Last issue we looked at Motor Vehicle and other travel claims which is one of the biggest areas of expense we musicians have besides the purchase of our equipment. The other big cost area is the cost of practising. ...more

Last issue we discussed the planning stages of a headlining gig for your originals band, with a guide to identifying a venue, support bands, promotional strategy, and level of financial commitment. Now let’s put those plans into action. Like any well-orchestrated activity, a gig plan has a definite beginning, middle, and end. Once you have a definite plan in mind, with most or all of the details worked out, then it’s time for a kickstart. ...more

Despite what people say about modern technology making the world a smaller place, London will always be a very long way from Auckland when you’re barely 20, have a dream to pursue a musical career, no band, and when everything you possess (other than your beloved guitars) fits in a suitcase. ...more

I am always thinking of ways to understand and relate to my voice (and other voices) better. Thinking as a socialist: my job is to assist people in accessing their ‘means of vocal production’, to feel less ‘alienated’ from our voices and the expressive process and to not feel ‘exploited’. Another analogy is thinking of a singer as a high performance athlete. For both runner and singer – their body is their instrument. We must be sensitive to the way our body works and take full responsibility for cause and effect. ...more

When you picture a bear and a cat blended together, you don’t necessarily immediately think of a panda. But when translated from Chinese, panda evidently literally becomes bear cat. So when Auckland’s own ‘panda pop’ band (made up of Dan Trevarthen and Jocee Tuck, plus friends) were looking for a name that rolled off the tongue and reflected their inspiration, ‘Bear Cat’ seemed to fit nicely. ...more

The Teacups are a three-piece from Auckland, beguiling audiences with their lush vocal harmonies. Having just released their debut album ‘Forest Fiction’, they have come to wider attention performing highly acclaimed opening slots for Jose Gonzalez and Cat Power amongst others, getting significant bNet radio airplay and having the whimsical and wondrous Magic Song placed on a TV ad for Massey University. ...more

I can’t get the youthful country styles of The Unfaithful Ways off my mind. From the creative fountain which makes up Christchurch’s Lyttelton Harbour, also home to The Eastern, comes another excellent alt-country band in the 4-part shape of The Unfaithful Ways. ...more

Tiddabadés (pronounced tid-dah-bad-uz), which sounds curiously similar to high-school street slang ‘to-the-baddest’, are Wellington’s latest offering of new wave party-punk. Formerly known as Batman Tiddabades after a sausage dog that frequented their bass player’s rugby practices, the ‘Batman’ was ditched due to a series of death threats. ...more

As with his band’s name, Subtract’s drummer Mark Rees likes to keep things simple – and metal. We asked the infamous Darren ‘Dirty’ Mathiassen (drummer for Hollie Smith, Iva Lamkum and Rhombus among others) to pose him some questions. ...more

When music-focused online gig guide Mukuna (www.mukuna.co.nz) first appeared in April 2007 it was linked publicly with Manuel Matisi, aka Manuel Bundy, the very experienced Auckland DJ having more of a public profile than his three fellow partners. Jef Kay helped set up George FM and a couple other radio stations, so also knows something about the local music scene. The relative outsiders were the two tech types who continue to monitor, enhance and develop the ever-growing site. Programmer and copy editor Lisa Salmon was raised by her Kiwi parents in Silicon Valley and says her dad is a self-taught programmer who had her cutting code from an early age. Originally from the Detroit area, the fourth partner Jeff Root, aka Jefe, is a web developer and writer – and one fine dancer – at least that’s what he tells us. ...more

Eldred Claude Stebbing lost his father when aged just nine, which perhaps goes a long way to explain his battling nature and also why he for so long helmed his own family-run company. Stebbing Ltd has been one of the most enduring and most successful businesses in our entertainment sector, embracing over time the very modern paradigm of the 360 deal – beginning with recording and releasing 78s in the late 1940s, excelling in rock’n’roll A&R during the 1960s, as well as a leading record label and widely renowned recording studio. From vinyl, through cassette and VHS tape production, today Stebbing Recording Centre Ltd is the countrys biggest CD and DVD manufacturer, having opened a comprehensive plant in 1999. Over five decades Eldred repeatedly confirmed his entrepreneurial streak as well as considerable technical and musical abilities. When The Mint Chicks re-recorded Ray Columbus & The Invaders’ hit She’s A Mod to celebrate the bands recent NZ Hall of Fame induction, the role of Eldred Stebbing and his Zodiac Records label was brought back into focus. Born in 1921, it has only been in very recent years that Eldred was less than actively involved in the running of the family business based in Auckland’s Herne Bay. NZ Musician was priviledged to have this opportunity to talk with Eldred just weeks before he passed away in early December. His son Robert assisted with answering some of the questions provided for this Moments Like These column. ...more

Precocious punk prodigies Bang Bang Eche recently released their first EP entitled ‘Sonic Death C*nttt’ in NZ, but rather than touring on home soil, have since been off spreading their wings across the US and Europe. After making quite an impression at New York’s music industry festival CMJ in late October (they apparently had unsuspecting jocks blasting Bang Bang Eche from their convertibles) they embarked on a US tour with American RnB sensation Har Mar Superstar, who has a proclivity for performing in his underwear. Crossing the Atlantic they then tried their hand in the UK and Europe. Eschewing any educational pretense, Bang Bang Eche vocalist Zach Doney entertains us with some stories from the road. ...more

In this Lawful Truth column we are going to take a look at ‘Recording Release Agreements’ which, despite the significant benefits they provide, are unfortunately perhaps one of the most overlooked and misunderstood agreements in the music industry. A Record Release Agreement clarifies all the rights involved in the making of a recording and the extent to which these rights may be waived, limited or upheld going forward. Anyone who plays, sings, programmes, DJs or in any other way performs on a recording should be required to sign one of these agreements. ...more

We are gathered here today to discuss melodic rhythm. We’ve previously examined harmonic rhythm, in which the frequency of chord changes is shown to contribute to the impetus of song structure. Naturally, rhythms in terms of the rhythm section are critical to the movement of a song, and the same applies to the rhythmic characteristics of the vocal melody ...more