FAILSAFE

Rip It Up, Issue 191, 1 June 1993, Page 4

FAILSAFE

Another installment in our independent record label round up — Donna Yuzwalk talks to ROB WAVES of Christchurch's premiere sound house

"It's sort of like charity work, I suppose", says Rob Mayes, toying with a salad leaf in an Auckland cafe, "I'm the arts council of the south. I really like New Zealand music, I really like the bands around me. In Christchurch, no-one's helping anyone." Except Rob, aka Failsafe Records of Christchurch, who spends most of his time and a lot of his money (saved from his dayjob as a Canturbury University School of Music technician) recording local talent. "The stuff I'm dealing with I consider art," he continues, warming to his theme, "It's like I've just collected 15 paintings and I preserved them by putting plastic over the top of them. It'sall music I think is worthy artistically." He's referring to his latest project, Avalanche, a five band, three songseach CD compilation featuring Supertanker, 147 Swordfish, Pumpkinhead, Love's Ugly Children and Lurch — all Christchurch bands nobody else.was interested in preserving for posterity, although Love's Ugly Children are the underground darlings of their hometown. Rob Mayes is Failsafe's boss and sole employee, although friends in bands help with distribution around the country. He used to be in bands himself (Dolphin, Throw), now he does everything but play the music. An ex-sound engineer for the Bats (he accompanied them on their 1988 world tour) he engineers and co-produces the bands, designs the cover art and carries out promotion, the part he likes least. As far as he's concerned, the best thing about coming to Auckland is being able to check out some local bands. As you might have guessed, his life revolves around the label. He spent four months in the studio for Avalanche ("People don't see me on Friday and Saturday out on the town because I'm in my office trying to do GST figures), enthusiasm undimmed by the less happy aspects of running a tiny, independent record label. Like recording the Holy Toledos album last year only to have Sony step in and announce they'd like to sign the Toledos and re-record the same album. The Toledos were advised that Sony was now guiding their career and that the band were to cease promotion of that LP. Leaving Rob with an SB,OOO bill and a thousand copies of the appropriately titled Forget and Forgive. Before that, Rob had released a Holy Toledos EP, plus material by the Lils, Throw, Feast of Stevens and, most recently, Auckland's Malchicks. Coming up, a Good Things compilation of new songs from Failsafe bands. . Is there a Christchurch sound? "There is a sound but only because it's mostly guitar based music. Everyone's trying to pinpoint the Christchurch sound and it's just that they're ' playing guitar." Is there a Failsafe sound? "Not really. In the past Failsafe has been predominantly guitar based melodic pop in orientation but I've always been interested in wider forms of music. Failsafe was the first label to work with Tinnitus. I'd like to work with more dance orientated and technology friendly music. In Christchurch there are lots of people in their bedrooms with guitars writing songs—there aren't a lot of sequencers and samplers down there. I'm not a techno freak but I'm not technology shy either. I'm into bands being as original as possible and taking musical stands forward. Bands break up quickly here and great chunks of our musical heritage are lost. That was the main reason I started the label. I can think of so many songs I've enjoyed live that I can't listen to ever again because they were never recorded." As for production values, Rob says he's found a way round no-budget recording ("know how and time") and reckons Avalanche sounds as good as any independent recording he's heard. The bands might have clamoured "Make us sound like Sonic Youth I" but Rob wanted to make them sound like themselves. He decided to capture their essence live, using Avalanche Studios (built by himself) to make it just a little bit better. And he's pleased with the results.

'"I can sit there and play it and put my hands on my belly and feel I've done well," he says, unable to hide his pride in what is, undoubtedly, a very appealing sounding (and looking) release. Still to come, a video compilation with five tracks from Avalanche and five unreleased numbers.

It looks like the Avalanche story is going to have a happier ending than the Holy Toledoes episode. One thousand people turned up for the CD launch at the Performing Arts Theatre, Roger Shepherd of Flying Nun has given Rob phone numbers for distribution agents in America and Europe (and advised that Australia is "difficult"), and so far only one band (Lurch) has broken up. But Rob isn't about to give up his day job yet. "I find it really hard to break even at the moment and that's even doing well in New Zealand. It's not a very glamorous job. I'm not too concerned if people don't buy it in bulk. I'm not tryng to make a million dollars, I'm just trying to preserve art."

DONNA YUZWALK