Super Tramps

Rip It Up, Issue 213, 1 May 1995, Page 5

Super Tramps

If you missed Supergroove on their recent North Island tour, you won’t see them around the place for awhile. The Auckland sevensome left the country last month for a lengthy jaunt around the world. They’re currently tripping about Australia, filling support slots and playing headlining dates, including four gigs on the Alternative Nation road show that also features L 7, Pop Will Eat Itself, Ween, Tool and Nine Inch Nails. From Australia they travel to South East Asia (Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia), where a sponsorship deal to assist them with touring costs has been struck with a local cigarette company. ‘Can’t Get Enough’ has been released in Asia and Traction will hit the shops in time for the band’s arrival.

By early June, Supergroove will arrive in Europe for shows in France, Scandinavia, Holland, Austria and England. BMG New Zealand are supplying tapes to several UK DJs, for potential remix projects, while the band will release an EP later this year featuring remixes by Auckland DJ DLT. America’s the next stop, where they’ll play dates in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, and make a lightening quick trip to Canada. This leg of the tour has been organised by ex-pat Australian lan Gardiner, the former Jane’s Addiction manager, who currently looks after Tool and Porno For Pyros. While in the States, Supergroove will link up with ITB (International Talent Booking), a worldwide promotion agency whose roster includes Cypress Hill, Bjork, Counting Crows and Aerosmith, and the band are hoping to

secure several major support slots. August sees Supergroove touring Japan, and possibly South Africa, then heading back through Australia (where on the band’s Big Day Out trip a punter was heard to remark to guitarist Ben Sciascia: “Don’t stop playing that red guitar mate, ‘cause it burns like tits”) before arriving back in New Zealand in September. A day before the band’s departure, a very tired Karl Steven only had this to say about the daunting task ahead: "It has been so chaotic in the past few months that it doesn’t register to me that we're leaving tomorrow to go on tour for six months. But I think everyone in the band is, deep down, excited.”

JOHN RUSSELL

I Most Promising Male Vocalist: Brent I Milligan (Pumpkinhead) I Most Promising Female Vocalist: Sulata I Foal (3 The Hard Way) I Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording: Once I Were Warriors I Video Of The Year: Can’t Get Enough (Jo I Fisher/Matt Noonan) I Producer: Karl Steven and Malcom I Welsford (Traction) I Engineer: Malcom Welsford (Traction) I Country: Kevin Greaves (I’m Not Scared Of | Women) I Jazz: The George Chisholm Quintet (Perfect I Strangers) I Classical: The NZ Symphony Orchestra | (Douglas Lilburn/The Three Symphonies) Folk: Windy City Strugglers (Windy City Strugglers) Gospel: Derek Lind (Stations) Cover Design: Wayne Conway (Broadcast) Songwriter Of The Year: Dave Dobbyn (Language) Special Award: lan Magan