Blindspott broke up in 2007 and reformed for a one off *cough cough* show at Homegrown in 2009. Why? Because we got offered stupid amounts of money by the festival promoter, that's why!
Marcus and Shelton were living in London, Dave was living in Australia and the fee was enough to fly everyone back AND make some decent extra cash.
Since it was supposed to be a big deal to have Blindspott reform for a one off show, it would force fans to spend money on Homegrown tickets to take advantage of seeing this 'exclusive' opportunity. We didn't care, we were getting paid and receiving free flights back to NZ to do the show :)
Of course, then Blindspott (now Blacklist) reformed AGAIN to play Homegrown in 2011. Why? Because the money was good plus none of us had achieved anything musically in the last four years since the band broke up.
We were bored, it was a way to make some cash plus we couldn't let Shelton get away with all the glory he was getting with I Am Giant. To say there was tension between us and I Am Giant both being on the same show would be a massive understatement!
I know the constant band reforms has made Blindspott look like a bunch of chumps but hey, we're us and you're you. We're cool and you're not.
We're so cool, we can bring nu-metal back which is why we have our DJ back which we originally kicked out.
Who knows? Maybe Blindspott or Blacklist or whatever the hell we call ourselves will break up again and reform for another Homegrown show in 2013 and take some more cash from suckers!
Sunday 28 August 2011
Saturday 20 August 2011
Blindspott Blacklist history
From Wikipedia
Blindspott is a nu metal/alternative rock band from Waitakere, New Zealand. They were formed in 1997, originally consisting of Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Shelton Woolright (drums), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini, also known as DJ Dlay (turntables, keyboards).
Blindspott began in 1997 and developed a loyal following in the years leading up to their self titled album release. Often labelled as a "nu-metal" band, they have insisted this genre label was a result of the world catching up to their early development, rather than capitalising on a popular sound at the time. Blindspott's first single, "Nil By Mouth", was a success in 2001 and gained major airplay on television and radio channels across the country. Other hits released during 2001-2003 were "Room to Breathe", "Phlex" (which reached #2 on the charts), "Blank", "S.U.I.T" and "Lit Up". Blindspott, their self titled debut album, was released in 2002 and reached number 1, going platinum in New Zealand in its first week of release. The album has since been certified 3× Platinum in New Zealand.
Blindspott were voted New Zealand's favourite band by the public as part of an Air New Zealand competition in 2003. Their songs have also been hits in Australia and in Asia.
Blindspott underwent a line-up change for the writing and recording of their second album, End the Silence. Fleming and Vilisini were replaced by Dave McDermott on bass and Brandon Reihana as a second guitarist. McDermott had worked for the band as a technician, while Reihana first toured with the group as substitute bassist when they went to Japan in 2004. The second album digressed significantly from the nu-metal style of their debut album, developing a darker hard-rock sound, without scratching and hip-hop influences.
Their first single from the new album, "Drown", was released on May 1, 2006 and entered the official New Zealand music chart on May 7, 2006, going straight to #4. End the Silence was released shortly after in New Zealand on May 29, 2006 and broke New Zealand music records - in the first week of release it went straight to the top of the official New Zealand music charts. Blindspott were the first New Zealand music act to have both their albums debut in the charts at the #1 position.
In August 2006, Blindspott played at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan, alongside major acts such as Metallica, Deftones, Linkin Park and Tool.
End the Silence was released in Australia on September 2, 2006.
In 2007, after 10 years together and many publicised band fallouts along the way, Blindspott broke up to focus on solo efforts. They played their final concert of the era on August 25, 2007 at the Powerstation nightclub in Auckland. On 27 July 2009 they released a live CD/DVD filmed at the Powerstation concert.
In November 2008, Blindspott announced they were reuniting for a one off performance only, at the all-Kiwi Vodafone Homegrown Music Festival in Wellington on 14 March 2009, one of three acts reforming to perform at the festival.
On May 15, 2010, it was announced on Facebook that Blindspott had reunited and were writing new material. The band had also reformed to include its earliest and original members, with the line up consisting of the original members Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini (turntables, keyboards). On 26 September 2010 Shelton Woolwright pulled their Facebook page down..[citation needed] The same day they were confirmed for Homegrown 2011. On 27 September a photo was posted by a band member showing Tristan Reilly as the new drummer for the band. A week before homegrown Shelton Woolwright had Blindspotts Facebook page pulled down once again.
On 5 March 2011, lead singer Damian Alexander announced they would be releasing their new single "From The Blind Spot" under the name 'Blacklist' due to legal reasons. Currently the band members are in a legal battle with former drummer, Shelton Woolright to keep releasing music under the name of Blindspott. Entertainment lawyer Mick Sinclair is handling the case for Blindspott.
Blindspott is a nu metal/alternative rock band from Waitakere, New Zealand. They were formed in 1997, originally consisting of Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Shelton Woolright (drums), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini, also known as DJ Dlay (turntables, keyboards).
History
Formation and debut album (1997-2004)
Blindspott began in 1997 and developed a loyal following in the years leading up to their self titled album release. Often labelled as a "nu-metal" band, they have insisted this genre label was a result of the world catching up to their early development, rather than capitalising on a popular sound at the time. Blindspott's first single, "Nil By Mouth", was a success in 2001 and gained major airplay on television and radio channels across the country. Other hits released during 2001-2003 were "Room to Breathe", "Phlex" (which reached #2 on the charts), "Blank", "S.U.I.T" and "Lit Up". Blindspott, their self titled debut album, was released in 2002 and reached number 1, going platinum in New Zealand in its first week of release. The album has since been certified 3× Platinum in New Zealand.
Blindspott were voted New Zealand's favourite band by the public as part of an Air New Zealand competition in 2003. Their songs have also been hits in Australia and in Asia.
End The Silence and line-up change (2005-2007)
Blindspott underwent a line-up change for the writing and recording of their second album, End the Silence. Fleming and Vilisini were replaced by Dave McDermott on bass and Brandon Reihana as a second guitarist. McDermott had worked for the band as a technician, while Reihana first toured with the group as substitute bassist when they went to Japan in 2004. The second album digressed significantly from the nu-metal style of their debut album, developing a darker hard-rock sound, without scratching and hip-hop influences.
Their first single from the new album, "Drown", was released on May 1, 2006 and entered the official New Zealand music chart on May 7, 2006, going straight to #4. End the Silence was released shortly after in New Zealand on May 29, 2006 and broke New Zealand music records - in the first week of release it went straight to the top of the official New Zealand music charts. Blindspott were the first New Zealand music act to have both their albums debut in the charts at the #1 position.
In August 2006, Blindspott played at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan, alongside major acts such as Metallica, Deftones, Linkin Park and Tool.
End the Silence was released in Australia on September 2, 2006.
Break-up and reunion show (2007-2009)
In 2007, after 10 years together and many publicised band fallouts along the way, Blindspott broke up to focus on solo efforts. They played their final concert of the era on August 25, 2007 at the Powerstation nightclub in Auckland. On 27 July 2009 they released a live CD/DVD filmed at the Powerstation concert.
In November 2008, Blindspott announced they were reuniting for a one off performance only, at the all-Kiwi Vodafone Homegrown Music Festival in Wellington on 14 March 2009, one of three acts reforming to perform at the festival.
Reformation and current events (2010-present)
On May 15, 2010, it was announced on Facebook that Blindspott had reunited and were writing new material. The band had also reformed to include its earliest and original members, with the line up consisting of the original members Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini (turntables, keyboards). On 26 September 2010 Shelton Woolwright pulled their Facebook page down..[citation needed] The same day they were confirmed for Homegrown 2011. On 27 September a photo was posted by a band member showing Tristan Reilly as the new drummer for the band. A week before homegrown Shelton Woolwright had Blindspotts Facebook page pulled down once again.
On 5 March 2011, lead singer Damian Alexander announced they would be releasing their new single "From The Blind Spot" under the name 'Blacklist' due to legal reasons. Currently the band members are in a legal battle with former drummer, Shelton Woolright to keep releasing music under the name of Blindspott. Entertainment lawyer Mick Sinclair is handling the case for Blindspott.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)