{Issue 8 May 7 2014}
bill spends your beer money bill can give you a shock bill will ruin your Friday night
For no surprises, no worries and no random bills, speak to UCA about Semester 2 accommodation today! *
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{ Contents }
THINGS WE LEARNED THIS ISSUE
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Are you a fan of music back in the day? Or does the scene today twist your volume knob up to 11? An argument unfolds in the Point Counterpoint
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Is there more to life than being really really good looking? Check out Campus Style, it’s so hot right now
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Cary Caldwell is a man that has been places, find out exactly which places and why in the What I Do column
EDITORIAL This issue, our first of the second term, celebrates the strange curiosity that is New Zealand Music Month. Actually, forget about the Month – that’s a Government-funded creation that, like all things selected by a committee, often misses the mark when it comes to discovering truly new and interesting New Zealand music. As an expatriate of American shores, my first introduction to New Zealand music was a six-month study abroad exchange in Auckland eight years ago. It was a buffet of interesting shapes and sounds: the raw fury of The Mint Chicks, the dance rock of The Checks, the dub grooves of Katchafire. Yet like many things about New Zealand Music Month, that experience was fairly Aucklandcentric. It wasn’t until I moved down to the sleeting rain of Wellington that I started to discover the darker side of New Zealand music
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Music, like cake, is available in different forms. Behold some different ways to source music, I promise it will be moist
16 Oh dear, the nakedness has returned to the Flat Profile. I apologise. It makes me more uncomfortable than people using the word moist
– the locked bass of Thought Creature and the gloom pop bedroom productions of A Low Hum Recordings and the jangle that echoed through the early recordings of The Chills and The Clean. It was there I noticed there is a sound on the South Island, something darker and more rough than the sounds made on the North Island. This goes far beyond Flying Nun. The record label is a great starting point for those looking to get into some weird South Island sounds. Though the seminal 80s label is commonly associated with Dunedin, Roger Shepherd actually started it while living in Christchurch’s Four Avenues. We thought that although New Zealand music across the cities and towns of the two islands is stellar no matter where you roam, we would take the opportunity to introduce you to a few songwriters, musos and other movers and shakers that originate right here in Christchurch. Local native Cary Caldwell has been a Senior Planner at South by
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Canta has hounded the music scene in Christchurch. We have a great sack full of interviews with artists that is guaranteed to cater to all tastes
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Some rather bright fellows built trebuchets on Ilam field. It was a potato flinging massacre!
Southwest for the last 14 years and still spends six weeks of every year in Christchurch – he shares a yarn and some tips about how to get event work at major festivals or just having your music noticed by people like him. We also catch up with indie darling Lawrence Arabia, who used to have a column in Canta – don’t you know? Nick Hart of The Shocking Pinks is a proud UC dropout. The Transistors took some time off from UC to go on tour with Japanese band Guitar Wolf; they yarn to Deputy Editor Annalee Jones about the experience. And those are only my favourite parts. Dig into this issue and discover the rest. But remember that the only way to find new music is to get out there to some gloomy dark bar* and listen. Rock on, kids.
Hannah Herchebach Editor-At-Large * We recommend Wunderbar and Darkroom.
WELCOME BACK TO TERM TWO! Sarah Platt We’re only in the first week back and I already have so many exciting things to tell you but first, how were your holidays? I hope you all were able to find some time to relax and revitalise for the term ahead. Hopefully you didn’t have too much Uni work on the go and none of you were washed away in the crazy flooding over Easter. My ‘holidays’ consisted of GRADUATING (!!), buying a trampoline for my flat, being around the office, hosting our second ANZAC Day Service on Campus and over the Easter weekend traveling to Dunedin for Rowing Uni Games (just to be clear I cox, I don’t row …) Coming in at a close second for things to write about before I tell you about the exciting things I have to tell you, is to congratulate all those that graduated! It is an amazing accomplishment and you should all be extremely proud of yourselves. Through UC Council I attended all four Graduation Ceremonies (including my own, yes that’s right you’re looking at a very happy, very new Graduate!) and it was wonderful to watch each Graduand (lingo for those about to graduate) shake the Chancellors hand and be donned with their long awaited title of a UC Graduate. And before you ask, no, no-one tripped or fell on stage. Now, on to the three exciting things I have to tell you!
1.The Living Room. The definition of a living room is, ‘a room in a house for general and informal everyday use. A place to relax.’ And that is exactly what we are bringing you! A space on campus for informal everyday use where you can relax. To quote the signs in the Living Room windows it is, ‘a place for ALL students to come together, chillax, heat up food, dance, be warm, play foosball, read, meet new and interesting people, hold a meeting, swap a book, get out of the rain…and basically do whatever you want as long as you respect each other.’ Where is this amazing space? Just next to the UBS (University Book Shop) where the café ‘AdLib’ use to reside.
THE PRESIDENT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS 1. Is there a possibility to turn James Hight into a space ship that is capable of flying us to Uranus for a daytrip? Even though our Engineers at UC are regarded among some of the best in the world, upon consulting with my (apparently) knowledgeable engineering flatmates, a few issues arose: 1. There are only just enough library books to burn to get out of the stratosphere – nowhere close to Uranus. 2. Due to timetabling issues, the disruptions of turning the Undercroft cafes into jet engines will cause significant delays for people’s morning coffee. 3. As you well know any construction work on UC buildings will take approximately 200 years to complete and despite space travel being relatively cheap your grandchild will still be battling to pay off your student loan so won’t be able to afford the booking fee.
2. The Foundry Launch (re-launch) This Thursday, 8th May, we will be having a Foundry Launch party...at, you guessed it, The Foundry. Yes technically the Foundry has already been ‘launched’ but we have listened to what you’ve had to say and we understand that it wasn’t quite right. While we aren’t suggesting we have made it a place of perfection we have made a few changes that we hope you’ll like. A new layout, a new menu, pretty fairy lights (like we had during Oweek) and A LOYALTY CARD! – you may (or may not) have noticed that the photo of me is different to the usual. It’s me with the poster that went alongside our campaign when Jared (one of your current UCSA Exec Members) and I ran for the 2013 General Exec. One of our campaign goals was to put in place a loyalty card at the Foundry..and yes it’s taken us a little longer than we’d hoped but it’s here! It’s finally here!! YAY! For all details flick over to page 27.
3. Sejuice What is Sejuice? Other than a misspelling of the word seduce, it’s the name of our new Juice Bar. That’s right we have a JUICE BAR ON CAMPUS! Head down to the undercroft opposite Chiltons and quench your thirst with a deliciously refreshing nutritious juice. (Don’t panic the Greek and Cut Lunch have just combined so you can still grab your souvlaki or sandwich) Have a great rest of your first week back and to all those participating in ENSOC’s Mo-May, goodluck and as an avid fan of facial hair (on males) I’m looking forward to what the end of May has to offer! P.S. Don’t forget it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday.
2. What is your Philosophy on Leadership in a youth environment (max. 200 words)? I believe that leadership can take many different forms in a youth setting. First and foremost, it is important to determine what kind of leader you are and what it is that you want to achieve. I like to think of myself as a similar type of leader to Sir William Wallace from Braveheart. He was a real ‘hands-on’ man who inspired others through leading from the front line and getting people to follow him through his actions…though personally, I can’t hold a sword that is 163cm in length, purely because that is almost double my height standing up… on a chair. Although this leadership style works for me, and the goals I set myself, it is important to recognise that some people are allergic to blue paint. So when you find yourself in a youth environment, think first about what kind of leader you consider yourself to be, then turn to the goals you want to achieve, from here you’ll be off like the feijoas I left in Cam’s office 2months ago.
3. Why do they make Pringles containers too small to fit your hand in to get the last few chippies? Seeing as the Pringle container is not actually too small for my hand to fit in, I can only speculate that it is because they like to donate the profit made (by not using extra cardboard to make the cylinder shape bigger) to the New Zealand Arthritis Foundation.
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{ Canta 2014 }
CONTRIBUTORS Duncan Shand
Victoria Lean
Age 21, Graduate Diploma of Journalism ‘14
Age 20, Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), Mechanical ’15
Age 27, Business Admin (CPIT) ’05
Jess has contributed a fashion piece to Canta this week, where she compares and contrasts Law Students with Engineering Students.
Duncan wrote an article on MakeSoc’s event, “Siege on Ilam Fields.” It’s all about trebuchets and that’s excellent.
Jess Pullar
If you could pick any Kiwi song for NZ’s national anthem, what would it be? The Kiwi burger Song. Such a tune.
Socks with jandals – acceptable or abhorrent? Never acceptable. Ever ever.
What’s the last song you got stuck in your head? Its tragic but probably Talk Dirty to Me. The trumpet is true pain.
If not Dave Dobbyn, whose music should Studylink torture you with? Silence, so maybe they’ll hear the collective sound of 1000 students crying in frustration.
Would you rather be a whale, or a dolphin? A whale... I could swallow like, 100 Big Mac’s in one go. Impressive.
If you could pick any Kiwi song for NZ’s national anthem, what would it be? Steriogram - Walkie Talkie Man
Socks with jandals – acceptable or abhorrent? Depends on the rest of your outfit, but if you wear them with a suit I will have to restrain from stabbing you with the nearest chopstick.
What’s the last song you got stuck in your head? Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
If not Dave Dobbyn, whose music should Studylink torture you with? Anything by Red Hot Chili Peppers. I would be glad to be put on hold for those jams.
If you could pick any Kiwi song for NZ’s national anthem, what would it be? I was a massive ZED fan back in the day….. “But Glorafilia says, she says it’s just another Sunday afternoon oh oh” I can just imagine Hayley Westenra signing this inspirational song right before an international rugby match.
Socks with jandals – acceptable or abhorrent? No!!! Not acceptable on any level!
What’s the last song you got stuck in your head? ‘Be My Lover’ by La Bouche.
If not Dave Dobbyn, whose music should Studylink torture you with? Taylor Swift’s latest break up song on repeat.
Would you rather be a whale, or a dolphin?
Would you rather be a whale, or a dolphin?
Dolphin
Dolphin!
Contributors Old Greg, Jess Pullar, Duncan Shand
Send us your stories, photographs, epiphanies canta@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz
Tori is in control of the advertising here at Canta, she brings us the bacon!
Editor At Large Hannah Herchenbach Deputy Editors Callum Ching and Annalee Jones Designer Emily McCormick Money Honey Victoria Lean Webmaster Hayato Clearwater
{ Canta 2014 }
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{ Letters to the Editor }
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
COLIN FERAL Dear Canta, You missed one key point about these Irish builder guys hitting on our Christchurch ladies …
GIVEAWAY
All chicks “love an Irish accent”, right? Not anymore!
BLOWN
(OUT OF PROPORTION) Dear Polite Tree Hugger, In the last issue of Canta I read your lament that, “… our student levy is going towards some guys to blow leaves with leaf blowers”.
If you’re the kind of person who never stops moaning about the price of cinema tickets these days … why not send us an email about it? Then you won’t have to moan about the price of cinema tickets … because we’ll get all M. Night Shyamalan twist ending on your ass and give you a double pass to Bad Neighbours! Starring Seth Rogen! And Zac Efron! And Zac Efron’s hair! We’ve got heaps of double passes to give away. Like five, or something. It seems like more because the cardboard is really thick. So get your moan on. CANTA
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{ Canta 2014 }
Use the QR code to submit, or type out this longwinded address with ‘Letter To The Editor’ as your subject: canta@ucsa. canterbury.ac.nz
I see you weren’t too ‘polite’ to avoid offending our fine squadron of foliage relocation officers here at the University of Canterbury. But it’s you’re second point I take particular issue with: “It’s hardly like they are going to win against Mother Nature”. Quite frankly, PTH, no they’re not. That is to say, not with your surrender-monkey attitude! Look around you, Hugger. This magnificent country is built on giving old Mother Nature a jolly good thrashing! We’ve spanned her every crevice. We’ve erected whatever we want, wherever we want. And, most poignantly, we’ve blown the shit out of anything of hers that dares to get in our way! But this war is not won, Hugger. Mother Nature is a resilient bitch. Every time we crush her with a skyscraper, or a footpath by the library, she strikes back. Spitting dead leaves like the meth-addicted love child of a cobra and a golden elm. And so we blow, Hugger. We blow … Yours, Con Krete
There was a time when an Irish lilt would melt a girl’s panties right off. It was basically a fire hazard. But familiarity has bred contempt. And a few STDs if you believe my flatmates. Time to come home ladies! Signed ONCE YOU GO GREEN, YOU’LL KNOW WHAT I MEAN
NOTICES Spinal cord injury study Cindy Allison (Health Sciences Ph.D. student) is currently recruiting participants with spinal cord injury for her study on spinal cord injury and the Feldenkrais Method®. Numbers are limited. If you think you know of someone who could be interested in participating, I recommend you contact Cindy by 30 May. The programme will be starting late August/early September but she is looking for early expressions of interest so that she can confirm a time and space. Potential participants would be adult wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury. They will need to have had their injury for at least 12 months and be able to get on and off the floor. If you want to know more about the Feldenkrais Method®, you can visit www. neuroplasticity.co.nz Contact Information: Cindy Allison, PhD student Health Sciences Centre, University of Canterbury Phone: 355-2264, E-mail: lucinda.allison@pg.canterbury.ac.nz
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{ Point }
THE MUSIC AIN’T W
Annalee Jones
Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, The Beatles at Shea Stadium, and Aretha Franklin demanding respect – 50 odd years ago music was a culture defining entity, a voice for social issues and an advocate for change. I know it sounds trite and cheesy, but judging from the nostalgia we still have for that era, music really moved people back in the day. Jump forward to 2014 and turn on the radio. What do you hear? Certainly not anything like Dylan, Cash, or Presley, and the absolute opposite to rise of the Stones or Zeppelin. Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect to live in a world where there’s always somebody around who is as influential as the legends of the 60s. And you could argue that if you look, there are people changing the face of music in every era. But just because good music is there when you go after it, that doesn’t mean that music has gotten better. One of the biggest problems with the commercialisation of music today is that everyone who funds musicians that make a career out of their work has an agenda. Pop radio is a prime example of a platform where music is used to sell brands. When you tune into your average top 40 radio station, the ‘music’ you’re listening to is pretty much an advertisement – a product designed to sell you another product: Katy Perry’s scent, Will.I.Am’s suits, a One Direction duvet cover. When the people deemed to be pretty and semi-talented enough to churn out a three-minute, auto-tuned piece of crap aren’t promoting themselves, they’re attracting advertisers and making dosh for companies that want to associate themselves with that artist’s image. But when people are more concerned about image and celebrity than the quality of the music being played on the radio, then where does the creativity go? Seeing music as something that was more of an art than a money-making formula was once a huge part of the songs so many listened to, especially when you look back to the 60s. But that attitude has changed. Originality in live performances, lyrics, and chord progressions are now subordinate to image, branding, and fame. It doesn’t matter how many times Taylor Swift writes the same break up song, or Pitbull continues to provide evidence of his worryingly limited vocabulary – as long as it sells, it gets played. For those of you not inclined to define music simply by what’s on The Edge, I know what you’re thinking: “Everything’s online now, you senile woman – that’s where the good shit’s at.” And as an avid user of the interwebs to fuel my own music addiction, I can see where you’re coming from.
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{ Canta 2014 }
...we’ve abandoned the romantic notion that music can change the world. But this seemingly redeeming feature of modern music isn’t all sunshine and lollipops for the undiscovered aficionado. Even if people do appreciate something they found on Soundcloud or Bandcamp, those online artists tend to be lacking in the paying fan department. Thanks to Internet wonders such as YouTube and Pirate Bay, finding a way to both make music and avoid malnutrition is a challenge. Also, for every great artist sharing their music online, you can be fairly certain that there are at least another thousand people ranging from mediocre to hilariously terrible up there trying to do the same thing. Although it can give artists a chance on a slightly more even playing field, the Internet hasn’t necessarily made music better. On top of all that, the search for your own personal brand of sound means that we’ve abandoned the romantic notion that music can change the world. The 60s saw Dylan’s musical social commentary on the Civil Rights Movement define the attitudes of an era. Lennon became an advocate for peace through his songs. But Macklemore’s One Love is just another tune on the radio. Maybe you’ll think about its message for a second, but ultimately, it’s lost in a sea of overhyped, overproduced, and overplayed music that all sounds the same. And if hip-hop isn’t your thing, then you probably won’t even give it a chance. The creative experience that music was 50 years ago has been buried beneath apathy from oversaturation, and self-obsessive individualism that the commercialisation of music has brought us. I’m told there is still good music out there, if you can be bothered looking for it, but today’s musical landscape isn’t ever going to measure up to a nostalgia trip from 50 years ago.
{ Counterpoint }
WHAT IT USED TO BE Callum Ching
The musical landscape is always changing, and change is as good as a holiday. Change is refreshing and exciting. In life, there are not many aspects that move backwards. Music is always evolving and moving forward and nowadays there is the added benefit of having a vastly recorded past. With this in mind, how could it be possible for music to have been better 50 years ago? A person who claims that they have lived through the wrong era of music is sadly mistaken. The idea of a golden age is a fiction. It is delightful, yet it is not real or true. The real benefit of modern day is the ability to look both forward and backwards. You can explore older artists, such as The Doors, listen to L.A. Woman and feel inspired. It is not neccesary to listen to only contempary sounds. A whole library of music is waiting in the wings. A person has choice. At times the current state of popular music is abhorrent. The top 40 is a nightmare landscape of similar sounding tracks. A One Republic track or an Ellie Goulding that is played everywhere, everyday. And once you listen to the radio for one day you are up to date with the songs of the month. This means that even if you consider artists such as Katy Perry unpleasant, her existence facilities communication in society. Furthermore, these songs are often popular for a reason. If you switch your brain off, you may just enjoy the pop music scene. When it comes to contemporary music there is a great deal more scope than what is given air time on the radio and television. What is played on radio can help inform you on your tastes, and enable those with stranger sensibilities to relate to those who like more democratically acknowledged music. There is a constant flow on effect of genre expansion which is an incredible thing to witness. The idea of genre in music must now be considered a hydra, with heads consistently sprouting from twisted necks. It is a great and fantastic beast, one to be marvelled at and admired. This beast was not as large 50 years ago. There was not much choice to be had. And whenever a person was to experiment as an artist they found it a challenge. Not only from the people in the music scene, but also the people outside of it. Previously creativity was stifled in a creative market. A good reputation was required to allow creativity. Singing songwriting is now the accepted hallmark of a legitimate artist. This has not always been the case. One of the first singer songwriters was Chuck Berry in 1955. Previously the two roles were separate. The Rolling Stones were a band that wrote their own material, and were able to generate extra
If you switch your brain off, you may just enjoy the pop music scene.
income in the early days as songwriters also. Keith Richards would often write love songs, yet they weren’t Stones material and so he would flick them off to some crooning starlet. The fact that today we consider an artist should write their own material is a clear demonstration on how far the industry has progressed. I understand that a lot of pop artists have material written for them, yet when this information is revealed it is often received with disapointment. Talent shows should also not be viewed as an indictment on the scene of music. They are more a product of current popular television. The final point that I will make as to why music is better now is because of the show. The Beatles would only do a 20 minute concert. They were the most popular band of the era and yet they conformed to type when it came to a performance. Slowly the idea of the concert as a feature length performance evolved. Today the idea of a performance is alive and thriving, Haim break up their set with a series of drumming routines. Rammstein have the best pyrotechnics display and antics. Coldplay being ever so imaginative, make use of lasers - lots of them. And Justin Timberlake has this stage which extends over the auidence. The music industry is an ever growing and changing beast. It has many heads, and although certain aspects of the current music industry may not appeal to you there is always the ability to find an aspect that suits you. This is because of the choice we as consumers now have. There is not only a progression but a record of the past. The idea of the performance is constantly being improved upon as well. All of this clearly shows that music is simply better today.
{ Canta 2014 }
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{ Fashion On Campus }
CAMPUS STYLE: LAW VS. ENGINEERING Jess Pullar
Cue Ollie Burgess, a 6-foot tall Law student with a swagger like Kanye and nothing in his hands (does he even go here?). He wore a plain tee shirt and “drop crotch” chino’s with a backwards cap. Surveying him, he looked pretty casual. I asked him whether there is a difference between law and engineering style, and he said, “There’s definitely a difference, they [engineering students] wear op-shop clothes mixed with 5-panels.”
CALLUM SCHRADER - ENGINEERING
This seemed to be the general consensus among males studying Law or Engineering regarding their clothing choices. So, camera in tow, it was time to see exactly what that difference was, and to settle the age old debate; who wears it better, law or engineering students? Note: This is regarding males only; ladies are a whole other ball game.
Their chat was not adding up. But I was determined to find the truth, so I continued searching. The next law student I came across is Adam Baker, he wears a clubs tee shirt and chino jeans. He also has a backpack, just like Schrader. This was starting to get amusing. So I put the question to Baker – is there a difference? “There is a difference,” he said. “They wear 5-panels and Hallensteins short sleeve shirts.”
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{ Canta 2014 }
The evidence seemed pretty clear – they all kind of dress the same. So why is it that law and engineering students believe there is such a difference between their styles, when in reality they all look strikingly similar? Social psychology professor, Dr Kumar Yogeeswaran, shed some light on the topic. He said that there was an expectation to “conform to social norms.” Students tend to, “think that their major is somehow different” and that there is a prototype that defines it. “When you think lawyer, you think well dressed.”
ADAM BAKER - LAW
OLLIE BURGESS - LAW With this in mind I set out to find a willing engineering participant. Before long I came across Callum Schrader, an engineering student. Strangely enough, he looks rather similar to Burgess, right down to the backwards cap. Upon asking him whether he thinks there is a difference between law and engineering student style, he agrees with Burgess, only with a take on it from his college’s perspective: “They [law students] try to be really classy.”
LEEROY BOOCOCK- ENGINEERING
My final culprit was Leeroy Boocock – an engineering student. He was wearing a clubs tee shirt, jeans and backwards cap. Again, very similar to what the others were wearing.
“There’s definitely a difference.”
Though I’m sure that there are some engineering students who wear this sort of get-up, it definitely wasn’t revealing itself to be a defining factor between law and engineering student style.
Yogeeswaran said university is a transition point for students. The style of others has an impact on students before they have to enter the workforce and wear clothes that are suitable for their jobs. “If they have friends that study a range of different things [not one particular field], it makes sense that they wear the same thing. It appears that everyone is falling under the umbrella of being a University Student.” So instead of dressing to suit their degrees, it appears that UC males are dressing to suit their peers and their surroundings. Essentially what you study does not define what you wear – your surroundings do. And this, it seems, is what has tripped these guys up. So before you judge an engineering student or law student, maybe take a cheeky peek in the mirror, because you may just find yourself looking like a Hallenstein’s chino/5panel extraordinaire as well.
{ What I Do }
CARY CALDWELL SENIOR PLANNER, SXSW Christchurch native Cary Caldwell has worked for a number of festivals around the world, such as the Great Escape in Brighton, Secret Solstice in Iceland and Global Gathering in Stratford – but the jewel in the crown has to be working as a Senior Planner for South by Southwest, a two-week music festival every spring in Austin, Texas that showcases 2,000 bands and a 200,000-strong crowd. He talks to Canta about how to make it. We Don’t Need No Education Didn’t do University. I got my University entrance when I just turned 17 and decided, “Fuck this, I’m going to do some traveling.” A six-week hitchhiking stint around NZ kind of turned into spending about the first five years of my 20s living in the UK and Germany… The whole University thing just kind of got left behind. When I was in Europe, that’s when I got my first taste of touring. The first band I ever toured with was an Australian Doors covers band; then as a result of that, I got a job working on the U2 Zooropa tour of 1993. Once that finished it was very easy to roll over to a bunch of other festivals – Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Prodigy, Metallica. Then I kind of got sick of that and decided to come back for a long holiday in New Zealand and studied event management in Christchurch for a year at CPIT.
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{ Canta 2014 }
A Lot Of It Is Down To Luck There are a lot of acts out there that are all as equally as good as each other but either have to be seen or not seen. The reason I ended up tour managing Mumford and Sons is I was walking past a pub in Brighton about six years ago with a bunch of friends, and we said, “Well, let’s go in and have a nightcap.” We walked in and Mumfords were playing. Afterwards I got in touch with their manager via MySpace and just said, “I want your demos.” We worked towards getting them at SXSW and they got signed there. That was a pure chance meeting. Would the band have made it anyway? Yeah I suspect so, but would they have made it so quickly.
Life On The Road
I got a job working on the U2 Zooropa tour of 1993. Once that finished it was very easy to roll over to a bunch of other festivals – Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Prodigy, Metallica
From around October through the end of March, I work at SXSW over in Austin. When that finishes, I move to the UK and work a whole number of festivals. Then I come back to New Zealand for six to eight weeks and review bands submissions for SXSW. We get about 12,000 submissions every year – last year I reviewed about 3,000 bands over that period in New Zealand. I’ll do them in allotments of 40 minutes and then take a 15-minute break. I naturally review all the bands that come out of New Zealand. The unfortunate thing about a lot of New Zealand bands is their music is world class; they certainly deserve to be at a major international festival like SXSW. But they get accepted, and then they check how much it’s going to cost them. Flights alone for a band are $8-10,000.
Play Like Everyone Is Watching Labours of Love After CPIT I set up an independent label called Brat with one of my classmates. We kind of knew what we were doing but we kind of didn’t. There was no money in it. It was certainly a labour of love. It got to a point where both of us were completely worn out. I decided I was going to have to find a Monday to Friday, 9-5 type job, but to have one last big trip overseas. I had friends in Austin, Texas and these friends were telling me about this amazing festival they were going to; I sent the organizers an email offering to volunteer and never heard back but showed up anyway and worked for free for six weeks. The following year they took me on again, and I just kept working every additional year. After four years I decided I’d go over to the UK and thought the fact that I worked at SXSW would get me in the door for a couple festivals and I was right.
There’s been shows that I’ve walked into in Christchurch and you see a band playing and think they are really good, but there’s a lot of stuff not quite right about them. They put on a sloppy show because there’s fuck all people there and it’s a Sunday night. You still look around and go, “I’m watching you. You’ve got two people from SXSW that you don’t know about standing in the audience that could potentially walk away after two songs going, “That band is shit.” I think these bands need to just keep in the back of their minds – you never know who is going to be in the audience.
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SOURCING SOUNDS Compiled by Canta
Nowadays, there are an endless number of options for anyone looking to discover new music, or even just play the same old shit they did the robot to in high school. But how do you know which of these new fangled platforms would work best for you? Or should you just shun them all, and keep it old school? We’ve got no idea. But at least we’ve narrowed down your options.
Pandora Spotify Spotify has taken over the music streaming world for a reason – it’s simple to use. Discovering new songs and artists is effortless and there are plenty of ways to do it. You can make playlists, ‘follow’ your favourite artists and find similar music through their ‘radio station’, and ‘friend’ people with good taste and save off their playlists, and for a monthly fee you can access it all offline whenever you want. Downsides: you need to download the programme (or the app) and create an account in order to use it, and unless you pay, your listening experience is peppered with grating self-promotional ads. Some artists have also lamented the unfairness of the pay rates for bands – Thom Yorke of Radiohead pulled his music off the site for that reason. That being said, it has revolutionised how music fans find and share new music. Lorde is frequently cited as having been “discovered” on Spotify; ‘Royals’ has earned her an estimated $500,000 in royalties from the site alone. So it’s not all bad. This technophobe likes it.
Soundcloud Soundcloud is great at doing three things. The first is providing a forum where artists can post their music, enabling people to access it for free and in so doing demonstrate their wares to the World Wide Web. This generates a bit of hype for the respective artist and provides new music for an expanding audience. Glass Animals is a band that gained momentum from this, their song Gooey is genius. Another great aspect of Soundcloud is that radio shows and podcasts are often uploaded. An excellent show is Sunday Night Safran, which is on the Triple J radio station in Australia and is always hilarious, this show has close to one million followers. Lastly Soundcloud is great at listening to artists that you enjoy messing around with songs that you know, and throwing up remixes. Soundcloud is thickly laced with remixes; a great one is by Canadian DJ, Cyril Hahn, who remixed Destiny’s Child, Say My Name. Soundcloud also allows you to like artists and then their music will appear on a stream, as well as any tracks that they repost. You can go explore by genre and listen to whatever you find. It is possible to upload your own content and of course create a playlist. Soundcloud is good fun for a music lover.
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Pandora is an online radio station and recommendation service that styles itself as the “custodian” of the “Music Genome Project.” After entering an artist, song, or genre, Pandora uses an algorithm to analyse features of the first song that is played and then offers the user the choice to give feedback on the particular song, (using a ‘thumbs system). Pandora then collates this feedback to enhance the algorithm and play particular songs and artists ‘similar’ to the original selection. There are many internet radio stations that make similar claims to Pandora; however I would argue that Pandora is easily the best choice. Its online service simply asks for an artist, song, or genre and then generates the ‘station’ and doesn’t require Facebook etc. The service is also free; however a paid subscription is available which, among other things, allows the user to download a mobile app. On entering a station, such as “The Smiths,” the first track is obviously the most relevant, in my case “Girl Afraid.” When the next track plays a breakdown as to why Pandora selected that song in particular is available. In my case it played “Float on” by Modest Mouse (awesome!) and claimed that it had selected that song “because it features basic rock song structures, major key tonality, string section beds, a distinctive male lead vocal and subtle use of acoustic piano.” Try it.
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Bandcamp One of the great things about Bandcamp is its enduring popularity with New Zealand bands. The ease of finding new local music on here is wonderful – once you have found one Christchurch/New Zealand group, simply click on that tab and explore away. If you like it, you can buy it – bands can name their price for the album from free upwards. There are downsides: you have to be connected to the internet, there is not really any ability to create playlists, and it won’t stream endless similar songs like, say, Soundcloud – but those limitations are part of the Bandcamp’s simple charm. It understands what it is. It’s not a place to hang out and design playlists to impress your friends or make new ones. It’s a place to discover bands – one album at a time – and then support them direct if you dig it. You can’t ask for more than that. Bandcamp.com
YouTube YouTube is a staple of any healthy internet habit. As far as listening to music goes, a visit can not only be rewarding for listening to some of your favourite artists with their best tracks, but there is also the tasty perk of having a pretty moving picture displayed for your pleasure. There is a rich plethora of live videos. A lot of these are actually made available through the artists’ own official account for free which is a great way of marketing ticket sales for future concerts and an enjoyable item to have running in the background when you are enjoying a relaxing evening on the couch but really wish to drink and create some conversations, not merely stare blankly at a screen, giggling in unison. A neat little trick on YouTube is that it creates playlists for you, with just a hint of variety of other performing artists in them. At the beginning of each party I host I throw on a Chvrches Playlist and it does its thing, playing background music that is chilled, yet indie enough to create conversation with house guests. YouTube is brilliant in the right situations. NO CAT VIDEOS! Not until later in the night, much later.
CDs Many believe that the almost forgotten Compact Disc has done its dash. Those people are wrong. What some say are more “efficient” or “convenient” ways of sourcing your tunes still cannot compare to the thrill of walking into Penny Lane or JB Hi Fi to stacks of CDs, neatly categorised by genre, alphabetised by band name, and chronologically arranged from first EPs to latest albums. The act of CD shopping allows you to peruse your options at a leisurely pace before you take your gems over to the headphones, pick out the earwax, and give them a trial spin. Standing there in a sea of music’s past and present is not something that can be replicated in front of your MacBook Air, with iTunes continually shoving recommendations down your throat and YouTube rudely interrupting your album with ads. Although not quite as quality as vinyl, hipster-niche as tapes, or hygienic as the interwebs, there’s something comforting about having that conveniently sized physical trail of your musical interests to line your shelves with. The CD, with its liner notes, clunky plastic cover, and pretty photos to fangirl over, is still a great way to get some music in ya.
Radio While individualism, personalisation, and genuinely enjoying what you’re listening to might be ‘all the rage’ these days there’s no getting away from the fact it can all be so incredibly exhausting. These modern music mediums seem to require endless poking and swiping at various devices as you anxiously search your friends internet history for some Latvian folk band you’ve never heard of, but now have an overwhelming belief you can’t live without. It’s all so ‘proactive.’ Honestly, who has the energy? Sometimes you just want to sit back, close your eyes, and absolve yourself of any responsibility for why Miley Cyrus is blaring through the speakers of your dad’s panel van. Why should you feel judged by that emo in the Honda Accord? It’s not ‘your’ song. Doesn’t he understand? The radio did it. And the best part is, if you do like a particular song you hear on the radio, there is no need to write it down, bundle it into a convoluted play list, or hope some sycophantic Skynet-esque algorithm detects a flutter in your adrenal glands. No need at all. Because the good ol’ radio will play that exact same song 15 times an hour. Every hour. Until you find yourself rocking in a fetal position praying for death by wrecking ball. Convenient, much?
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Mashi Noguchi
Tim Williams
Tina Crowley T
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Flat Fredd
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Sam Good Levi Grady
It’s a chilly overcast autumn day in Ilam, and in the almost faded light of Sunday, in a weatherboard house on Balgay, five boys are taking off their clothes while one girl watches. “I’m not doing that,” she says. There is a piano in the lounge, a keyboard on the floor, and scattered around it five guitars, a banjo, a ukulele. There are no drums. “We beatbox,” Sam clarifies. But no one in the flat is really dominant on any one instrument. Tina calls musically challenged and the odd one out. “I can play the spoons,” Tina says. “I can try,” she clarifies, “but it’s probably better if I don’t.” The flat is all Civil and Mechanical Engineers that met at College House two years back. There’s four boys and two girls, although Tui is not present, which is really too bad. She’s called Tui Longtoes because she can sit on the piano bench, play the guitar, lean back, put her feet up on the piano, and play the piano with her toes. She has really weird toes. Sam is here in her stead. As far as flat bands go, mostly Mashi and Levi do the duo thing, but we all jam. Back at College House, there were culture nights every term and Mashi and Levi were the first ones to play it. At Owain’s 21st Lev, Mashi and Tim all sang a song for him. Tim offers up some birthday cake that has been hanging out in the freezer since then. Living on Balgay is sweet. There’s a Facebook page. It sort of takes the place of wandering out on the street to see who is having a party.
Owain John
dy’s Drop
On the weekends, “we study,” Owain confesses. His flatmates cringe. “Don’t admit that!” Levi goes surfing. Sam insists whenever there’s a big kayak trip, Owain goes along, plays guitar and gets girls. Not even kidding. We’ve only been here since February and haven’t yet had a flatwarming. So it’s coming up next week. Check the Balgay Facebook page. We’ll ask our neighbours if we can have it at theirs. Is there any one song that someone plays all the time and people will scream if they hear again? Oh yes. Ben Howard, Old Pine. Owain, Tim, Mashi and Levi have been practicing it for about a year and a half. They put their clothes back on and play the song. You can tell they’ve been playing it for a year and a half, even though they say you can’t. It sounds nice. Come along to the Music Society’s new Open Mic nights at The Foundry on Tuesday nights – if you catch the next one, on Tuesday May 13, you can see Owain, Levi, Yoshi and Tim play. True story.
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LOCAL VOCALS New Zealand music has gotten a fair shade of international attention in the form of hipster delights emerging from Auckland, such as Lorde, The Naked and Famous, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Dunedin legends from the past that are still obsessed over today like The Clean, The Chills, The Bats and other seminal 80s bands that started with ‘The’. What does Christchurch have going for it? A lot, actually. Our form of honouring New Zealand music in 2014 is turning you on to the sweet sounds being made in your own backyard – and sometimes, not too far from the University of Canterbury. Without further adieu, here are some of our local favourites.
BRAD PATTERSON
{ HIEMAL: AN AMBIENT BLACK METAL PROJECT } Brad is a bloke that records music in his spare time and throws it online, where people and labels can access it as they please. This lead to interest from a French music label and an agreement for Brad’s music to be released on cassette tapes. On getting started It was with an old ’98 computer that I had with a program called Garage, no, not Garage, Guitar Pro. My parents weren’t exactly that rich and I actually didn’t have my own electric guitar, I had a crappy acoustic guitar that would barely stay in tune. A lot of my friends were musicians but I didn’t actually have the sort of money or the technology to do it myself, but I enjoy writing something.
Not just a hobby I would call it more of a passion than a hobby. I am pretty obsessive with my music. I’ll wake up, get on the bus to work, listen to music all the way there. Get to work and listen to music all day, come home and listen to music really.
The genre and scene I do a whole bunch of ambient stuff. Sort of pianos and synths, and I guess atmospheric black metal is what they usually call it. It seems to be really popular now in the black metal scene. There are a lot of people who are a bit against it. It’s not the most traditional black metal there is, it’s sort of like post-rock influenced, and some people really detest that. Funny enough, thing is that I never was inspired by that sort of stuff, I was thinking of some older black metal from the ‘90s based on a certain specific few bands, but other styles sort of creeped in.
On putting music online Originally, it was on MySpace, which at the time wasn’t that popular anyway, sort of passed its heyday. But yeah, recorded music and put it up there, talked to a few people, did a bit of networking on there really. I just post it a few places and some people quite like it which is amazing to me. I would probably encourage anyone who likes to record music, and who thinks
other people might like it to post it online. There are quite a few examples of other bands that I listen to where you never know who they are, they never play live but they release stuff online.
On who released it Funnily enough I don’t actually know who they are. They are like a French underground label; I assume it’s quite one man operated. They are called Inferno Kommando spelt with a ‘K.’ So very black metal, very that sort of style and the guy just emails me out of the blue being like, I enjoy your music and I was wondering if you’re interested in getting these released in some form and I was like yeah sure, why not. And they still do tapes over there. And in metal there has always been this underground tape trading scene, but it’s been getting less and less active as times gone on.
The cassette tapes It seems to translate fine. I’ve never actually listened to the tapes myself. I do have a box of them, which I give out to a few friends, even though no one can play them. It is pretty cool to keep them though. Actually achieving something, getting something released is a thing that any musician would really want. And knowing that there are a few good copies out there is pretty cool.
*(AND THIS ONE GUY WHO DOESN’T DO VOCALS, HE JUST DOES TAPES. { Canta 2014 } 19 BUT HE PROBABLY SINGS AS HE MAKES THEM)
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SHOCKING PINKS { SHOEGAZE WITH A TWIST } Annalee Jones
Nick Harte has had an eventful decade. The release of the debut Shocking Pinks album Dance the Dance Electric in 2004 led to him signing with the legendary Flying Nun Records, as well as a string of singles and an album with DFA Records afterwards. Things halted a bit after the earthquakes – including his studies at UC – but things are on the move again with New York-based label Stars and Letters releasing his new triple album Guilt Mirrors, on vinyl last month. Early origins I had an acoustic guitar when I was eight. I met someone at intermediate who was kind of a loner, kind of like me and we formed lots of low-fi bands. We were into the same music and formed a band and started playing around town – we were like 12 or 13 and playing with bands that were in their mid-20s or late 20s. We sounded like a dreamy Pixies, if that’s a category. We had an awful name. Urinator. It sounds like a joke metal band or something. But… musically it didn’t sound like – the title.
The shoegaze influence I’d be lying if I didn’t say My Bloody Valentine had some kind of influence. I think I was 11 when I first heard Loveless blasting out of my cousin’s room. I remember just going and asking, “What the hell is this?” To me it was really beautiful. It didn’t sound like a song I had heard before. It sounded like it was kind
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Streaming sites can jump off a cliff really.
Earthquake orphan I was living in the centre, very near the casino. To be honest I haven’t even been back since the earthquakes. I studied there after the earthquakes happened for quite a while and recorded quite a while, but after I was evacuated and went to Auckland. Then I moved to Nelson for a while to live with my father. Then I went to Wellington and I’ve just stayed in Wellington since then. We are playing Christchurch in two weeks [Friday May 15] and I’m really looking forward to going back. I’ll get a chance to see my childhood home and see if it’s still there or not.
The benefits of isolation in the city centre of being played at the wrong speed and quite scratchy and I could tell that was part of it and just wanted to hear more. And I did. I think my mother bought me Loveless on cassette for my Christmas present that year. I listened to that a lot. But after that there were lots of bands. I used to go into town in Christchurch to Galaxy Records pretty much every afternoon and get another album every day. Nearly every day.
UC alum, but not a graduate I went to University, but no graduation. I did all music classes – classical composition, classical history, digital music, music theory. They were great. They had a big effect on me and the music that I was writing. I approached it quite differently after that. The way I played music and thought about pop songs.
Meeting Stars and Letters founder Mark Roberts I met Mark when he was lecturing at UC. I lived on the same street as him – and we ended up playing music together. I played drums on an early Enright House EP. He played in Shocking Pinks a couple times. We knew each other quite well that way. And just stayed in touch.
I think I find it easier to concentrate on music when I lose myself in it. I’m not really good at doing more than one thing at once. If I want this to be my best, I will just kind of forget that life even exists. That my life even exists. And just do music. I don’t even think about the day or time or anything like that.
On releasing a triple album We joked about performing the whole record live. When I was recording I wasn’t even thinking about the idea of possibly performing any of it live. When I recorded it I wasn’t even thinking about an audience. I was just kind of recording for myself.
Bandcamp or Spotify? To be honest, I’ve had to use my computer quite a lot over the past few months in the build-up to the record coming out. Email interviews and whatever. So I’m just over the whole internet thing. All of [those sites] can jump off a cliff really. I don’t really care anymore. To me, I’d say vinyl. I’d say close your computer and listen to it on vinyl.
Shocking Pinks are playing at the Darkroom Friday May 15, for free.
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JAMES FROM THE TRANSISTORS { PUNK } Annalee Jones
Although fairly quiet on the gig front lately, The Transistors have been gearing up to get back into doing their thing. We caught up with singer and guitarist, James, to see what’s been going on with the lovely Christchurch lads.
On not having a career in NZ music
On what they’ve been up to
On Christchurch venues
We’ve been up to fuck all, really. Cole and Ollie have been away, so we haven’t played for about 6 months. But it’s been good in a way because we’ve had the chance to get a whole new set list of songs together, so I’m looking forward to giving those a try.
We’ve played at the new Dux a few times, which is cool, but I think my favourite venue to play at in Christchurch at the moment is the Darkroom. It’s pretty cosy, and it’s always really fun when we play there. And I’m really looking forward to playing at Tommy Chang’s. We went to see T54 play a few weeks back and I think we might book there next time.
On being tempted by the Big Smoke Christchurch has always been home. We’ve toyed with the idea of going up to Auckland a few times but I don’t think where you’re based really changes much. I know a few bands who have moved up there and it doesn’t really seem to have made much of a difference to their careers – not that you can really have a career in NZ music.
We all have day jobs – I don’t really know any bands who could do this as a living, especially with this guitar based kind of stuff that’s not really that mainstream. It’s always been like a hobby and we make a little money, but it just goes back to getting records pressed and lights for shows and that stuff.
On a memorable gig
three or four hours, trying to work out whether or not we were even going to get to play this gig. Eventually we managed to get down and we finally got to Mighty Mighty about 2 hours after we were supposed to play, and it was really pumping. The crowd got really into it, and it was just one of those awesome shows because it really didn’t even look like it was going to happen.
On his dream collaboration I reckon the Mint Chicks – they were a massive influence. We got to tour with them in 2008 and they were just awesome dudes. The way they just did whatever they wanted – they were pretty uncompromising. And they were hugely influential – for a while there were like Mint Chicks rip off bands. That’s a sign that you’re making a mark, when other bands are copying you.
One good show we had was when we were going to play in Wellington at Mighty Mighty along with The Situation, and we were driving down the North Island in this van. We got to the Rimutaka Hills, and there was a blizzard. So we were stuck on the Rimutakas for about
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MERCHANTS OF FLOW { REGGAE } Annalee Jones
With attention from Aotearoa legend House of Shem, who remixed their first single ‘MUSIC’ things keep getting bigger and better for the Merchant boys. Canta had a chat with UC alum and the man responsible for that jiggle-inducing bassline, Christian, to talk reggae, Coast hospitality, and pirates. Starting up We actually met up at a festival called Area 9. A couple of boys were just jamming around the campsite as you do – you know when one festival crew meets another festival crew and you become friends? That happened. It was honestly magical.
Gigs We try and gig at least two or three times a month – we play at the Dux Live, and we love to open for other touring reggae bands, but we don’t wanna oversaturate Christchurch so we go down to Dunedin, and over to the Coast.
The Coast Hospitality The West Coast loves dub and reggae music. Actually, they just really like any live music. I think they think it’s a treat that anyone would go over there. So they’ll turn up and they’ll go so hard. I like the Coast. If you’re in a band you should book a gig on the Coast because they’re the best hosts. The West Coast are the best hosts. There’s a rhyme there.
On having seven people on stage at once When we play the festivals and stuff it’s awesome, because there’s enough space. But when we play things like Linwood LYFE in the park to give back to the community, we’re playing on the back of a trailer and that’s a bit of a struggle.
Christchurch reggae The reggae scene in Christchurch is really tight because everybody knows each other. It’s a big family and we all play at each other’s gigs and support each other, and we share band members when one person’s down.
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Favourite NZ act Shapeshifter. I dunno, maybe I’m old school because I saw them back in their hey day, but I saw them this summer again and they’re beyond – they hold up against international acts. I’m so jealous – H, our manager, got to tour with them and Ahori Buzz last year, and it was like, you son of a bitch. He’s a lucky guy.
On NZ Music Month We’re playing every week. We’re opening for Soulja and King Kapisi – can you believe that? King Kapisi meant a lot to me as a child. Is this his comeback tour? I don’t know. So we’re playing the Dux, we’re going to go down to Dunedin, and then we’re coming back up the next day and playing the Foundry. And at the end of music month we’re playing a big gig at the Brewery, and that’s with One Waka – they’re really good. And we’re going up to Kaikoura too.
UC nostalgia
I think they think it’s a treat that anyone would go over there
Student life rules. Five of us used to study at Canterbury. I loved it here – my experience of UC was mean. Most of my mates didn’t actually know I went to university – I used to work at Pirate Island mini golf. If you work there during the day, nobody goes, but they have to keep it open so the owners say, “if someone comes take their money otherwise here’s a computer, you can do your study.” So you get paid to study. And it’s fun – you get to be a pirate! My boss was like, you don’t have to do that. But I took my job really seriously.
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LAWRENCE ARABIA { FOLKSY INDIE POP } Annalee Jones
Lawrence Arabia (aka James Milne) is no stranger to the NZ music scene. After moving to Auckland and joining the Brunettes, it’s been onwards and upwards for the pseudonymous Christchurch musician, with critical acclaim leading to him winning the Taite Music Prize for Chant Darling in 2010. Nowadays he’s raising a one-year-old and getting stuck into recording his new album. Canta caught up with him to see how it’s all going. The song writing process I normally go through bursts of creativity but when I feel more excited by it I feel more drawn to pick up an instrument and start writing. At the moment at naptime I just pick up a guitar and hopefully something comes out. I think most songwriters don’t necessarily know the process so well – if I knew the process perfectly I’d do it more often.
What’s on the agenda I’ve been organising some shows where I’m going to be playing all my albums in full, and in order kind of thing. And I’m writing a new album – I’ve got about 30 bits and pieces of songs in various states of disrepair.
Touring in NZ I try and make every tour a bit different in some way. Rather than just touring in the same formation, or just as myself or with the band, I try and make it thematically different every time, so it feels different for us, and the audience feel like they’re getting something different too. I worry about people kind of just getting sick of you I guess.
On becoming Lawrence Arabia The Reduction Agents sort of became Lawrence Arabia in about 2004. I chose the name because I felt like I wanted a sort of heroic alter ego.
don’t know how many times I’ve played at the Wunderbar now, and it’s great to come back to because now it’s just like this weird back room where everyone gets trashed.
On Christchurch Growing up in Christchurch I always felt like I was isolated from Auckland, where the industry was. It felt like there was very little chance for people to get my music. But I think now people from all around the country have got a lot more sense that their music can travel. Lots of bands make great music and travel around with it, and they can think about touring overseas, and releasing records on little labels. 15 years ago that seemed like some crazy dream. People feel like it’s more viable a thing to do now. It doesn’t actually mean that it is – it just feels like it is. It means that there are a lot more people deluding themselves. But what is youth but a time to delude yourself?
Favourite venues It would probably be a toss up between Chick’s Hotel in Port Chalmers and the Wunderbar in Lyttelton. It feels like you’re on holiday at Wunderbar – you go outside and it’s just incredible. It’s just nice to know that you’re somewhere else and you feel like you can be spontaneous. It becomes so familiar as well – I
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TOM LARK { INDIE }
Christchurch indie darling Tom Lark shot to attention in 2012 with the infectiously catchy All My Lovin’ EP, a solo production made in his bedroom in the months following the earthquakes in 2011. He signed to Island Records after playing the CMJ Music Marathon in New York and is currently working on his debut album from Auckland, set to be released later this year. Canta caught up with Tom right before he opened for Elvis Costello to see how things are going. Opening for Elvis Costello That’ll be really fun. I’m not too nervous; I think it should just be really cool. I don’t know what the Town Hall is like, but hopefully there’s free crackers and cheese.
Not one for New York, but Auckland will do Auckland is a busier vibe than Christchurch, which is nice. There’s a good kind of busy, which I think – there’s people walking around going, “I’ve got this to do, I’ve got a lot to do today,’ which was nice after so much shit happened to people in Christchurch, and you [just] said to yourself, “Man, I don’t know what to do.” New York for me is very busy. In Auckland, the hustle and bustle is refreshing. In New York, the hustle and bustle was 100 times more hustling and bustling. You’re always in someone’s way. It was kind of terrifying for me.
CMJ, take it or leave it CMJ is really funny. It had its advantages, I think – there were already a few companies that were really interested, who kind of kept talking to me – but at the same time, those showcase shows, you are just one of many bands in a room full of other bands and press guys. I don’t know – it’s hard to tell what the vibe is at those showcase things. I would probably describe it all as quite a bizarre experience. You’re there to show New York what you’ve got! It seems so naive. It’s funny.
On picking your moments When I first put out the EP on Bandcamp, there were a few publishing people that
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emailed me right away. I thought, “Ooh. Maybe I’ll wait out a bit longer.” Then I went to Germany and spent about a month there just recording. Then when I came back, I sent a few tracks around and then I signed to Island Records after that. CMJ. That was cool.
The Christchurch difference The really cool thing about Christchurch is that it has what I think are the country’s best songwriters. I have a hunch it’s because Christchurch is a particularly tough audience. It’s perhaps not the most encouraging place to start playing music, but because of that people start to think, “I’ve got to get my shit together before I start playing to people.” I think it makes people try harder.
On the debut I know it sounds generic, but I am actually really excited about the new songs coming out. It’s going to be different from the EP – more upbeat and happier. I think making happy music is harder. It’s much easier to write a good sad song, but it’s so hard to write a good happy song and not sound like an idiot. So intentionally I’m trying to write some happier music at the moment. I do [have a name for the record], maybe, but it’s still secret.
Danny was arrested for drinking in the liquor ban
www.u csa.or g.nz
UCSA OFFICE – UNDERCROFT WEEKDAYS 9AM – 3PM
{ News }
DOLLAR DOLLAR BILLS YO Future accountants and fans of budgets, brace yourselves. Here’s a breakdown of the approved UCSA club grants for term one: CLUB/SOCIETY
PROJECT BRIEF
APPLIED FOR
AWARDED
Motosoc - transfer to 2014
Parts and mechanical work to repair Motosoc Car (Zephyr)
$3,220.00
$1,510.00
Kakariki
Hire of band and portaloo for The Green Event mix and mingle
$431.57
$431.57
MUSOC
Transport of vital props & costumes for ‘The Producers’ Show
$1,750.00
$1,750.00
GC
False alarm charge
$990.00
$990.00
Christian Union
PA, Wireless mike and banner
$809.00
$809.00
Speechsoc
Tear drop benner
$460.00
$460.00
UCom
Funding for the Jungle Party - security, portaloos etc.
$3,599.60
$3,599.60
CUBA
Accommodation funding for surf trip to Kaikoura
$800.00
$800.00
DebSoc
Funding for Australs registration (Australasian debating competition in Otago
$5,000.00
$1,905.00
$23,215.17
$12,255.17
TOTAL:
VOYAGE TO THE AGROPOLIS Michael Galloway
Since World War II, food production has become just another industry, designed to convert petrochemicals and fertiliser into food using land and seed. Non-renewable fossil fuels are needed to produce the pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. As well as this, the current model of agriculture often degrades and erodes the soil that it relies on.
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The good news is that it doesn’t need to be this way. There are tonnes of compostable food waste produced in our city every day and the Agropolis – an urban farm in the central city – takes some of that waste and uses it to grow food. This builds the fertility of the soil, and improves the quality and nutritional value of the food grown.
If you can’t make it on the day, or a visit to the Agropolis gets you swept up in all things sustainability, there are a whole lot of cool things happening around Christchurch where people are trying to make their lives and the city more sustainable. Check out the Sumner Food Forest, Project Lyttelton, or UC’s own Okeover Community Garden to get amongst.
Throughout May, Kakariki will be celebrating sustainable, local, and organic living through our next event, The Voyage to the Agropolis. We’ll be starting out with a bike workshop on the 10th of May where we’ll be tuning up your bikes and making sure they’re all good to go for the big event on the 17th, when we’ll bike from uni to the Agropolis as a group along Christchurch’s back roads and through Hagley Park.
Please RSVP to uckakariki@gmail.com to let us know if you can bring your own bike. We will have a small number of bikes available to borrow. You can also keep track of other things we are doing on our Facebook page: UC Kakariki.
THE MENU anterbury Wateritns gSC ince Studen
Forever
LAUNCH Thursday 8th May
Half Price Meals, $4.95!
Are you hungry?
Marvellous Meatballs
$9.90
Classic Pea, Pie, Pud
$9.90
Good ol’ Bangers & Mash
$9.90
Available 4pm-9pm only Cheesy Wedges with bacon, sour cream & sweet chilli
Fries with tommy sauce or aioli
$7.50
Wood-fired Margherita Pizza
$4.00 $12.00
Available all day, every day
Foundry Launch Day only, between 4.00pm-9.00pm
Double Loyalty Points! Sign up before Thursday to be eligible
CUBA Skate The Foundry
Live Acts on Stage 7-9pm: Omega 3 9-11pm: Medway Roots 11pm - 1am: DJ Mike T
First Pour Spirits ALL $6 EACH
Vodka, Gin, White Rum, Gold Rum, Bourbon, Whiskey, Tequila
Dusky Sound Wine Range $6 A GLASS
Pinot Gris & Savignon Blanc (the white ones)
Merlot (the red one)
Cocktails
ALL $10 EACH
Ego Trip a little fresh mint, lemon, Gin & blueberry Blue Iceberg zesty fresh lime, Vodka & passionfruit
FOUNDRY LOYALTY SCHEME LAUNCH We want to reward you, our loyal customers by launching a Foundry loyalty scheme! Who can be members? Individual UC students with current UC Student ID Cards can be a member of the scheme. How can you sign up for the scheme? There will be regular sign up days during term. You will need to sign up before the Foundry Launch to be eligible to receive double points on Thursday. Sign up day: Every Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm at the UCSA Q&A in the Undercroft How do we accumulate points? 5 cents from each dollar you spend on beverages, and 10 cents on food will be accumulated as ‘foundry points’. Members simply scan your UC Student ID Card at the Foundry when you purchase food or beverages to accumulate or spend points. * Terms & Conditions apply. Visit www.ucsa.org.nz for full term & conditions.
Fruity Fresher fresh & juicy with a vodka punch Honey Badger rum, rum in my tum with a dash of ginger, fresh mint & lime Crunch My Butterscotch chocolate, crunchie & butterscotch overload Pink Flamingo our take on a Cosmo (but better of course)
What ’s on tap..? Black Dog NZ Pale Ale
$9.50/pint
Monteith’s Apple Cider
$8.50/pint
Monteith’s Radler
$8.00/pint
Monteith’s Original
$8.00/pint
Tui Dark
$8.00/pint
Tui
$6.50/pint
Export
$6.50/pint
Foundry Draught
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{ Reviews }
SIEGE ON ILAM FIELDS Duncan Shand
April 6th was MakerSoc’s first actual event. It had paperwork. That’s how you know it’s legit. The rules were simple: Build a working trebuchet from wood, using hammers, nails and saws. The aim was simpler: To make a spud fly as far as possible. Teams took their marks, armed with their ‘extensive’ knowledge of medieval war machines – ideas inspired by Dr. Keith Alexander’s model trebuchet, and a video of an outrageously large catapult launching a flaming boulder. Alexander’s model proved more useful, as we did not have a spare 22 tonnes of wood, or a giant blazing rock to launch. Maybe next time. After a ridiculous amount of guesswork and handyman skills, the trebuchets were ready for their first attempt/failure. The first launch was easily the most hilarious as potatoes were being flung upwards and backwards. After watching into the distance, waiting in anticipation for the launched potato to thud back to the ground, I now know how dogs feel when people pretend to throw a tennis ball. We eagerly watched for the spud, only to realise it had “mysteriously disappeared.” I felt the same confusion until I realised our launch had gone completely the wrong way. Only one team actually managed to make theirs fly forward on the first attempt. An hour later, after much trial and error, the actual competition started. The tension was low and the day mild: it was the perfect time to put 30 kilograms of weight up against one frightened potato. The poor thing stood no chance – we were sending it to potato heaven. First up was Team Mentally Challengered, their trebuchet’s arm parted with the frame before the potato was even released. This is not how they are meant to work, but screw convention – we had created something that future generations will marvel at. It got the farthest distance, clocking in at 38 metres. Not far behind were the Wacky Waving Arm Flailing Trebuchet Men, and an honourable mention goes to The Black Company, and the team who somehow flung about 8 spuds at once. Siege on Ilam Fields was a great success, and the paperwork and hours organising were definitely worth it. Each team made a working trebuchet from scratch in a matter of hours, a great BBQ was run by a great chef, and all at bargain prices. All in all it was a Sunday well spent. Big ups to all the teams and the MakerSoc Exec.
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I now know how dogs feel when people pretend to throw a tennis ball.
WHAT’S ON Political drinks Friday, 9 May 4.30pm Foundry
New Zealand and the First World War Medieval and renaissance garb making class Wednesday, 7 May 7pm KHO5
Friday, 9 May 5.30pm – 7.15pm Canterbury Museum Come and hear renowned speakers Prof Glyn Harper talking about war photography and Dr Jock Phillips who will share five Great War stories from New Zealanders.
Ink’d Tattoo Competition From Monday 12 May World Fair Trade Day Saturday, 10 May 11am – 2pm 184 Papanui Road, Merivale
Winner announced Friday 4pm at the Foundry Undercroft/Foundry Always wanted an excuse to combine your love of doodling with your fear of needles? Well, sketch out your best design, and if enough people think yours is the best, we’ll etch it into your skin for you.
Women in Engineering Industry Connections Thursday, 8 May 5.30pm Undercroft Seminar Room
Arts week
Pool Competition Thursday, 8 May 7pm Phoenix Bar
Monday 12 to Sunday 18 May All over campus Brooding musicians, starving artists, and comedic geniuses – Arts week 2014 has it all. Keep an eye out in the Undercroft for sweet events daily.
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{ Haberdashery }
THE WORLD FAMOUS CANTA FICTION COMPETITION IS BACK! $200 cash prize! To enter: Write a short story (500 words or less) and email it to us at: canta@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz by ~ 5PM Thursday May 15th~
There are also two other sections you can have a go at: - Long-form category (800-1000 words) - Six word story (6 words. Literally.)
Our main competition categories this year are:
You can enter as many times as you like.
- Horror/Cliffhanger
All winners will have their work printed in Canta. And even some of the losers will too. Then you can tell your mum you’re a “published author”.
- Sci Fi - Fairy tale or fable - Depressing - B-Grade (intentional or not)
FACT! Not a single witch was burned at the stake after being convicted in the Salem witch trials. (Most were hanged.)
SUDOKU
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W A A T N N TS A C
Get writing!
Michael J. Fox’s middle name is Andrew.
The 1904 Summer Olympic Games, held in St. Louis, included greased pole climbing, rock throwing, and even mud fighting.
Turtles often bury their eggs in alligator nests. The mother alligator guards her nest so well it ensures the safety of the unborn turtles as well.
John Adams drank a tankard of hard cider each day and had the occasional beer for breakfast.
Though it’s rarely used, the word referring to half a computer byte is a “nibble.”
Jimi Hendrix actually opened for the Monkees.
FINISH THE DOODLE
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Announcing
FREE FLIGHT NZP NZPhD hD
n i d e n u D o t
PhD STUDENTS INTERESTED IN A $90K SCHOLARSHIP ARE NOW INVITED TO APPLY FOR THEIR FREE FLIGHT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO.* If you’re considering making New Zealand’s leading postgraduate research university your home during your doctoral studies, then we’d like to meet you. In fact, if you’re selected, we’ll come and get you! Apply now, because on Monday 4th of August, we’re flying top-notch potential PhD students to Dunedin for free, taking off from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. You’ll be staying at our Executive Residence and over the next two days you’ll be given the Grand Tour of New Zealand’s first university, including our postgrad open day, individual meetings with your chosen department, dinner at the historic Staff Club, a tour of our beautiful city, and of course your free flight home. Oh, and if you decide you would like to make Dunedin your new home, we guarantee a $25,000 annual scholarship for the next three years, plus we’ll pay all your tuition fees! To apply for Flight NZPhD, simply go to www.otago.ac.nz/freeflights * C O N D I T I ON S A PPL Y
otago.ac.nz/freeflights
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