Happy Birthday Robert Scott of The Bats!

Celebrating Robert Scott's birthday with a couple of interviews and "Lazyboy" from his 2014 album The Green House and more. 

R.I.P. New Zealand music great Hamish Kilgour of The Clean

Sadly, The Clean co-founder member Hamish Kilgour was found dead in Christchurch after going missing for a week. 

Martin Phillipps shares a page from his Soft Bomb archive

Check out Martin's illustrated lyrics for "Soft Bomb," his reflection on the good old days of the lively Dunedin scene.

Writes Martin Phillipps....

"During the making of the documentary 'The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps' I was asked to produce a few pages of illustrated lyrics. This is the one I did for the song 'Soft Bomb' from 1991 and it is basically me mourning the passing of the early Dunedin-sound era, the wonderful bands and the fantastic times. "

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Soft Bomb album with The Chills at The Horseshoe in Toronto on October 18th. Tickets are available right here: https://www.horseshoetavern.com/event/the-chills

Members of The Bats, The Clean & Tall Dwarfs form Sundae Painters

Sundae Painters are Hamish Kilgour, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean & Alec Bathgate. Listen to "Thin Air" and "Aversion"

 

Midweek Mixdown: Toy Box Smoke: A Tribute To Flying Nun

Check out the Toy Box Smoke selection of covers of songs by The Clean, The Chills, Snapper etc. Click on the link below. 

 

Various Artists – Toy Box Smoke:  A Tribute To Flying Nun

Josh Burkett - "Clover" (Chris Knox)

Dire Wolves - "Indigo Blue" (The Clean)

Skyjelly - "Life In One Chord" (Straitjacket Fits)

Landing - "North By North" (The Bats)

New Parents - "Rolling Moon" (The Chills)

Late Model - "The Other’s Way" (Doublehappys)

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate - "Future Shock" (The Gordons)

Pigeons - "Days Of Old" (Look Blue Go Purple)

The Arnold Lanes - "Point That Thing Somewhere Else" (The Clean)

Land, Man - "Swimming Pool" (Toy Love)

Huevos II - "You Forget" (David Kilgour)

The Prefab Messiahs - "Buddy" (Snapper)

Vehicle Jr. - "One Fell Swoop" (Chris Knox)

Archie Moore - "Dan Destiny & The Silver Dawn" (The Chills)

Night School - "The Slide" (Tall Dwarfs)

Listen to Toy Box Smoke on Mixcloud right here. 

One For The Weekend: The Clean

Here's the video clip for The Clean's 1982 classic "Beatnik"

Whaddya mean you don't know Smokescreens

The just-released Smokescreens debut album sounds like a lost Flying Nun artefact cut in Dunedin circa 1985!  

The Clean in NYC, 1989

"I've had this roll of 8mm film rolling around our house for a long time that was labeled "Germany". Pat O'Neil, who has been archiving all things CLEAN towards making The Clean Film, got it scanned. I was gleefully surprised to find it's NYC 1989 and the first Clean trip to the USA. The Vehicle LP was recorded in London at the end of this tour.

Starring amongst the footage is musician Chris Knox, photographer Monica Dee, record man Gerard Cosloy, film maker Phil Morrison, rock n roll band Das Damen and various rock n roll clubs of ye olde NYC. The Cult were shooting a video next door to CBGBs...you can see the trucks lined up. That must've been the night we played with Happy Flowers. I can remember on getting into a car outside the club later that night and a junkie grabbed me and begged me- "shoot me, shoot me"....Chris made Ian Astbury's security very nervous later that night after a barrage of sarcastic hero worship/abuse."   – David Kilgour

 

Happy Birthday Robert Scott!

Too Early by Robert Scott

The Verlaines, Flying Nun turn 30

Believe it or not, three decades have passed since Roger Shepherd started up New Zealand's fabulous Flying Nun label. Coincidentally, it was also in 1981 that Graeme Downes founded The Verlaines in Dunedin. With word now that Downes is putting the finishing touches on a new Verlaines album, it seems worthwhile to look back at the development of the Dunedin scene which spawned many of the amazing groups that helped launch Flying Nun globally, inspiring countless artists, from Pavement to Guided By Voices and Barbara Manning to the late Jay Reatard. Here are a couple of clips which document the South Island origins of New Zealand's influential musical exports The Clean, The Chills, The Bats and The Verlaines whose members are still musically active today.

Friends Of The Enemy



Getting Older by The Clean 1981



Flamethrower by The Chills 1982



Pyromaniac by The Verlaines 1984


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