Aut Orientation 09 - Shihad, Mint Chicks & Afratone

Come get orientated at the 2009 AUT Orientation!

Shihad, The Mint Chicks, Afratone

SHIHAD

Rock'n'roll can get you into some hairy situations over 20 years. Most bands don’t make it half that far. They're silenced by the toll of the road, the vagaries of fashion, personal differences, lost ideals or an empty tank of inspiration.

Then there's Shihad. What doesn't kill them only amps them up, makes them louder, clearer, more united and determined to write THE song that will make the world raise its arms and roar in a single note of perfect harmony.

Beautiful Machine is the seventh studio album from New Zealand's premier road warriors. Months before release, it had 45,000 Big Day Out punters bouncing from stage to stalls in Auckland, where its heart-stopping first single, "One Will Hear The Other", has put their past airplay in the shade.

"We're all quietly confident this is the most focused record since The General Electric," says singer Jon Toogood, referring to the band's landmark rock radio arrival of '99.

"What I'm really pleased with is that we've managed to find a new way around music," he says. "So what we do now is keep our heads down, learn to play the songs really well, then go out and do what we do. Whatever happens then, happens. But like I said, we're quietly confident that it's a f---ing great record!"

After ripping the Rhythm & Vines punters a new rock-hole over New Years, the boys from Shihad are once again bringing the noise at 2009 AUT Orientation.

Band Members:
Tom Larkin (drums)
Jon Toogood (guitar, vocals)
Karl Kippenberger (bass)
Phil Knight (guitar)

http://www.shihad.com

http://www.myspace.com/shihad

THE MINT CHICKS

The Mint Chicks make spazzy, heavy, poppy music with lyrics about things like sports teams, love, death, obsession, and drug addiction. Turn ons: the Buzzcocks, comic books, A Clockwork Orange, Refused, speedfreaks, Devo, At the Drive-In, Flying Nun Records, Public Image Ltd, bright colours, black, the Beach Boys, Naked Lunch, Slayer ringtones, Pro tools, Miles' electric period, Grand Theft Auto, Black Sabbath, ring mod pedals, psychedelia, Roy Orbison, and the Locust.

Playing packed-out little venues in New Zealand since 2002, the Mint Chicks (singer and wurlitzer piano player Kody Nielson, bassist Michael Logie, drummer Paul Roper and guitarist Ruban Nielson) have climbed all the PA's, back flipped off all the drum risers, bloodied all the fingers, scrapped all the haters, broken all the hearts, ripped all the clothing, bashed all the microphones and smashed all the bottles in preparation for the release of their newest and most exciting record: 'CrazyYes!DumbNo!'.

'Octagon, Octagon, Octagon' came in 2003, the Mint Chicks had just signed to legendary NZ label Flying Nun Records. It's influences were varied and it's local impact was felt immediately, taking student radio by storm with 4 number 1's and 5 'bnet' awards, even though it was only a six-track document of youthful enthusiasm and little bit of home-made inventiveness (the band militantly self produce/engineer their records, do their own artwork and designed their own website). This was the sound of hardcore damaged beyond repair by bubblegum, LSD and artschool.

The following year, after a single on the highly respected Fierce Panda label in the UK (hyped as a 'one minute masterpiece' by Kerrang) they released their second EP: 'Anti-Tiger', which placed even greater emphasis on both the chaotic and the melodic. It was well received, earning four K's from Kerrang, and '9/10' from Blunt magazine.

The year after that, the band had released a couple of EP's and toured New Zealand a trillion times (as well as doing a couple of trips to the US, one to England and half a dozen to Australia, having the good fortune to play support slots for the White Stripes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, and the Blood Brothers). They decided to shut themselves away and try their hand at a long player. They hired a house on a lonely beach in New Zealand's 'far north' (accessible only at low tide) and without as much as an engineer to guide proceedings they churned out 'F**k the Golden Youth'. Not quite the debut anyone was expecting, it has an abrasive sound and was by no means universally praised, but the Sunday Star Times called it 'revolutionary stuff' and Australia's Blunt magazine called it both 'one of the best albums of 2005' and 'pop trying to kill itself in the most sadistic way possible' in the same review.

The Mint Chicks latest record, 'CrazyYes!DumbNo!', sees a few important progressions from the previous records:

Firstly, we find singer Kody Nielson's former disaffected, bratty screech practically smooth to a croon.

Secondly, we find the Nielson brothers songwriting finally in full flight. The Beach Boys have, for the moment, gained the upper hand on the Locust. Does this mean that this new record has seen the Mint Chicks hone their disjointed, noisy assault into an album of shiny pop anthems Well, in short, yes.

Thirdly, although once again the band have recorded with very little interference from 'grown ups', there are a few exceptions. After the band had been recording and writing for six months in Kody's garage, they went to Chris Nielson (the father of the two brothers in the band) for help. A seasoned musician, Chris helped pull a gem from the quagmire by adding an experienced ear and some much welcome Pro-tools expertise. The Nielson brothers were helped through the mixing process and some additional recording sessions to get the record perfect with their father before handing it over to mastering legend Howie Weinberg in New York (Nirvana, the Mars Volta, Modest Mouse, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

Howard Devoto said that Punk was a way of 'trouble-shooting modern forms of unhappiness' and when you listen to the Mint Chicks you'll see they must have taken this to heart in a big way. Kody puts it like this: 'don't cut your wrists, you've got beautiful fists'.

Band Members:
Paul Roper (drums)
Ruban Nielson (guitar)
Kody Nielson (vocals)
Michael Logie (bass)

http://www.themintchicks.com

http://www.myspace.com/themintchicks

AFRATONE

Afratone was formed in April of 2007 by Konrad Kurta, James Porteous and Sam Comery. The band took out the AUT Battle of the Bands with their second and third gigs in August of that year. 2008 started with a bang as the band was booked for 3 O-week gigs as well as opening for top notch kiwi bands such as Pluto, Deja Voodoo and the Electric Confectionaires. The band also made a low budget video for their song 'Disappear', which premiered on ALT TV's 'Live at 5'. In August 2008 the band was asked to provide music for numerous outlets, includeing a fishing DVD which in previous years included the music of The Feelers and Elemeno P. Afratone has taken a 3 months hiatus during the end of 2008 which they have spent recording and finalizing details for a big 2009. With new songs and an even better live performance, the best kept secret in New Zealand music won't stay that way for long...

Band Members:

Konrad Kurta (vocals, guitar)

John Faulding (guitar, keys, percussion, vocals, insanity)

James Porteus (drums)

Sam Comery (bass, vocals)

http://www.myspace.com/afratone