Lil' Chief Records

One Million Views - An Essay On Achieving Internet Hype in 2012

2012-01-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

Well today a song I wrote called ‘The Cigarette Duet’ has hit one million views on Youtube.

To blow my own trumpet, after I had finished writing it on the Roland E-20 I used to play in Teenwolf (a keyboard which for some inexplicable reason appears to have a large bitemark taken out of the 3rd A key) I decided it was a catchy and good pop song and was fairly convinced I’d written an indie hit. I began to suspect that I’d written an indie crossover hit when early on my parents leaked it to a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses who gave them very positive feedback.

Turns out I was somewhat right.

Like a lot of independent artists everything I do is made on a shoestring budget, although not necessarily by choice.

However, as of today, the music video for 'The Cigarette Duet' has more views on Youtube than for instance, all of Six60's and The Midnight Youth's music videos, combined (two top 40 artists in New Zealand).

This is extremely encouraging. It is encouraging because in the music video I am wearing a swimsuit, which means people must generally agree that I look attractive and cute in my swimsuit / quirky wig.

Possibly even more encouraging though, is that this also indicates that the power of a good song can transcend limitations in funds and resources, and still go on to connect with people all over the world, and on this occasion surpassing the results of even the most structured and high budget marketing campaigns. (In Lana Del Rey's case the combination of these two things has proven to be phenomenal).

In a chinese whispers scenario, much of the online interest surrounding 'The Cigarette Duet' has been simply due to people from all walks of life passing links around via websites like facebook, tumblr and most certainly not myspace.

The slightly controversial subject material has probably helped too, sparking a number of intellectual debates via the comments section of Youtube.

Of course there has been support from the fingerboarding scene;

The Brony Scene;

a number of covers;

and copy cat videos.

If the resulting sales continue at their current trends, and one in every 15,000 viewers orders a Lil' Golden Book LP then I am very excited to be able to pay off most of the vinyl shipping costs in the next few months!

Of course there are other angles to examine. As an artist, I am aware of the danger of becoming pigeon holed as 'the hipster girl from the cigarette duo'. Perhaps it will be that not one percent of youtube viewers will care about my sophomoric album, which is going to be, naturally, a concept opera concerning our perception of each other on the internet.

However I could almost be happy to settle for these consequences having garnered the knowledge that even if people don't pay for a good song these days, they most certainly will listen to it.

Cool Rainbows First Single!

2011-12-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

Way back in March, we at Lil Chief Records were excitedly talking to everyone we knew about our newest signing Cool Rainbows.

Cool Rainbows is the new project of Djeisan Suskov, former frontman of Nova Echo, and Trees Climbing Trees. He also happens to be a bit of a genius in the studio. But like all studio geniuses, he does tend to get a bit obsessed with sonic noodling when it comes to his own work. This is probably why half-a-year has passed since we last mentioned his upcoming debut.

HOWEVER, the time has come and we've finally managed to squeeze a single out of him. Perfect timing to ease you all into summer with the melodically-hypnotic sound of 'Southern Summer Sun'.

"Southern Summer Sun" is the first single from Cool Rainbows first album - the upcoming Lil' Chief release "Whale Rocket" and is now available as a pay what you like download.

And while you're downloading that you may as well have a browse at the Lil' Chief online store, because we're having a Christmas sale - buy any 4 items get one free!

New Pikachunes Music Video!

2011-11-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

Lil' Chief Records is proud to premiere the new Pikachunes music video for his student radio hit 'Nervous'. The video was filmed on location in Manhattan during his stay in New York earlier this year and was made by Doug Schachtel who has also directed other video clips in NYC for The Brunettes and The Go Team.

If anything is going to send Pikachunes careening into mainstream consciousness it's this song accompanied by this video - much like Princess Chelsea's Cigarette Duet video which seems to be confusing people all over the world at the moment.

The Eversons Vote For Act!

2011-11-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

As election day in New Zealand draws near, those more politically minded of us are updating their facebook statuses and twitter feeds with sincere and educated political opinions. While much of the genius online rhetoric we see tends to hinge around the National vs Labour debate ("John Key sux guys vote Labour if u dont ur right wing cos he cant even shake hands did u see that youtube clip lmfao lol" etc) one party that seems to have been lost in the online shitstorm is the ACT party.

The Eversons are taking their online political mission to a new level by releasing new single "Vote For ACT" as a free download in the lead up to this months elections.

CLICK HERE for your free download!

If you are unsure about the principals that ground the mission of the ACT party please find below some key points I have taken directly from the ACT website ( http://www.act.org.nz/ )

The principal object of the ACT Party is to promote an open, progressive and benevolent society in which individual New Zealanders are free to achieve their full potential and smoke 420.

According to our constitution, the ACT Party shall promote, develop and pursue policies and proposals which:

encourage individual choice and responsibility and the pursuit of excellence in all fields of human endeavour and smoking 420;
enhance living standards for all New Zealanders through sustainable economic growth and international competitiveness and smoking 420;
enhance choice and diversity, and raise standards of achievement in education and smoking 420;
ensure that all New Zealanders have access to quality health care and have security in retirement and smoking 420;
maintain social and economic support for those unable to help themselves and who are in genuine need of assistance in smoking 420;
provide for the nation’s security and the protection of individual lives and property and smoking 420;
explore and implement practical and innovative ways to protect the natural environment and smoking 420;
maintain sound economic management, including (but not limited to) a balanced government budget, price stability and a free and open market economy for smoking 420; and
limit the involvement of central and local government to those areas where collective action is a practical necessity for smoking 420.

Even if you are not a supporter of the ACT party The Eversons encourage you to have an open mind and to do your research on all political parties involved in the New Zealand Election - for unlike the US Elections things in New Zealand are not as black and white as they seem.

Speaking of the US Elections, I may as well take this opportunity to post a recent campaign video for US Republican Candidate Herman Cain who has used tobacco smoking as a marketing tool to increase his appeal amongst young republicans and working class americans.

Lil' Chief Loses It's Vinyl Virginity

2011-10-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

We at Lil' Chief Records are very excited to announce the loss of our vinyl virginity after nine years of dealing only with plastic!

Pikachunes self titled LP and Princess Chelsea's Lil' Golden Book are the first two Lil' Chief Releases in this exciting new format.

They have been pressed by United Record Pressing in a very special limited run and are now available for order direct from the Lil' Chief online store.

We figured that since we're going all the way we may as well get adventurous so have pressed Pikachunes in limited edition white vinyl and Lil' Golden Book in limited edition gold vinyl. You can look forward to more Lil' Chief Vinyl releases in the coming months!

United Record Pressing have kindly posted some great photos of the vinyl making process!

Pikachunes & Princess Chelsea are currently in Brooklyn, New York after completing a host of East Coast dates and are about to perform at CMJ Music Marathon.

Remaining East Coast dates are as follows:

Pikachunes

October 18 - Le Poisson Rouge, NY (CMJ Music Marathon, 7.30pm)
October 22 - Kennys Castaways, NY (CMJ Music Marathon, 9pm)

Princess Chelsea

October 16 - Dekalb Markets, Brooklyn
October 18 - Le Poisson Rouge, NY (CMJ Music Marathon, 6pm)
October 22 - The Local 269, NY (CMJ Music Marathon, 7pm)

Princess Chelsea has also dropped a new single from Lil' Golden Book, 'Too Fast To Live' - a Skeeter Davis inspired ballad about the perils of drinking with a music video that will be a welcome relief to people who like using the word 'juxtaposition'.

Too Fast To Live has been released as a digital single complete with a free downloadable B-Side "After The Moment" - which is a cover of a song by California based Craft Spells available on their album Idle Labor.

The Eversons Release Hyacinth Girl Music Video!

2011-10-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

Ever since Split Enz released the music video for "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" the idea of a New Zealand band or artist filming themselves in a nautical vessel (or something a lot more modest) has been a solid go to. Perhaps not as popular as NZ car based videos but just as, if not more classy.

The Eversons brand new music video for Hyacinth Girl follows this fine kiwi tradition, showing the world what can be achieved with some coloured paper, snips, and sticky tape.

The clip is made by Lucy Zee and features an intricate plot involving a shipwreck, giant cat masks (that may or may not be depicting Winston Mogwai Nikkel) and the disappearance of guitarist Christopher Young.

The track is taken from the brilliant debut E.P. which has been tearing up the broadband charts ever since Lil Chief released it free on our website earlier this year.

There are still a very limited number of physical copies of the e.p. available direct from Lil' Chief!

The Eversons are currently working on their debut album scheduled to be released on Lil' Chief Records early next year and gearing up for a European Tour to follow!

If you haven't heard the buzz about these lads yet here is some nuggies of media for you...

Sunday Star Times
"Every song here rules." Four stars.

The Corner
"Young is maturing as one of the country’s best guitarists."

Boy Attractions
"The Eversons are the latest in a long line of NZ bands (The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines) that are well-schooled in the art of infectious, well-crafted hooks."

Finest Kiss
"Impeccable pop hooks"

The Last Remark
"One of my favourite NZ bands of 2011. Lyrical genius I say."

Earmilk
"The Eversons answer a question that isn’t often asked: What happens when you mix The Beach Boys with early 90s alternative rock? The answer is surprisingly good. It’s like the first time I dipped marshmallows in chocolate syrup while I had the munchies."

Upcoming Live Shows:

Wednesday October 5 - San Francisco Bathhouse with St. Rupertsberg
Saturday October 22 - Mighty Mighty with T54 and The Boxcar Rattle

Pikachunes & Princess Chelsea East Coast Dates

2011-09-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

Pikachunes & Princess Chelsea have gone "overseas" and are holing up in the wonderful neigbourhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn this spring (or fall if you're in the US) awaiting a farewell performance to take place during CMJ at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge club.

Both artists released their albums Pikachunes & Lil' Golden Book respectively stateside in the US, September 6th.

Princess Chelsea and Pikachunes Live - East Coast USA

09/07 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall Lips, Mighty Moon
09/10 New York, NY @ Cin-M-Art Space (43 Murray St.) David & Goliath Music Festival, 930PM (Princess Chelsea only)
09/14 Baltimore, MD @ The Depot
09/16 Brooklyn, NY @ XPO 929 w/ Supercute!
09/24 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire Philly Film & Music Festival (Princess Chelsea only)
09/30 New York, NY @ Pianos
10/07 Brooklyn, NY @ Goodbye Blue Monday w/ Preston Spurlock, Ching Ching
10/18 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge CMJ 2011

with more dates to come!

Princess Chelsea & Pikachunes Farewell

2011-08-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Princess Chelsea & Pikachunes are off to New York City for a few months and will play a farewell show together Friday 19 August at the Golden Dawn in Auckland.

Princess Chelsea will be on at 9.30, followed by Pikachunes at 10.30 - doors are at 8. Mr Crawley suggests you get there early to avoid queues and "upsets".

If you haven't got it yet, you can download the colab 'Castle on a Cloud' here on soundcloud

Pikachunes feat Princess Chelsea - Castle On A Cloud by princesschelsea

US dates for Pikachunes and Princess Chelsea to come soon!

New Wet Wings Music Video

2011-08-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Wet Wings have a new music video for You're Not - my favourite track from their album Glory Glory.

Video directed by Tom Hutchison

The Gladeyes have a new music video!...and an older one!

2011-07-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Gwen Norcliffe of the Gladeyes has made a wonderful montage to accompany their song "Exploding" pieced together using archive footage. The track is taken from their recently released second album "Shadows Explode".

Also well worth checking out is the music video that the Gladeyes made for "One Million Kisses" off their debut album "Psychosis Of Love". It stars Lil' Chief's own post master general Mr Lawrence Mikkelsen and his year 10 media studies class from Selwyn College, Auckland.

The Cosbys, Shaft, Princess Chelsea, $norgazzzm

2011-07-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

THIS SATURDAY - 23RD JULY - KINGS ARMS

It's been too long, my friends. The Cosbys are back where they belong... on Cosby Street, with Another Kind of Magic to be Speechin' about so you can Keep On Livin' in the knowledge that we Certainly Love You, and you know Whose Girl (or boy) you are... We're doing this Because Of You!

Joined by Shaft - a rock'n'roll sensation who have reigned supreme in Auckland since before Princess Chelsea were mere children, and before $norgazzzm's parents had even bonked. Should be a real giggle!

Door sales only dudes, ten bucks, cool?

New Release: Wet Wings - Glory Glory

2011-07-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

Lil' Chief Records is proud to present the debut album by Wet Wings - Glory Glory.

Wet Wings are the newest addition to the Lil' Chief roster. Lucy & Darian are Christchurch natives now based in Wellington. Together they craft intimate, layered and complex electro acoustic songs with elements of both folk and chamber pop. They have been described as both “beautifully misty/haunting” and “positively glowing”.

You can purchase Glory Glory digitally direct from Lil' Chief, Amplifier, or on iTunes.
Physical copies are available direct from the Lil' Chief Store or from your local record store!

Wet Wings will be playing Auckland and Wellington album release shows in July.

If you'd like to keep up do date with Wet Wings on the web, they can be found on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

New Music Video by The Eversons!

2011-06-19T10:08:00.001-07:00

The Eversons have filmed a video for their song 'I'm a Conservative' - shot by The Eversons and edited by Blair Everson. Like any good pop music video should, it features them chilling out in front of a cool car. The Eversons will be driving this beast to a town near you soon.

You can download a copy of their e.p. for free here or order a physical copy here.

Join The Eversons on the web

Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr

Wet Wings - Feeeel It

2011-06-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to introduce our newest signing - Wet Wings.

Wet Wings is Lucy and Darian.

Together they layer harmonies and melodic hooks over
skittish guitar, ghostly keyboard lines, and atmospheric samples.

While Wet Wings are a very new band, they have already have some very nice things written about them - “beautifully misty/ haunting” (on the Pitchfork-curated Altered Zones), “The kind
of harrowing incantation carried by worried and cloudy strings” (Delicious Scopitone, bizarrely translated from French), and “positively glowing” (Rose Quartz).

'Feeeel' it is the first single from Wet Wings’ forthcoming debut album, Glory Glory which we will be releasing on July 4. Foreshadowing the cavernous jubilation of the album, 'Feeeel It' conjures the supernatural with equal parts hope and skepticism. We are pleased to offer ‘Feeeel It’ as a pay-what-you-like single.

'Feeeel It' is accompanied by this beautifully shot video made by Johnny Lyon and Sophia Jenny.

Wet Wings debut album 'Glory Glory' is now available for preview and pre-order.

New Princess Chelsea Single, B-side & Video

2011-06-08T09:27:00.001-07:00

"The Cigarette Duet" is the new single from Princess Chelsea's album Lil' Golden Book and features guest vocals and guitar from Jonathan Brunette.

Somewhat of an anomaly on the album - Princess Chelsea ditches the synths and cinematic orchestration and instead dishes up a catchy 60s style pop duet reminiscent of Nancy & Lee.

B-Side “Positive Guy Meets Negative Man”, is a more off-beat slightly ridiculous duet with bandmate Brad Fafejta (TeenWolf / Lil’ Golden Book album artist). It’s lyrics are co-written with Brad, and this song first popped as an interlude during early TeenWolf shows. It is also possibly the first song to combine hard-core style screaming with a pretty chamber pop arrangement.

You can obtain Cigarette Duet / Positive Guy Meets Negative Man as a single on the Lil’ Chief Bandcamp or on Itunes.

We are also pleased to premiere the new music video for Cigarette Duet, featuring an utterly sensual bad-boy guitar solo that rivals Slash’s epic jam in the desert during Guns N' Roses "November Rain" music video.

Princess Chelsea's Debut Album Out Today!

2011-05-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today Lil' Chief Records is proud to present the debut album by Princess Chelsea - Lil' Golden Book.

It's been nearly three years in the making and features a 15 page Little Golden Booklet designed by bandmate Brad Fafejta.

Early reviews have been positive with the Sunday Star Times naming it 'album of the week' and aptly describing it as 'when cute meets creepy'.
Graham Reid has called it 'mischievous and sharp' and the NZ Herald has likened it to "growing pains in the happiest place on earth".

New Zealanders - you can pick up a copy at your local record store!

And those of you who are reading from overseas - you may order your cd copy from the Lil' Chief Store (with a free download) or obtain it digitally on iTunes or on the Lil' Chief Bandcamp page.

Lil' Chief will be looking to expand it's horizons in the coming months pressing some of your favorite Lil' Chief albums on vinyl.

Lil' Golden Book will be our first vinyl release and will be released later in the year on pink vinyl!

Ooh and there's two album release shows as well...

Gladeyes Album Release Wellington

2011-04-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

We are playing our final show this Friday the 29th of April with St. Rupertsberg at the Mighty Mighty in Wellington. Come Along!

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Shadows Explode Out Now!

2011-04-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today we are proud to present The Gladeyes latest record - "Shadows Explode".

Once again our favourite girl group has come up with something really special for you. It was recorded over six months as spring gave way to summer toward the end of 2010. In contrast to its predecessor, which was the product of a decade's worth of writing and two years of production, Shadows Explode is less laboured, and has more in common with the long string of hand-made and home-recorded EPs which make up The Gladeyes output through the 2000s.

Have a listen here. It's also available on CD at our Lil Chief Store and digitally on iTunes.

Don't forget that the first of the band's two release show is tonight at 5/1 Cross Street, Auckland!

A Free Gladeyes Single!

2011-04-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

The Gladeyes are well known for their sweet pop melodies with a sinister edge. 'Honey Pie' (the first single from new album 'Shadows Explode" (out on Lil' Chief on 21 April)) takes that lead, with it's ominous 60s bass line (think the Walker Brothers doing Summertime), gently riffing guitar and sweet girl vocals delivering the tragic story of love gone awry.

The Chief is kindly offering 'Honey Pie' as a pay what you like download.

The Gladeyes are performing their last ever Auckland show and celebrating this albums release on Thursday night this week – at 5/1 Cross Street, $5 on the door and it’ s BYO.

the Gladeyes Album Release Party

2011-04-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Our new Album Shadows Explode comes out this Thursday! And we are having an album release party at 5/1 Cross Street. It's going to be our last ever show in Auckland so everyone should come along......... $5 on the door and BYO!

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Two New Releases Out Today!

2011-04-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lil' Chief Records is very proud to release today the debut E.P. by The Eversons!

Recorded inside a storage unit, and a tidy five tracks long (including the new single 'Creepy'), this E.P. has no filler - and we here at Lil' Chief believe that this is as strong a debut as a 'Boodle Boodle Boodle' or 'Champion Versions'.

You can pay what you like for the digital release but for those of you who still like to have something to wrap your frail indie fingers around - a very limited run of CD copies are also available from the Lil’ Chief Store. It's also available through iTunes and Amplifier.

The Eversons E.P. release show will take place on April 16 at Whammy Bar in Auckland.

Also today we are pleased to officially release the second single from Princess Chelsea’s upcoming album.

‘Ice Reign’ is now available on iTunes, Amplifier or direct from Lil’ Chief. The album, Lil' Golden Book, will drop on May 2nd, but you can pre-order a copy today.

Upcoming Releases + a Freebie

2011-03-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

At Lil Chief Records, it never rains but it pours. Over the next few months we will be putting out four new releases - three of them by new artists!

First up, we have The Eversons - a new group from Wellington, who produce witty, punchy guitar-based pop tunes. This is the new project of Mark Turner (Little Pictures), though now he's traded in his roland sample pad for a guitar and taken his music more into the territory of The Modern Lovers and Pavement. You can get an idea of their sound today with their free-to-download cover of the Disasteradio song, “Gravy Rainbow.”
This will be followed up by The Eversons EP, released on CD and through our website as a free download on April 11th.

Only two weeks later, we have the new full-length release from The Gladeyes. Sadly the band will go on hiatus soon after this with singer/guitarist Jade Farley leaving for Stockholm, so this album and the accompanying shows will be local audience’s last chance to check them out.

On May 9th we have the release of Princess Chelsea’s debut album, Lil’ Golden Book. This is the solo project of Chelsea Nikkel (TeenWolf) and showcases her layered, multi-instrumental sound. Her music embraces both orchestral and electro elements, while remaining firmly footed in well-crafted pop melodies.

We are also overjoyed to announce the signing of Cool Rainbows, the new project by Djeisan Suskov (Trees Climbing Trees). Cool Rainbows debut album is nearly complete and due for release in June/July.

love

the Chief x

SPRING BREAK + DISCIPLES OF MACCA + PIKACHUNES LIVE IN WELLINGTON!

2011-03-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Spring Break is a new project featuring the sensual Ryan McPhun of the Ruby Suns and the utterly ravishing James Dansey of the Sneaks.

They look and sound like this:

Disciples of Macca are the ultimate Paul McCartney tribute act, playing classic solo Paul McCartney and Wings hits such as "Coming Up", "Band on the Run", "Jet" and many more. Featuring members Paul, Paul, Paul, and Linda (possibly all established artists on Lil' Chiefs roster) their very rare live performances are always, engaging.

And if you're completely mental and haven't seen Pikachunes live yet:

Pikachunes Debuts New Song on 95bfm

2011-03-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Andrew Tidball from Cheese on Toast is will be taking the one and only Pikachunes up to Charlotte Ryan's most excellent slice of radio heaven this week - on Thursday 10 March to debut a brand new song - that's not on the album - and at the time of writing this hasnt even been titled yet - and is presently being mastered by the one and only Timmy Schumacher.

Thursday, March 10 · 10:00am - 12:00pm (NZ PACIFIC)

Morning Glory, 95bfm

Overseas listeners may stream at www.95bfm.com

For those of you not already familiar with this boy wonder, you should probably check out this.

the Gladeyes on Balcony TV

2011-01-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

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Nu-Zealand Indie Pop, The Modernization of Lil Chief in the Second Decade of The 21st Century

2010-12-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

Since it's first release in 2002, Lil' Chief Records has developed a reputation in New Zealand and to a certain extent across the globe for consistently releasing great pop albums.

Much like the Beach Boys best material, a lot of the Lil' Chief releases seem to have some kind of "Pop Mastermind" behind them, acting as a songwriter, arranger and producer all in one.

I think it would be safe to say that perhaps more than any other band, The Beach Boys recordings from the early 60s right through to the early 70s are of great influence to many of the artists on the label, as they are to pop songwriters and producers around the world.

However, somewhat overlooked I believe - are some of their later recordings.

During the 80s and early 90s the Beach Boys underwent a Bowie-esque transformation, ditching their tired old arrangements for a sleek and more modern sound. Their once dry and dare I say pathetic drum sound was replaced by a brighter, more bombastic and danceable sounding kit. Rather female sounding instruments like the celeste, harpsichord, and real strings (which should really only ever be used when making childrens music or homosexual music) were replaced with professional and digital sounding synthesizers, producing a more masculine and mature sound.

One of the first albums to be recorded, edited and mixed entirely on Pro Tools was the much underrated masterpiece 'Summer in Paradise' by The Beach Boys. Although it bankrupted their record label, their 27th studio album - the criminally out-of-print 'Summer in Paradise' established The Beach Boys as pioneers of digital recording, and takes it's place alongside Brian Eno's 'Another Green World', or Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' as a historical moment in the modernisation of pop music in the 20th century.

Although short-lived, Brian Wilson's foray into Hip Hop Music in the early 90s epitomises for me, the Beach Boys versatility and pioneering spirit. While rap music by nature should only be created / listened to by Black People, Brian Wilson, a middle aged white male, paved the way for future white hip hop artists, (notably Marshall Mathers) when he released 'Smart Girls', arguably one of his greatest lyrical achievements and what has been described by critics as 'the pinnacle of both hip hop and feminism'.

In keeping with the Beach Boys spirit of development and change, many of the later Lil' Chief releases are incorporating more electronic elements, capitalising on the benefits of the digital age (The Ruby Suns - Fight Softly, Little Pictures - Owl & Owl, Pikachunes - S/T). Inspired by the transformation of the Beach Boys from Melodically-Safe Surfer Dudes to Utterly Dangerous Synthesizer Bad-Boys - Lil' Chief Records and the artists on our roster hope to continue releasing forward thinking Nu-Pop and maintain our reputation as one of the best and most original pop labels in the world.

Pikachunes + Princess Chelsea + a cover

2010-12-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Chelsea and Miles have been hard at work together making a cover, and it's available for download now over at Einstein Music Journal.

Sexual Princess

2010-12-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a much simpler way to listen to Sexual Angel by Golden Axe ft. Princess Chelsea. Phew.

Sexual Angel by GoldenAxe

Ryan McPhun of The Ruby Suns remixes The Sneaks

2010-12-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a pretty cool remix that Ryan-Ruby-Suns made of Hey Sally by Auckland band The Sneaks (check 'em out here: http://thesneakssuck.bandcamp.com/).

The Sneaks - Hey Sally (Ruby Suns Remix) by therubysuns

James from The Sneaks and Ryan's new project Spring Break is also very cool - keep your ears peeled (?) for more from them...

Princess Chelsea + Golden Axe

2010-12-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Lil' Chief's favourite princess and local darlings of weirdness Golden Axe have just finished work on a track together for French label Beko, called SEXUAL ANGEL (capslock is important). Our friends at Cheese on Toast called it "a glorious slice of grimey-indie-punk-electro-weirdness". Neat. To check it out click here and then click on the pink album cover that looks like this to download the compilation it's on:

It's a tiny bit complicated, but still worth it.

Pikachunes supporting Zowie, twiiice in the same night.

2010-12-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

Pikachunes is playing with Zowie this Saturday at Galatos in Auckland, ooh la la. Get your tickets from Real Groovy, www.ticketmaster.co.nz or www.undertheradar.co.nz.

Shaft live in Auckland this Friday

2010-12-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Lil' Chief's own lovable indie rockers, Shaft, are playing this Friday the 17th at the MUM Christmas special at Cassette 9. Playing with them is Marconi Receiver, aka label-mate Tamasin from the Nudie Suits and Pie Warmer. Fun fun fun.

Shaft + Marconi Receiver, 17th December, Cassette 9

Probing interview with Pikachunes AKA Miles

2010-12-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Not really that probing, but still quite nice to watch.

Cheese on Toast also reviewed the album here, have a read.

Brand new Pikachunes video!

2010-12-06T02:58:00.000-08:00

Check out the dreamy (and clown-filled) new video for Pikachunes' Just A Boy (off his also new and also dreamy debut album):

Directed by Ben Spink.

Purchase the album digitally here, or in real-deal-honest-to-god CD form here.

Pikachunes Auckland Album Release Party feat. Princess Chelsea - December 10 @ Cassette 9

Show with Fabulous Diamonds

2010-12-04T21:40:00.001-08:00

Hey,

We are playing a show with Fabulous Diamonds and Sam Hamilton this Friday the 10th at the Wine Cellar. Fabulous Diamonds are this great band from Australia, it's a girl (on drums) and a guy on keys, they both sing. Pitchfork describes it as "head spinny" maybe you can decide for yourself here. I heard their second CD in a record store when I was in Sydney and liked it so much I bought it on the spot.
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A Very Little Christmas

2010-11-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

We have a song on the A Very Little Christmas, a Christmas compilation album with a whole bunch of songs from lots of different artists including Bearcat, Bannerman, the Crawley Christmas Singers, Timothy Blackman, the Artisan Guns, Cool Rainbows and heaps more. You can download it for free here from the 6th of December.

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There is an album release party for this at the Wine Cellar on Wednesday the 15th of December. We are playing along with Dear Times Waste, Chelsea Jade and James Duncan and whole bunch of other great bands. Info here

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Voom - live in Auckland December 10th

2010-11-29T01:42:00.000-08:00

So much Lil Chief goodness in December! 'Soul rockers' Voom, the band responsible for one of NZ's "100 Essential Albums" (according to Nick Bollinger) are playing a show very very soon - don't miss out!

Click here for a (freely downloadable!) sample of the night.

Dec 10th - Dogs Bollix, Auckland (w/ Night Choir).

Pikachunes - out now!

2010-11-24T03:34:00.000-08:00

Pikachunes' debut album is out now and available for purchase!

Initial reviews have been glowing, with local sites Cheese on Toast and Einstein Music Journal using language like "stunning", "charming", "nervously charismatic", "euphoric", and "awash with heavy club thuggery".

Get it here as an actual honest-to-god CD here, or in digital form here.

Or, come buy one in the flesh at a release show near you to experience the charm and thuggery for yourself (And the wonderful Princess Chelsea too). Chch - November 26, Wgtn - November 27, Akld - December 10

Ruby Suns - Two Humans

2010-11-24T02:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a pretty video for the lovely Two Humans by The Ruby Suns. Nice and summery for those of us in the southern hemisphere!

Crash Party

2010-11-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

Our very own Edmund Cake (of Edmund Cake/Pie Warmer fame) was recently involved in a rather nasty auto-mobile accident. To help him out a little, come to the Crash Fun-raiser, and hear some nice tunes from several fine bands including the legendary Cosbys (watch this space, ahem) and Teen Wolf, featuring the lovely (Princess) Chelsea. Hurrah.

The car crash bit is sad, but the show should be pretty great...

Nov. 20th, Minnie St. $10

Free Download 4 The Internet

2010-11-11T00:27:00.001-08:00

Dear the internet, Paul, heirs to the Jackson fortune,

I have just uploaded a free download of my Beatles Cover for you.

Also I am now on twitter

So that's about all, not feeling too verbose tonight, so I'll wind it up with this youtube link

The Ruby Suns + laptop + boat

2010-11-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

Ryan and his 'band' playing on a (very small) boat, complete with Spanish subtitles, lap-top serenading, weather-related banter and an idyllic holiday setting. Click here to have a look.

The Ruby Suns NZ mini-tour

2010-10-29T04:37:00.000-07:00

That's right, The Ruby Suns are soon to be winging their way home from touring the wide world in support of their new album Fight Softly.

Sliding straight out of one summer and (hopefully) into the next, they'll be conjuring up some warm weather vibes in late November with just two North Island shows.

Catch up on their tour hijinks here: twitter.com/therubysuns.

Thursday 25th November, SFBH – Wellington
Friday 26th November, Kings Arms Tavern – Auckland

Tickets available now from www.undertheradar.co.nz

Pikachunes! Debut album out November 22nd

2010-10-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

Lil' Chief Records is pleased to present our very newest signing - jazz student turned bedroom producer Pikachunes. Former Tiger Tones member Miles McDougall has been spending some serious one-on-one time with his laptop and a drum machine, and has emerged with a compelling blend of atypical disco beats, grooving synth lines and a strong pop sensibility. Pikachunes' self-titled debut album is out on Lil' Chief in just a few weeks, and to celebrate the occasion Miles will be bringing his one man synth pop party to venues around New Zealand (accompanied by our own Princess Chelsea). In the meantime, head over to the "Listen" section of our (shiny and new) website to stream the album in its entirety, or place a pre-order here. For the super greediest fans, there's even a free download of the first single from the album, "Nervous".

Pikachunes self-titled debut album out November 22nd on Lil' Chief Records

Friday 26th November - GBM. - Christchurch,
Saturday 27th November - Mighty Mighty.- Wellington,
Friday 10th December - Cassette #9 - Auckland

One Million Kisses music video

2010-10-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

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Princess Chelsea Live

2010-09-06T08:02:00.001-07:00

Hello I am playing live this weekend.

I have played live a few times in the last 2 years with a different lineup each time.

Camp Low Hum I forced the dudes from Brand New Math to learn some of my songs a couple hours before performing in the Renegade room. That was cute enough but cant say its on my youtube favourites list. In playing that show however, I managed to tie with Ryan McPhun in the biggest band whore of Camp Low Hum 2009 award. Or I could be thinking James Milne. Those two r like throwing a hotdog down a hallway. And dont get me started on the Hep factory that is Gareth Shute.

Played a couple parties after that..... which brings us to this weekend....

Live band features my three best friends. And special guests playing afterwards. Im going to say extremely special.

Also this Friday (10 September) at 10.20am (pacific time), a 95bfm live to air with Charlotte. If you are reading from overseas, you may stream here

Be seeing you
(AT 7.30, its early.)

the Gladeyes on bandcamp

2010-08-13T22:52:00.001-07:00

So we have a bandcamp page now - http://thegladeyesband.bandcamp.com/ - It took ages but I've uploaded most of our old E.Ps here and now you can download them and make up your own if you like:

Here's the intro from our album the Gladeyes are Shit <a href="http://thegladeyesband.bandcamp.com/track/intro">Intro by the Gladeyes</a>

Upcoming Voom Shows

2010-07-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

After watching Voom's music video for 'We're So Lost' below featuring two magnificent hamsters / guinea pigs - no doubt you'll want to make it to one of their upcoming shows.

The Making of Expervier

2010-06-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

I promised I'd put our movies on-line a few years ago and finally I've gotten around to it. This one, The Making of Expervier, is the third in a series of improvised movies that we made. It documents us and our friends, as we make a movie about the launch of our home-made raft Expervier. It's on youtube in 5 parts but you can watch them all below.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

BAND NAME NEEDED

2010-04-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi.

I'm starting a new 3-piece pop band and I'm looking for a band name. Everyone says my band names are terrible, so I'm trying to 'workshop' the name this time.

The only idea I've come up with so far is FOODTOWN.

Please help.

ONE FOR PAUL

2010-04-16T02:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Lil' Chief Blog,

So me and Wonderful Prince Winston decided to take a break from finishing the album (it's getting there) to pay homage to my favourite Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

What I'm trying to say is that Paul McCartney is so cool, I'm willing to commit a musical heresy in his honour and have therefore risked covering 'And I Love Her'.

This coupled with a few other covers I have up my sleeve, will make up BONUS material upon release of first LP this year.

In the meantime please feel free to enjoy this zany video clip.

Wonderful Prince Winston felt the urge to clean himself during the outro which is nice.

Also, here is a clip of Paul McCartney teaching people how to make mashed potatoes.

Fight Softly

2010-03-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

Gladeyes, Singsongs, Bearcat, Leigh Saw Mill, March 13

2010-03-06T14:51:00.001-08:00

New Ruby Suns Album Out Today

2010-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

'Fight Softly' is the third album for Lil' Chief by pop masters The Ruby Suns. Ryan McPhun (their prime mover) has the kind of voracious musical mind that cites as equal influences '80s New Jack Swing and modern Angolan kuduro, the Beach Boys, Britney Spears, Brazillian tropicalia and Argentinean cumbia. He's the kind of diligent, meticulous soul that spends days hunched over a laptop in a tiny rented studio in Auckland just to perfect a sequenced drum track (mission accomplished). And Fight Softly is the kind of head-spinning combination of big-picture vision and sumptuous detail that only comes from an artist with an urgent need to express all the stuff he's seen. And you can dance to it!

For the New Zealand winter months last year The Ruby Suns escaped to Seattle and began work on Fight Softly. "Mingus and Pike" is about their temporary Victorian abode and its happy-go-lucky pit bull mascot Mingus; “Cranberry” captures a day trip to Cranberry Lake, a dream of a swimming-hole 90 minutes from Seattle on Fidalgo Island. The former is beat-buzzed bedroom R&B swathed in reverb while the latter is part tequila-drunk marching band, part Eastern Bloc candy rave.

The Ruby Suns also took a whirlwind tour of Europe that included 10 days at a friend's spread outside Szeged, Hungary. McPhun and friends Bevan Smith (Signer, Aspen, Skallander) and Matthew Mitchell (Skallander, Muriel Tsains) spent their time devouring veggie pizzas and jamming, improv-style, in an old farmhouse. These sessions didn't make it to Fight Softly as-is but were a springboard into new ideas McPhun brought back to his Auckland studio.

Like "Closet Astrologer," a song that started in Hungary and concluded, vaporous and Vangelis-like, in New Zealand. Or "How Kids Fail," a multi-movement epic that sounds like a post-techno hymn and nods to How Children Fail, John Holt's groundbreaking book on the general out-of-touch-ness of the public education system. "Haunted House" bounces on a pitch-shifted vocal sample and bubbly synth line, simultaneously lush and minimal. "Cinco" and "Dusty Fruit" share a similar digital-tropical soul.

This is where Fight Softly veers from the path set by its predecessor. Thematically, it's not as wide-eyed or lighthearted, picking apart the relationships faced as we pass through the world—with our surroundings, each other, ourselves. Sonically, it remains as beat-centric, though these beats are deliciously artificial—stretched and compacted and distorted beyond recognition. Melodies are scuzzy and digital, not many guitars strummed or basses plucked. McPhun's soulful upper-register croon, swallowed into the mix, replaces group chants and full-throated singalongs. Rather than an album of clearly-drawn influences, Fight Softly is a unique, inscrutable synthesis, more itself than anything else.

If you'd like to purchase titles directly from Lil Chief, both our local and international online stores are open for business.

The Best Lil' Chief You Tube Link in History?

2010-02-13T16:51:00.001-08:00

Leilani Heather

2010-01-30T18:34:00.001-08:00

Leilani Heather is an Auckland based photographer who takes awesome photos. My friend Matthew showed me her website last year and then she contacted us to take some Gladeyes band photos.

Check out her website www.leilaniheather.com

Gladeyes T-shirts

2009-12-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

We have done a small run of Gladeyes T-shirts in various sizes and colours. We are selling them for just $30. If you'd like one email us at thegladeyes@gmail.com. Get in fast before Jade's mum buys them all :)

We see you.

2009-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

We see you Pitchfork blog, we see you.

Princess Chelsea's Factual Corner

2009-11-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

With a fair amount of Lil' Chief releases coming out recently and scheduled for the near future - I thought it might be of some aid to music reviewers and the like to know the difference between a glockenspiel and a xylophone.

This will help them to appear more knowledgeable in their chosen field of journalism, while also preventing any damage to their credibility.

GLOCKENSPIEL

A glockenspiel [German Glocken (bells) + spielen (to play)] is a percussion instrument, composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal, thus making it a metallophone. The glockenspiel, moreover, is usually smaller and higher in pitch.

XYLOPHONE

The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον - xylon, "wood" + φωνή - phone, "voice", meaning "wooden sound") is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated independently in Africa and Asia.[1] It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by plastic, wooden, or rubber mallets.

These two instruments are both on display in the high budget music video for my song 'Monkey Eats Bananas' (below). The glockenspiel can be found at 0:20 with it's rather metallic and bell like tone, whereas the xylophone makes it's appearance at 1.04 with it's slightly more percussive & wooden sounding tone. Interestingly enough, while both instruments are tuned they are technically considered percussion instruments.

Mighty Mighty Friday the 27th of November

2009-11-23T13:50:00.001-08:00

Hi Y'all,

We're playing the Mighty Mighty in Wellington this Friday the 27th of November for our album release!! We are joined by the amazing Hoopla! and Stefanimal :)
Come along, it's going to be awesome.

Road Trip Comic Strips

2009-11-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Chronicles of Jonathan Bree Part III - Wellington

2009-11-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

As Jonathan Bree stood in line to board Pacific Blue Flight 252 he couldn't help but feel like a complete and total rock star.

Only ten years ago he had had to make the journey to Wellington by travelling ten hours in a van - but since then his resounding success as a musician meant he was now travelling by plane.

"Are you from Kings of Leon"? - a sweet female voice interrupted his musings. "Do you play guitar?" "There's a seat free next to me if you want a bit of a chat".

Jonathan Bree smiled coyly to himself. Having females throwing themselves at him because he looked like he was from Kings of Leon (who most likely fly using budget airline Pacific Blue too), was something he was only slowly growing accustomed to.

The Brunettes had always looked forward to playing shows in Wellington. A Wellington crowd was generally more responsive than an Auckland crowd. Furthermore, Jonathan felt that Wellingtonians still seemed to view him as somewhat exotic and special, whereas in Auckland he had become just another pastey white face in a sea of underweight musicians.

Whatever the reason, he hadn't played a show here in two years and was PUMPED.

Soundcheck was a total dream. The San Francisco Bathhouse was an accomodating venue and sound man Hayden, a friend and former band member knew the band's sound requirements like he knew his own mother. Fairly well because he'd spent a lot of time with her.

And so the night began.

The first and second acts performed strong and professional sets, which meant the pressure was on for the Brunettes. Even while chilling out / generally relaxing, musicians are always looking to jam and bounce off each others creativity, so it was extremely fortunate that the backstage area contained an upright piano. To raise morale amongst band members, an acoustic sing-a-long to Marcy Playgrounds Sex & Candy ensued.

While singing confidently and excitedly along, Jonathan Bree cast a friendly glance at fellow bandmate / wife / cousin, Heather Mansfield. He couldn't help but notice that she was not singing along to "and there she was like double cherry pie and there she was like disco superfly". Unfortunately for the Brunettes it was not because she thought the song was a crappy Nirvana rip off pile of steaming late nineties turd. She had lost her voice.

For Jonathan and all of the Brunettes, Heather losing her voice was like losing your favourite pair of jeans in the changing rooms at the Waiwera Hot Pools. Most likely bad, and definitely awkward because you cant really walk out with no pants on.

But out they did walk with no metaphorical pants on.

However this would only be the first in a series of challenges presented to the Brunettes that night.

As they set up on stage - Andrew Thompson, bass player, fellow bandmate / brother was adjusting the strap on his guitar when the strap lock preceded to break. This caused his guitar to fall on his toe, which also preceded to break.

At approximately the same time - also being adjusted were the knobs on the sound desk - not by Hayden the qualified sound man, but by Bruce the random and unqualified drunk man.

Yet the set went on. Heather bravely attempted to sing as best as she could, Andrew in excruciating pain managed to stay standing upright for the entire set, and Hayden with his desk in disarray managed to fix most major problems by half time.

But by half time - it was clear - this would be the worst gig of the Brunettes career.

Reflecting on the night while on the flight back home, Jonathan Bree felt an explanation would be needed for the people of Wellington. He tapped fellow bandmate / sister Chelsea Nikkel on the shoulder - 'hey do you think you could do some kind of blog thing about the gig last night, i kind of feel like we could at least try and explain some of the problems people might not have been aware of'.

'Ok but only if you let me publish it with that lame photo of you casually glancing back at the camera while chilling out with your guitar in the desert'.

The Gladeyes on Real Groove blog

2009-11-09T23:53:00.000-08:00

Spotted making decent music on the Real Groove blog, RIGHT HERE

The Gladeyes Play the South Island

2009-11-04T23:34:00.000-08:00

HEY EVERYONE,

WE ARE COMING DOWN TO THE SOUTH ISLAND TO PLAY OUR ALBUM RELEASE PARTIES!!!

FRIDAY THE 13TH OF NOVEMBER AT THE WUNDERBAR IN LYTTLETON/CHRISTCHURCH WITH THE DIALTONES AND ADAM WILLETTS!!!

SATURDAY THE 14TH OF NOVEMBER AT CHICKS HOTEL IN PORT CHALMERS WITH JOHN WHITE (OF MESTAR FAME)

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!! I MEAN IT!!!!

'Red Rollerskates' - A Short Film

2009-11-01T15:30:00.001-08:00

Breaking News - Jonathan Bree has decided to quit his illustrious career as a moderately successful indie pop artist in order to become a moderately successful indie film-maker.

This decision had been brewing in his mind since the 2009 Grammy's when he was infact not awarded / nominated for the category of BEST POP PERFORMANCE, MALE - the title instead awarded to John Mayer, for his 3 minute gem "Say".

This decision was also influenced by the success of his cinematic stand-out clip for 'Monkey Eats Bananas' by genius babe songstress Princess Chelsea. His clip went on to impress the Auckland City Council so much that they immediately demanded the song be used as a tourist trap / theme song for the city. It's effects have been noteable, with a large increase in immigrants and tourists in recent months, particularly from Samoa.

Below is his second offering - a short film made in New York earlier this year. Obviously the fact that Jonathan Bree managed to purchase a plane ticket, boarded a plane - and then actually LANDED in the city of NEW YORK, NYC / generally chilled out there for a while is a clear indication that he is very talented and clever and is a very big deal - not only in New Zealand but on a worldwide scale.

His short film, simply titled 'Red Rollerskates' tells the sensual tale of a young man in love with a mannequin (played by Heather Mansfield) who's crack cocaine / popsicle addiction threatens to tear them apart.

While seemingly a simple love story, the short film also has many hidden and double meanings involving world politics - most notably free trade and the Afghanistan war.

Critics have called it 'genius' and '3 minutes long'. It has otherwise been described as 'a cinematic masterpiece' and 'really cool omg you guys are so cute xo'.

PRINCESS CHELSEA INTERVIEWS JONATHAN BREE

2009-10-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Please find below a very impartial / unbiased interview with fellow bandmate, bff, and co-owner of record label releasing my album - Jonathan Bree of The Brunettes on the eve of the release of fourth album Paper Dolls + a complimentary remix of new single Red Rollerskates that sounds a little bit like Daft Punk.

PC: Paper Dolls is your fourth album. I understand it has taken a while to release?

JB: The album itself only took 6 months to record which by Brunette standards is relatively short period of time - however it took three record labels, three managers two booking agents and twelve months to come out.

PC: That sounds quite annoying, am I right?

JB: Correct.

PC: Despite all your issues I personally think the album is good.
It's quite electronic in parts which is zany. Did you set out to make an "electronic" album?

JB: No. It was just a natural gravitation for me, utilising a modern recording setup and working with keyboards and drum sequencing rather than organic recording. Saying that its electronic - it isn't really - anyone that likes electronic music wouldn't class it as electronic music at all, in fact they'd probably think it was rather organic. The reason we're putting in a press release that its electronic is that it is by far the most plastic sounding record that we've ever produced.

PC: What would you say to analog purists? I had an annoying conversation with some dick at a bar where he informed me that if it's not recorded on an 8 track (preferably a 4 track) reel to reel tape machine - its not a real recording. How would you respond to a statement like that?

JB: Nothing, I'd just smile and slowly back off into the shadows.

PC: I can imagine that certain websites / Ionlylikedtheirfirstepiamveryawesome types might not like your new digital approach......

JB: I remember when I made Holding Hands Feeding Ducks - I was fairly prejudiced against modern production values but since then have come to find some appeal in them. I wouldn't really knock anyone that doesn't appreciate the new production on Paper Dolls. I'm a huge admirer of Jonathan Richman but some of the production on his later albums can sometimes not do it so much for me. I guess some people need everything to be just so in order for it to be palatable. I don't really care I made the album that I still wanted to make.

PC: I personally believe that Paper Dolls has more in common with your first release than Structure and Cosmetics or even Mars Loves Venus. I know that a few of the songs on it were written ten I mean eight years ago. For me those songs in particular are an interesting listen - old songs kept in a time capsule and then finally recorded in a different way than they would have been back then. (See - Connection, It's Only Natural, Crime Machine).

JB: Ok.

PC. You mastered this album yourself. What were some of the reference tracks you used when mastering the album?

JB: I used some tracks from Rubber Soul and Air's Talkie Walkie album for reference for my mastering - but I still find it really hard to get the mastering right.

PC: I understand you were also listening to a fair bit of Britney Spears and JT while making the album?

JB: That's true. I've always had a soft spot for Britney and the production work on her recent efforts has been pretty inspiring. I didn't necessarily set out to mimic it because i just wouldn't be able to - but it definitely was on the stereo a lot.

PC: My favourite song on the album is probably Bedroom Disco - whats your favourite?

JB: At the time of making the album i was probably most enthusiastic about the title track and thought that it was lyrically and musically a bit different for me.

PC: It is - the structure is quite wacky.

JB: It's not a good pop song.

PC: I suppose it's quite an effort for you to try and write a bad pop song HAHAHAHA. If someone was to go to a listening post at Real Groovy or perhaps JB Hi Fi or Marbecks and they only had say 9 minutes - which three tracks would you recommend they listen to / legally download to get a good sense of what the album is like?

JB: In Colours, Bedroom Disco and Magic (No Bunny)

PC: Your new single Red Rollerskates - is it about S&M?

JB: Its about how you cant keep up with me when we walk anywhere and how unfit you are.

PC: I see

JB: We haven't got you a pair of rollerskates yet, it probably wouldn't work in New Zealand yet because the footpaths are so crappy but it was a thought anyway - born out of frustration.

PC: Once I took my little sister out to a bar to see Holly Golightly play when she was 15 and she though it would be a very good idea to wear rollerskates.

JB: I remember that. Really, 15? I think I got in trouble with my girlfriend at the time for looking at your sister in rollerskates that night.

PC: Perhaps that's where the idea came from - subliminally.
So just throwing it out there - the album's called Paper Dolls, there's a very long track with lots of lyrics called Paper Dolls and all the artwork is little Paper Dolls and shit - I'm just assuming its a concept album about human behaviour and lots of metaphors and shit about paper...

JB: You know that it is not a concept album.

PC: So... do you have any upcoming shows?

JB: ............... [Walks off, annoyed]

The Brunettes - Red Rollerskates (Robbie Loggia remix)

Monika is a Recovering Co-dependent

2009-10-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

We've got a new single out, it's from the forth coming album and it's called Monika! Our drummer made a joke that it's the story of someone recovering from a co-dependent relationship. I don't buy it! Have a listen -

2009-10-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

I'm in Dunedin and I've discovered an incredible group.

PLEASE look at their music video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5BKeZ4ecGM&feature=player_embedded

James Milne has a song ripped off by Bic Runga...

2009-09-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

James Milne from the Reduction Agents has been awarded New Zealand's top songwriting prize, The Silver Scroll. The award was for his song "Apple Pie Bed" which was released under his pseudonym, Lawrence Arabia. If you wanna see the original then here ya go...

However, if you really must, then you can also see the song being earnestly covered by local pop darling Bic Runga and a massive choir at the award ceremony...

It isn't the first time, Milne has been nominated for this award and the previous occasion led to this OTT funk version of "The Pool" by Spacifix...

Mixing finally finished!!

2009-08-30T21:07:00.001-07:00

We finally finished mixing our record tuesday of last week at around 11:30pm!
Two and a half years of work have come to an end. It's a really strange but wonderful feeling- we now have SPARE TIME!!Here is a picture of how we felt by the end of it all (in reality we weren't actually surrounded by records, but, you know...)

It's offical release date is 2nd November. We will be playing some shows in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin in November, please come and help us celebrate!
The record is called 'Pyschosis of Love.'

Father And Son

2009-08-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Father And Son by Cat Stevens tonight - I couldn't get to the end.

That song always kills me ::::::(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5-t3gg&feature=related

The Brunettes Are On Tour

2009-08-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Probably should have done this a few weeks ago, but The Brunettes are once again touring North America. These are the dates that we have left. We are also currently putting together a small Australian and New Zealand tour for the antipodean Spring.

See you there?

August, 23 2009 08:00 PM - Record Bar
1020 Westport Rd, Kansas City, Missouri 64111 -

August, 24 2009 08:00 PM - Vaudeville Mews
212 4th St, Des Moines, Indiana 50309 -

August, 26 2009 08:00 PM - 7th Street Entry
701 1st Ave N, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403 - with Throw Me The Statue

August, 27 2009 08:00 PM - Courtyard Cafe / University of Illinois
, Urbana, Illinois 61801 - with Throw Me The Statue

August, 28 2009 08:00 PM - The Annex
1206 Regent St, Madison, Wisconsin 53715 -

August, 29 2009 08:00 PM - Subterranean
2011 W North Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60647 -

August, 30 2009 08:00 PM - The Boat
158 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2L5 -

August, 31 2009 08:00 PM - Il Motore
179 RUE JEAN-TALON O, Montreal, Quebec H2R 1A1 -

September, 1 2009 08:00 PM - Middle East Club
472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 -

September, 2 2009 08:00 PM - Mercury Lounge
, New York City, New York 10002 -

September, 3 2009 08:00 PM - Johnny Brendas
1201 N. Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19125 -

September, 4 2009 08:00 PM - Rock and Roll Hotel
1353 H Street, NE, Washington DC, Washington DC 20002 -

September, 5 2009 08:00 PM - Duke Coffee House
Crowell Building, East Campus, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 -

September, 7 2009 08:00 PM - The Drunken Unicorn
736 Ponce de Leon Pl NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306 -

September, 8 2009 08:00 PM - Club Downunder
644 W Call St, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 -

September, 9 2009 08:00 PM - Spanish Moon
1109 Highland Rd, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 10 2009 08:00 PM - Rudyard’s Pub
2010 Waugh Dr, Houston, Texas 77006 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 11 2009 08:00 PM - Mohawk
912 Red River St, Austin, Texas 78701 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 12 2009 08:00 PM - The Cavern
1914 Greenville Ave, Dallas, Texas 75206 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 14 2009 08:00 PM - Modified Arts
407 E Roosevelt St, Phoenix, Arizona 85004 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 15 2009 08:00 PM - Echo
1822 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90026 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 16 2009 08:00 PM - The Loft
3610 5th Ave, San Diego, California 92103 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 17 2009 08:00 PM - Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell St, San Francisco, California 94102 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 18 2009 08:00 PM - Luigi’s Fun Garden
1050 20th St, Sacramento, California 95811 - with Throw Me The Statue

September, 19 2009 08:00 PM - Music Fest North West - Berbati’s Pan
231 SW Ankeny St, Portland, Oregon 97204 -

September, 21 2009 08:00 PM - Media Club
695 Cambie Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2P1 -

September, 22 2009 08:00 PM - The Vera Project
, Seattle, Washington 98109 -

Little Pictures on Blogotheque

2009-08-08T02:52:00.000-07:00

We played a festival in the south of France last month called Midi. The festival was amazing! At the festival were the guys who film and run Blogotheque, and they asked us to do a little takeaway show. So here it is, I would have embedded it if I was a net genius:

http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Midi_Festival_Jour_1___Dent_May__Francois_Virot__Little_Pictures____/

Princess Chelsea interviews Ed Pie

2009-07-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

Chelsea: How does it feel to be Lil’ Chief's 3rd oldest artist?

Ed: Fucking hell.

Chelsea: That’s true. How old are you?

Ed: I’ll be 35 in August. At least I’m honest about my age. How old is JB these days?

Chelsea: He’d be really upset if I told that. All I can say is that he’s older than 25.

Ed: Ha. You wait till you’re 35 Chelsea – you’ll be all miserable and shit, hanging out drinking Sauvignon Blanc’s with your other miserable 35 year old girlfriends – wondering was happened to your dreams. Just kidding – don’t ever be miserable Chelsea, it’s depressing. I have episodes of depression, but I’m not a miserable person. Anyway, do I look like the oldest person on the label?

Chelsea: No Ed, you look fine, you look a bit like James Blunt. Anyway, didn't you say in the last interview that you were 37? Whatever. You’re also very creative – do you come from a creative family?

Ed: I sound like James Blunt too. Yes, my family was very creative actually. My dad was very creative when coming up with racist names for brown skinned people. He was also very creative at the T.A.B, he could choose all kinds of horses to put bets on. He was also very creative with his chosen method of self-inflicted death.

Chelsea: Shit, sorry Ed.

Ed: It’s fine; I’ve got a great shrink at the moment. He’s says it’s ok for me to laugh about my Father’s death. Everyone has terrible things that have happened in their lives, if we can’t make gags about them, then there’d be nothing to laugh about.

Chelsea: Moving right along…what are you’re dreams and aspirations Ed? Have you achieved everything you want in your music?

Ed: Man, what is this interview? I’m not dying or anything!

Chelsea: Of course not (perish the thought) but what is there left that you want to do musically?

Ed: Well it’s unlikely that I’ve got many good songs left in me. Songwriters tend to peak in their mid-twenties anyway. My engineering and producing is getting better – but I’m probably just imagining that. My singing voice isn’t improving. I’m still pretty uncomfortable on stage. I’ve ‘outed’ some of my personal politics on the Pie Warmer album – whenever music artists do this there’s always some kind of backlash, so it’s doubtful whether that’s a good artistic path. I’ve always wanted to study medicine, but it’s a bit late for med school, and they don’t accept loonies anyway. I really love sailing. Maybe I’ll just get myself a little place by the sea and an old boat to fix up; like that Tim Robbins character in The Shawshank Redemption.

Chelsea: Ed you’re sounding kind of miserable?

Ed: Well I felt fine this morning.

Chelsea: You shouldn’t feel miserable Ed, you’ve just finished a fascinating new album. The album was reviewed in yesterdays Sunday Start Times – Grant Smithies awarded it 4 stars. Are you ok with 4 stars?

Ed: I’m pretty sure Grant operates the 4 out of 4 star system. Either that, or he sensibly leaves an extra star up his sleeve for proper overseas reissues like Jimi Hendrix, or The Smiths. Do you think Morrissey likes Hendrix? he must eh. Anyway, do albums get called ‘fascinating’? Isn’t that a word you’d use to describe an autobiography? Or some crazy statistics about how horny and perverted Christians really are?

Chelsea: I guess so. I think you’ll find that people will have trouble with defining the Pie Warmer album. They won’t really know what to say about it, in case they say the wrong thing. I could be wrong, but it appears that you’ve set up a series of ‘traps’ in the album whereby if a reviewer hadn’t listened to the album carefully, they may find themselves saying something really idiotic about it.

Ed: Mmm, fascinating. I think maybe you’ve listened to the album a bit too ‘carefully’. However, if I have inadvertently set a series of ‘traps’ to make album reviewers look idiotic, it may well be the best (and critically least sucessful) thing I’ve ever made! Seems kind of unlikely though…

Chelsea: Time will tell. Have you done any other press so far?

Ed: Bits and pieces. God, I’m getting paranoid now...

Chelsea: Don’t worry, and it’s ok to be paranoid, just don’t be miserable, right?

Ed: I’ve just put the album on.

Chelsea: Ok, cool. Maybe you can give us a blow by blow while you’re listening to it?

Ed: A what? Alright.

Chelsea: So you’re on the first track, The Fearsome Feeling right?

Ed: Yup, it’s 1 minute in.

Chelsea: There’s a bit of paranoia going on in that song?

Ed: Yeh, well love is scary shit.

Chelsea: Do you think that recreating a woman being attacked is an appropriate way to frame the fear that encompasses love?

Ed: Hey, a guy gets attacked later in the song as well. Fear in love knows no gender boundaries.

Chelsea: I see.

Ed: I’ve taken the album off, I don’t really want to listen to it.

Chelsea: That’s not a very good advertisement for the album Ed?

Ed: No, I guess it isn’t. I think a good many people might be doing the same thing when they get the album!

Chelsea: Fingers crossed Ed!

Ed: I just hope my album is cool enough.

Chelsea: Do you think it's important for albums to be cool?

Ed: Well, I was reading the NZ Musician magazine the other day, and there was a feature article on some retarded band. In the article they were dribbling on about how they weren't trying to be cool, and how making pop music wasn't about being cool. And I started thinking: are you sure you guys have chosen the right profession? I mean, in my estimation, pop music has everything to do with being cool. Whether being cool means 'x factor cool' like Michael Jackson, or 'so uncool they're cool' like The Carpenters. I was thinking, if these guys think pop coolness is unimportant, maybe they should give up music and become Physiotherapists or something? Pop music has everything to do with being cool. Whether pop music SHOULD be this way is an entirely different question - you're fighting millions of years of human evolution; Ug the caveman thinks Og the caveman's club is cool because it's swamp green and it's got sharp spikes and a cool blood splatter on it.

Chelsea: So where do you put yourself on this coolness scale Ed: Michael Jackson, or Richard Carpenter?

Ed: Sadly I fear that I fall in the no-mans-land in the middle somewhere - just like most pop musicians out there. Pop music is defiantly a young persons game, and it’s a testament to my unwavering delusions that I still even release material! I think my future might be in Children’s music.

Chelsea: What, children’s music filled with obscenities?

Ed: Ahhh, possibly. My youngest son Jim Jupiter (he prefers to be known as Tom) has started saying ‘fucking ho’ all the time – we’re actively trying to discourage him from doing this, he’s only just turned five. He’s really into Linkin Park – I’m hoping it’s just a phase. I reckon he’ll be over it by the time he’s six. Most kids stop listening to Linkin Park by the time they’re six, don’t they??

Chelsea: Yeh, actually most smart kids get over Linkin Park by the time they’re 3 or 4.

Ed: Shit, do you think Jim’s got some developmental issues?

Chelsea: Nothing to worry about - girls generally mature a bit faster than boys. By the time girls are five, they’re usually finished with Linkin Park and on to Slipknot, or even Metallica’s back catalogue.

Ed: Do you think I should get Jim a Slipknot album?

Chelsea: No. Don’t get him any Gangsta Rap either. It sounds like his mouth already needs to be washed out with soap! Chelsea: No Slipknot Sux - they’re from Iowa. I'd suggest that if you were going to buy him an obscene album that you would better off going for some early Wu-Tang Clan or Dr Dre so as to broaden his cultural horizons while also broadening his x rated vocabulary. Also I felt I should drop that in in case any overly PC (excuse the pun) people reading this interview think we are racist. On a different note - you'd be better off still washing his mouth out with soap.

Ed: You don’t hear that expression very often any more.

Chelsea: Oh, I think you’ll be hearing that a bit more often, especially in reviews of the Pie Warmer album

Ed: That’s a great idea for a press album photo – me washing my mouth out with soap!

Chelsea: Ewww, would you use real soap?

Ed: I guess so. I’d have to find some nice hippy soap made from oatmeal and mango or something. Are we finished yet?

Chelsea: Yes. Well done Ed, I look forward to the soap photo!

Ed: Thanks.

Chelsea: What are you watching on Youtube?

Ed: Everybody has probably seen this already. I think the song and the production is incredible. The video is amazing too – don’t be fooled by the title!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE2l6CPna4M

Ed: And every man and his dog has seen this too. The creators of this deserve a Grammy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

Ed: My new favourite band. THE COMPLETE. Incompetent Texan Acid Improv – live on a PBS channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukjnrXTTvPY

Psychosis of Love

2009-06-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

The Gladeyes and Jimmy Payday - Psychosis of Love

Little Pictures are OUT OF HERE

2009-05-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, my name's Mark and I play in Little Pictures. Johanna and I have big news, we've left New Zealand! We're going to be playing a 40 date tour of Europe, and then we're going to move to The Netherlands!

We're going just to get a new perspective on everything. New Zealand's awesome, and heaps of people have helped us out a lot, including Lil Chief. It'll be really sad to leave everyone behind, friends and family, but what the hell. We're young, we'll give it a go.

I'll keep posting stuff up around here, but check out our blog for a regularly updated tour diary: www.littlepicturesmusic.blogspot.com

Princess Chelsea in centre of cycle safety shitstorm

2009-05-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

"The $1.8 million Big Little City marketing campaign to attract more domestic visitors to Auckland has made a big little faux pas in its first week.

A 60-second television commercial featuring 84-year-old Dick West with locks of silver hair cycling through the central city at daybreak has been changed following a complaint he was not wearing a safety helmet.

Anticipating there could be a complaint, campaign organiser Heart of the City filmed Mr West with and without a helmet.

Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said he preferred the version showing Mr West's hair. It showed him as a slightly whimsical, non-threatening, elder statesman waking up to a city with cameos from well-known locals, including chef Peter Gordon, musician Boh Runga and fashionista Denise L'Estrange-Corbet.

"It's a domestic campaign. We want people from Invercargill, Oamaru, Ashburton and Taumarunui to not be intimidated by Auckland," Mr Swney said.

Most of the advert was filmed with Mr West on a trailer, he said. Only in a brief shot of him cycling down O'Connell St without a helmet was he pedalling for real.

The commercials began a six-week run on May 17."

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10574385

Princess Chelsea - Monkey Eats Bananas Music Video

2009-05-17T22:30:00.001-07:00

Here is my very first music video for my song "Monkey Eats Bananas". Basically the plot follows along the same lines of most commercial music videos - I dance around and show off all my different outfits.

The video is directed by Jonathan Brunette and produced by JB and Joseph Harper or Joe 90s as people like to call him. The music video features a cameo by it's director plus of course Phil Collins, Bill O'Reilly, Corey Feldman-Haim and the now infamous 'Monkey' who also appears in a live music video for the band Still Flyin'.

Anyway Still Flyin' are this supergroup of talented musicians who play a trendy hyrbid of modern dance hall ska reggae type of stuff (forgive me I'm not an expert on the genre hence the word vomit) - many horns and dancing singing people on stage plus an extremely engaging and charismatic front-man. Still Flyin' features some of our friends from Architecture in Helsinki and The Ladybug Transistor.

While I'm on a tangent, Monkey appears in a Still Flyin' video - crowd surfing on a boogie board through manny thousands of people at Laneway Festival in Melbourne. Somehow he was was returned to me. Interestingly enough some footage of this same day is in my Monkey Eats Bananas video (the footage that is obviously not blue screen and where some moron is being all woohoooo Dunnerz4eva theres a camera here yess let me get in on it all up in my grill).

To be honest Monkey is a bit of a scene hopper and if you trawl the internet carefully enough you'll find photos of him with various different rock stars.

Anyways less namedropping and back to my shameless self promotion. NEW MUSIC VIDEO. We made it on a budget of $0 and some sandwiches. If I ever manage to get a NZ on Air grant I promise to make one set in Space / Underwater.

Also - Monkey eats Bananas is now available for download on Itunes.

A Rare and Irregular Ruby Suns track

2009-04-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

There was a time about three years ago when I had a sudden inclination to write a song in Japanese for my girlfriend (her being part-Japanese). I stole some lines from a phrase book and pieced them together into a half-arsed song. Then my girlfriend got a letter saying that she'd been accepted to teach english - she left a month later and spent the next two years in Japan. The song remained just the ghost of an idea and faded into the ether...

Time passed...

I went from playing in the Tokey Tones to playing in the Ruby Suns. My friend Kiku heard me noodling about with a song one afternoon and was surprised to find that it was written in terribly-pronounced Japanese. Funnily enough, this was about the time that my girlfriend got back from Japan and I thought that maybe I would record a rough version of the song after all. I twisted Ryan (main Ruby Sun) to lend me his assistance for an afternoon. We recorded the drums and guitar together, then he sprinkled some of his indie-pop fairy dust over the rest of the track and we ended up with something halfway decent.

Hayden from bFM heard it and liked it enough to get it on their playlist, though the song was so short that DJs often weren't ready for it to end and it would result in a patch of dead-air while they figured out that it was time for them to start talking or put on another song. I listed the track as being by The Investigations (myspace page is here). But when the Ruby Suns needed a digital bonus track for the UK release of their first album and a bonus track for the Australian pressing, the track magically became a Ruby Suns track as well (though if you don't like it, then I'm happy for you to blame me rather than Ryan). It was enough to win the girlfriend back, but not enough to keep me in the Ruby Suns for much longer (though I did tour a bit with them and wrote about here). Pretty soon, I'd drifted into the Brunettes instead (yet another link, here! or you can read about it in the next issue of No Magazine).

Ryan then took the Ruby Suns on a search for the 'new sound' (excuse the Mighty Boosh reference, but do check out the Ruby Suns Myspace Page for more idea of where the band are at these days, e.g., touring the US at the mo). I offer up this little nugget from the past merely as a nice piece of nostalgia ... (please don't use the pronounciation as any sort of guide to Japanese - it'd be like learning English from a Guitar Wolf track) ... here ya go:

The Ruby Suns - Michi Ni Mayoimashita

The Axemen

2009-03-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dam it. They have to play a reunion show when I'm away. This post I suppose won't be helpful in anyway to bringing anyone along to their Ambassador show seeing it was two days ago but I'll write one anyway. A friend showed me this great footage of the Axemen the other week. I had a copy of their flying nun release Peter Wang Pud and though I find the production on it doesn't lend itself to repeated listens I've always been a fan of writers Bob Cardy (Shaft) and Little Stevie McCabe.
Anyway thought it might be of interest to any Shaft enthusiasts to see this footage. Check out the original versions of 'Woman of Love' and 'Pacific Ocean'.

Axemen on Myspace

The Ruby Suns - "There Are Birds" video.

2009-03-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Lil Chief Records have always had a proud policy of releasing music videos to create the best ironic impact. It is our bold statement against the boring routine of trying to time the release of music videos to promote album sales.

Our flagship band, The Brunettes, have been masterful at this game - repeatedly holding back their videos until most of the band members featured in the videos have already left the group. This fine tradition began with "Boyracer" - on this occasion, the video was in fact held back so that it could be re-edited to downplay the role of recently departed bass player, Gerald Steward. Of course, by the time it screened, the drummer (Kari Hammond) had also left. Their next drummer, Nick Hart, quit to focus on his own group (The Shocking Pinks) before the video for "Polyester Meets Acetate" (which included him) could hit the air. One could already see the writing on the wall, when "Small Town Crew" featured a new line-up of members - three of whom (Harry Cundy, Stephen Hart and Hayden East) had already left by the time of it being shown.

The Tokey Tones followed this tradition by waiting until a full three years had passed before half-heartedly releasing a flurry of internet-only music videos through the Lil Chief youtube account. Ed Cake had three separate attempts at making a video for his student-radio hit, "Gunga" but, in a Kafka-esq statement about the futility of life, he refused for any of them to be completed.

The Ruby Suns have also kept up this fine tradition. Their third video being the finest example - after receiving the funding to make a video for "Hard To Let You Know", the group took a video camera out on the road with them to get footage ... and then it was incinerated along with the rest of their belongings when the motor-home that they were travelling in caught fire. Now the Ruby Suns are trying to out-do the Brunettes with the timing of their new video, "There Are Birds." The song not only features, but also was written by Amee Robinson ... who has just left the group (her place was recently taken by Gus Franklin from Architecture In Helsinki for a tour supporting Of Montreal through Australasia)...

The video for "There Are Birds" was made by Marco Viduarre, who has also been a long-term provider of accomodation for Lil Chief bands running through Wellington. His partner, Hannah Goldblatt also helped out as producer/clothes-designer ... and since she too has been welcoming of having of the floor of her spare room taken over by sleeping musicians, we we would like to take the double opportunity to thank them both!

So, without further ado, here is the video...

Cute Cute Cute, Terrifying, A Little Depressing

2009-03-18T10:11:00.001-07:00

Just found - mysterious fan video made for Princess Chelsea's song Machines of Loving Grace. Made by someone called Chickybabe?

Interestingly enough, if you play this song while watching the movie The Wizard of Oz backwards there are many amazing sync moments, a coincidence? I think not. This also works for Deathwish II, Gigli, Last Tango In Paris, The Little Mermaid, Home Alone II (Lost in New York), He's Just Not That Into You, Star Wars Episode II (Attack of the Clones), 10,000 B.C., The Godfather part III, and Barack Obama's inauguration (part II)

Bio-phobia

2009-03-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

There are many approaches to writing a band bio. Almost all of them are awful. This awareness makes facing this task myself very difficult. It's a complicating factor to the already appalling general prospect of writing vaguely self-aggrandising stuff about oneself. I deeply fear CV writing. I'd rather spend an extra day subsisting on Cruskits and watered down English Marmite than have to describe my transferable skills. It is a personality flaw.

Here is a bio for a band called Flow. This minor masterpiece combines touching personal details and an interesting present-tense approach, combined with imperative credibility-by-association details which may allow an unestablished act to break through into the pantheon of mainstream acceptability and radio play on the Edge, were it not for the crucial undermining detail – the setting – Pukekohe. A rural service town 50 km south of Auckland, it has a population of 24500. Wikipedia informs me: Up until 2007, the V8 Supercars raced at Pukekohe Park Raceway, it has since moved to Hamilton. Also: The Pukekohe long keeper onion is well known internationally.

Enough tantalising details about the Paris of the South Pacific. Here's Flow on Flow:
So we’re living in London and, the day before our first ever Flow gig, four bombs go off killing 56 people. That rattles the hell out of everyone.

We push on with the show though. And when 150 happy-to-be-alive punters join us, and the venue (The Luminaire in Kilburn) is named Time Out magazine’s ‘Live Venue of the Year’ not long after, doors open.

We play in the UK with betchadupa, Kate Nash (who later has a UK no.1 album), Nathan King and at a festival with Breaks Co-Op. We get flown out to perform on the Greek Island of Mykonos too. But after a while the Kiwis in the band want to head home. London is cold and busy and our mums live in Pukekohe. There are tears, tough-guy mate’s tears, as the Kiwi and British bits of the band part.

With new recruits on board back in New Zealand, we make our debut at the Pohutukawa Festival with Pluto and Goldenhorse in late 2006. Over 300 people are at our first Pukekohe gig a few months later. We go on to have Jason Kerrison, Jayson Norris, Luke Thompson and Jonny Love out to perform with us in Pukekohe, we support Jordan Luck at Mangawhai Tavern, we tour with Fuser and Faster She Said, and we appear on the telly (Nightline and The Verona Sessions) and the radio (where Caley gives Nathan King a hiding on Pop! Goes The Weasel).

The band’s musical roots broaden in NZ with Todd (vocals/guitar) running Acoustic Edge, which is perhaps the leading singer/songwriter night in South Auckland, and Caley (guitar) putting on shows, for the likes of Greg Johnson and Goldenhorse, through his company My New Favourite.

But Flow is where the real energy is driven. And with our first professional recordings in the bag, it’s time to see what the world makes of them.

So, it's all good for Flow down in Deep South Auckland, and it would be churlish and nasty to bitch, but this is definitely not an approach I can ape with the dreaded Lawrence Arabia bio. Perhaps I could dredge up the time I gave Andrew Fagan an ass-whuppin' on Pop! Goes The Weasel...?

Greg Johnson is a household name in his home country of New Zealand, where he has had multiple Gold and Platinum selling albums on the EMI/Capitol Label. When not touring he lives in Los Angeles where he writes, records and produces for himself and others.

A prolific and gifted songwriter with eight studio albums to date he has won numerous New Zealand music awards including the prestigious APRA (Australasian ASCAP) Silver Scroll for songwriting. Johnson moves with ease between the piano, trumpet and guitar and his concerts are heavily influenced by his early musical days as a nightclub singer and raconteur. Filling everything from Opera Houses and Theatres to intimate clubs when he tours down-under he also performs select smaller venues in the USA, Australia, Ireland and UK .

His music has been featured in a variety of Television and film including “The Hills”, “Highschool Reunion”, “Road Rules”, “Outrageous Fortune”, “Mysterious Ways”, “Beautiful People” and the Movies "Last Chance Harvey" (2009) starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, “50 Pills” (2007) and “Entry Level” (2008).

Greg has performed all over with the likes of The Wallflowers, The Corrs, Bic Runga, Natalie Merchant, Dave Dobbyn and Paul Kelly. In 2005 Greg and The Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra performed classical arrangements of his best known hits in front of 2000 fans at the Aotea Concert Hall in his hometown Auckland in 2008 Greg's Cocktail Club Shows sold out dates around NZ.

Greg's bio is the "Big Man" bio. It is almost impossible to write these about yourself unless you're a real cock/cocaine addict/deeply delusional/all of the above. As New Zealanders in our tiny, pseudo-related isolation are terminally in a glasshouse and thus cannot throw such potentially career crippling stones as label/libelling Greg Johnson a deeply delusional cocaine addict and cock, I will assume that this bio was written by his label/management. This makes the bio more acceptable, because they are obviously are very proud of him, and also have a 15-20% stake riding on people thinking he's doing better than he actually is.

*****
Update! I've let this blog entry sit for almost two months, during which time I finished my bio, had my publicist Charlotte Ryan format it appropriately, and then sent it out to many so called influential people, who are currently having an influence on my career thanks to the information that was contained in the aforementioned bio.

Here's the finished product.
When James Milne, AKA Lawrence Arabia, left Auckland for London in November 2006, little did he realise- in fact not at all did he realise - that one hour later he would be adrift, alone in the Pacific Ocean, just south of the Kermadec Islands... This totally surprising occurrence happened due to a plane crash which has been made up to allow this extended metaphor to take place, tarting- or "zhoozhing-" up what would otherwise have been a tedious press release about Lawrence Arabia's new album "Chant Darling."

Chant Darling was recorded between November 2007 and January 2009, in Stockholm, London, Auckland, Wellington and Port Chalmers. It was produced by Lawrence Arabia, and features the musical contributions of James Dansey and Daniel Ward (The Sneaks), Matt Eccles (Betchadupa/Das Pop), Liam Finn, Luke Buda and Sam Scott (The Phoenix Foundation), Tom Watson (Cassette), Andy Watts (Hot Grits), John White (Mestar) and various other friends.

Anyway, plane goes down, Lawrence is adrift, you know the story, but get this - the only thing keeping him afloat is a single half-written song. These few couplets and melodies would scarcely stay buoyant for more than a few hours he surmised, so he began writing songs. Songwriting for survival!

The songs for the album were penned half and half between New Zealand and London, where Lawrence has been based for the past two years. The subject matter varies from the New Zealand space programme, naughty liaisons on Quay Street, laziness, drinking problems amongst the shy, to sexually frustrated hipsters, drug-induced death visions, lust for teacher and a theme-in-waiting for the National Government's soon to be announced war on drugs.

The next few months were, as I'm sure you can imagine, very very boring. With only snapper and his own swiftly deteriorating urine to keep him company, James, or Lawrence as he bewilderingly prefers to be known, began creating a fantasy world through songs. Drifting in and out of consciousness, eating the majestic, obliging snapper, and drinking wees, Lawrence wrote a whole album worth of songs to take his mind off the fact that he was to die alone in the Pacific like some hapless, under-equipped sailor without a locator beacon. An unromantic fate you will grant.

Lawrence Arabia is the pseudonym of James Milne, born 1981 in Christchurch, also singer-songwriter of The Reduction Agents and former member of the Brunettes and the Ruby Suns. James has produced music for television, film and theatre and his songs appeared in Taika Waititi's film "Eagle vs Shark." In the past year Lawrence has toured extensively around Europe and the UK with Feist and Okkervil River, appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, and been featured and reviewed in UK publications including the Sunday Times, NME, Uncut, Q, Independent, and Dazed and Confused.

So, when Lawrence Arabia's absurdly lanky frame popped up in Lake Pupuke via a volcanic tube, it was a surprise to everyone, including himself. However, a kindly Takapuna family, the Wilberforces, took him in...

Lawrence Arabia - Chant Darling out Monday March 9 on Honorary Bedouin Records

Song for you!

2009-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

Gladeyes Sound-system and DJs Milk and Honey are djing at "Karen was a Carpenter". A Karen Carpenter tribute night at D.O.C this Thursday the 5th of March. Come along!

the Gladeyes - The Real Thing

Lost Souls Unite the Gladeyes are going to Make You Feel Alright

2009-02-16T23:22:00.000-08:00

Way back in 2003, we had our first show. We didn't play our instruments live, we just pretended and lip-synched along to backing tracks of our songs. We were very nervous and we projected black and white slides of our favourite stars behind us while we played, we figured if all else failed at least they would make us look good. Anyways, we spent a long time making posters for the show and this is a music video of us putting them up which we made with help from Tahi Moore - our friend and cinematographer extraordinaire. Here it is........

The Gladeyes Go Downtown from the gladeyes on Vimeo.

The Rolling Stone blog says hello to Princess Chelsea

2009-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

It's funny how blogs are symbiotic, and how they feed into each other and create endless feedback loops. We've only been blogging here for a short while and already it's happening with the stuff we're posting. Princess Chelsea posted up a blog showing off a cover she'd just finished, 'Your Woman' by White Town. The good people over at Einstein Music Journal blogged up a post about it, and linked back to our blog. And then The Rolling Stone blog posted about Princess Chelsea's cover and linked back to Einstein Music Journal.

We have The Rolling Stone linking to Einstein Music Journal linking to us. So it seems only fair that we put up a link to The Rolling Stone post, thus completing the feedback loop. May information forever flow in circles.

And congratulations to Chelsea! The cover's great, and here it is again:

Princess Chelsea - Your Woman (Whitetown Cover)

Princess Chelsea Covers Whitetown

2009-02-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

In March 1997 Whitetown (Jyoti Mishra) released the single 'Your Woman' and it became a huge hit worldwide. Even though at the time I was busy with my studies at Northcross Intermediate - creating "Enquiries" (How Plants Reproduce, The Bronchiosaurus) I remember the song capturing my interest from the moment I heard it on 91.0 fm.

Part of what made the song intriguing for so many, was it's lyrical content - and the possible meanings behind it. Having a rather androgenous voice - people at first couldn't figure out whether the vocalist was a man or a woman and upon establishing that Jyoti was a dude - what did he mean by 'I could never be your woman'. Is he gay? Is he singing to his boyfriend? Is he singing to his gay boyfriend who met a really attractive women with a great personality and turned straight? Is he pulling a Fugazi and singing as if he were a woman? Possibly to a gay man? Or to a straight man who just doesn't like her that much? Or is he a dude who's girlfriend wants him to be a woman? Or is there no real answer and the song is meant to be confusing to reinforce the idea of gender confusion? Or am I just trying to sound really intelligent like I go to university and study psychology and take pottery classes in my spare time and I'm really open minded and also a feminist and people describe me as alternative.

Whatever trevor, its a great song so I did a cover of it.

I decided to take a slightly creepy angle on the song, creating an infusion of Dr Dre and an eight year old, perhaps singing to Bill Wyman.

Please find below an mp3 for your enjoyment and a link to the original - a true 90s masterpiece.

Princess Chelsea - Your Woman (Whitetown Cover)

The Brunettes contribute to The Cure compilation on American Laundromat Records

2009-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Brunettes have contributed a track to this compilation album of The Cure covers. It's pretty cool actually, and it only came out yesterday on American Laundromat Records. Check out the cute cover:

I love the internet and the internet loves me

2009-01-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

So the other day I was sitting in class with my laptop, googling my own name to pass the time (Shut up, it's not lame, everybody does it...Right? Right??), and I came across this nice little article about us in NZ Musician Magazine. I hadn't seen it, because well... who reads hard copy magazines these days? Not me. Anyway, it's kind of sweet, and it features a stellar nerdy quote about technology from yours truly. Yay. I google myself and I love computers. My life is GOING OFF. Also they made a photo of us look purple, and that pleased me. Anyway this is a terrible post so yeah... Enjoy.

Nocturnal Couplings
Author: Stephanie Gray

Lil' Chief Records are riding a wicked west coast swell at the moment, their established acts attracting attention and critical acclaim all over the northern hemisphere. Now, as Stephanie Gray reports, the notoriously incestuous label have widened their pop gene pool with the addition of nocturnal synth + vocal couple Little Pictures.

With the intensity of young love Johanna Freeman sings: 'I wish I could tie a string between me and you / I'd pull on the string whenever I felt confused.'
There is no doubt she's singing to boyfriend and bandmate Mark Turner - the song is from a debut album that is as much a dedication to their togetherness as it is a well-crafted collection of electro-pop.
When the 20 year-old Wellingtonians play I Wish I Could Keep You live Mark triggers samples of Johanna's vocals, sneaking them in between words as she sings, to an effect that Johanna confides she finds a little creepy.
Creepy maybe, but it's a charming technique that had a house-full of Dunedin indie-kids jumping up and down with synchronised 'hip hop hands' recently. More than an enjoyable way to stay warm down south, this is a response that Little Pictures have come to look forward to from the Mainlanders.
"I like the South Island because it's less intimidating - more like our tour in Australia," says Mark."People are excited about you being there," Johanna adds.

For that reason the twosome tour out of town as much as their university timetables allow - a mission made easier by the fact they can fit all of their gear into one guitar case. It's the touring musician's dream - to fly unhindered by excess baggage and, as a couple tuned into each others energy levels and emotions, free to do as they please. But it hasn't always been so - until the middle of last year Little Pictures was a three-piece, with friend James Halborow adding drums.
Quietly but assuredly Johanna and Mark started planning for the breakaway two-piece electronic act they would call Owl + Owl, in allusion to their nocturnal tendencies. They kept the act's original name in the end, tucking 'Owl + Owl' away as a name for the album that has now followed their self-released EP 'You and Me and My Amplifier'.

Having shaken off the shackles of a drum kit, Little Pictures shaped their new sound around the monophonic tones of a Moog synthesiser, programmed beats, a glockenspiel and his-and-hers vocals. They then stripped back even further by sampling the Moog - the legendary brand's latest Little Phatty model - into an electronic sampling pad. It's a minimalist set-up that keeps people guessing. As does the way in which Mark triggers samples - joyfully thwacking the inconspicuous black pad with drum sticks next to Johanna who, in gaps between glockenspiel and singing, blows shiny bubbles that float across the ubiquitous divide between band and audience.
"It's exciting to play with stuff that people don't necessarily understand. People see me hitting the pads and there's always a musician in the front row who will come up and ask if I'm actually doing anything," smiles Mark.
"It's fun to make things more mysterious," Johanna adds.

Because it's Mark that holds the sticks, people wrongly assume that he's the songwriter - much to the annoyance of both. They are equally infatuated with technology and pop culture, happily trawling blogs and forums and working their experiences with, and knowledge of new media into their university assignments.
"Lots of people like to talk about gear, but I'm more interested in the social shaping of scenes and looking at how people use technology," Johanna explains.
To fine-tune Little Pictures' sound and style they looked into what other musicians were doing, watching YouTube clips to suss instrumentation. With refreshing honesty, they admit to culturally sampling and taking others' arrangements for their songs.
"We can't sample in the way DJs like Girl Talk can, so we try to recreate things we like," says Mark, who like Johanna listens to a lot of hip hop, and grimier artists like Dizzee Rascal. Being the nice young stars they are, Little Pictures give as much as they take - uploading their mp3s as free downloads and sending a cappella tracks to anyone keen on remixing.
"We'd love it if someone downloaded our song and borrowed a riff or a verse and built a new song around it. So our stuff is there for the taking," Johanna offers.

This is an ethic that Lil' Chief Records must be comfortable with; 'Owl + Owl' was released by the Auckland pop label after co-owner Jonathan Bree saw the band performing at Camp A Low Hum last summer.
"We were quite surprised at his interest, because Lil' Chief has The Brunettes and The Ruby Suns - these lush bands with layers of sound," says Mark.
Clearly the label do like what they hear and are propelling Little Pictures into the wake of those acts, with an American tour taking in Seattle and Portland among other cities.
There's a video clip online of a beaming Johanna and Mark reading aloud the email from Bree asking them to join the label. Recorded late at night after coming home from a gig and logging on to find the good news, the video nicely sums up the zeal and techno-savvy that shines through Little Pictures' music.

Little Pictures - I Wish I Could Keep You

'Too many Buttons' - A short story by Princess Chelsea

2009-01-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

It was 2007, and it was the dawning of the release of The Brunettes third album 'Structure & Cosmetics'. As you may well know this album was their first release on the big fancy overseas label 'Subpop' records. As a result, many in the art, fashion and funding sectors in New Zealand finally began to take the band seriously - because they were now super important and extremely famous and also they were friends with Nirvana.

Somehow however, Jonathan Bree was still broke and homeless. He didn't even own any clothes - he just wore reviews of his previous albums that he had cut out of the newspapers and cellotaped (sticky taped) together to form some kind of poncho. His one dream was to own a fitted suit. With 3 buttons. And with his fame skyrocketing he thought that now could be his his only chance to swindle one.

A deal was struck with a local high end high street tailor. High times. They would make him the suit of his dreams - in return for him wearing it on the cover of their new album. He could have whatever type of suit he wanted, providing it was whatever type of suit they wanted.

Unfortunately an awkard exchange occurred between the owner of this high end menswear store when Jonathan made his one request for his new suit. He requested that the suit have not 2, but 3 buttons.

The owner of the store insisted that surely Jonathan did not want 3 buttons and tried to use his jedi mind tricks to purge that extra button from his mind. But Jonathan did not back down. He said he wanted 3 buttons because he wanted to look like Mark Ronson because Mark Ronson is a trendy British producer who wears 3 button suits all the time and looks like a real mod and he always gets money and ladies thrown at him and he is really popular and stuff and he gets invited to all the cool parties.

The suit eventually arrived and a message was sent to the Brunettes manager saying that this would be where the relationship between the 2 parties ended. This was because Jonathan Bree was the rudest and most difficult customer they had ever encountered.

Jonathan tried on the suit and it fitted beautifully. It was an impeccably designed and made suit, and it only had two buttons.

Edmund Cake - The Crane Brothers Suit

The Ruby Suns first album

2009-01-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

I'd never had a chance to listen to it in full until today when Lawrence (Lil Chief's lovely post-master) kindly posted me a copy. I'd listened to Sea Lion a bunch and I like it heaps, so I was looking forward to this

This first album is quite different in many ways. It doesn't have many of the world music aspects of Sea Lion, i.e. different languages and tribal-style drums. It's far more Shins-ish to my ears actually. Lots of nice big vocal harmonies too. My favourites are 'Trees Like Kids' and 'Look Out Sos!'.

It's a really warm sounding record. Although I prefer Sea Lion for it's more developed quirks, this first album is really good too. Ahh what a strange review this is. I guess it's not really a review, more a stream of consiousness on the the matter...

Here's Trees Like Kids, enjoy!

The Ruby Suns - Trees Like Kids

We might as well all give up on...

2009-01-12T17:15:00.001-08:00

...writing songs, because computers can do it now. Watch this ad for some new Microsoft software. It's apparently dead serious. It will change your life.

Gladeyes v Geoff

2009-01-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Gwen and Jade are in a band called the Gladeyes. They often practice and record at the home of Gwen’s parent’s, Trish and Geoff. Since these two people have possibly heard them play their songs more than anyone else on the planet, they could be considered experts on the subject of the Gladeyes. The Gladeyes thought, then, who better to interview them than Geoff, General Practitioner by day and Rolling Stone music critic by evening.

The interview started casually in Geoff and Trish’s living room, Geoff in his chair and Jade and Gwen cross-legged on the floor. As if waiting for this opportunity for his whole life, Geoff’s interview used up all four sides of two sixty-minute cassette tapes. Below is a small excerpt from the conversation.

nb. This was also recently published in the journal "Hue and Cry 'Stakeout.'"

Dad (Gwen’s Dad Geoff): So, am I going to be a fictitious interviewer?

Jade: No, you don't need to be fictitious, do you want to be fictitious?

D: Can I be from the Rolling Stone? Actually, who was it I was reading an interview with? Oh yeah that's right, I was reading a little bit about um… Now, you are known as the Gladeyes?

Gwen: Ha-ha, yes.

D: And how would you describe yourselves as a band?

G: Ah, you mean musically, what genre and stuff, or..?

D: Well, I wouldn't really use words like genre, just really, how would you describe yourselves as a band?…Which of you is the better musician?

G&J (laughter)

D: Which of you has got the greater..? I mean in some bands some people do more of the sort of musical side, and the others do the lyrical side. Is it sort of very mixed and shared, or does one of you have a greater interest in various aspects of it, like one of you is more interested in the lyrical side, or do you share that?

J: I think it's pretty even.

D: When you make up the words does one of you write it? Or you both kind of add in and change it, and...?

G: We have collaborated on words before but we don't so often as the music, even though it relates, the lyrics are generally written by one person.

J: Mmm, but when we started they were a bit more collaborative, it would be good to be more collaborative...

D: So does it tend to be that if you write a song, the lyrics are by one of you and another song might be lyrics by another person?

G: Yeah. But we have collaborated and we do, and even if we don't collaborate maybe on the actual writing, we might collaborate on the ideas of what the song would be about. And then the person who writes the lyrics is just the person who is more excited about it at the time.

J: Nothing's planned, like we don't say "Oh, you write three songs today," and nothing happens like that.

D: No, no, I know...No, no, I wasn't suggesting that but I was thinking, well...

G: But we would sit down and have times where we try and write lyrics together and stuff.

J: Yeah.

D: Like you have a piece of music that you've done, but you haven't got the lyrics?

J: Yeah.

G: …the chords or the structure, maybe one of us would bring that, and someone else would write more of a melody, and someone else might add the lyrics, and someone else might write little bits of lyrics. But it's really quite collaborative, but some songs are more or less collaborative.

D: Mmm.

G: …but as an overall kind of project and set of ideas I think it's really collaborative, because they all sit within that framework. And so those songs exist because of the other songs, even, you know... well, that structure’s there for them, or something.

J: Yeah.

D: Anyway, just getting on to a lighter topic, with your names - interesting names aren’t they? Gwendoline, quite a traditional female name, I’ve never heard of a guy called Gwendoline…

J&G: (laughter)

D: …and Jade is what I might call an intersexual name, because it can be a boy or a girl. So, Gwen represents the femininity and tradition of the female in your band and Jade, because there’s no males in the band, she can sort of flip over to the male side, is this right?

J&G: (laughter)

G: Yep. Definitely right.

J: Yeah, you’re spot on. On the money.

D: Because, I’m just going on from your music, you’ve got some really light and fun tracks, one of my favourites being Geek Boy, which, I don’t get to hear very often in fact, but, in terms of lightness and fun, and then you have…

J: It’s my Dad’s favourite song as well!

D: Oh is it? Okay.

J: Yeah.

G: Oh really? Maybe we have to do a tribute to the Dad’s?

D: Yeah. And then you have the more serious and kind-of deeper songs, and I understand that as part of your greater artistic concept you’ve developed these characters of Damien and Monika. Can you tell me about Damien and Monika?

G: Well, I don’t think they’re…

D: Do they represent anything, or are they characters?

J: Yeah, they represent…something. They’re like vessels, of people.

D: Vessels for different people?

G: They’re almost like…

J: Archetypes? Or…

G: Yeah like tropes.

D: What’s a trope?

G: It’s sort of like an archetype, but it’s actually more specific

J: Like cinema or something? Is it related to cinema?

G: It’s any kind of representation, just like something that’s reoccurring, like the idea of an innocent child that’s really perceptive. Like in Les Miserables, there’s a character called Mignon and she’s a trope, she represents a recurring archetype, within literature or…

D: So are you kind-of intending, as you produce more songs, developing a sort of narrative of these people? Like they become, um, cartoon characters is not the right word, but they become like real people that keep popping up in your songs, and become familiar to people and they become, kind of like real people?

J: Yeah, we’ll always probably write songs about people. Yeah, I think those names probably won’t keep going, I don’t know actually, but, it’s nice to bring in new characters.

G: Yeah.

D: Are there any other characters beside Damien and Monika?

J: Claudia.

D: Claudia, of course Claudia

G: Andy

D: Andy of course.

J: Geek boy, but that’s not really a name.

G: But that’s definitely like a specific character.

J: There’s gotta be more than that…

D: Where did Andy come from?

G: I think Andy was just a name.

D: Yeah, but what influenced that song? What influences do you have, do you recognise any influences in your music? Your early music is possibly a little bit influenced by the Velvet Underground.

J: Yeah, we were listening to quite specific music when we started.

D: Karen Carpenter?

G: Yeah.

D: I noticed in that book Veronica by Mary Gaitskill, that she slayed Karen Carpenter, there was a paragragh or short paragraph…

G: Where she brings her down sort of thing?

D: Well yeah sort of, she has a very good way of bringing big things down into little things and dismissing them almost. Like, a generation of women worshipping Karen Carpenter, and just saying, well, you know, she was a bit of a messed-up woman that ate, didn’t eat herself to death. The reverse. I thought it was a bit cruel, she has a cruelty…anyway, I’m digressing, and it’s not really to do with the interview. Not too much, but it’s possibly, if that’s a book that you read it might indicate something about the ways that you think.

G: I think it’s good to always have those counters anyway, you know…

D: Yeah, so do you think that your music is always a mixture of light to serious? You like to bring in all the different moods of how you feel, I mean, Andy’s quite a sad song? And Geek boy’s a kind of tongue-in-cheek happy song, isn’t it? I mean you obviously don’t think of geek boys as really being geek boys because again it’s like a stereotype, and people who get called geek boys often aren’t. You seldom are what people slot you into.

J: Yeah

D: It’s got a catchy tune, that’s what I like about it. Um, where you’ve got much more narrative types, like Bad Town Blues is more kind of narrative, isn’t it?

G: Yeah

D: So you’re quite eclectic in your style of songs, and even in your lyrics as well. Now, I’m interviewing you as an older person, and one of the things I’m noticing now is that it kind of almost bores me how novels and songs are all about the same thing, which is love. Which is obviously so pertinent to you, you know, like relationships, boy-girl relationships, and love and all the angst and intricacies of that. But as you get older, because that’s not so important to you, because you’ve kind of gone through all that, it kind of seems a bit boring in a way. I mean, recently I’ve been listening to a radio station that plays a lot of oldies stuff, and just about everything is a love tale. So, do you aim to write songs that aren’t about that, and still try to catch young people’s attention? I mean, obviously you relate to your own generation, you’re not kind of making music for different generations. Do you think you can kind of make music and lyrics that address other issues? But fun issues, and issues that are really close to people’s hearts?

G: I don’t know, I hope that we already do that to a certain extent, even within those kinds of narratives that might address things like love and relationships and stuff, you know?

D: Well you could write a song that’s about the boy-girl love thing, or about the mum-child love thing, or about the mum-dad, or the child-dad, or the child-grandad, or the child-grandmother, or what-have-you, those sorts of love things. Do you think people relate to that much?

J: Yeah I think there are a lot of songs with that kind of thing. There’s heaps!

D: One of the things I wanted to ask is the idea of doing interviews anyway. Why bother doing interviews? Why not, I mean, listen to the music?

G: I think they just inform what you do in a different kind of a way. And probably be more-or-less successful each time.

J: I like reading interviews with people.

G: Yeah, me too.

D: Interviews can be edited, especially if they’re TV and so on, so you have to be a bit guarded when you’re interviewing.

G: Yeah, it’s a real skill I guess.

D: I realise that you two, before you were interviewed by me, have had to discuss what you’re going to kind of say and not say, and I see you sort of tapping each other when you feel that one of you is revealing too much about…

J&G: (nervous laughter)

D: Um.

J: Um.

D: Have you ever thought of going brunette?

J&G: (laughter)

G: Jade’s the boy. So I think she should.

J: Why does the boy have to go brunette?

G: I don’t know, the girl gets to call the shots?

D: Okay, I think I have explored you quite well haven’t I? I think I’ve made you think a bit, haven’t I?

J: Yeah, there were some good questions.

G: Yeah, definitely.

J: The best interview we’ve had so far.

D: It was good for me too, I’m very proud of you I have to say. Very proud of you. I think you’ve done really, really great, kind of hard to hold it together because it’s kind of like a marriage really, it’s hard in this world to kind of maintain…

J&G: Partnerships.

The full interview is to be published as the book, So the Attainment of Perfection is Forever? Stay tuned.

Lawrence Arabia spotted in Christchurch... apparently?

2009-01-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Christchurch based Hipster Runoff style blog 'yrgoldenage' posted this about James Milne's solo project Lawrence Arabia. Most bizarre blog post about a Lil Chief artist? Haha, probably. Although Lawrence Arabia has his own bizarro blog, The Lawrence Party. So perhaps this is just the internet's way of balancing the world out? Anyway, have a look at Lawrence Arabia's latest video, The Beautiful Young Crew.

Lawrence Arabia - The Beautiful Young Crew from Lawrence Arabia on Vimeo.

The Ruby Suns and Little Pictures do a nice little cover each

2009-01-10T18:22:00.001-08:00

Both The Ruby Suns and Little Pictures participated recently in the Spanish compilation 'Rewind'. For the compilation they had to chose a song from the 80s or 90s and record a cover version. So here they are:

The Ruby Suns - Arm Around You (Arthur Russell cover)

Little Pictures - Buddy Holly (Weezer cover)

Have a look at the rest of the compilation, there are some 100 covers from all sorts of different bands.

Loopy Loopy Loopy Loopy Loopy

2009-01-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

So I'll kick off the blog with an MP3. It's Loopy Loopy Love by The Brunettes. It's from their 2004 album Mars Loves Venus.

The Brunettes - Loopy Loopy Love

Jonathan from The Brunettes was telling me they hadn't played this song live in a long while, because they didn't really like playing it. But one day Beirut's manager casually mentioned that his favourite song was Loopy Loopy Love, and that he couldn't wait until they played it. So they figured they should re-learn it for their little tour later that year with Beirut. I'm not even sure if that story is true, I think it is. Man that story sucked, I promise the next post's story will be juicier.

But the song's cool :) It's spanish-tastic. Sort of.

It's a blog!

2009-01-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Lil Chief blog. It's been a long time coming, but add us to your reader for lots of free mp3s, videos, gossip, stories and the such from all our artists. Lil Chief bands are living all over the world now, and touring all over regularly. They're also signed to lots of different labels over the world, which makes Lil Chief as much a little collective as a label.

Feel free to leave comments with questions/love/abuse for the bands and they'll answer/love back/find out where you live.