RUMOURS

Rip It Up, Issue 149, 1 December 1989, Page 38

RUMOURS

CHRISTCHURCH Seemsto be the season for lineup changes with War of the Bands winners Axel Grinders losing bassist Fill Prescott who has moved to Melbourne ... Steve Birse has rejoined Dolphin in place of Shane Bollingford. Dolphin also had a close shave when guitarist Kevin Stokes tangled with a truck whilst crossing the road -- fortunately the damage to Kevin's hand was not severe ... Big Trouble have had a big shakeup with Paul Scott and Paul Mason departing ... whilst Catherine Wheel guitarist David was rushed to hospital with a badly infected cyst -- hopefully David has a quick recovery. Gruntßecords’ Heavy Metal Awards, recently held at Blenheim Rd, proved o be agreatsuccess. Hammerack were voted best heavy rock act by the audience over Knightshade and Strikemaster, whilst Shihad took the heavy metal award over Asylum who tied with Enigma. Both winning bands and Asylum performed at the awards and organiser Bruce Rae is now battlingto . have their performances screened on CV. Don't Make Noiseand Axel Grinders have newtapes outinthe

shops, Catherine Wheel have just finished recording and The Bats, JPSE, Terminals and Bailter Space are dll waiting for their latest albums to appear through Flying Nun.

Covers band Revolution have a good residency butlost one of their two vocalists. Any guys interested should phone Leslie on (03) 669-523 ... new band -Heather Eggleton Experience were threatened with legal action after only one gig -- they will now be known as the Heather Eggletoon Experience! ...70s glamrockers Oddysey made a one-off-return late last month and packed out the Firehouse night club. There are rumours of otherlong-forgotten bands also getting backtogetherin the coming weeks. The Subway is making a valiant comeback with December kicking off with JPSE's first ChCh shows in six months. The venue is now taking bookings for January onwards, ph 663-735 ...new bands aroundinclude The Hodads, Stand and The Black Springs ... hot rumour of last month was the return of the Dance Exponents. The event seems definitely off since most of the band decided to stay in England. Chris has joined The Starlings whilst Dave is the only one to make it back (and is currently playing with Big Trouble). Anyway, here’s hoping for a healthieg, scenein the 90s! : J.Greenfield DUNEDIN The Empire, the city’s only regular pub venue for original bands, has been sold. At the time of writing its future as a venue is unclear, but as Penelope is known o have said “the outlook is not good.” The sale of the Empire marks the end of John and Maureen Simpson’s involvement with Dunedin music. Their support of original bands has been much appreciated and they will be missed by musicians and music followers alike. Thanks again. Funhouse have reformed and have returned to the live scene this month ... Death Ray Cafe were the sole Dunedin band to receive a QEll grant. Recording will be done over the summer ... Torquemadas have got a nationwide Orientation Tour -- it seems the more bad press they receive, the more successful they get ... Stephen Hall-Jonesis researching a history of Dunedin music from 196010 1990. Anyone who feels they may be able to help with information, etc, can contact Stephen ¢/- OUSA, PO Box 1436, Dunedin ... disfigured, diseased, distorted, deceased mind-sleazers -- yes, the Sferic Experiment played forthe lasttime (electrically atleast) ata warehouse party Dunedin style. The night also witnessed the return of Plagal Grind (with new bassist David Saunders) andyes, in case you were wondering, they were pretty bloody good. ‘ ; Filling the Empire midweek with their -~ - first appearance was The Cheyenne Social Club ... Perfect Garden’s

future is uncertain with the possibility of members dispersing around the globe ... following Dolphin's recent visit to the city, the Dunedin branch of the Rob Mayes Fan Club is struggling in itsmembership drive ... not alot to look foward to in terms of music this summer, but hey, remember, thisis being written from what is probably the last place in the civilised world to have . Batmanreleased (Dec 15) -- beaten even by Hokitika and Invercargill -- but then hype is always fairly diluted by the fime it crosses the Kilmog. Craig Robertson WELLINGTON New hip-hop band Ruamoko are Gerard Tahu, Neil Crickshank, DJ Glide and Picasso and use a mix of live andprogrammed sounds ... Trasches debut album Flourish And Decay was launched atthe Carpark recently. Also atthe Carpark are regular Tuesday night jam sessions opentoall... the CV live to air concertfor Rick Bryant, Bill Lake & The Living Daylights was also the launch for the Rick and Bill project We're In The Same Boat Brother. Limited, numbered copies are available with the complete cassette package due soon. There was also celebration the following week when charges against Bryant were thrown out of court ... guitarist Dave Murphy has beensitting on steel with Southbound at the Southern Saloon....the Frock Il show is on unfil Xmas at Bats with Earth Telephone again providing the music. Hosts this fime round are rumoured to be Jason and Kylie (replacing Donny and Marie). The Vas Deferens have recorded their versions of ‘My Sharona’ and ‘Prime Mover'. Their original bass player Jolt Cola was last heard from in the Himilayas and has been replaced by Flex Libido, well known male model ... drummer Dean Reilly has rejoined Kevin and Cliffin Number Nine ... the vinyl of the Six Volts album has finally arrived from Australia. The new lineup Ranchsliders have been recording with Paul Lloyd producing. These have included Abba covers as well as Steve Hinderwell originals ... Ted Clark is returning from Melbourne to tour the Backdoor Blues Band in the new year ... Kasey's nightclub is now called Club Clements and has the Six Voltsin residence Fridays and Saturdays until Xmas ... The Pagans are resident at the Western Park and have some good original commercial material ... Radio Active closes down for four weeks on December 10 and look out forthe end of the 80s awards at the Carpark... Chicago Smokeshop have their new single ‘Another Man’, a Darren Watson original, out now. When commercial radio programme directors refused to play it because of the arrangement, Pagan even offered to remix it to their requirements -- stalemate. Buy it anyhow ... and buy NZ records for Xmas and radio quotas forthe 90s.

John Pilley