Drill/I Have No Idea: Issue 1 of international magazine

Powertool Records releases issue 1 of international magazine

New Zealand’s Powertool Records is very excited to announce the next step in NZ-US relations: the first issue of Drill/I Have No Idea magazine - two magazines in one!

Drill, a quarterly music magazine published by Powertool Records and now in its 9th year, has teamed up with I Have No Idea, produced by Crazy Caveman Productions in the US, to create a truly trans-national music venture. Each magazine covers attention-worthy artists from the indie/underground scenes in both New Zealand and Los Angeles, and a tasty album is available help bring the articles to life. The magazine is FREE, while the album is a highly reasonable $10. Amongst the New Zealand artists on the CD are Nick Raven, Come Down Kid, Gold Medal Famous and Sandra Bell, with US representation courtesy of Rough Church, Seasons, Black Watch and Arrica Rose plus many more.

The US launch party, Best Bands of Los Angeles, was held on February 16 at the American Legion, with Seasons, The Black Watch, Greg Franco’s Rough Church and other LA-based bands celebrating the birth of the ‘zine.

A New Zealand launch party will be announced shortly – stay tuned to Powertool’s Facebook page for the announcement.

Kiwiphile Greg Franco is the man behind I Have No Idea. Born in Los Angeles and raised musically in the LA '90s music scene, Greg Franco has shared bills with artists such as Beck, Possum Dickson, Perry Farrell and Lutefisk.

Powertool Records, based in Auckland, New Zealand, is a boutique label with an impressive roster, featuring mostly New Zealand-based artists but also a good swag of internationals from the USA, the UK, Canada and Finland. Established in 2002 by music lover and serial gig-goer Andrew Maitai, releases include the ‘Here Come the Bulletholes’ series, plus CDs (and vinyl) by the likes of Bill Direen/The Bilders, Vorn, Brother Love, One Man Bannister/The Changing Same (Matthew Bannister, ex-Sneaky Feelings), Come Down Kid, Transcendental Learning Collective, Nick Raven, Robert Scott (The Bats), Sandra Bell, Gold Medal Famous and many more. International releases include records by Rough Church (Greg Franco), Azalia Snail, The Black Watch, Sparrow (Jason Zumpano) and Lord Bishop – many of whom have also toured here.
As a special appetiser for you, here are two tracks from the sampler for your listening pleasure:

Vorn 'A Safe Pair of Hands'
http://powertoolrecords.bandcamp.com/track/vorn-a-safe-pair-of-hands
Some words about Vorn:
Simon Sweetman wrpte, “[Vorn] Colgan is one of this country’s greatest songwriters, never cloying or faux-romantic; these are direct songs; honest, cynical, sincere, hilarious and in many cases ridiculously catchy.”
Grant Smithies concurred – “Here’s a man capable of wringing great pop from the bleaker aspects of modern urban life … it’s the sharp eye for sadness that attracts me; his ability to use humour to expose pain, his affection for the underdogs.”

The Black Watch “Meg”
"The Black Watch is an absolute psych/janglepop treasure," Michael Toland of Trouser Press observed in the band's entry for that immortal indie rock resource, having seen the band play no less than three shows at the 2010 SXSW Music Conference.

ENDS

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