The physically unobtainable becomes obtainable!

  I've been asked by a few people recently where I got some of my gear, and the answer most of the time is Amazon and to a much lesser extent eBay, but the obvious problem with this is that most places will not ship electronics to New Zealand. This is where YouShop comes in.

Click to visit the YouShop site

  In an era where mail is in decline, it's still required when shipping physical items, until teleportation is finally invented, and more often than not the grass is much greener on the other side of the world. Being in such a comparatively small Country, many items are simply not released here and we don't have a saturated market like many other Countries. Sadly this means that some items always seem unobtainable, as either the brand isn't locally known, or our market just too small, or in other cases, as with the Atomos Ninja, local distributors hike up the price to often double the American price and with the exchange rate so good at the moment it simply doesn't make sense.

  NZ Post have set up depots in the US and the UK for re-shipping and distribution to New Zealand and having used the service a few times now, it truly is brilliant! The service is called YouShop, and it's free to set up. They'll even go as far as to open your packages and combine the content if it will decrease the shipping costs (if requested).

  Cameras and camera gear is now that much easier to obtain, and it would seem worth the wait. Having so far used the US depot for another Kodak Zx5, and now just having used the UK depot for an Atomos Ninja purchased on eBay UK, I find myself looking more at international sites than local sites for sourcing gear or just dreaming of ownership and lamenting my bank account.

  It's intelligent solutions like YouShop, that work to make the world a smaller place and dreams of more gear a reality. It's a service really worth considering and definitely using. Considering NZ Post announced last year that the decline in postage is forcing them to make serious changes and reduce delivery services, it's the additional services they provide which will hopefully keep them afloat.

Cheers NZ Post.

New Zealand Music Video Month - 30 June - Patea Maori Club

 Patea Maori Club had one huge local hit with Poi-E, then subsequently vanished into obscurity. The film Boy launched a revival of the song in 2010.

Patea Maori Club - Poi-E

New Zealand Music Video Month - 29 June - Concord Dawn

 Concord Dawn were a Drum n' Bass duo who found a niche in their mutual and varied musical influences making them unique and a breath of fresh air in what, at the time was a staling and saturated musical genre. Concord Dawn has been down one member for the last several years, but still going strong.

Concord Dawn - Don't Tell Me

 

  

New Zealand Music Video Month - 28 June - Loves Ugly Children

 Loves Ugly Children were another Christchurch band who signed to Flying Nun after their debut CD release Purge.

Loves Ugly Children - Personal World

New Zealand Music Video Month - 27 June - The Datsuns

 The Datsuns generated a stir early on when their first 7" was selected and played by John Peel (RIP), the UK press quickly hailed them as the 'Future of Rock' and they were quickly signed to a label.

The Datsuns - Harmonic Generator

  

New Zealand Music Video Month - 26 June - Peking Man

Peking Man were a "new wave" band formed by brother and sister Pat and Margaret Urlich. They too were short lived but had one hit single with the following

Peking Man - Room that Echoes

New Zealand Music Video Month - 25 June - Future Stupid

  Future Stupid were an awesome band who formed in Christchurch, but eventually relocated to Auckland, which forced a few line-up changes. I caught them live several times and some of the best live band photos I took were of them. Live they were raw and visceral, sadly recorded they never quite delivered or captured that same feel.

Future Stupid - Big Dumb Future

New Zealand Music Video Month - 24 June - Kora

 Kora, practically a family band with four Kora brothers, have had success after success. I was never fortunate to catch them live, but by all accounts the albums never quite captured their live intensity and passion (for a reported wide variety of music and musical influences).

Kora - Flow

 

New Zealand Music Video Month - 23 June - Push Push

 Push Push were quickly pigeon-holed as a glam hair metal band, their first single reached number one on the charts, but Trippin' was almost comical and confirmed  the stereotyping. However it was their follow up which showed the real musical promise. For their numerous years together, they only released one album.

Push Push - Song 27

Rosetta A/V - IndieGoGo funding round

  Justin Jackson is currently doing a round on IndieGoGo to get funding for his documentary project on one of my favourite bands, Rosetta. He has been following and filming Rosetta for several years now, and is looking to gain 6K in funding to complete this project.

  I'm really keen to see this completed and it's great to see so many different donation options. This is one I'll certainly be making a donation to.

Blurb:

About the Film

After being on their record label for ten years, Rosetta decides to self-finance and self-distribute their next album, "The Anaesthete,” and the future of the band hinges on the album's results. Featuring: Rosetta, Drew Juergens and Christian McKenna from Translation Loss Records, Eduardo Rivadavia of All Music, Eric Jernigan from City of Ships, illustrator Mike Wohlberg, Jesse Yanniell, Andrew Schneider, and Sean Ingram of Coalesce. 

Original score by Rosetta.

Rosetta A/V Funding Page

Rosetta A/V - Gogo Pitch Video

My Favourite Rosetta track for good measure:

UPDATE:

New Zealand Music Video Month - 22 June - The Larry Normans

 The Larry Normans are currently on an indefinite hiatus, but every time I see either Andos or Nathan I just keep planting the seed that they get back into it. Having heard the demos before they went on hiatus, the best is still to come. Although a little cheesy the following video was written, shot, directed and edited by me.

The Larry Normans - Radio Baghdad

New Zealand Music Video Month - 21 June - The Swingers

 The Swingers were rather short lived, forming in the very late 70's and disbanding in the very early 80's. Although they had a few relative hits, their entire career is summed up by the number one hit Counting the Beat which still features in TV commercials and on radio stations to this day.

The Swingers - Counting the Beat

New Zealand Music Video Month - 20 June - The Dirty Sweets

 The Dirty Sweets have been playing Auckland almost non-stop for the last several years, have received radio airplay on both The Rock and Hauraki, and just keep improving. Front man and songwriter Paul Edwards will be the first to tell you they regularly play most shows to almost empty pubs, clubs and bars, but as an audience member no matter the head count they always play as if they're in a stadium fronting hundreds of thousands. Did I mention they're friends?

The Dirty Sweets - Good As Gone

The Dirty Sweets - Monster Boogie

YouTube Vs. Indie Labels... Final Round

 This just keeps getting worse and seems like a forgone conclusion or exclusion. I touched on this on the 26th of last month HERE.

 It would seem there are more and more reports on this, but alas the only outcry is still from a select few artists and the independent labels fighting for a better deal.

 Here are a few of the articles suddenly bring this issue further into the light:

Motherboard.Vice.com - 17 June - YouTube is about to do to record labels what Amazon do to Publishers

Forbes.com - 18 June - Youtube is about to delete independent artists from its site

Ripitup.com.au - 18 June - Youtube wages war against indie artists: The Breakdown

 It also seems fitting that I'm also in the middle of a month of New Zealand Music Videos, many which were released independently or by "small" labels which will likely see some of the videos I've posted removed.

 But the other side of the coin sees this article:

Digitalmusicnews.com - 17 June - Everyone calm down. YouTube is NOT going to remove music videos

New Zealand Music Video Month - 19 June - Subtract

 Subtract formed in the 90's and immediately peaked my interest. A number of line-up changes saw the music go through a slump before finally capturing some of their live energy with their latest album Talk Minus Action Equals Nothing.

Subtract - Black September

 

 On a personal note, before Subtract started gigging around Auckland I had the pleasure of hearing them very early on, as we shared a practice room, I had previously met former Guitarist Nigel on a bus and was drawn to speak to him by his Meshuggah T-Shirt (the second person I met to like the band). Before the release of their first EP I had been taking live photos of them and was sent a pre-release copy on cassette tape. When Quench was finally released I went out and purchased a copy and to my surprise found my name in the liner notes. Many years later (2014) I found myself at their album release show for the new album and to my surprise they dedicated a song to me (Same Mistake). I've always been a big supporter and fan of this band, with the exception of the album Formula One, it just doesn't do them any justice.

New Zealand Music Video Month - 18 June - Savage

 Savage, originally a member of The Deceptikonz, achieved the first ever New Zealand platinum album in the United States with the following track.

Savage - Swing

New Zealand Music Video Month - 17 June - Shihad (Pacifier)

 Shihad started as a covers band, but quickly started writing original material. As they were trying to break into the American market the events of 9/11 forced a name change to Pacifier which some say had a detrimental result on their music. In 2004 they changed their name back to Shihad and shortly after released Love is the New Hate to rave reviews. With 8 albums and no signs of stopping they are one of NZ's most popular "heavy" bands.

Shihad - I Only Said