Studio lures busy Dub
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Life continues to be hectic for Christchurch dance/rock band Salmonella Dub. No sooner have the group returned from an Australian tour during which they supported the Cruel Sea than they are back at work on a new album.
"Paddy Free from Pitch Black has been in the studio with the band this week, and (Britain's) David Harrow is due to fly in around Christmas to commence work on the arrangements," says group member Andrew Penman.
Salmonella Dub are planning to join Harrow and his Technova Sound System to play a street party in Kaikoura for New Year's Eve and the Gathering the next day, as well as a concert with Harrow and the Mad Professor in Christchurch in mid-January.
Meanwhile, they are playing at the Harbour Light Theatre Cafe-Bar on Thursday with special guests Parsec and several DJs. A bus service to Lyttelton and back will leave from outside the Java Coffee House at 9pm.
Trance dance: DJ Flux, of Nelson, organiser of the Gathering dance events, is joining Christchurch counterparts in a night billed as "high-octane trance" at the Ministry nightclub tomorrow. With him will be Kinesis, Pyre, Captain Shiner, and Lunatik. Presale tickets are available at Galaxy Records.
Eighties explosion: For those who have had enough of the 70s revival, the Green Room is hosting an 80s house party on Thursday. "Warning: tacky lighting, wild house tunes, exhibition dancing, and dance contests are involved," says owner Pam Niskanen. Costumes are optional.
Indie endeavours: Indie music labels kRkRkRk and Solaphonic are presenting two eclectic nights at the Provincial today and tomorrow featuring acts such as Thee Strap.Ons (rhythm and blues, cabaret) and Anastasia and Her Incredible Organ (Hammond organ antics). An analogue synth frenzy is promised by The Organisation tomorrow as part of the keyboards-only night. The Organisation's line-up includes members of The Drawing Room, The Terminals, and the Hi-Tone Destroyers.
House-proud Hurley: Singer-songwriter Luke Hurley is emerging from life as a house-husband in the North Island for a Christchurch engagement at the Green Room on Wednesday.
Hurley says that he likes to focus on his songs when it comes to publicising his career.
"I notice that lots gets written about musicians, but I despair of finding info about the songs they write," he says. "My personal life is dull. There is not much worth writing about."
However, Hurley takes special pride in his guitar technique, which he describes as "strumbass". "(This) involves strumming and plucking out bass lines at the same time. It's a unique style, and it took me the best part of 20 years to refine it."
Small steps out: Australian singer-songwriter Judy Small has returned for a three-date tour of New Zealand which includes a gig at the Harbour Light Theatre Cafe-Bar today.
Small this year released a new compilation of her songs (Never Turning Back), and is also issuing an album of gay and lesbian songs tentatively titled Out and Proud.
She has been described in the Canadian press as a "cheerfully incurable political malcontent, human rights activist, peace crusader, and gritty social critic".