Shaft

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Shaft have been a band since 1991.

Before that, Bob Cardy (who went by the name of Bob Brannigan) and Stuart Page (who went by the name of Stu Kowalski) had spent 8 years playing with one of New Zealand's--in fact one of the world's--most unique musical minds, LITTLE STEVIE McCABE, in one of the most strange bands ever, the AXEMEN. Check out their myspace.

In those 8 years Bob had grown from being a slightly disturbed young man who didn't know how to play an instrument, was too scared to sing, and dreamed of one day writing "a" song, to being a slightly more disturbed older man who felt he had sufficient grasp of the musical technique and emotional range of his heroes Hank Williams, Bo Diddley, the Beatles and Stevie McCabe to squelch his fear and write hundreds of songs. Stu, meanwhile, had continued his development as a visual artist, boldly screenprinting and photographing his way through the 80s and directing some of the best music-videos of his time. Check out Stu's myspace, NOISYLAND.

Bob and Stu were joined by lead-guitarist John Segovia (a long-time musical mate from Christchurch, whose bands included the authentic country and western trio the Connoisseurs and the wildly rockin' Axel Grinders) and bass-player Danny "Speedy" Maneto (the mound of sound behind umpteen years of Voom).

This lineup recorded 3 songs on Shaft's first album, POOTY, in engineer-extraordinaire "Z" Bob Frisbee's Frisbee studio. In the early 90s, Frisbee was THE place to practise, record, plot, scheme, meet likeminded and not-so-likeminded others and generally further the process of becoming yet more disturbed. Z Bob himself had sonic skills like no other and thought nothing of talking orchestral musicians, a trained concert pianist, a sitar player and a bagpiper and still others into participating in the POOTY sessions.

In the mid90s, just as Frisbee itself changed, moving several times, always relocating within the inner Auckland area, once at a former Kiwi bacon factory, another time at a former bank, so too did Shaft change. Danny left to concentrate on Steam and Voom. The remaining trio scored a tasty residency at Queen Street's Temple, playing laid-back numbers while the punters dined, then revving up and rocking and rolling after the band itself had dined and the plates were all put away. Stu went to work for a while in Europe, and his replacement, Rich Mixture, would remain a key member of Shaft for the next 10 years. Not only did he play the drums like a superhero, Rich could play guitar, bass and keyboards, sing beautifully, and knew much more than just a thing or two about arranging and creating a song. Check out the myspace for MIXTURE.

The rest of POOTY was recorded with Rich at Frisbee in the bank on Symonds Street. This was the "Leisure Lounge" Frisbee, famous for its many gigs and its actual bank-vault practise rooms, homes away from home for bands like Nothing At All!, the Rainy Days, and Mary. (The song "Kein Essen" on Shaft's next album OPEN SESAME was almost definitely recorded about this time.) Z Bob lived on the second floor, John Segovia on the first floor for a while, then Bob Cardy moved in and about that time a young guy from Napier called Tony "Pants" Rush also moved in. Rich had been playing all the bass on the recordings but since Shaft planned to tour after the release of POOTY in April 1996 (on cassette!! the CD version didn't exist until the end of May) Tony became the much-needed bass-player. This lineup (Cardy, Segovia, Mixture, Rush) toured the country twice and undertook a new 6-month residency (which stretched to nearly a year) at Vulcan Lane's Occidental pub; and the same lineup recorded "I Just Wanna Have Your Baby" and "Playing With Our Selves" and released those songs (as well as live cover-versions of Larry Williams' "Slow Down" and Stevie McCabe's "Woman of Love") on their 2nd offering from John Baker's Zero label, a 4-song EP.

So much for the early years of Shaft. The years 1997-2004 will be dissected soon.

(Sideshow Bob: check out some of Bob's non-musical writing, some of which was published in Otago University's CRITIC, in Pat Faigan's JEWISH BEATLE and in the Physic Room Trust's LOG ILLUSTRATED; it has its own myspace, FUDDADADUDDADA#2.)



Meanwhile, since about the end of 2004, the band has been a 5-piece, with Bob backed up by an amazing bunch of guys from Papakura, THE SITUATIONS, who you can learn more about at their myspace.



THE DOWNHILL RACER | Directed by Stuart Page



I JUST WANNA HAVE YOUR BABY | Directed by Stuart Page



ALIVE ALIVE | Live at the Kings Arms



DOWN AT YOUR LIFE | Live at the Kings Arms



SOMEONE TO BLAME | Live at the Kings Arms



Albums by Shaft



POOTY Zero 007 (1996)



1. The Downhill Racer

2. Have You Seen Your Shadows, Baby

3. Sugar Babe

4. Out-Frankensteined

5. Golden Goose

6. Tour of Pooty

7. How Long



OPEN SESAME Lil Chief 008 (2004)



1. Ginger's Kisses

2. Cheap Candy

3. Dinah

4. Might as Well be Dumb

5. Livin' Pumpin' Heart

6. I Just Wanna Have Your Baby

7. I Don't Wanna Rock'n'roll Tonight* (The Donnas)

8. Scorpio Rising

9. One of Many

10. Playing With Our Selves

11. Can You Feel It (Parts 1 & 2)

12. Just Because

13. Kein Essen* (Cardy/The Borg)

14. Rosy Diamond

15. Sucking the Pig



DOWN AT YOUR LIFE Lil Chief 018 (2006)



1. My Favourite Story

2. Down At Your Life

3. Inside

4. Our Blue Hell

5. Pacific Ocean

6. Alive Alive

7. Someone to Blame

8. Got to be Strong

9. I Just Don't Know How to Live My Life

10. Three Little Pigs



All songs by R. J. Cardy except *