Letters

Rip It Up, Issue 13, 1 July 1978, Page 19

Letters

Russell Good Mt Eden

Rip It Up PO Box 5689, Auckland.

How much longer can the great bands of the South Island be ignored by the rock establishment. Anyone whose heard The Enemy or The Vamp from Dunedin or The Vauxhalls from Christchurch would realise that these bands leave shit like the Suburban Reptiles in the dust. Dunedin’s rock bands are gonna break big and you guys gonna be sorry you ignored them. Flying four bands from Auckland to Wellington Festival and ignoring The Enemy is criminal. Our day will come North Island sucks South Island rules OK. A. Pathetic Dunedin Happy birthday and for a fine magazine. There is one thing wrong with this magazine and it could ruin it. You wanna know what the fault is basically, Neville, and his shitarse column. Why don’t you show him the boot. I’m sure me and a lot of other ‘concerned’ readers would appreciate it. One last word, we’ve had enough of English new wave, could you please give us some high class New York acts, eg Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television etc. Mike Thornton Papakura Poured a little Scotch into my cup started to write to rip it up But who’d want to read about where I’ve been even in a free magazine Chorus: There’s one more sip and one more toke success is Just another Joke etc Guy Phillips ‘Another Joke’, 1978. I am writing concerning two things, firstly: Mr Potter’s letter and secondly the best NZ song I’ve ever heard “My Pohutakawa” by Citizen Band. Who does Mr Potter think he is? I felt the review of the Wings album was excellent. The album is trash and I feel the humerous way the review was written softened the blow

it should have received. Reviews are always personal views. This brings me to “My Pohutakawa”. This must be the best NZ song written in years. (It’s on the B side of “I Feel Good”). Why the hell hasn't it been thrashed to death on Radio? To let this song die would be a crime. For f**k sake let’s support local artists. Citizen Band are brilliant and they are right under our noses. Dr rock has had “My Pohutakawa” on R with P a couple of times it’s good to see someone’s got taste. Paul Kirber Mt Eden Having unwillingly contracted a severe case of Saturday Nite Fever, I was left with no choice but to consult my local psychopathologist. He advised me to stop reading papers, except for N.M.E. and Rip It Up, watching TV, venturing out and listening to the radio, except Barry Jenkin, until the epidemic had passed. I decided to take his advice and am pleased to say I’m riding high on the crest of the New Wave back to recovery. He also told me that the symptoms of the fever, total insanity, was infecting many lovers of decent music and that the cause was the total monopolisation of the world by the Bee Gees. Finally he said that the only cure was either to follow his instructions or set out to erase all trace of the Bee Gees from the earth. To this end I am now forming a Bee Gees annihilation society, (KILL for short). Anyone wishing to join should see me personally at Zwines any Saturday night. Chris the punk. The music that was presented at the 1978 Jazz Festival, to me, was a fine display of music of the late 50’s and early 60’s. I’m not knocking the be-bop players but it is nice to listen to jazz of today. If acts like Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Weather Report, Chick Corea etc were presented in Auckland, N.Z.’ers could see how jazz has progressed over the years. Why, on such an important occasion as the Auckland Jazz Festival cannot all forms of jazz be presented, by overseas and local artists. I’m sure the NZ jazz fans would be delighted to know of the abundance of (unassisted) professional musicians around NZ who are currently playing (& writing) jazz of today.