NZUG: The Musical Underground Down Under

The avant-synth sound of Flying Nun Record's poster boys The Clean. The contemporary rock revival riffs of The Datsuns. The angst-ridden vocals of Straitjacket Fits' Shayne Carter. An $800 discounted roundtrip ticket to Auckland.

These are some of the reasons why I decided to travel to New Zealand and begin a rock and roll documentary series of local bands in the capital city of Wellington. New Zealand has long been in the shadows of its South Pacific counterpart Australia in various arenas; internationally recognized music is unfortunately one of those arenas. New Zealand is a country steeped in a history of great music, an accompanying strong d.i.y. ethos and a tightly-knit scene; naturally I wanted to explore it.

The purpose of this ongoing project is to bring the creativity, musicianship and sounds from one subculture to another, to bring the underground down under to the underground up above. NZUG is an exhibition of photographs celebrating the rugged spirit of kiwi rock and roll; the proper exhibition is a collaboration with The Brunettes' James Milne who provides the words for the images. The following photographs were taken between May and August of 2004; I highly anticipate the second installment of this project following my next trip to the islands.

New Zealand Music Links

www.sergent.com.au/nzmusic2.html
NZ music of the 60s,70s, and 80s. An extensive online guide to NZ popular music.

www.nzmusic.com
Music Resource. Contemporary music news, features, chat rooms and musician bios.

www.nzmusic.org.nz
NZ Music Industry Commission. Updates on NZ acts and events during SXSW and NZ Music Month.

www.realgroovy.co.nz
Real Groovy Records. NZ's largest independent record store online.

www.muzic.net.nz
Music Resource. Artists, news headlines, downloads and discussion forums.

www.records.co.nz
Fast Food Records. Online seller of NZ garage rock.

www.flyingnun.co.nz
Flying Nun Records. The seminal NZ record label. Former home of
the Clean and Tall Dwarfs.

www.thedatsuns.com
The Datsuns. One of my favorite rock revival NZ bands, now British citizens

www.alowhum.com
A Low Hum. Wellington-based D.I.Y. rock n roll magazine.

www.thepackage.co.nz
The Package. Wellington's weekly gig guide and cultural road map.

www.bands.co.nz
Band Resource.Independent bands websites, feature news, reviews, video, etc

www.radioactive.fm
Radio Active Radio. Student radio Wellington.

www.nickwhite.org/Stickup/Stickup.htm
Poster Gallery. Classic NZ band posters

amplifier.co.nz
Amplifier. Music online with downloads and streaming.