Spider: Concorde 1998

Spider was a late 90s Auckland band formed by Dave Mulcahy (JPS Experience, Superette), it also featured his flatmates at the time Big Ross (Bird Nest Roys, The Tufnells) and Steve Gilbert (The Tufnells).  Originally a 3-piece they soon grew to a quartet with the addition of Mark Anderson (Gaunt Pudding) on bass.  These 3 songs were recorded in a woolshed in South Auckland by Matthew Heine and released as a single in 1998.  The band changed their name to Raygun as Anderson left to join Sleepers Union and was replaced by Matthew Heine, the band split up in 2006 when Mulcahy made a permanent move back to his hometown of Christchurch.

Mulcahy currently releases music under the moniker Mulchzoid and plays in Christchurch band Sexy Animals as well as occasional recordings with ex-Spider drummer Steve Gilberd as 'Snakedog'.

Dave Mulcahy       Vocals, Guitar
Ross Williams        Guitar Vocals
Mark Anderson                    Bass
Steve Gilberd                    Drums

Concorde.mp3
Summerlite.mp3
Halo.mp3

Greg Fleming & The Trains: Codine Road 1994

Singer songwriter Greg Fleming hails from Auckland, New Zealand.  His backing band The Trains has included an ever-changing line up of impressive musicians. Among them Mark Petersen (Jan Hellriegel, Straitjacket Fits, Cabbage Bomber), Nick Kreisler (the Pet Rocks), John Segovia (Shaft, The Axlegrinders, Boxcar Guitars, Don McGlashan & The Seven Sisters),  Andrew B. White (Bic Runga, Donald Reid, Damien Binder) Dom Blaazer (SJD, The HitList, Don McGlashan & The Seven Sisters), Ricky McShane (Chainsaw Masochist, White Swan Black Swan),  and Cameron Miller (Mike Scott).
In 1993 he released his debut album Ghost Are White. A year later a track from that album, Codeine Road was remixed by Anthony Ioasa and released as a single on Lost Records. The B-Side was All The Time In The World and First Waltz. All songs were written by Greg Fleming.

 

 Produced by Anthony Ioasa

Greg Fleming      Vocals/Guitar
John Segovia                  Guitar
Cameron Miller                Bass
Rick McShane               Drums
Jono Lonie       Violin/Mandolin

Codeine Road.mp3

or the whole EP as a Zip

Codeine Road EP.zip

Roger Sings The Hits: Part 1 1991

First thing, these songs are owned by Flying Nun Records. They are posted here so people can hear them, as they are very rare and currently unavailable. They are for personal listening only.

On the 20th September 1991 Flying Nun Records had organized a gig at Auckland’s Power Station to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Someone came up with the idea to get some of the bands involved in the gig to record songs from other Flying Nun bands, put them on a cassette and sell them at the concert. So the night before the gig, six bands went into Incubator Studios and recorded and mixed six songs. 500 copies of the cassette were sold the next night. As far as I am aware, none of the tracks have ever been issued on CD.

Here’s Jean Paul Sartre Experience covering Fetus Productions’ What's Going On, Straitjacket Fits doing Jean Paul Sartre Experience’s  Flex and The Bats doing Look Blue Go Purple‘s I Don't Want You Anyway.

Roger Sings The Hits 01

Guided By Voices: Motor Away 1995

 

Guided By Voices was originally formed in 1983 as a bar band in Dayton, Ohio. It was seen as a part-time thing, with all its members having day jobs. Over the next few years there was an ever-changing line up except for songwriter Robert Pollard who was the band’s only constant member. By the early 1990’s the band had evolved into more of a recording project. They self-released a string of lo-fi albums. Only a few hundred copies of each were pressed. In 1994 they signed a deal with Matador Records and became a gigging band again. At the time the line up included Pollard, guitarists Tobin Sprout and Mitch Mitchell, bassist Dan Toohey, and drummer Kevin Fennell. Now seen as the “classic line up”. Released in 1995, Motor Away was their first single for Matador, their eighth over all. It was written by Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout. It is different from the version that appeared on the album Alien Lanes. The Color Of My Blade was the B-Side.

 

 Robert Pollard              Vocals
Tobin Sprout                  Guitar
Mitch Mitchell                Guitar
Dan Toohey                    Bass
Kevin Fennell               Drums

Motor Away

Color Of My Blade

Gaunt Pudding: Karangahape 1997

This is Lo-fi Sloppy Pop from Auckland, New Zealand’s Gaunt Pudding. Who along with bands like Cane Slide and O were part of Auckland’s mid 1990’s DIY alternative Pop scene. Recorded in their practice room on an analogy 4-track cassette recorder. Released in 1997 on Icing Records.  All songs were written by the band. Karangahape is about an infamous road in Auckland New Zealand. Gaunt Pudding also contributed one track (Corners Of My Mind) to the 1997 Earwig Studio compilation Earwig and Stinkbug.

Lisa Gordon                          Guitar
Craig Van Kan                     Drums
Karl Tchernegovski   Vocals/Guitar
Mark Anderson                       Bass

Karangahape
D*A*C*C*
Phillippe

P: Michael Stipe 1995

P were a band formed in 1993 by Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, Bill Carter and actors Johnny Depp and Sal Jenco. Designed as a part-time band that had to work around the other commitments of the band members. They only released one album (Self Titled) and this single. Which was about meeting R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe at a party. The B-Side is two covers, the first is Abba’s Dancing Queen, the second Rumble by Link Wray.

Produced by Andrew Weiss

Gibby Haynes                Vocals
Johnny Depp                   Bass
Bill Carter                       Guitar
Sal Jenco                Percussion

Michael Stipe

Dancing Queen

Mumble

Cabbage Bomber: Two Songs 1997

After spending some time in Germany following the demise of The Straitjacket Fits in 1994. Guitarist Mark Petersen return to New Zealand in 1996 and formed the Cabbage Bomber. It was to be the vehicle to perform the songs Petersen had written in the last few years. Which were well crafted Power Pop gems. The ever-prolific Petersen was soon playing in Auckland band Shaft as well. In fact, apart from Cabbage Bomber, Shaft and the Straitjacket Fits he has play in Jan Hellriegal’s Band, Greg Fleming & The Trains, Cane Slide, Working With Walt, Swamp, The Beads, Meatboy,  Mellon Farmer, Lozenge and still more.

The first song, I Done Stuff is from the 1997 Wrong Records compilation Dollar Mixture. Its a song about how one minute you’re touring the world in a band, next you’re living in a Grey Lynn flat on the dole. A common story for kiwi musicians. The second song Never Gonna…hmm is from the 1997 album they shared with Cane Slide; Sloppy Pop Wars. Both songs were recorded on lo-fi four track.

Produced by Mark Petersen

Mark Petersen             Vocals, Guitars
                                   Melodica, Synth
Mario Posa                                  Bass
Andrew Moore                          Drums

I Done Stuff

Never Gonna...hmm

Three Lost Singles From The 1990’s

Buffalo Tom
Velvet Roof
1992

Velvet Roof was the sixth single from Boston, Massachusetts’ three piece, Buffalo Tom. Released on Situation Two/Beggars Banquet in 1992. It was written by the band, who also co-produced it with Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade. 

Buffalo Tom - Velvet Roof

Ride
Twisterella
1992

Meanwhile over the Atlantic, in Oxford, England, Ride were gazing at their shoes. This was Ride’s fourth single, released on Creation records in 1992. It debuted at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart, only to fall to 54 the next week before disappearing altogether.

Ride - Twisterella

Steam
No Shoes, No Home
1995

Firstly, I apologise for the quality of the mp3. It was recorded off of a record that was etched not pressed. One of the King Worldwide Records lathe cut records. Grooves etched on to polycarbonate rather than pressed into vinyl. This single was given away with a issue of Captain Stupid Comic's. Steam were a bit of a local New Zealand super-group. Drummer Rob Key had played for The Cakekitchen and The Expendables, guitarist Danny Manetto for Shaft and Voom. bassist Nick Kreisler, the Pet Rocks and Greg Fleming & The Trains and singer Chris McKibbin was Lee Harvey.   

***Warning recorded off of etched vinyl. A lot of Surface Noise***

Stream - No Shoes, No Home

Cane Slide: Two Songs 1996-7

 Cane Slide are one of the greatly undervalued New Zealand bands.  Centred round songwriter, filmmaker and skateboarding legend, Andrew Moore. They were part of the mid 1990s Auckland lo-fi, DIY sloppy pop scene that included Cabbage Bomber and Gaunt Pudding. Cane Slide released two albums (Sloppy Pop Wars and Stop Look Listen), two EPs (Lunatic Fringe and Tone Down) and two singles (Kamikaze and Shoes) and were also featured on two compilations (Dollar Mixture and the Boss TV album). They have played gigs with amongst others Pavement, Pollyanna, The 3ds, Superette, and The Tufnels.

Andrew Moore                                        Vocals, Guitar
Boyd Thwaites                                                      Bass
Nicola Rush                           Drums on Lunatic Fringe
James Stephenson    Drums on Change The Channel

Change The Channel is from their first album Sloppy Pop Wars. It was released on Humbucker Records in 1997. Lunatic Fringe is off of the EP of the same name. It was self-released (Cane 002) in 1996.

Cane Slide: Change The Channel
Cane Slide: Lunatic Fringe