The Axemen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Axemen.
 This article's tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (November 2010)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)
The Axemen

The Axemen
Background information
Origin Christchurch and South Dunedin, New Zealand
Genres Indie rock, rock rock, punk
Years active 1983–present
Labels Sleek Bott, Flying Nun, Siltbreeze
Members
Bob Brannigan, Steve McCabe, Stu Kawowski
Past members
Dragan Stojanonovic, Johnny Segovia, George D.Henderson, Mick Elborado

The Axemen is a New Zealand band formed around 1981 in protest against the South African Springbok rugby team tour of New Zealand, a tour which created great controversy, especially as was in contradiction to New Zealand's obligations under the Gleneagles Agreement.

The Axemen played in Chch Cathedral 1981 in response to the Springbok tour.

They also played at the protests for homosexual law reform in 1983, with member Little Stevie McCabe being severely beaten up in the Cathedral Square, Christchurch, toilets.

The Axemen's founding members, Bob Brannigan, Little Stevie McCabe and Stu Kawowski had played in various bands, apart and together, in the South Island cities of Christchurch and Dunedin, but cohesed in reaction to Sprinkbok rugby tour.

Before Bob Brannigan and Steve McCabe met, Steve was playing in a two-piece band at Cashmere High School called The Gorillas with Peter Rees, evolving comix maestro and classical guitarist.

Brannigan and McCabe met through a mutual friend and played gigs in Christchurch and Dunedin under many names including The Whining Plums, Hey, We're Wolves and The Twins in the early '80s. It was at a Twins gig at the notorious Empire Tavern in Dunedin in 1983 where Stu Kawowski was first unable to control himself and leapt on stage to commandeer the bongoes, instantly adding another dimension to the unit.

Art School Photography graduate, photography guru, filmmaker, artist,[1] promotional maverick and explosives expert Kawowski was playing drums with Above Ground, Bill Direen's band at the time he met the other members of the Axemen and soon 'joined' the Axemen as a permanent fixture.

Brannigan, McCabe and Kawowski remain to this day the 'core' of the Axemen, however many New Zealand musicians played with them over the years as guest / transient / semi-permanent members, making their influence and the influences they assimilated (like the borg) an important breeding ground and virtual swap-meet of ideas and influence in Kiwi music circles.

In February 2009, US record label Siltbreeze re-released the Axemen's 1984 protest album :Big Cheap Motel" [2] on 12" vinyl. Originally the album was released as a cassette packaged in a small bubble-sleeve with a straw, mimicking the milk drink "Big M" that the album was aimed at. The Axemen were invited to play at Christchurch's "Summertimes" Festival in January 1984, a public music stage set up in Hagley Park. The band was shocked by the large-scale sexist "Big M" advertising surrounding the main stage, and decided to write a suite of protest songs about how the Christchurch City Council had "sold out" to the "Big M" sexist marketing. The Axemen recorded the concert, as well as studio versions of their songs and released a 45 min cassette entitled, "Big Cheap Motel" [3]

A four piece Axemen (McCabe, Brannigan, Kawowski & Stojanovic) toured USA extensively for 5 weeks Oct/Nov 2009, opening for "Times New Viking" (Matador Records). Starting out on the West Coast in Sacramento Oct 27, travelling down the West Coast, across the South, up the east to New York then heading west and ending in Chicago on Nov 28. The band played 26 shows and covered approx 7,000 miles on the tour. AXEMEN 2009 USA TOUR MAP

Currently the Axemen are preparing digital audio masters for a re-issue of double 12" vinyl album "Three Virgins :: Three Versions :: Three Visions" on Siltbreeze late 2010. This album was originally released on New Zealand label Flying Nun Records in 1985. The first pressing was 667 copies made at the now closed EMI pressing plant in Lower Hutt, NZ. A mint copy of the 1985 vinyl was "needle drop" transferred to digital files at Shadoks Music Studio, Amrum, Germany. Then it was mastered at Fir International, Zaandam, Netherlands, and lacquers cut at Prairie Cat Mastering, Belvidere, IL 61008 USA. The vinyl was pressed at Record Technology Inc., Camarillo, CA 93012-8090, USA. The re-release will be happening May/June 2011.


Contents

[edit] Roll-call of Members

Bob Brannigan currently plays in Shaft, the band he formed with Stu Kawowski, Johnny Segovia and Danny Mañeto in Auckland 1992 before summarily firing them. (Kawowski, Segovia and Mañeto are no longer in the lineup, which is ever-changing but is currently made up of members of The Situations).

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c [1], SHUSTAK: STUART PAGE, 2009
  2. ^ http://nlnzcat.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=6&ti=1,6&Search%5FArg=axemen&SL=None&Search%5FCode=FT%2A&CNT=25&PID=X9mU2-KVjUu8elEjXmvO8jXC6q&SEQ=20090308150741&SID=1
  3. ^ Collett, H. (1984). p. 34, "Adverts inspire Axemen", NEW ZEALAND TIMES. 4 November 1984

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Axemen&oldid=458750266"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export