Artist description Vancouver's ONLY 80's tribute and live karaoke band.

Music Style NEW WAVE

Musical Influences ALL THINGS 80's

Similar Artists Duran Duran, DEVO, Blondie, The Knack, The Pretenders, U2, The Police, Joe Jackson, The Go Gos, Pat Benetar....etc.

Artist History What the hell?, Who the Hell?..... Well, it all started in the spring /summer of 1997. Lisa Bowmar, Local Socialite and Movie Industry person hosted a party at the Waldorf Hotel. Armed with a karaoke machine and some CDs the event was so successful that she wondered how she could make this better. Then the brainstorm how about doing it with a live band with average people singing ala karaoke. Thus New Wave-aoke! was born. Needing a connection to the local 80's music scene of the past, Lisa enlisted the help of long time friend and local music industry impresario Jason Grant. With Jason's years of experience in management ( Sons of Freedom, Veal) and his promotional experience (54-40/gangland, Universal concerts) the seeds were sown. The next chapter in the story who should they enlist for this daunting task? First off there was Sean "on the Tubbs" Stubbs former vocalist of 80's industrial/avant-gardists Numb and drummer of SNFU, Proof by 9 and Bif Naked. Next came Kelly "turn down those leather pants" Cook, former bassist of Vancouver favourites French Letters, Moev, Idle Eyes. Following close behind was Zeljko "The Admiral" Karlica, guitarist for local 80's faves 24 Gone and Lovers & Madmen. To solidify the line up local muso and keyboardist Dave Genn (matthewgoodband, DSK, 24 Gone) was enlisted to form the stellar line up. In a short few months the six of them rehearsed up 40 Newwave/80's favourites. They played their first gig at the Railway Club, to a sold out house with a line up down the block. From the onset it was obvious that this was not just enjoyable for the band, but with the audience participation it proved to be fun and entertaining because everyone wants to be a rock star and have their 15 minutes of fame even if it's only for 3 minutes and 22 seconds. Seeing how successful this was and how much enjoyment people were getting out of it, they had a hit on their hands and decided to take it on the road. On the credit limit of Lisa's visa card they went to the annual COCA conference in london ,Ontario in late 1997. Having Canada's college and university booking agents in one room and a firm 1/2 hour to showcase their talents. Had our heroes a tad nervous. After the second tune the capacity 800 person crowd went nuts, cheering,singing, dancing and taking their clothes off. The band was kept on the stage for an unprecedented hour and 15 minutes. The band had their fall tour tentatively booked and the enduring love of all the promoters. In early, 1998 Dave Genn due to demanding touring schedules with the matthewgoodband. Dave was replaced by the multi talented Mark "The Pope of New Wave" Olexson (5440, Nick Gilder, Emily Stop) who not only brought his talents but added a fine degree of vocal ability. Recently, bass and vocal responsibilities have been shared by the one and only Kelly "The Cookinator" Cook and the immensely talented Mr. Tim Smyth (Omnichord, SPM, Bif Naked, Jesicca Farrell, Siobhan DuVall..etc...) Also, A full-time female lead vocalist was also added. The lovely and talented Ms. Kim Olexson (sister of Mark) came aboard to provide some good looks to the band. You MUST experience the New Wave-aoke Experience!

Group Members Zeljko Karlica-Guitar and Vocals Tim Smyth-Bass and Vocals Sean Stubbs-Drums and Electronic Percussion Tony Hazel-Lead Vocal Dave Osbourn-Keyboards, Vocals Don Delano-Guitar, Vocals

Instruments Vocals, Keyboards, Samplers, Guitar, Bass, Drums( Acoustic and Electronic)

Press Reviews Dress up and mess up- By Keven Plain- The Tainted Lovers Present New Wave-aoke!- The Highland Pub, SFU- Monday March 5- 9 p.m.- If you think a flock of seagulls was responsible for the mess on your windshield, or soft cell is some tragic genetic engineering disaster, you must have spent the 1980s dancing with yourself and eating rock lobster. How else could you have forgotten the skinny leather ties, impossible post-Ted pompadours, and endlessly layered synthesizers over fake English accents? For those who have forgotten, for those who were not born, and for those who believe parachute pants will still get you to the front of the queue, you can experience everything-and perhaps more than you want-about this, well, culturally solipsistic and innocently hedonistic time when Vancouver's own New Wave-aoke plays the Highland Pub on Mar. 5. When "New Wave" appeared, around mid-1977, it firmly assumed its place as punk's commercialised extension-a natural occurrence when profit-driven media and big business (with eyes on disposable, middle class income) seized upon the wailings of kids and ne'er-do-wells in environments considered unsavory for realising consumer potential. New Wave was decidedly less political, and outré than the punk rock, though the fashions spawned and encouraged by the musicians continued to pressure and expand conceptual boundaries. It was rather digestible, radio-friendly, and perfect for the emerging MTV and music video generation. The "image" of New Wave is perhaps of greater significance than the music that accompanied it. As with David Bowie years earlier, the fans were often more spectacular than the stars. When guys from the "original" Vancouver scene got together to form the cover band New Wave-Aoke in 1997, they had immediate success with a sold-out performance at the Railway Club. Fans lined-up around the block trying to get a seat or the chance to stand somewhere in the smoky aisles (yes, you could smoke in 1997). New Wave-aoke's drummer Sean Stubbs suggests one possibility for New Wave's continuing presence is that while many people start out by listening to punk bands, those involved in playing music begin to gravitate towards New Wave, which is musically more adept and complex. Fans of music seem drawn to the quality of pop being pumped out. The 1960s may have been the greatest time of the "single," of crafting songs, but the '80s New Wave returned to those roots and became very conscious of creating music that was bound to get stuck in your head. "There was all of this stuff going around in the underground that was equally as good, but I guess anything that wasn't sort of based on American blues riffs was considered New Wave. It was alternative music in the '80s," says Stubbs. Kids still love that New Wave. Twenty years later, what has been described simultaneously as tasteless, disposable and just plain bad has proven itself as an enduring and well-populated genre-one needs to look no further than the numerous '80s nights around town and New Wave-aoke's success to notice this perpetual '80s culture (not to mention the sporadic fascination with all things ska). Audience participation is essential and made more intriguing by those who see the evening as an opportunity to dress-up and mess-up. Stubbs smiles when noting that the repetition of playing the same songs is kept fresh and interesting by the energy and individuality of the participants. "So many people can do this, there are so many closet singers out there, so many people you'd think couldn't do it, who given the right environment, can sound really good. There are also a lot of people with no talent but that can be just as entertaining." New Wave-aoke's current line-up are all accomplished musicians who have come together not for fame or a recording contract (Stubbs admits it is highly unlikely given the nature of what they perform), but because it is fun and everyone, audience and band alike, has a good time. Stubbs says that while their current repertoire consists of some 85 songs, there are many favorite requests. "We get a lot of Madonna. For some reason people want to be Madonna." Culturally, this is a fascinating glimpse at the alternative of one era becoming the mainstream of another. And now in the postmodern era, this pattern is only deformed, as in a sideshow mirror when it's removed from its original context, yet viewed as authentic. But forget the dry academic stuff. I've seen New Wave-aoke play and they're spectacular. They go down well with beer and won't clash with your leather pants. They provide the environment, you provide the strangeness. But be warned: New Wave-aoke is addictive and you'll have to admit you had a bloody good time.

Additional Info Also known as NEWWAVE-AOKE!

Location Vancouver, BC - Canada

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).