XMAS 08 update

Its been a cool family Xmas this year =)

On the band front we have secured a new guitarist - chur Aaron (welcome to the band!). Aaron has come out of local band SILLY and will no doubt be making his presence felt in both new material and our live performance in the very near future! Onwards and upwards!

HANGMAN is set to play our first South Island shows in April 09 taking in Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Lyttleton. Check our site for dates and details www.hangmanmusic.co.nz

HANGMAN searching for new guitarist

After 2 years and many ups and downs our guitarist Mike is moving on so HANGMAN is on the prowl! Best of luck to Mike and his endeavours, its an amicable split =)

MIKE @ KA - JULY 08

HANGMAN funky jam at Totara Park =)

DMC NZ 2004 - MANCHOO

This routine is quite possibly the illest DMC performance to date in the NZ DMC competition period ! Well maybe Alphabetheads 03 winning routine was better but I can only go on memory with that 1 =P Heres the evidence of DJ Manchoo's 04 blast:

HANGMAN on Pacific Beat Street

The Pacific Beat Street crew were kind enough to give us some airtime!

This segment is from the episode that aired on Saturday Oct 18th - Chur =)

UPDATE - NEW SITE! NEW GOVERNMENT! ETC

Kia ora,
Well NZ has a new government as of Saturday 8th but what I'm more shocked at is the fact that 600,000 eligible voters didn't bother to! WTF! Unused rights get taken away people! People have and continue to shed their blood for the right to vote around the world and 600,000 Kiwis have this right in their laps and didnt bother to - aaarrghhh!!!

On a brighter note, HANGMAN has a new official site. Thanks heaps to Kristina for its creation =)

Check out www.hangmanmusic.co.nz

Peace.

MIKEY ROCKWELL "FREE SLAVES"

Check out this LP for some fresh original hip hop from Aotearoa! Hip hop needs more of this stuff =) Album name "FREE SLAVES"

www.myspace.com/mikeyrockwell

LAST TOUR SHOW - AWESOME! =)

Last night we wrapped up the tour with a show in Raglan (Waikato) and it was OFF THE HOOK! Thanks so much to Peter, The Yot Club, Easy (for last minute stand in support!) and MC Mikey Rockwell for jamming too =)

The tour has been great - not without its mishaps and bummers but thats life - good and bad experiences are ultimately all good cos they make ya stronger and teach ya tings regardless!

Heres a few more pics

HANGMAN
EASY

HANGMAN, PETER, MIKEY ROCKWELL

Damn, I started to get that 'forcefield' feeling where your music and energy is geling so intensely both within the band and with the audience that you feel indestructible - needless to say it feels mean! BRING ON THOSE BIG STAGES LOL!

TAI TOKERAU Tour leg

PEOPLE WILL PREVAIL TOUR GROUP:
HANGMAN & PAYOLA - Friday Oct 17th 2008 @ Central Hotel

Man - awesome time in DARGAVILLE for real! Great people, music and times @ Central Hotel in Dargaville on Friday night. Bigups to DAVE for supporting, Craig and the Central Hotel and the peeps of Dargaville - we'll be back for sure =)

DAVE


PAYOLA

CRIPPLE MR ONION!

DAMN, these dudes are phat! I dont know why more NZ bands that are different, phat and original don't get more exposure, its a fucking crime! I mean, I respect (and dare I say even like=0) Elemeno and some other mainstream bands but when it comes to sheer 'balls to be out there' they cant touch this shit!

PEOPLE WILL PREVAIL UPDATE

Last week HANGMAN + PAYOLA hit Auckland city, Pukekohe, National Park, Mount Maunganui and Rotovegas -
It was a blast! Great gigs, no sleep, beautiful scenery and just getting out of the city and sharing our music was the biggest joy - it should also be said that theres nothing better to help a band bond than to spend back to back days n nights together on a mission! =)

Was cool to watch Payola too - they rocked it hard in the Mount especially! Chur Brewers =)

And a big thanks to all the peeps that came out and checked the shows!!!

33

IM 33RPMS ON SUNDAY! =P

Getting long in the tooth but feeling good yo! =)

GEARING UP FOR TOUR! =)

HANGMAN hits the road for 8 dates next month:
Auckland - Rising Sun , FRI OCT 3RD
Pukekohe - Harvest Bar, SAT 4TH (FREE!)
National Park - Schnapps Bar, THURS 9TH
Mount Maunganui - Brewers Bar, FRI 10TH
Rotovegas - Barbarellas, SAT 11TH
Dargaville (yup!) - Central Hotel, FRI 17TH
Whangarei - The Ballroom, SAT 18TH
Raglan - Yot Club, FRI 24TH

All gigs are with Payola and local supports in each town.

SUPPORT US IN OUR QUEST PEOPLE!!! =)

NEW METALLICA ALBUM

FUCKING MASSIVE!!!
Im loving it people - I havent listened to an album from beginning to end 6 times in 1 week for longer than I can remember =)

Its like the best 80's era thrash, with new school groove and production (especially as its the 1st LP with Trujillo on bass) and just a phat raw grenade up the back passage to be blunt .

Thumbs up from me - HARD!

* except the 1st single and video is my least favourite song on there and video is chhesey as - but dont be fooled, the album is mint!

Some classic Metallica! =)

ITS BEEN A WHILE

Heres a quick update:

HANGMAN released new EP called 'Trade Goods' - yaayuh :)

Booked for January 09 Parihaka Fest - MAIN STAGE SAT JAN 10TH - Yaayuh :)

Tour next month with fellow Ak band PAYOLA - yaayuhh :)

HANGMAN won Best Alternative category at recent Acoustic Edge awards at Harvest Bar in Pukekohe - yaayuh :)

BUSY EXCITING TIMES - yaayuh

UPDATE JULY 30TH

Its been ages since I wrote on this thing - damn, I gotta admit - Im struggling to really see the value in this blog thing. Do I just spout off shit and think theres someone willing to read it or what?
I hear of these people getting popular with a million hits day and all that - how? why?

Oh well...

Things have been hectic - HANGMAN solidifying our new line-up and preparing for a 5 day studio session in a few weeks, all the while playing shows and writing. Everything all at once simultaneously with too little time and energy - at least the band operates like life right!?

My little girl is off to school next week - no longer a baby. Wow - I feel old and great about it all at the same time - a blessing.

Just watched an awesome doco about Maori publishing history on Maori TV - I gotta say that Maori TV is awesome - such a great range of things to see, hear, and learn from. Nga mihi nui rawa ki a koutou rau rangatira ma!

HANGMAN has a youtube channel - www.youtube.com/hangmanNZ - peep it!

PEACE :)

UPDATE! June 10th

HANGMAN welcomes Seth Suter into the band on Voclas and Guitar - hell maybe some Sax too as he plays that aswell! Seth has been our soundie since October last year and a damn good one at that! BUT we think he'll be even better utilised as a vocalist and 2nd guitarist which is a testament to his skills for real!!!

We intend to drop a few singles between September 08 - February 09 so keep yo eyes and ears peeled!

Visit www.myspace.com/hangmanbandnz to school yourself on our steez! :)

LYRICS BORN

Loving the new LYRICS BORN album right now! "Everywhere At Once" is the title people, cop it!!!
:)

ROLLINS 'PROVOKED' GIG

Oh yeah, went and saw Henry Rollins a couple weeks back. It was pretty damn good!

Ive never experienced someone talk non-stop for 3 hours straight without wanting to kill myself haha

:)

HANGMAN RECORDING PLANS

Its high time we got some new shit out there so the plan is to release a new EP in October (I know thats ages away but hey its hard work yo!)

Since our last official recorded release (Raw Materials EP) in August 07, we have a new drummer and vocalist and some new songs so it will be good to get this new sound down and roll it out!

We just played New Plymouth in the weekend and it was dead - most sobering and gutting and ratshit - damn, thats 1 hard town! :/

On an even worse note : The support band didnt show or even contact us!!! WTF! Not even a last minute 'sorry we can't make it' courtesy. Needless to say, we'll never again deal with KOALITION from Wanganui! Damn, in 13 years of involvement in the live music scene Ive never experienced a band just no show with no word. Out of it...

Peace! :)

DIARY ENTRY

Damn, its been full on.
HANGMAN just played Coromandel and a private gig in Auckland this past weekend.
We also now do not have a keyboardist so need to regroup and refocus with only Drums, Bass, Guitar & Vocals (all good though, the best bands have become legendary with the same line-up - why can't we?!).
NZ Music month looming up and we are playing gigs in Pukekohe, Auckland and New Plymouth during that time.
Im DJing an old school hip hop night at Rakinos on May 17th also aswell as hosting a school bands gig at Mt Roskill Library on that day too!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Chur :)

LAST LEG - FOR NOW! :-) :-( :-/

Damn, crazy week!
Have a wicked flu :( , played a wicked gig :) , and its really hectic at school as next weeks the last week of the term so heaps of work to get through!

HANGMAN played Pukekohe last night - acoustically (a first) . To be honest I was kinda shitting myself not knowing how it would go down - after all, we're a hardout energetic funky rock band so we were well out of our comfort zone. It all turned out mean and we got one of the best reactions yet! Sold some CDs, got invited back, the whole shebang! Unbelievable (and awesome lol)
Thanks to Todd, Acoustic Edge, Harvest Bar and all those that turned out! :) Check them out at www.myspace.com/acousticedge

Also, hopefully doing a gig with the legendary DAM NATIVE in July, so looking forward to that hard!

Chur

UPDATE

Been busy as per.
HANGMAN is really cooking , doing some good shows and garnering great feedback and support. Grinding!!! :)

Traded my Rane 56 mixer for a Stanton SA-8 (for the DJs out there). Lovin it :) Hoping to record a mix asap for a promo CD alongside DJ Mike Smith (also guitarist of HANGMAN - 2 DJs in 1 rock band - could be a 1st people!?)

Enjoying my work as a teacher @ Marcellin College. Im thinking I may upgrade my quals in the next year or 2 to be qualified to teach history to Year 13. Really love the subject and want to be able to do it more!

My daughter Maria turned 10 yesterday which brought on a mild case of mid-life crisis LOL! Its buzzy to know I have a child in the double digits - shit and I barely feel like an adult myself! :)

HANGMAN GIG TONIGHT

HANGMAN busting out an hour set @ Clockwork Studios in Ellerslie tonight. (The studio doubles as a small venue)
Our 4th gig with Paulie (new drummer) and all going well so far :-)
The gig is being multi-track recorded so hopefully we get a few nice live tracks out of it too!

HANGMAN IN GROOVE GUIDE

Pick up a copy of Street Mag, Groove Guide (if in NZ) this week and get a HANGMAN update!

MAORI - Crisis and Challenge

Ive nearly finished reading Alan Duff's (Once Were Warriors, One Night Out Stealing) 'MAORI: Crisis and the Challenge' - damn, what an interesting read. Duff (never one to mince words) basically challenges Maori (and especially Maori leaders) to quit blaming the past and the 'white man' for his own problems and embrace education, self motivation, discipline and modern values to raise himself (ourselves) out of the doldrums of poor housing, high crime, low education, poor health etc etc.

To be honest, I find myself agreeing with many of his ideas and indictments - as the saying goes "You can't fix a problem you don't own" ie. Maori have to accept our own fair share of the blame for our predicament and make steps to fix 'our' problems.

Anyway, its a good read - you may not agree with everything or even anything he says but its worth reading anyway for a side of the story and viewpoint seldom expressed in this PC day and age...

New Skool Music Biz

Okay I'm pretty thoroughly convinced now...

I'm finding myself reiterating what has been talked about for a long while now - the record companies are on their death beds! Who needs em? Anyone with half a brain, motivation, determination and some people and tech skills can do their own shit now...The only thing a record company can possibly offer now is capital (less and less). BUT if thats all they can do for you then find another source yo! Theres cheaper places/ people to borrow money from if need be...
What surprises me now though is how many people I run into/ know that are still harping on about getting signed! IMO, waste of time even thinking along that route - thats the old way that we've all been pre-conditioned to.

My rant for the day...

1st HANGMAN gig with Paulie tomorrow...

HANGMAN play our first show with our new drummer Paulie tomorrow @ Massey Uni (Albany). Im excited and nervous all in one - new member and first gig in about 6 weeks (a long time for us).
Im even more excited about the new material we've got brewing !
Can't wait to get it jammed out and recorded...

Chur

Getting Started With Reviewing!

I received my first batch of CDs to review for Back 2 Basics magazine today:

CHINGY - Hate It or Love It
CHASM - Beyond the Beat Tape
J WELLS - Digital Master 2
SCEPTIC & DSEEVA - Hip Hop Psykosis
FOREIGN BEGGARS - Asylum Agenda

One of these albums has got me all excited about listening to and enjoying hip hop again so Im stoked! Can you guess which one? You'll have to check out my reviews in the next issue!

LOVING HENDRIX!

I have a new found love for Jimi's music - damn - its got everything I like in music; Rock, Funk, Feel, Weirdness, Odd lyrics - the works!
Favourite tracks have to be; Red House, Manic Depression, Castles Made of Sand and Little Wing - brilliant.
How did I ever sort of, well, pass Hendrix over? :-0

Community Events

Im DJing this Saturday @ Mangere Pools 1-2pm. Check it out! Its free...

TEACHING AGAIN

I'm back teaching this year, part-time at Marcellin College here in Auckland. Year 9 and 10 Social Studies with a couple of Music periods - loving it I must say!
Great to be back at Marcellin College too (where it all began...). I'm really digging and appreciating the community vibe there between the staff, students and community.
I'll be involved with extra curricular music activities such as Rockquest, Pasifika Beats and Music Month too which will be fun.
Mean! :-)...

HANGMAN HAPPENINGS

My band HANGMAN has entered our 2nd year of existence and things are humming yo! But you know, bands are like family - they have their ups and downs and challenges. Hey Im prone to bouts of stress and worry here and there (it comes with the territory) but overall I can't complain and feel blessed :-)...
So far we're booked to play in Auckland, Pukekohe, Whangarei, Rotorua, New Plymouth, the Mount and Wellington this year, including a couple of Orientation gigs here in Ak soon (we already played Parihaka Festival and New Plymouth in Jan) and a set at the Onehunga Festival on Sat April 5th - its great to have the opportunity to play outdoor free community gigs - loving it :-)
Paulie is our new drummer and is making his prescence felt yes sir!
Check out our myspace page at www.hangman.org.nz

Feb 13 2008

My first blog entry yaayuh!

Off to DJ @ Vanilla real soon - have you been there? well me and MC Bling been holding down Wednesday nights there for nearly 4 years. In all honesty I havent really rocked the party there in ages because I kinda went off the commercial hip hop buzz that it requires (not that I was ever really into it but I didnt mind it there for a minute!)

Gots ta go, peace.

D