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Rip It Up, Issue 212, 1 April 1995, Page 25

I remember thinking back to the days of my first band, and being in the practice room with a tape deck and thinking: 'This is it! We're recording our band!' And now there I was, sitting in this studio that's worth nearly a million dollars, being allowed to play with this equipment. It was blowing my mind.

heavy trip for me ‘cause I was really in love with the woman... so some of the songs on the album are driven by that emotion I had running through me." All the songs? “Possibly yes [laughter].” If justice is done, Brent will fly home clutching the award for the Most Promising Male Vocalist after this year’s Music Awards, but when Pumpkinhead formed in late 1992, the son of an opera singer found himself surprised to be offered the mic.

“I ended up being the singer somehow, much to my girlfriend’s dismay. Consequently she told me for the next six months how bad I was and I just about quit. I remember

between the two.

Pumpkinhead first appeared on record in 1993 on the Failsafe compilation Avalanche, and later the next year on a second compilation entitled Good Things. But when the band wouldn’t sign a deal with the Christchurch based label the relationship soured.

“[Rob] was raving to everyone about Pumpkinhead and he wanted to sign us, and wanted an album out of us. But we wanted to wait, and then Wildside [Records] was there. Of course it’s much better for us to go with Wildside. There is such a difference between the two labels. Rob thinks we “sold out”, but in my eyes Wildside is an independent label. To me, major labels are like Sony and Virgin. Sure, Wildside works hard in New Zealand, but it still has a staff of one.”

when I was younger, I used to see people in bands do these big screams and I thought: ‘Yeah!’. So I used to get right off on screaming as soon as we started. I didn’t sing much melody, I rapped and screamed. Over the first six months of Pumpkinhead’s existence it was very sketchy that I even stayed and got involved.” But since Pumpkinhead played their first gig on Valentines Day 1993, the line-up has changed only once. Guitarist Jason Harmon left the band in January of this year. “There were lots of reasons why it happened, but it all started with Jason wanting to bring his girlfriend on tour and I said no. On our Water tour we ticked up a horrendous mobile phone bill ‘cause everyone was ringing their girlfriends constantly. Jason’s girlfriend rung up one night and I answered the phone and said: ‘I ate Jason for dinner and he’s never coming home [we laugh].’ She did her na-na about it and spent the next hour crying. Meanwhile, we went out of range, so she couldn’t call back [we laugh even more]. All this shit went down and things were a bit dodgy after that. Jason was a really good guitar player and a nice guy, but he hadn’t written a song, didn’t do interviews, wasn’t very photogenic, and he just wasn’t putting anything into the band. It wasn’t like we kicked him out and it wasn’t like he quit, it was just a mutual thing.” Pumpkinhead recruited Supertanker guitarist David Hunt, then left him in his bedroom for two weeks with a metronome and a tape of their set. The result was better than they hoped for. “It’s been a really positive thing for the band, and it’s really upped our live performance. More than ever we’re connecting and I think our potential has increased. Dave’s never played our kind of stuff before, but he’s pulled it off and it’s been great." The day after Pumpkinhead’s Hamilton show, Brent and I are on our way for a slap-up breakfast in town. There’s a lot of activity inside Bob Bar at Deßretts Hotel. We peer in the door and intrude on the filming of a video for now defunct Christchurch band Throw. As far as we can see there’s no actual band members about, but we’re still surprised to be asked to appear as "extras” in the clip. My stomach screams ‘no!’, but Brent’s sorely tempted.

On Thursday night Brent is running late. The airline has ceased calling his name over the intercom and the flight has been closed off. But, because a giant spliff has him talking in circles, he confuses an attendant enough for him to let him on the plane back home to Christchurch.

“It would’ve been hilarious to appear in the video and wave and go: ‘Hi Rob.’” In retrospect Brent admits it was a wasted opportunity; nothing would have sent Rob Mayes of Failsafe Records round the bend more than having a member of Pumpkinhead star in a Failsafe video. These days there’s definitely no love lost

One day, why don’t they just stay? “A lot of people say: ‘Why don’t you move to Auckland?’ But there’s no reason for us to

shift. I think it’s been an advantage for us being from Christchurch. What is in Christchurch, and the way Christchurch is, drives the scene and the sound and is in our music.” So you can't take Christchurch out of the boys, but even if the airport was closed and all inroads just happened to be barricaded, they'd squeeze out one way or another — the Pumpkinhead game plan definitely includes the proverbial words ‘world domination’. “We’re not naive — we know it’s a fucking hard slog and you’ve got to give your whole soul to it, but we also know if we stop having fun the band will stop. I think some of us have our sights set a little bit further than others in the band — like Vaughan is probably mind blown that he's got this far, but he said to me: ‘lt's either all or nothing.’ And as manager of the band as well, that’s the kind of attitude I need."

JOHN RUSSELL

"1 ended up being the singer somehow, much to my girlfriend's dismay. Consequently she told me for the next six months how bad 1 was and I just about quit. Over the first six months of Pumpkinhead's existence it was very sketchy that 1 even stayed and got involved."