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| WELCOME/DISCLAIMER Welcome to the first edition of ZENEWS, the official Zen Arcade newsletter. Please note that, unless specified, the views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the individual band members. The band will not be held liable for any damage, injury (whether emotional or physical, real or imaginary), loss of dignity, virginity or sense of humour arising from the contents. |
| Saturday 15 December 2001 - Knysna. An otherwise flawless gig at Tin Roof Blues was marred by the theft from the stage of Mini-Flo, a 3-ft inflatable green alien, loyal bandroom observer and newly appointed tour mascot. The hapless extraterrestrial was last seen wearing a T-shirt inscribed "I'm inflatable - blow me!" While no ransom or suicide notes have turned up, foul play is strongly suspected. Anyone knowing of the whereabouts of Mini-Flo is urged to contact the band, who are reportedly inconsolable over the loss. |
| MARCH GIGS Friday 8 March - Wits University [Jo'burg] with Cutting Jade, The Phoebes and others Friday 23 March - Nile Crocodile [Lynnwood Glen, Pretoria] with Cutting Jade Friday 29 March - Southern Cross Festival [Mooi River, KZN] 22h00 on the Main Stage with the cream of SA bands - for full lineup visit www.powerzone.co.za Saturday 30 March - 5fm Easter Rock Festival [Jo'burg] 12h00 on the Main Stage Lineup will be posted on www.5fm.co.za For more info, contact Alistair@zenarcade.co.za |
| It's been a long wait - recording on Zen Arcade's brand new single, Letter From A Friend commenced in October last year! Happily, after numerous unforseen delays, the CD is now complete. Produced by Brian O'Shea and Chris Tuck (whose magic touch can be heard on albums by Saron Gas, Fetish, Boo!, Wonderboom et al), the song will be sent to local and international radio stations on a special promo CD-ROM. In addition to the new song, the CD will feature the band's previous No 1 hit - Crazy Over You both on audio and MPEG video format. A very limited number of CD-ROMS will be made available to the public - details will be posted here later. |
| CONTRIBUTIONS The editorial staff warmly welcomes any pictures or other contributions, literary or monetary, from readers. All articles, letters and pictures will be credited unless requested otherwise. Please e-mail contributions to al@mortimer-harvey.co.za |
| Independent Arts, Zen Arcade's distribution agents, report that the first pressing has completely sold out. A second pressing is currently in production and fans who don't have a copy yet will soon be able to obtain one. |
| ZENEWS |
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| As predicted by Jason Curtis of Top 40 magazine, Zen Arcade's debut CD, *snowflake, has indeed become a collector's item! |
| Devastated - the band ponders the fate of their mascot (pic: Darryl Hammond). |
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| YOUR LETTER IS IN THE POST |
| ALIEN ABDUCTION MARS KNYSNA GIG |
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| MORE SNOW EXPECTED |
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| Issue 1. March 2002 |
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| Saturday 9 February – University of Pretoria (Tuks). The all-day 6 Nations Varsity Rugby Festival ended in an all-night celebration of SA rock music. Pretoria based Cutting Jade opened with a sundowner set. Their single She Says is currently enjoying heavy airplay and the home crowd, still drifting in, gave them a warm response. Next up, rock n roll animals Martin Rocka & The Sick Shop delivered their trademark manic wares. They were followed by Zen Arcade, who performed their first gig of 2002. In addition to crowd pleasers like Step Back, Sister and Tease, the band gave the audience its first taste of Simple Things, a new song that debuted on the December tour, before easing into perennial favourite Crazy. The set ended with a muscular version of Not About You, which drew an excellent response from the crowd. Next up was Tweak, delivering a nice tight, edgy set, showing off the talents of new drummer – younger brother of lead singer Chris. Sunways followed with a convincing set, leaner and meaner from their Ireland tour, Robbie overcoming poor initial sound with his trademark guitar virtuosity. Drummer Jason, who absconded during the overseas trip, was replaced by session ace Barry van Zyl. In spite of his technical competence, the sheer Staffie-like energy of Jason's attacks on the skins was sorely missed. Tree 63 then followed, showing the high levels of technical proficiency and performing professionalism that have earned them success abroad as well as in South Africa. Finally, the relentlessly tight, aggressive, quirky and addictive Not My Dog got the moshpit boiling. Zen Arcade drummer Andrew, leapt into the fray and emerged with two cracked ribs! All in all, a great start to the year. Big up to Authentic for keeping it together, to the other bands for keeping it cool and of course, to all the fans for making it happen. |
| ZA KICKS OFF WITH RUGBY FESTIVAL |
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| ZEN ARCADE NOMINATED FOR SAMA AWARD Zen Arcade's debut album has been nominated for a prestigious SAMA award in the Best Rock Album category. The album goes up against CDs by top SA outfits Sunways, Wonderboom, Karen Zoid, and Beeskraal. Winners will be announced at the 8th Annual SAMA Awards function at Sun City on Saturday 13 April. The nominated albums are: Zen Arcade - Snowflake Sunways - The Moon Is A Spoon Wonderboom - Rewind Karen Zoid - Poles Apart Beeskraal - Huis Toe For a complete list of nominees, go to http://www.risa.org.za/sama.php |