Heard on the radio this morning that Betchadupa have been just been offered a major management deal over in the U.S, (good on ya fellahs!) and are also apparently doing a photoshoot for an article somewhere over there which is apparently entitled "is New Zealand the next Seattle?". What does everyone think of this? Is the rest of the world finally realising how original and revolutionary Kiwi music is? If so, I think it's a very flattering, and exciting if not slightly overdue compliment. And huge ups to all the NZ bands and artists who have been waving the Kiwi flag overseas and doing the hard yards to get this kind of recognition! You know who you are! it's about time. :)
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definitely a lot of overseas interest ...
definitely a lot of overseas interest at the mo.
Though the timing may be a tad bit off.
If my hopes hold true in the next year or so something will smack NZ Music hard and make it run hard for the finish line. Right now, at least to me, there is a sort of stagnation going on as record labels try to make money not music. Sure there are brilliant unsigned acts around but as far as the overseas markets are concerned they are more likely to be exposed to those getting airplay etc.
that is unless bands do their own ...
that is unless bands do their own promotion.
So how do you explain betchadupa being ...
So how do you explain betchadupa being in Oz & labelmates The D4 going worldwide ?
Betchadupa? come on. The D4, right ...
Betchadupa? come on.
The D4, right place, right time, same with the Datsuns. like I said "unless bands do their own promotion"
I haven't thought this through much, it is just a gut feeling at the moment, a vibe. It may only be specific to me but commerical NZ Music is losing its identity too fast. I don't mind the odd band here and there but you have to draw the line somewhere, I guess.
How have you come to the conclusion ...
How have you come to the conclusion that it was their own promotion that got them there ? Seems like a pretty naive idea when they're signed to a sister company of their NZ label.
this doesn't mean we have to wear ...
this doesn't mean we have to wear flannel does it? and sign like we have a pair of socks stuffed down our throats?
the opportunity of SXSW and to tour US ...
the opportunity of SXSW and to tour US and then the UK is, in my mind (it could be wrong), what did it for the D4.
but that is petty details, the bigger picture is the topic.
the thing is the datsuns got where they ...
the thing is the datsuns got where they are at on their own with the help of friends and family.
they weren't the darlings of the auckland scene like bands the D4
and if new zealand is the new seattle it will be printed tees with local new zealand names, and people saying choice and wicked
I say bring it on
NZ can't be the next Seattle, because ...
NZ can't be the next Seattle, because Seattle is a city. And even though NZ's population is about the size of a city, it's still all about local scenes (which is why you need local infrastructure and formalised, coherent communication and cooperation). Anyway, the Seattle comparison sux coz the best stuff here has nothing to do with gunge.
Whats 'gunge' got to do with the NZ ...
Whats 'gunge' got to do with the NZ music scene? I thought 'gunge' was that evil stuff Jason and that blonde chick on 'What Now' cover evil little kiddies in, maybe im wrong.
yeah gunge, hehe, tastes nice...
yeah gunge, hehe, tastes nice
It seems to me that with comments such ...
It seems to me that with comments such as "Whats 'g(r)unge' got to do with the NZ music scene?", "NZ can't be the next Seattle, because Seattle is a city", "the Seattle comparison sux coz the best stuff here has nothing to do with gunge", it appears to me, that some people are missing the point with the whole, is New Zealand the next Seattle? thing. I assumed (you could say, “well hey, don’t assume” but everyone else is so, meh) that with an article entitled "is New Zealand the next Seattle?" the journalist/writer or whatever they’re called, would be implying that they think that it could, in-fact be possible that NZ music might just be able to have a similar impact/effect on music just like Seattle music had and did to music in the early 90's. I dunno maybe im the one interpreting it the wrong way.
I have to agree with the above. And ...
I have to agree with the above.
And the impact that the "grunge" movement had not just on music but on fashion was huge.
and with such questions even being asked it means that every major label is going to seriously start thinking about coming down here and scouting talent. this means that at any gig the oppurtunity for being discovered could be a reality. so all of those fantastic bands like the phoenix foundation, marystaple and two lane blacktop (plus excuse the wellingtoncentricness of that comment) could be potentially the next "big thing" on the global scene and I say bring it on
you are correct mr aroonie. any gig ...
you are correct mr aroonie.
any gig postman? the cynic in me only sees them in Akl.
I say any gig because once the ...
I say any gig
because once the datsuns hit statside with their new album, there are going to be asking where the hell is cambridge and how do I get there
no offense to AKL but after having lived in both cities I say that wellington's scene is far more likely to provide the interest
Grunge is such a stupid term, most of ...
Grunge is such a stupid term, most of those bands didn't sound the same.
If NZ music becomes the 'big thing', what would they call it??
I agree wellington has the better scene ...
I agree wellington has the better scene at the moment but the most deserving aren't always the most fortunate.
Please people, realise, Seattle had a ...
Please people, realise, Seattle had a sound which unfortunately got labelled as grunge. If anyone thinks that record companies are gonna flock to new zealand and sign up heaps of bands, guess again. There is no common sound, good bands a plenty but what westernised country doesn't. We as kiwis need to learn to decipher fact from hype. There's many bands creating hype but not many delivering facts like, "oh, we have sold 80,000 units in N.Z. and 50,000 in Oz. Sorry but i don't buy any big fish, small pond stories. We battle way too hard at being small fish in a big pond.
And, i don't know many of these welly bands so please enlighten???
So Nirvana, SoundGarden & Pearl Jam ...
So Nirvana, SoundGarden & Pearl Jam sounded the same?? umm no
Hell yeah, the dats are a good live ...
Hell yeah, the dats are a good live band, but they are a choreographed garage band. Been doing the same shit for years and years and now they are scratching their heads and going what happened all of a sudden. Someone just got it.
P.s. a good song is a good song, ...
P.s. a good song is a good song, doesn't matter a shit where you come from. Lets focus on that cause god knows it's what we need more of. And that my friends IS a challenge.
what it's done has made it just that ...
what it's done has made it just that ennie wee bit easier to get nz music to the right people in the US/UK etc. rather then them going..."NZ...where the fuck", the now go "kewl, i here you kiwis like to rock'n'roll" . And i'm just pleased that over in the US, they will think of fucking good bands like the datsuns/d4/betchadupa when they think of NZ rather then some of the sad bands who are trying to make it big in NZ at the mo.
while it's good to see NZ bands doing ...
while it's good to see NZ bands doing well off-shore I hope NZ is not the next Seattle: remember how all the big record companies fucked things up?
Plus it's true - there is no 'sound' and NZ is not a city. Also - although there is some good music around it's not really as happening as it could be.
And that's the thing. When I think of ...
And that's the thing. When I think of Seattle, I don't think of the music so much.. I think of urge the city had to go out and see live bands play and the number of shows they had on every night.
Unfortunitly, we don't have that here. There's some good music being produced that's doing awesome overseas but if you ask the average teenager who the datsons or the d4 were, they wouldn't know what you were talking about. If you mentioned Tadpole.......
U know I think I kind of said the same ...
U know I think I kind of said the same thing as blink did above. Silly me.
all this music isnt really new, its ...
all this music isnt really new, its rock and roll isnt it? which is quite fashionable nowadays....
"Is New Zealand the New Seattle?" I ...
"Is New Zealand the New Seattle?" I fucking hope not. In the early '90's, there were a couple of good bands that came out of Seattle. They hit it big. Consequently, any fuckwit that had pretty hair, could hold a guitar, and had a driver's license that said Seattle was raking in the bucks. Ten years down the road, they're probably all sucking dick for crack and we, the American people, are better off for it.
If NZ is the next Seattle, get ready to be exploited, aggrandized, simplified, liquified, mass-marketed, mocked, ridiculed, and then forgotten. Personally, I hope it doesn't happen.
God, I sound really bitter. ...
God, I sound really bitter.
I have to agree with most of what you ...
I have to agree with most of what you said (except the hair was pretty much not pretty, unless ya like the unwashed-for-a-month look!), Vel. I have played a lot of my Kiwi Rock for friends and they really like it (especially Shihad/Pacifier), and I was asked if I thought that the new album will have any hits (of course it has the potential to be big here..). I pointed out that it really has to do with how much payola (in the new style of Clear Channel Communications, that Anti-Christ which owns most of the markets in this country AND a large number of venues as well) that record promoters are willing to dish in their favor. Personally, I think Kiwi artists deserve their turn to get more exposure to the US market; I prefer several NZ artists to a LOT of the crap they're feeding us here, especially the music from that country to our North! Hmm.. maybe Canada is already the "New Seattle!" lol
Erg. Don't get me started on Clear ...
Erg. Don't get me started on Clear Channel. Fucking Anti-Christ is right.
Music coming out of Seattle was pretty good until the media latched on to it and turned it into a pre-teen fad, thereby taking all the seriousness and worth out of it for true music afficionados. I would hate to see that happen to NZ, simply because I don't think the US would really see the whole of the 'NZ scene'. It would be marketed like saturday morning Japanese children's cartoons. There would be lunchboxes. There would be action figures. It would be a mess. In 15-20 years, there would be the whole "New Zealand Nostalgia" trend, whereby another generation can get really sick of America's take on NZ.
I'm all for bands like Pacifier and Betchadupa (and any other NZ band that wants to try, for that matter) breaking into the US market and making it big. I am, however, very against cool bands being lumped together by nation of origin and labeled as a passing trend instead of taken seriously as individuals.
Actually, I'll amend that; Canada can be the new Seattle. They fucking deserve it.
yay, thats how you know its getting ...
yay, thats how you know its getting bigger, when Americans are talking about you while you sleep.....
Well, I think it would be pretty rare ...
Well, I think it would be pretty rare for anyone in America to just 'stumble upon' any NZ music. It's not like we can hear it on the radio and say, "Ooh, that's intriguing! I think I'll see what else this tiny country has produced!"
I'd be willing to bet that any Americans you'd bump into in this forum were introduced to the music by someone from NZ, or lived there themselves.
Fist off I agree with everything you ...
Fist off I agree with everything you say about what NZ music could be like once it goes through the US media machine, but what with all this anti-canada crap.
You seriously think the US has anything to gripe about compared to the force feeding of American garbage that canadians(and the rest of the world) have been exposed to for the last twenty years. The most talented musicians in Canada(and NZ, and ) don't get played in the states, only the stuff the US labels want you to hear, that they've marketed and invested a lot of dough in, and that fits within the right marketable category. Unplayed, unsigned ,original and talented artists live in every country, including Canada (and shock) even your own!
Just because a site like this exists which wonderfully(almost uniquely) exposes these artists in NZ, doesnt mean there aren't other artists around the world playing stuff that doesnt get played on Clear Channel. A Lot of NZ musicians deserve credit for their talent, no doubt about it! But it's just a symptom of a bigger problem.
I'm well aware that Canada (and any ...
I'm well aware that Canada (and any other country in the world, for that matter) has been force-fed American tripe. I'm also aware that canada has a lower cost of living, better quality of living, better health care, cleaner cities, happier population, etc., etc.
Most Americans (especially Minnesotans, because we actually know where Canada is) have a sort of tongue-in-cheek rivalry with Canada. Don't worry, it's just because we're jealous.
velocity, ya, I was in a bit of a ...
velocity,
ya, I was in a bit of a foul mood this morn, and saw two quick jibes at canada that got my hackles up, sorry nothing personal. We're just a wee bit overly defensive, as you may know. How bloody stereotypically canadian of me to apologize eh?
dude, apologies. canadians do rule ...
dude, apologies.
canadians do rule though.
hey Stefan, was talking about the ...
hey Stefan, was talking about the comments by velocity and ed the yank. no apologies necessary my man, I know what you were talking aboot.
suh-weet....
suh-weet.
No need to apologize. Christ, I'm an ...
No need to apologize. Christ, I'm an American. I should just wear a shirt that says, "Look, I'm really sorry for everything."
And nothing I say is really very serious.
"...what you were talking aboot." THAT'S very Canadian of you.
Thank GOD some radio station DJs can ...
Thank GOD some radio station DJs can still make decisions on their own! Glad to hear she can play the 'Fier without a PD giving her a playlist; that is so very not the way things are done in the time of the Beast (Clear Channel Communications). And thanks for the heads up on where to get Blue Light Disco!
Actually, my sister works for ...
Actually, my sister works for Clearchannel and does have a PD that gives her a playlist, but the PD is her husband and so she tells him what to put on the playlist that he then gives to her. Nice how that works out for her.
Velocity: What a coincidence - Blue ...
Velocity: What a coincidence - Blue Light Disco is the only release that I lack by them, and my sister in NZ has been looking for a used copy for quite a while. I'm in Cali east of SF, btw.
Squared: No worries bout that.. true radio is one long commercial. The ones like Z-Rock back in the late 80s/early 90s didn't last long due to their lack of ability to bring in large amounts of cash, but they exposed people in their markets to some kick-ass metal while they did. I have a friend in NYC (actually lives o Long Island) who told me that they have no rock stations in the Big Apple anymore. Hard to believe (in a megalopolis of that size) and sad all at the same time. He made it sound like it's all oldies and techno..
You can buy Blue Light Disco from ...
You can buy Blue Light Disco from smokecds.com. I highly recommend them to any foreigners looking to get their hands on NZ releases.
As for rock stations in the US, Minneapolis/St. Paul has always had a pretty successful one. We're just a rock town, I guess. My sister works in radio in upstate NY, and is super freaking excited that they've just gotten their first rock station. Per my request she's playing the Pacifier single in heavy rotation, and she says it's getting a pretty positive reaction.
*You're in the US, Velocity.. where ...
*You're in the US, Velocity.. where you at? Funny you should mention how people come across NZ music. A friend of a friend brought back Shihad's TGE cd and I've been hooked ever since. When I was in Christchurch, I was hoping to hear more NZ music, but alas, mostly the same crap I hear here. Glad I came upon the link to here from the Shihad site so I've been able to here more great music from NZ.
**Didn't mean to diss Canadians, Squared just don't like the bands from there on the radio at the moment (just as I hate most of the American crap on there as well).
I'm in St. Paul, MN. It actually ...
I'm in St. Paul, MN. It actually seems that, for most Americans, it was Shihad that got us into NZ music. A friend of mine sent me the Blue Light Disco EP from Auckland a while back, and that's what did it for me.
ed the yank - gree' radio has been ...
ed the yank - gree' radio has been dead to me for about 3 years. I did a lot streaming listening, til they shut it down in the states and I lost a lot of my favs. Radio is sad, boring and one day long advert for pepsi or coke. Sorry for the insane rant above, I have a bad habit of going off when I'm in a bad mood.
you cant a fake a good band and the ...
you cant a fake a good band and the music is fucking hot. i just think its jumping the gun a bit to say that NZ music is taking over the world cos Betchadupa got a management deal - how many bands in the world got a mangement deal today?
True enough. But how many NZ bands ...
True enough. But how many NZ bands have? Especially management with worldwide experience of having hits & making it big, and management with the contacts (oh so important) to get you the gigs, deals & opportunities outside NZ & Aussie.
Good on them I say. In a NZ musicians sense it's a case of 'One small step...'.
I (an American) actually discovered ...
I (an American) actually discovered Kiwi music by listening to the mighty Shayne Carter and saying, "hmmm, this music is intriguing, I wonder what else this tiny coutry has produced." Tee hee. It's true though. My 2 cents. Back in the day, I think there really was a grunge sound, a grunge vibe. Afghan Whigs (granted, from Ohio, but on Sub Pop), Screaming trees, Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Fluid, Green River, there was definitely a thang going on up there. I don't think Pearl Jam really were grunge, however, even though MTV identified them as the grunge band. They were always more of an arena type band. Anyhoo, gotta scoot.
Let's not forget the most important ...
Let's not forget the most important band before grunge, Mother Love Bone! If only Andy Wood hadn't died, then Eddie Vedder would probably still be surfing in San Diego, and who knows if Scott Weiland would've happened even. Ahh, the events that shape sound!