STACK NZ APril 2016 Issue 72

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A lthough New Zealand has deservedly received
acclaim overseas for its horror and fantasy, the
local film industry has largely stayed away from
other commercial genres.
However, Born to Dance director Tammy Davis believes
that the success of New Zealand's first ever hip hop
dance movie shows that the local industry should consider
embracing other sorts of genre films.
“I think what we have proven is that we can diversify and
make lots of different films,” the first-time director of New
Zealand’s highest grossing local movie of 2015 tells STACK.
“We can make dramas, make comedies, we can make dance
films… we can make any films we like. This really opens up
the door. Whatever kind of genre of film you want to make,
we can do it.”
Born to Dance is out now on DVD and Blu-ray here, and
the film is slated for theatrical release in a number of other
international markets. Davis is doubtful that there will be a
sequel, but the actor-turned-director has a number of new
projects in the pipeline, including a six-part TV drama series
and a feature-length expansion of his short film Ebony Society.
John Ferguson
Check out the digital edition of STACK for the full interview.
visit EXTRAS NEWS
06 APRIL 2016
EXTRAS
With their self-released 1977 EP Spiral
Scratch, the Buzzcocks effectively gave
birth to indie music. So it’s kind of appropriate
that guitarist Steve Diggle is taking a 21st
Century approach to DIY music for his upcoming
solo album.
He has teamed up with PledgeMusic to help
fund it and fans willing to chip in can choose
from a range of exclusive items, including
signed posters, one of his trademark polka dot
shirts, and a special box set containing the new
LP plus his first three solo efforts.
“They said you can do meet and greets,
but people do value these bits and pieces
more,” Diggle told STACK while on tour in New
Zealand with the Buzzcocks last month. “I am
known for my polka dot shirts, and those have
gone very quickly.”
At press-time, pledges had just passed the
three-quarter target mark, but Diggle says he
is not expecting to make any money out of the
project: to him it's just a good way to retain
artistic control, while giving something back to
the fans. He agrees that it is a return of sorts to
the DIY ethos of the Buzzcocks’ seminal Spiral
Scratch EP. “It has come full circle – we’re back
where we started in a way,” he says.
Diggle hopes to start recording the as-yet-
untitled album this month, with a view to
releasing it in June. It’s likely to include a
few things not usually associated with the
Buzzcocks, such as acoustic guitars and piano.
The punk legends’ latest jaunt Down Under
was a 40th anniversary tour, so for the most
part, the band have been concentrating on
favourites from their first four LPs. However,
the Buzzcocks' latest album, The Way, has just
been issued here and Diggle is pleased that
some of their Kiwi fans have recognised some
of their new songs. “We have got an armoury
of classic songs and whenever we play there
is always someone who says, ‘why don’t you
play that one?',” he says. “That said, People
Are Strange Machines is off the new album;
it’s a catchy song and rocks live. And we have
been doing The Third Dimension, which is one
my favourites off The Way. It’s back to our more
experimental roots – a little bit darker, a little
bit different.” Tim Mackrell
The Way by the Buzzcocks is out now;
visit for the full interview.
DIY PLEDGE
FOR DIGGLE
TIME TO STEP UP AND
EMBRACE NEW GENRES
L ate last year, The Dandy Warhols nearly gave up.
A huge storm ripped through Portland and
stomped its docs straight through the roof of
The Odditorium, the studio-cum-hangout which Courtney
Taylor-Taylor and his bandmates have occupied for years.
“It happened five days after we turned in our record,”
the frontman tells STACK. “To work on a record for three
years and not have copies or duplicates or back-ups,
outside of that same room? Dude, and then we left on
tour three days later, so if we hadn’t found it, it would’ve
been raining into our studio for months.”
Distortland was a hell of a ride in general (“You
know how you know a record’s done? When you have
destroyed, or damaged severely, every interpersonal
relationship in your life”), but the journey began on
Taylor-Taylor’s Yamaha cassette four-track, a piece of
equipment he’s owned since he was a child.
“It’s been working for 25 years or something; it’s f–ing
insane. I’m very fast with it, I know what to do. It has a
couple bells and whistles on that particular model that I
know how to abuse. And they really respond to abuse,”
he laughs.
Zoë Radas
GIMME SHELTER!How a storm nearly wrecked The DandyWarhol's new album Distortland.
Director Tammy Davis says the success of Born to Dance
shows Kiwis can make all sorts of different genre movies.
Distortland by The
Dandy Warhols is out on
April 8; check out
to
read the full interview