Cheese On Toast turns 5

Happy bday COT - 5 years is a life time on the net

In December, CHEESE ON TOAST -- New Zealand’s very own indie tastemaker website and barometer of what’s hip and happening -- will celebrate five years of having a sticky finger on the pulse of the up and coming, both locally and internationally. To mark this fifth anniversary, Cheese On Toast is excited to announce COT 5 : a fortnight long festival of events representing the exciting state of “now”.

December birthday activities  kick off on December 1 with a three hour special on Alt TV, the usual CHEESE ON TOAST hour is extended and remixed with a live house band, drop in celebrity guests, and acoustic performances. The centrepiece of the fortnight is The Official Cheese On Toast 5th Birthday Party, a free event on Dec 5th. The show features Surf City, Brand New Math, Los Hories, Trees Climbing Trees, and Prince Diana – all personally selected by COT founder Andrew Tidball.  And CHEESE ON TOAST have partnered with Strange News to ensure COT 5 goes off with a bang: Krautrocking electronic Canadian duo Holy Fuck close out the fortnight’s proceedings with a show at 4:20 on K Rd on December 14th.  There is a limited amount of half-price tickets to the show for quick CHEESE ON TOAST readers, and regular public tickets are available from usual outlets.

Cheese On Toast is the hub of this nation’s thriving independent scene: an essential source of local music news, happenings, and information. It maintains a primary focus on new and emerging acts from Auckland and nationwide, relentlessly searching out new sounds which may not have even left the practice room yet. From humble beginnings as a weekly blog post by Andrew Tidball on the ‘Geekboy” homepage, the independent Auckland-based music website and online gig guide launched in December 2003, rapidly becoming the place to find out about all the next big things. Cheese On Toast  was amongst the first to shine the spotlight on acts such as The Mint Chicks, Cut Off Your Hands, The Ruby Suns, and Collapsing Cities, all of whom have gone on to local and international success.

Cheese On Toast fosters a non-elitist and inclusive musical community, and has been the facilitator of many a good night out in Auckland’s flourishing underground music scene. It has expanded outside cyberspace, with the Cheese on Toast TV Show on ALT TV, and Cheese on Toast on the Radio on Fleet FM.  Andrew Tidball’s related monthly club night The Quay Street Social Club is also a radio show on George FM, and he appears weekly on Friday’s 95bFM Breakfast Show for the Up To segment, previewing the weekend’s hottest live shows. He also co-curates the fortnightly Eavesdrop new music listening party.

Even with all this related activity, Tidball considers the Cheese On Toast website the flagship and standard-bearer, and is proud that it has become central to the musical community. COT 5 is the kind of party to which everybody is welcome, and looks destined to get the summer party season off to the kind of start everyone deserves.

The official logo of the COT5 Festival!
COT5 # 1      
Monday 1st  Dec: CHEESE ON TOAST TV SPECIAL - ALT TV – 3 HR CHEESE ON TOAST TV SPECIAL on ALT TV
(Sky 65) 8-11pm Hosted by Andrew Tidball with live music, video clips, interviews – it’s a party on your screen!

COT5 #2  
Wednesday 3rd  Dec: The best of Something on TV – Screening @ Whammy
FREE ENTRY  The best of Something on TV – Screening @ Whammy 8pm Videos of local and international live acts shot in AUCKLAND circa 2006 by Cheese on Toast’s old TV show SOMETHING ON TV On a big screen at Whammy, St Kevins Arcade –

COT5 # 3 
Thursday 4th  Dec: – The Return of The Ruby Suns @ Kings Arms, Newton
9pm (door charge applies) Auckland band, The Ruby Suns return home from USA and Europe where they have been wowing audiences and getting massive critical acclaim all year.

COT5 # 4
  Friday 5th  Dec: – The Official CHEESE ON TOAST 5th Birthday – @   Cassette Number Nine, 9 Vulcan Lane - 
FREE ENTRY Five bands hand selected by Cheese on Toast head-honcho Andrew Tidball to play for FREE at this, the centre-point event of the Birthday Festival Surf City / Brand New Math / Trees Climbing Trees / Los Hories / Prince Diana. This is also the launch of the new band-club night called MUM at this swanky new venue, Cassette Number Nine in Vulcan Lane, Auckland Central.

COT5 # 5  
Saturday 6th  Dec: – Shifting City Sound Plains Midday Sound Walk
followed by concert and Midnight Sound Walk Sam Hamilton, James McCarthy, Phil Dadson and Sam Morrison. More details TBA

COT5 # 6 
Saturday 6th  Dec:  Quay Street Social Club presents:
CHEESE STREET  SOCIAL CLUB @ – Coherent 262 K Rd11pm Quay Street Social Club has over the past two and half years become one of the best parties in Auckland with the resident DJs playing an eclectic mix of everything you want to dance to! Since Andrew from Cheese on Toast DJs there – we had to include this party! Tidball VS Bex-In-Effects w/ special guest Jizzmatron $10 entry – free Jager shot if you are early enough!

COT5 # 7  
Thursday 11th  Dec: – Craftwerk @ St. Kevin’s Arcade, K’Rd 6pm Cheese on Toast has been a proud supporter of the alternative craft fair from day one – and is very pleased to include this very special Craftwerk in our program of events.

COT5 # 8  
Thursday 11th   Dec: – Homos on Toast -– Sohomo vs Cheese on Toast – 4:20, K’Rd 9pm (door charge applies) Andrew Tidball takes on all the other Sohomo Resident DJs in a DJ battle and a gay ol’ time!

COT5 #9
  Friday 12th  Dec: – Blondie Has More Fun –- Blondie Tribute Night - 8 bands @ Whammy, St Kevin’s Arcade 9pm FREE ENTRY Cheese on Toast head honcho Andrew Tidball’s first record he owned was Parallel Lines by Blondie when he was 10. It seemed fitting then, that 9 local independent bands be invited to perform, cover and re-interpret Blondie songs – and you get to vote who you think is the best – the winning bands get rewarded with a bar tab kindly donated by Whammy.

COT5 # 10 
Saturday 13th Dec: – Cheese On Toast  SAUSAGE FO’  SIZZLE – Wine Cellar, St Kevin’s Arcade 6pm Free entry; Profits from Sausages to Auckland City Mission for Xmas! We thought, it’s time to take it easy at the Wine Cellar – with two BBQs – OF sausages -  one meat; one non-meat and some more amazing music. Acts confirmed are VIETNAM WAR, DIAMONDS & DIRT, TOURETTES, and WILDWOOD LIGHTS

COT5 # 11 
Sunday 14 Dec – from Ontario, Canada, HOLY F**K – 4:20, K’Rd 8.30pm $30 Tickets / Door fee applies Cheese on Toast in very proud association with Strange News and Galesburg is extremely excited to present the highly acclaimed experimental/improv electronica/rock band from Ontario, Canada. For further Info Check out: - www.cheeseontoast.co.nz