On the beat: NZ music industry wrap | Stuff.co.nz

MIKE ALEXANDER

Jessie G is Bulletproof

Move over Jessie J, Jessie G is in the house. Auckland glamour girl Jessie Gurunathan has made her first music video. The multi-talented DJ, who also runs production company Fish'n'Clips, steps it up a notch in the video for Bulletproof's hit-in-waiting Dub Me Crazy, which also features her on vocals. "It was a bit nerve-wracking shooting the video because the public knows me for my reality TV appearances but doesn't know that making music is my dream,? I'm grateful to all the people like Jay and PNC who have taken a risk with me," she says. Jessie G, her nickname since she was 11, is the stage name Gurunathan goes by since she made her recording debut on PNC's The Flame earlier this year. Future projects include an EP under her own name before the end of the year.? Gurunathan is working with Kids In Space, Bulletproof and PNC on material for the release.

Dukes of Hollywood

Christchurch band Dukes are playing Brad Pitt's tune.? A 40-second loop of the instrumental intro to Come Clean is being used in the trailer to Pitt's latest movie Moneyball. "When Brad invites us to hang out with Angelina and the kids, our band will be complete and fulfilled," Matt Barus says. "It? took only 40 seconds of looped madness! Actuall,y the song is also being used in a little Canadian movie too. We want a Peter Jackson film next." They might well get the call even if Sir Peter, the Lord of the Rings, just wants the royal patronage of Dukes. With a video of the year award already tucked under their belts, their latest feast for the ears and eyes Secrets is a gem, featuring a stunning Martin Horspool creation -iktor a lonely robot, who "still pines for the girl even though she only just trashed his miniscule robotic heart". "We thought he'd be a mad tinkerer but he's a lovely Welshman. He makes the robots out of? '50s and '60s electrical junk etc.? They're called Retrobots. We'd seen some for sale at Deus ex Machina cafe and didn't realise they were his babies."

Clancy's bank account

Miriam Clancy's attempt to open a bank account in the US recently took on Monty Pythonish proportions.? The Kiwi songwriter dropped into a Bank of America branch for what she thought would be a routine procedure.? She hadn't reckoned on LaKeysha, the teller. The script went something like this:

Teller: "What do you do?"
Clancy: "I'm a singer."
Teller: "Oh, do you do good vocals?"
Clancy: "Uh yeah, I'm okay.''
Teller: ''Give us a demonstration!''
Clancy: ''No, I'm good.''
Teller: ''You really need to be more spontaneous.''
Clancy: ''Um, not in a bank thanks.''
Teller: ''Our manager does it all the time. He sings to the customers. You have to be spontaneous to be a singer.''
Clancy: ''Really? Can I just open my account?''
Teller: ''Only if you sing first.''?

The upshot was Clancy needed to provide more information and had to make another appointment the following day. "I still love the US," she says.? "I have been here only a week so the jury is still out on how it's going." Clancy is working her way up the east coast of the US to New York where she will begin recording a new album with Chris Coady, who was recently nominated by the Guardian as one of? the next 10 generation producers. Click here.

Flip's a cover girl

Flip Grater is on the cover of Rolling Stone. One of the Kiwi singer'songs Careful was part of a cover giveaway CD in a recent issue of Rolling Stone Germany. "When the issue came out I was in Hamburg so I went to the local music shop. The guy told me they had the new issue but he looked confused that I wanted a copy and said, 'you know it's only in German ya?' I said, 'Yeah, it's OK I only want the cover'." Grater, who has been in Europe collaborating with different artists on new material, is currently in Italy house-sitting for a friend, who is the cellar master of a local winery in Piedmont. "I've been getting lots of writing done, making friends with locals and tasting plenty of Barbaresco." She returns to New Zealand in October to promote her new cookbook and join the ever-evolving line-up for the Fly My Pretties tour. Click here.

Bonjah is bonza

Bonjah fans can breathe a sigh of relief.? The band's name has nothing at all to do with Bon Jovi. ''As far as I know, the guys were throwing around some random words one day while driving in Tauranga and Bonjah seemed to stick,''? drummer Dan Chisolm says.? Nominated by ifRolling Stone nfAustralia as one of the bands to watch in 2011, the Tauranga lads took the road less travelled whenthey uprooted and moved to Australia five years ago. ''Australia was close enough to New Zealand that it didn't seem like a big move for us,'' Chisolm says. ''We wanted to live off playing music and favoured Melbourne because it has a pretty large population and plenty of culture. The music scene is massive over here and everyone gets behind local music. Every second bar seems to have a live band cranking in it We have had so many opportunities from being over here. In saying that, it has been hard work. We had to start from scratch. In the first four years we pretty much lived in our van. We toured our asses off, slept on a lot of random couches and had a diet consisting of dry Weet-Bix and tuna.'' Bonjah are back home in late September to tour their new album Go Go Chaos. Click here.

- Sunday Star Times

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/5436523/On-the-beat-NZ-music-industry-wrap

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