centre, Manukau City CBD, 10:30pm, Free Open Mic Night – Originals Gig – Shooters Saloon, Kingsland, 8pm, Free Kara Gordon & Band – Volume Bar, Eden Terrace, 9:30pm, Free Paul Lightfoot Is Not the Church...But Damn Close – UFO Live Music Venue, New Lynn, 9:30pm, Free Rangi & Judy – Papatoetoe RSA, Papatoetoe, 6:30pm, $2

TUESDAY 20

The Glocks, Heart Attack Alley, Japanese Neighbours – CrossRoads Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 8pm, $5 Ben Fernandez – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, Free Pop Panic ft. Ricky Rile – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free

WEDNESDAY 21

Andrew Keoghan with special guests She’s So Rad – Q Auckland, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $20 Teenage Kicks – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free J.T. & Alex Rockin’ Th’ Blues – CrossRoads Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 8pm, Free Kiwi Express – Grey Lynn Returned Services Club, Grey Lynn, 6:30pm, Free GC Band Night – Grand Central, Ponsonby, 9pm, Free Andrea Lisa Trio – twentyone, Auckland CBD, 7pm, Free Louise Cole – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, Free The Circling Sun Band – Ponsonby Social Club, Ponsonby, 10pm, Free Live Latin and Brazilian Music – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, Free Nava and Sharnar – Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland CBD, 12pm, Free Paul Voight & Petra Rijnbeek – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, Free

Lucha Lounge, Newmarket, 8:30pm, Free Bad Penny – Franklin Club, Pukekohe, 8pm, Free Brett Polley – De Post, Mt Eden, 8:30pm, Free David Shanhun Duo – The Merchant Bar & Kitchen, Albany, 9pm, Free Franko – Florrie McGreals Irish Pub, Takapuna, 9:30pm, Free Kara Gordon – Malones, Waiheke Island, 9pm, Free Mal MacCallum – Moretons Bar and Restaurant, St Heliers, 8pm, Free Pat 4 President – The Elephant Wrestler, Takapuna, 8:30pm, Free JamesRAy’s Texas Rock Roundup with Geronimo – Howick RSA, Howick, 7pm, Free Merge – Birkenhead RSA, Birkenhead, 7pm, Free State of Mind, Greg Churchill, Pakage & Malicious Mayhem – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $10 DJ Jason Eli & Percussionist John Ellis – The Deck, Auckland CBD, 8pm, Free Still Tippin ft. Savage (Dawn Raid) – Stampede Bar & Grill, Papakura, 10pm, $15 Partouze – The French Connection – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $10 Sam Hill, Wade Marriner & Guests – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free John McGough Trumpeter/DJ – Papakura RSA, Papakura, 6:45pm, Free Chico con Tumbao – Besos Latinos Restaurant, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, Free Habana Noches presents Cuban Accent – CrossRoads

FRIDAY 23

Unknown Peace and Tribal Conexionz – 4:20, Newton, 9:30pm, $10 All I Want For Christmas Is This – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $10-$15 Hell is Now Love Xmas Party: High Society & More – The

THURSDAY 22

Goodshirt – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $25-$35

Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 8pm, Free Latin Live Music – Besos Latinos Restaurant, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, Free Salsa Nights – Atico Cocina, Auckland CBD, 6pm, Free Masters of Metal Xmas 2011 – The Thirsty Dog, Newton, 9pm, $10-$15 Contagious – Cock & Bull, Botany Downs, 9pm Eddie Gaiger – Brooklyn Bar, Auckland CBD, 9:30pm, Free Pair of Halves – GBS Bar & Restaurant @ The Prospect, Howick, 8pm, Free Tall Poppies – The Crib, Ponsonby, 10pm, Free Dr Rhythm & Mr Blues – Grey Lynn Returned Services Club, Grey Lynn, 5pm, Free Christmas Rock – Juice Bar at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 9pm, Free Gerry & Jono – The Clare Inn, Mt Eden, 9pm, Free

SATURDAY 24

Midnight Youth – World Comes Calling Summer Tour – The Brownzy Tavern, Browns Bay, 8pm, $35 Bad Penny – Edinburgh Street, Pukekohe, 9pm, Free David S – Florrie McGreals Irish Pub, Takapuna, 9:30pm, Free Whitewash – O’Carrolls Irish Bar, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Cy Winstanley and Vanessa McGowan – Corellis Cafe, Devonport, 7pm, Free DJ Thane Kirby & Percussionist Joe Bax – The Deck, Auckland CBD, 8pm, Free Social Club Christmas Party w/ Isaac Aesili & Rachel Fraser – Ponsonby Social Club, Ponsonby, 9pm, Free

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SUNDAY 25

Charlie Couch – Love Songs With a Hint of Jazz – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 12pm, Free

MONDAY 26

Ben Fernandez – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, Free

NORTHLAND FRIDAY 23

Carol Power – Jazz Stylist – Aratapu Tavern, Dargaville, 7:30pm, Free The Hewson Project – 35 Degrees South Aquarium Restaurant and Bar, Paihia, 7pm, Free

SUNDAY 25

Lazy Sundays – Art at Wharepuke, Kerikeri, 12pm, Free

MONDAY 26

Six60 Summer Tour w/ Mt Eden – Mangawhai Tavern, Mangawhai, 7:30pm, $55

BAY OF PLENTY

SATURDAY 24

Swamp Thing ft. Michael Barker & Grant Haua – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 8:30pm, Free

SUNDAY 25

WEDNESDAY 21

THURSDAY 22

Bay Salsa – Buddha Lounge, Tauranga, 8pm, $2 LSG Group – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 9pm, Free Soulsista – Seismic Gastrobar, Rotorua, 8pm, $20 Midnight Youth – World Comes Calling Summer Tour – Brewers Bar, Mt Maunganui, 8pm, $35 Waihi Beach Pub Battle of the Bands – Grand Final – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach, 7pm, $10

FRIDAY 23

Concord Dawn – Illuminati Superclub, Tauranga, 10pm, $5 After Work Friday – Live Niki and Friends – TEAZAR Lounge Bar & Night Club, Rotorua, 5pm, Free Xmas party with Harvest and Hundred Acre Woods – TEAZAR Lounge Bar & Night Club, Rotorua, 9pm, $5 Kidz in Space – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach, 8:30pm, $20

MONDAY 26

Jimmy & Perry – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 7pm, Free

COROMANDEL

WELLINGTON REGION

Soul Sax Plus – Hahei Shopping Centre, Hahei, 3pm, Free

Live Music and Two for One Desserts – The Library, 5pm, Free

SATURDAY 24

WAIKATO

FRIDAY 23

Xmas Jam – The Delta, Ngaruawahia, 8pm, $7 Midnight Youth – World Comes Calling Summer Tour – Altitude Bar, Hamilton, 8pm, $35

HAWKE’S BAY / GISBORNE WEDNESDAY 21

Midnight Youth – World Comes Calling Summer Tour – The Sideline Bar, Napier, 8pm, $35

FRIDAY 23

Chicago Disco Tour with DJs Philippa, Tim Richards + More – Poverty Bay Club, Gisborne, 9pm, $10-$15

TUESDAY 20

WEDNESDAY 21

God Bows to Math – Album Release Tour – Mighty Mighty, 9:30pm, $10 Erez Sussman – Guitar from Around the World – Happy, 8:30pm, $15

THURSDAY 22

X-Ray Catz & ’52 Dynamite Special – Hotel Bristol, 8:30pm, Free

FRIDAY 23

Crazy Christmas Bash – Bodega, 10pm, $5 The Infernos – The Hardware Bar & Cafe, Lower Hutt, 8pm, Free In Like Flynn – Molly Malones, 9pm Live Music Friday – Twinset – Mojo Bond St, 6pm, Free Mtown – The Village Inn, Raumati, 9:30pm, Free

Crazy Christmas Bash – Bodega, 10pm, $5 The Sunday Jazz Club – Public Bar & Eatery, 7:30pm, Free

MONDAY 26

In Like Flynn – Molly Malones, 9pm Ladi6 Summer Review Hitchin’ a Ride Tour with TrinityRoots – The Station Village Complex, Lower Hutt, 6pm, $50

NELSON / TASMAN

SATURDAY 24

Erez Sussmann – The Free House, Nelson, 8pm, Free

CANTERBURY THURSDAY 22

The Tiny Lies – Darkroom, 9pm, Free The Black Velvet Band – Becks Southern Alehouse, 8pm, Free

FRIDAY 23

Lincoln Drive Band – Woodend Hotel (The Woody), Woodend, 8pm, Free After Dark – DJ Mike T, Jae K, Katalyst & Jared Kelly – Winnie Bagoes, 10pm, Free

SATURDAY 24

Lincoln Drive – Pierside Xmas Party – Pierside Cafe and Bar, 8pm, Free

OTAGO

WEDNESDAY 21

Grandad’s Wedding CD Release & Freddy Fudd Pucker – The Church, Dunedin, 8:30pm

THURSDAY 22

Grandad’s Wedding (CD Release) & Freddy Fudd Pucker – The Penguin Club, Oamaru, 8:30pm

SOUTHLAND

FRIDAY 23 Rhythmonyx present Xmassive 3 – Tillermans, Invercargill, 11pm, $5

has teamed with Eventfinder for gig listings. To get your gig considered, go to eventfinder.co.nz and submit your show for publication. Due to space constraints, we can’t guarantee that every show will be listed.

8484961AA

Pure Trench Bar – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Neville Chamberlain – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, Free Francis Jakeman – GBS Bar & Restaurant @ The Prospect, Howick, 8pm, Free The Kavalliers – A Rocking Great Band – Avondale RSA, Avondale, 6pm, Free The Kavalliers at your Christmas Eve Party – Avondale RSA, Avondale, 6pm, Free

Merry Xmas to all Auckland bands and musicians from VOLUME – send us your news!… Cheese On Toast’s 8 th birthday went well with Poor You Poor Me impressing. Andrew Tidball is curating the inaugural Music in Afternoons at Silo Park with The Vietnam War, She’s So Rad and Tied on Teeth…

at the Southern Cross Tavern on Thursday – should be a scorcher… Everything Rev’s are throwing a Xmas rock bash at Bodega on Friday – grunty rock and blues … Justin ‘Firefly’ Clarke, one of the capital’s best guitarists, is throwing an international music collaboration on Thursday 29 December. Held at Wesley Church, The Firefly Collaboration is a one-off boncert featuring international musicians who have performed with the likes of Billy Cobham, Trilok Gurtu, Zakkhir Hussein, Ustad Shujaat Khan (2004 Grammy nominee) and Ross Daly among others… On 5 January, Dubstep originator DJ Distance plays San Francisco Bath House – one for the old school

She’s So Rad’s Jeremy Toy

Sonics’ tribute night at Lucha was well attended and there’s word of Roky Erickson and Dead Kennedys nights as well… Guitar Wolf played a wild instore show at Real Groovy on Thursday… Matthew Crawley and The Cosbys Xmas Singers will perform at the Alleluya Breakfast Club on Friday morning, broadcast live and direct on 95bFM… the 12 Days of Xmas continue at Arcade on Cross St… Kody Nielson is the new drummer for UMO – or at least for the moment… New all-girl gloom metallers Castration have a 12inch EP out on boutique label Nordic Thunder… Doug Jerebine, Yuk Harrison and Tony Hopkins wowed Golden Dawn recently with some psychedelic jazz… In Hamilton news, Static Bar run by Graham Don and his wife, Amanda, is well worth a visit – and it’s only an hour and a quarter away. A bar like this, hosting regular live shows and with excellent house music selections, is desperately needed in Ham Town… Rackets’ album release show at the Snakepit on High St this Friday.

Pop up gallery/art store Hit the White is currently running on the corner of Manners and Victoria St... Next year’s edition of the Fringe Festival is looking very promising – stay tuned for more details… Nigel Patterson and Danni Parson’s new band make their debut

Riki Gooch

lighter massive… And the next night at Sandwiches, leading Trinidadian Trini-tech DJ Jillionaire (of Mad Decent crew) plays … An increasing number of remote controlled flying sharks and tigerfish have been sighted around the capital lately – what the… ? ... Local folk/bluegrass dudes D Burmester have just released a new digital EP recorded at Mighty Mighty. Check dburmester. bandcamp.com... Guitar Wolf scorched through town with their set culminating on the third encore with an impressive four-level human pyramid… Riki Gooch is now tutoring from home in drumming, production, beatmaking and music history. Contact him via rikigooch@ gmail.com.

Music grads have been partying hard after four years of study… The Attic has started hosting gigs… Made in China, Left or Right and Osmium rocked Stonerfest and then Sammy’s… New Alizarin Lizard album due… The Great Jali EP due soon… Manthyng’s New Year’s Eve gig at 12 Below will be the place to be and the “Octagroan” won’t!

The Transistors became the first group to perform at Dux Live last Monday. Guitar Wolf followed them, making a truly memorable night. A real “I was there” moment attracting a diverse crowd of all ages from as far away as the West Coast. Big ups to owner Ross Herrick for sticking it to the man on this one… The Brewery have announced their NYE lineup – The Unfaithful Ways, Delaney Davidson, The Eastern and Lindon Puffin. The big celebration however will be Marlon Williams’ 21st… Anita Clarke and Devilish Mary’s Simon Gregory had the pleasure of opening Lyttelton’s latest bar, Dave’s Bar, on Saturday. It was a fun night of wild dancing – very small in size but a great ambience… the Mandeville Music Festival was hugely successful and the 1500 punters who turned up were treated to a wonderful festival of music. The Warratahs have a timeless quality and were loved up by one and all. The Ranchsliders were also excellent and proved to be the perfect backing for up and coming country singer, Jody Direen. Hopefully the promoter will be encouraged to continue next year… The Dux had their official opening party on Wednesday and guests were treated to sets from Nardia Reid, The Sexy Animals and The Eastern… Thomas Reid, frontman for Sleeping Dogs has almost completed a new studio called Quicksand. The Easyhearts and Von Voin Strum have both been recording EPs there with Andrew Buckton (Midnight Youth), and word is that the results are awesome… Lyttelton well represented in Vicki Anderson’s (The Press) top 50 albums of 2011. The Harbour Union at no 1, Lindon Puffin at 10, Delaney Davidson at 17 and The Unfaithful Ways at 30. The Bats came in at no 2. A big thanks to Anderson – she has kept the fires burning and her support for New Zealand music knows no bounds.

Got some news for More Volume? Email us at morevolume@volumemagazine.co.nz.

HORACE ANDY & SHAPESHIFTER

Thursday 29 December – Ascension Vineyard, Matakana Monday 2 January – Riwaka Hotel, Riwaka Friday 6 January – Brewers Field, Mt Maunganui Saturday 7 January – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach

FAT FREDDY’S DROP’S ONE DROP Monday 2 January – Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana w/ TrinityRoots & Cornerstone Roots Saturday 7 January – Black Barn, Havelock North w/ The Nudge

BEIRUT Saturday 14 January – The Opera House, Wellington Monday 16 January – The Powerstation, Auckland

THE DAMNED Wednesday 25 January –

SPLORE 2012 Erykah Badu, Hudson Mohawke,

DJ QBert and Reeps One, Soul II Soul, Africa Hitech, Gappy Ranks, Shortee Blitz, The Yoots, @Peace, Scratch 22, Disasteradio, Alphabethead, Earl Gateshead, The Nudge, AHoriBuzz, The SmokeEaters, Hermitude and more 17–19 February – Tapapakanga Regional Park, Auckland

The Powerstation, Auckland

THE DRESDEN DOLLS Friday 27 January – The Powerstation, Auckland Saturday 28 January – Opera House, Wellington

THE SISTERS OF MERCY Wednesday 22 February – The Powerstation, Auckland

THE BLACK LIPS Tuesday 28 February – The Powerstation, Auckland

THE DUM DUM GIRLS Friday 6 January – Kings Arms, Auckland

URGE OVERKILL

DEERHOOF

RYAN ADAMS Tuesday 6 March –

Tuesday 6 March – The Powerstation

Saturday 7 January – Whammy Bar, Auckland Sunday 8 January – Bodega, Wellington

TUNEYARDS Thursday 12 January – Kings Arms, Auckland

REGURGITATOR Wednesday 18 January – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington

BIG DAY OUT 2012

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Das Racist, Parkway Drive, Regurgitator, Cavalero Conspiracy, The Vaccines, Nero, Soundgarden, Kasabian, Royksopp, Mariachi el Bronx, Battles, Beastwars, Best Coast, My Chemical Romance and more Friday 20 January – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland

FLEET FOXES Friday 13 January – Town Hall, Wellington Saturday 14 January – Town Hall, Auckland

The Regent Theatre, Dunedin Thursday 8 March – The Civic Theatre, Auckland

Wu Lyf

ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL

Anna Calvi, Feist, The Horrors, Gotye, Laura Marling, Pajama Club, SBTRKT Live, Shayne P. Carter, Washed Out, Twin Shadow, M83, Cults, Girls, EMA, Yuck, Toro Y Moi, Wu Lyf, Glasser, Opossom, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Austra, Transistors and more Monday 30 January – Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland

KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS Tuesday 31 January – The Powerstation, Auckland Wednesday 1 February – Bodega, Wellington

CAMP A LOW HUM 2012 10–12 February – Camp Wainui, Homedale, Wainuiomata

ROKY ERICKSON Wednesday 7 March – The Powerstation, Auckland

ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFITTI Tuesday 13 March – Kings Arms, Auckland Wednesday 14 March – Bodega, Wellington

DIRTY THREE Wednesday 14 March – The Powerstation, Auckland

JOE SATRIANI, STEVE VAI AND STEVE LUKATHER – G3 Sunday 25 March – Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland Monday 26 March – Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

NICK LOWE March 31 – The Powerstation, Auckland

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA W/ OPOSSOM

KINGS ARMS, AUCKLAND SATURDAY 17 DECEMBER Review Joe Nunweek Photography Milana Radojcic

Opossom’s setlist

TWO NIELSONS, ONE night. Only a couple of days shy of their Auckland shows, the wavering uncertainty about who would be drumming was resolved and VOLUME got confirmation that Kody Nielson would be manning the skins for his older brother’s Portland psych-out come the weekend. Straight away, there was a sort of morbid, gossipy hum – if the last couple of Mint Chicks gigs were the fraught separation of siblings, would this be the dysfunctional family reunion from hell? Horseshit. Dwelling on the messy demise of the Mint Chicks is to see them through rose-tinted glasses. I think I must have seen the group a couple of dozen times from my teens onward, and it was the disorder, the seesawing on the brink of chaos, the tension that you could cut with a knife that made them amazing. You didn’t go along for an authentic album experience unless you craved disappointment. So Unknown Mortal Orchestra live? Different from the record. The hermeticallysealed dayglo pop universe on there is teased out into long claustrophobic

passages. ‘Nerve Damage’, which sounds like an Ariel Pink slurry on disc, comes across as a stop-start collision between Gun Club twang and some noodly, long-lost Brazilian guitar oddity. Even the staccato swipes on the ruthlessly-upbeat ‘How Can U Luv Me’ are a little too stark and ruthless for comfort, marching through the song like the undead.

“would this be the dysfunctional family reunion from hell?” They come across a little like the bad-trip flipside to Opossom – which is Kody, ex-Mint Chick Michael Logie, and Bic Runga. Both projects bear DNA traces of ‘Bad Buzz’ and ‘Say Goodbye’, and Runga is a fine drummer with pop inclinations that give the openers more swing where UMO feel heavier and darker. The dose of Opossom suggests not just that we’re heading for some sort of fusion of The Zombies and the stop-start freak-outs

of early Deerhoof (particularly when Bic and Kody swap drum and keys duties) but also that the amount of material Opossom has generated means an album sooner rather than later. This isn’t intended to make it sound like one came out over the other – Opossom was the novelty of hearing something for the first time, UMO had the thrill of something you’ve spent time with being reassembled and recast. And the same tension. Ruban, whose guitarwork in UMO looks RSI-inducing when it’s done live, looks more strained by the end. Beer is tipped on stationary audience members. The numbers are messier, more frenzied. Then it’s done – the elder Nielson throws his guitar to the ground. No encores. And for a moment, amid the feedback, there’s a stricken expression of uncertainty – or sudden sobriety, or hurt? – on Kody’s face, still at the drum kit. Never mind – where we had one great band, tonight suggests we may now have two very good ones on our hands. Let’s hope we keep both for a while.

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GUITAR WOLF W/ THE TRANSISTORS NONE, DUNEDIN TUESDAY 13 DECEMBER Photography Roger Grauwmeijer

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