Search for the long forgotten Guitar Organ

I was corresponding with an Aussie geezer I know about classic cars, we both own rare Japanese models and we also happen to share the same taste in music. For what were essentially strangers 18 months ago we share a lot of common interests. He also plays guitar which I’ve started learning in February – not that that has deterred me starting a band! Anyway he said amongst his collection of equipment was a Vox Guitar Organ. “A what?” was my immediate reaction. So I raced off to You Tube and hey-presto this, in its entire splendor, is what the late 60’s Vox V251 ‘Guitar Organ’ is all about:

This was a way cool instrument that was probably conceptually compromised by the technology of the day. Basically it flopped and as far as I can establish big-name artists like Lennon, Stones did experiment with it’s nuances but none went on to employ the V251 as part of their sound. It’s still amazing, as well as an indictment on the lack of innovation in later-day guitar/music companies, no one else has developed a modern version. I know definitively Vox had them for-sale in Sydney, but what about New Zealand? Has anyone laid eyes on a Guitar-Organ on these shaky-isles? It would be so cool to give one of these strange hybrids a play. Imagine seeing a band with one in action! Coolest of cool.          

Five Random Questions New Zealand Music Commission needs to answer about the Outward Sound Scheme.

1.)   The scheme has been running for fix years, by my count close to 100 bands/artists have received assistance. Can the commission point to even a single group/artists that has gone on to taste global success as a direct result of their grant?

2.)   Why is it necessary to give groups multiple grants? Take Die Die Die! for example which has received funding in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Brooke Fraser 2006, 2007 and 2011.

3.)   Roughly 25 per cent of all the groups funded so far have broken-up. Is this good, to be expected?   

4.)   If a bands record sales falls, popularity wanes after receiving a grant are there any checks and balances in place to ask why? Take Goldenhorse for example. In 2002 their first album made number one in the N.Z Charts and their follow-up (2005) made number two. Yet their 3^rd album peaked at just 38 and that came-out in 2007 a year after they received a Music Commission grant.

5.) Is the scheme income tested? Can’t for example Liam Finn (2008 and 2010) speak nicely to his old-man? Ladyhawke’s record company has an annual turnover of USD 6.0 billion, yet they come 'cap in hand' to the local-tax payers? 

Is the Alternative Music scene in New Zealand in a comatose state?

Name me the current top five albums by local artists in New Zealand? Go on take a guess, without taking a sneaky peek below. If you get two from five you’d be doing one better than me. The answers are rather spooky, an indictment of the ‘middle of the road’ vanilla flavour of Kiwi music purchasers (there’s a clue as to the five somewhere in there) I’m loathed to use the term ‘music lovers’ to people who buy this stuff. Be seated, I’m now going to give you the answers:

(1.) John Rowles ‘Hits and Love Songs’ (2.) Liam Finn ‘Fomo’ (3.) Denis Marsh ‘Maori Songbook’ (4.) Stan Walker ‘From the Inside Out’ (5.) Brooke Fraser ‘Flags’. Other Kiwi artists that have an album in the Top 40 include Ladi6, Avalanche City, Hayley Westenra and last of all on the list at 35^th place Tiny Ruins (begins to start the process of losing the will to live)

It appears we are kidding ourselves if we think Kiwi’s give ‘a rats’ about local alternative music. What these stark stats indicate is the tribe that follows indie/alt bands appear to be vociferous and passionate – but comprise but a small percentage of the actual CD purchasers. Anecdotally it also appears the crew who are into say Thought Creature or Bang! Bang! Eche! are far more likely to burn-off a copy of their latest CD than say a suburban mum who sings along to her Warehouse copy of Hayley Westernra in the car.

I thought it was prudent to add some context to the situation by adding it’s no bloody better across the Tasman. Looking at their dire Top 40 it was obvious Aussies are equally blasé, impervious to ‘new’ music preferring the equivalent to eating at McDonalds than say an Indian vindaloo.

What is happening to the place?

The short and simple solution to rectify the imbalance is to by more ‘good’ stuff. Send John Rowles back into his cryogenic freezer. Don’t eat for a day and instead splurge a few bucks on great new albums like say this one from Vorn.

Check-on their latest video below – it’s a real doozy.  

   

More on Vorn:  http://www.myspace.com/vornmusic  

Is Dave Dobbyn morphing into Yoda?

Far be it from me to spread dispersions, I’ll let you ponder the possibility of conjoinment?

The N.Z Music Commission: Hand-up or Hand-out?

This week we learnt the recipients of The New Zealand Music Industry Commission 'international development grants'. The benefactors in their latest funding round were Ladyhawke, Electric Wire Hustle, Avalanche City, Tiny Ruins, The Earlybirds, Frequency Media Group, Parachute Arts Trust and Isaac Aesili. Ladyhawke got a cool 65K that one can only presume her own record company didn’t feel she was worthy of receiving? What the hell is going on here? Is New Zealand music that dire we need to get the Government to keep ‘Kiwis on the air’ of overseas TV’s and radios as well? Why do New Zealand taxpayers need to assist the marketing budgets multi-national record companies – which is essentially what these subsidies amount to? Ladyhawke is on the label Modular which is 50% owned by Universal Music one of the big four industry players. Universal has an annual turn-over of 6.0 billion U.S Dollars! What is so wrong with the free-market picking winners and losers in the global music market, rather than some grey-shoed, unkempt public servant from Wellington? Who is going to be accountable if these bands crash and burn? Will Public Servants soon start picking the New Zealand Top 40? They could automatically place N.Z Artists in the number one spot every week and we could all feel good about how well local music is doing. Wouldn’t it just be easy if we sent secretive teams of Kiwi public servants to the U.K and Europe to buy-up every N.Z record off the shelves and artificially drive that artist up the charts? Then again why bother traveling past Wellington. Why not spend grab a bundle of tax-payer sponsored credit cards and go on-line to iTunes and make say Tiny Ruins the number one selling group in say Germany? Subsidies are what started the economic rot in this country. We never seem to learn and think subsidies work. Show me one rock artist around the world that has succeeded thanks to state-support rather than share talent along with a record company that is willing to invest money into their careers, plus good management? 

     

Now here's an idea that's come of age!

Looking at this old You Tube, if a clip from October 2009 can be termed as such, I wondered if there’s not ample room in the post-earthquake dust-settling ‘new’ Christchurch city plan, to cater for such performing places? What is so friggin’ wrong with bands doing a 30 minute lunchtime gig from a city balcony or rooftop, similarly a free Friday night concert? If ‘re-vitalising’ the inner-city is more than just a convenient local-body politicians wank-term then surely The Transistors offer inspiration in bucket loads for a vibrant city centre. They’d also like their $500 back.

The search for the lost unofficial Kiwi band-fan site

Unofficial Fan web-sites vary in quality, if not passion. From those where enough love and attention have been spent to make them superior to the official site, down to the ‘one weekend and a few old clippings’ placed on a free server with menacing pop-ups. Geocities and Tripod are the resting places of many an ‘ex’ site that have disappeared into the ether. Sadly there are only but a few stand-alone ‘fan’ sites dedicated to Kiwi bands. The Split Enz (slash Crowded House) site ‘Frenz’ is probably the granddaddy of them. It appears fans are now content with myspace format as a final resting place for a bands memoriam. I’m not. Myspace is very limited and its template stereotyped. There are never any nocks and crannies to explore. The effort required to run-up a myspace site is often reflective in its look and content. So again I yell to the southern winds “where are all the independent Kiwi band sites lurking?” Well here are a few ‘un-officials’ I can think-of worthy of a nosey and placement on your favourites:

Straightjacket Fits (incorporating other Carter projects, spin-offs)

BailterSpace/Gordons and The Skeptics all in one cosy room 

Simon Griggs profiles Screaming Mee Mees, Suburban Reptiles, Proud Scum and dozens of others he knew and produced!

That’s bugger all, eh?

More evidence of 'the passionless people' and a deeper societal malaise?  

Can you think of any sites to embellish this motley crew?