RUMOURS

Rip It Up, Issue 219, 1 November 1995, Page 42

RUMOURS

WELLINGTON Fat Mannequin bass player Daniel Kennedy has left the band due to personal differences. The band is currently auditioning potential replacements, and interested persons can call Leon on (04)479-1980 or Jeremy on (04)801-9985. FM have recently been recording demo tracks for their forthcoming debut album at Hamilton’s Zoo Studios. The South Island can look forward to seeing them when they tour there in December ... and then there are things that really do throw you, like wandering into an Irish bar on a school night to hear the resident band whooping it up. No so much with ‘Whisky In The Jar’ or ‘Dirty Old Town’, but with 'Ra Ra Rasputin’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit'! Still, it's Irish-influenced Nirvana covers that make the world go around ... Coldhouse 5 are a new band in the city. Flamenco-tinted jazz, covered with a pop wash ... David Greer is back on the scene again, with a new band ... poetry, or, as someone once described it, music without drum kits, is making a comeback in the city. Venues are offering evenings for aspiring word jocks to wow us with sentiment. Remember to brint the beret ... Head Like A Hole may have turned down the Coke promo, but they will be touring the country, and returning home for November shows (does this mean the revolution will be televised?) ... Sweet Family Unit are back and playing, as is Stefan Wolf and his Madding Crowd ... David Pine is all set to emerge from the studio at some stage, covered eyes, bleary from the sun ... Short are going back to the aforementioned cave to create an album ... Bilge Festival and Letterbox Lambs are playing together again this month. Emulsifier have played their last gig, as have their alter ego, the Deville Brothers ... Birth are supposedly coming from the south to hit the city (and possibly lose the band), but, when questioned about this, Phil ‘Rock ’n’ Soul’ Davidson just said: “Fuck that, man, rock ’n’ roll has no future.” DONALD REID DUNEDIN It's been a quiet month with students busy studying, so attendances have been down at gigs and student bands too busy to play, but as usual, things keep ticking along. First up, venue news: the Provincial is to become a regular band venue again. Doug Nuttal is in charge of taking bookings for two bars. The underground Cellars Bar will reopen on November 9, a relaxed

atmosphere with low volume being the idea, making it an ideal venue for many of the new jazz bands now in town. The upstairs bar is available for touring and local bands looking for a 3-400 capacity venue. The first booking for the big bar is NoMeansNo and Swarm on November 14. For bookings, phone Doug on 025 373 591 ... despite offering shitloads of free piss on the opening night, new nightclub and potential venue Swim (which took the place of XS Rock) has been closed down by authorities after one night's operation. A combination of allegedly stolen lino on the floor, lack of suitable building permits, and staff being sprung doing some weird smoking, all lead to its early demise good news for all vinyl freaks, rumour has it we may be seeing the reopening of a ‘proper’ pressing plant in New Zealand. Real records? Maybe ... new band Apple (ex Samadhi) played with Jefferson at the Empire a few weeks ago to a full house. They're playing again tonight (my time) with Couch and Audiac, who are playing their last gig as members leave town at the end of their varsity careers ... Trash and Suka both have CDs out on IMD and, together with Fats Thompson, are embarking on a national tour mid November ... Dimmer have a new line-up and are busy practicing new material ... Ruth Brown has taken over from Lee Harris as weekly music column writer at the ODT. Angela Compton continues to do music feature writing for the paper. The other person to contact if you’re coming this way is Brenda Harwood, who writes a column in the Midweeker (free community newspaper). They can all be found at (03)477-4760, or PO Box 517, Dunedin ... Drugs Vs Grandchildren are recording soon, and hope to make the move from Geraldine records to CD, in order to disturb more listeners ... Mike Stoodley was busy mixing all the live-to-air broadcasts for Radio One during New Zealand Music Week. In the end, the line up was Alastair Galbraith, Fats Thompson, Nimbus, Gate, Doramaar, Sandos Lab Technicians, 78 RPM, Body Bomb, Cloudboy, Martin Phillipps and Te Kapa Haka. Mike, along with Bryan Spittle, has also been mastering the long awaited Puddle CD which is due out soon ... negotiation is under way between two local studios who are considering operating under the'same roof. Watch this space for more details ...

Casagrante Apparatus is a new three-piece free jazz (maybe) outfit, featuring Stefan Neville (drums), Justin Bull (guitar) and Les O'Neil (clarinet). They have just made a tape ‘Rico’, although they haven't played live ... the 3Ds and Chug are to record soon at Fish St once they find some new premises ... the Dead C have re-released Trap Door Fucking Exit, and Michael Morley is back in the States again.

DAVID MUIR