More Info →City Band Rakes Up an Original Sound

Description: This image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 9th October 1991.

"The Dunedin sound is boring. It's time we started picking up on some new things." These brave words come from Rake, a Palmerston North band who've grabbed the American hard core sound by the scruff of the neck and thrown in just about every other noise a grunge guitar can make.

According to vocalist Graeme Galyer, the sound of the deep south was pretty much a myth to begin with. "Even in Dunedin, there's a lot of new things going down -- bands like Axel Grinders or Rampant that sound nothing like the early Dunedin material. Hopefully we're reaching a point where people can look about the New Zealand music scene and see there's a lot of other things happening as well."

Guitarist Lon Teal agrees: "In Auckland the scene up there seems to be taking a lot from the international sound at the moment. Bands like EMP and Pop Will Eat Itself are influencing a lot of bands." So what is the sound of Rake? "Well, there's an ugly rumour going around that we sound like Big Black" says Teal. "We're a lot looser than that, but that's the way we're labelled, the image that comes across."

Like many American hard-core bands, Rake tend to play at the upper end of the pain threshold. They also just happened to be playing when rioting broke out at a local venue. "There's a lot of bands who cater for this 'nice music' market anyway. When we play, the real enthusiasts stay and everyone else leaves" says Teal. "Sure the last time we played there was a riot, but I'm not sure if that was due to us, or the skinheads from out of town.

According to drummer Brent Gemmill, the band play loud to create the particular sound they're after. "We have certain preferences with the sounds we like. The guitars have to be loud to achieve that sound, and it tends to build up. So we end up with this crazy, warped noise. It feels good."

Rake will be playing with Wild Honey Pie and Silent Scream at The Stomach on Saturday night as part of the Dynamite Groove series. The Dynamite Groove compilation of Palmerston North bands will be released on CD later this month.

As for their own recording plans, they have about 10 original songs which they hope to record at Wellington's Writhe Studios, for release on CD through Palmerston North's Yellow Bike label.

[Pictured] Rake is (from left) Brent Gemmill, Graeme Galyer, Paul Hirst and Lon Teal. They play the Stomach on Saturday. (Photo by Dionne Ward)."