The rainy days
"Spongomummagummabullybeef + microchips" (1992-95)

I love this shit !! Davy Graham is truly the last of the white niggers, at least around here anyway. And in the tradition of past great 'white niggers' like Mick Jagger, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop you can hear so many great black American influences on this album from travelling, hard living bluesman to Jimi Hendrix and even a touch of soul.

Yet this album never degenerates into any pale impersonation of these genres. Instead the music all comes together as a fabulous piece of rock & roll . This is more than the sum of it's influences because this is beautiful rock & roll madness. The kind of madness that is essential in any artistic endeavour that is intended to stand the test of time.

SPONGOMUMMAGUMMABULLYBEEF + MICROCHIPS was recorded at various Frisbee studio's around Auckland between '92 & '95 by Bob Frisbee. It's high quality low-fi with that classic analogue sound you will appreciate even more in 20 years time.

This is not safe music for the much too many. A fool could misread any band with song titles like 'white nigger', 'anti', 'baboon' and 'do the stuka'. Boot boys will be mostly disappointed however. This is cereberal stuff far beyond the oi boys. Well maybe not who knows what Dave's really up to?

Either way the subject matter is pretty dark and definitely sets you thinking. 'White nigger' sent me off on a couple of tangents. I mean is EMINEM just a 21st century version of the 'black & white minstrels' or what?

Davy Graham is real song writer. He carries a pen everywhere, you know what I mean? Because his lyrics mean something to him he also has real power live. Catch him on a good night and you'll see a whole lot of Ig and maybe even a little GG. Just ask that guy from low power Mushroom boys Pan-Am.

The Rainy Days is definitely Dave's baby but a fair smattering of the Frisbee crew is on here somewhere doing something. These days I'm pretty sure Tom Dale is along with Dave the only surviving member of the band from these early years. As the sign on the wall in one of the photos inside attests Dave can be difficult to work with.

The album has it's rawest tracks at the start but most of the way Tom Dales saxophone is critical to the overall sound and feel of the album. The sax along with the hand claps and stomps sings out 'Funhouse' era Stooges but the mania driving this along is Davy G not Iggy.

Great original raw singing with quality lyrics, backing vocals, harmonies and even horns. It's all there. Plenty of primitive repetition going on as well. The three R's. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Plus of course Dave has that vast reserve of craziness to draw upon. Which is where the power always comes from anyway.

I tell you you'll love this album. It is an instant underground classic. The cover art is superb. Already it is just about my favourite ever Nz album cover. And the title. SPONGOMUMMAGUMMBULLYBEEF + MICROCHIPS indeed !! The photos are abundant and mysterious, just the way they should be. The liner notes complete the picture and leave you wanting even more.

I'm not sure if your CD will come with the fabulous note from Dave that accompanied mine. In fact it's probably a press release so I'll reproduce it for you. If this doesn't make you want to buy this record then I suspect your at the wrong web-site!!

The Rainy Days first came together as the members of Gestalt found themselves embattled in recording their 'motherlode' album and were looking for an outlet to perform live in a setting that did not require the personnel for their increasingly bizarre arrangements and strict instrumentation demanded by their principal songwriter Davy G. The drummer took the brushes, the guitar and bass went semi-acoustic and the singer took to bellowing through an orange road cone.

The Rainy Days live performances varied between teenage house parties, primary school show & tells and mostly unannounced performances at other peoples rock shows at venue such as the north Shore Netball association, Mount Eden's Powerhouse and Grunge's own Bob's bar.

At some point members of the Mount Albert municipal orchestra were added namely Tom Dale, John athon, Stuart page and legendary 15 year old tuba player Jackie Carley. Spongo and Smak burgers were sold, Slak was given away yet cassette sales were slow.

The band reached it's physical limit when they played at the aforementioned Mt Eden venue in competition with the head line act, USA's Fugazi. An overly ambitious use of guitar amplified through transistor radios and further amplified through the venues enormous sound system along with the additional ten singers/percussionists led to an audioly compromised performance causing much controversy amongst the founding fathers of American hardcore and audience alike.

Jackie had school C and had to quit the band, Bob had to shift Frisbees one more time, Lance had to join King Loser, Rich got pregnant and Dave had to move south-west to millerton and return to the motherlode.

Anten, the pre-prozak, assault and battery at the dominion road KFC, do the stuka off the town hall balcony, white niggers franchising the disenfranchised, Big day out 1 was just around the corner. This is a record of those times."