The Checks (band)
Encyclopedia
The Checks are a New Zealand
rock band formed in 2002 that are well known for their brand of blues-driven and high-energy rock, similar to contemporaries such as The Hives
and fellow New Zealanders The Datsuns
, and are at the forefront of the North Shore/Devonport sound, along with Brain Slaves
, The Electric Confectionaires
, and White Birds and Lemons. In 2006 they moved to England to begin work on a debut LP
, titled Hunting Whales, which was released on 1 October 2007, and spent four weeks in the New Zealand Top 40 Album Charts, peaking at number 21. The album was produced by Ian Broudie
. Their single "What You Heard" debuted at #16 on the UK Indie charts, and peaked at 21 on the New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart. The band released their second album Alice by the Moon
on 8 June 2009 through their own label Pie Club Records. The album peaked at number 13 on the NZ Top 40 Album Charts.
. The first concert that the band played was for a friend's birthday party, and played several cover songs. In March the band entered a school music competition, coming second to the only band to play an original song, which drove them to write their first original song 'The Creek', a live version of which is available on the Take Me There EP. In June of that year Student Radio Breakfast DJ Hugh Sundae visited their school to listen to the winners of the music competition. The Checks also put in an appearance while Hugh was still there. He was so impressed he asked them to perform live-to-air on the BFM Breakfast Bus. The BFM newsreaders later announced that the future of rock'n'roll "is aged 16 and wears yeti-like leg warmers" - in reaction to The Checks front man Ed Knowles' unusual taste in stage wear. In September, the band wrote 4 original songs in 2 weeks in preparation for the Smokefree Rockquest, and the band won the regional finals and qualified for the national final. For the rest of 2003 the band began to generate more buzz by playing a series of sweaty gigs in the fringe bars of Auckland's K-Road. They were invited to play at local indie label Lil Chief's Christmas party, where they impressed Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman - the man who discovered Nirvana. In June 2004 the band were hand picked by ex APRA
boss, Mike Chunn
, to open a live 24-hour TV broadcast of all New Zealand musical talent. They ended the year by winning the 'Most Promising Band' award at the 2004 bNet
Radio Network Awards despite being unsigned and unreleased, and also appeared in various international music and fashion magazines and newspapers.
They began 2005 by playing the Auckland Big Day Out
. The band managed to generate considerable international buzz for an unsigned New Zealand band, much of it based on rave reviews from their live shows, playing support slots for such bands as R.E.M., after they were personally requested by Michael Stipe
after hearing their song "Mercedes Children" on a compilation of New Zealand music. The band were invited to play the NME New Music Tour of England by editor Conor McNicholas in April, and supported Maxïmo Park
, Towers of London
and The Cribs
for 6 nights. While they were away, the band won the 'Most bNet Play' award at the 2005 bNet awards.
In 2006 the band relocated to London to record their debut album, Hunting Whales. They stayed in London for 18 months, and the album was released on Full Time Hobby Records through Sony BMG and produced by Ian Broudie. The album was released on 1 October 2007, and spent four weeks in the New Zealand Top 40 Album Charts, peaking at number 21. The Checks also supported The Hives
for two of their shows in Tokyo, Oasis
in Australia, Jet
and Muse
on their Australasian tour. Throughout 2007 the band played 170 shows and played in Europe five times. In October the band played 6 gigs in New York as part of the CMJ Music Festival
. The Muse support slots in Australia and NZ began a summer of shows in New Zealand, which was highlighted by a rousing midday slot at the Auckland Big Day Out, where they grew a large crowd of roughly 2000 people. In late March 2008 the band returned to Japan for a mini tour to promote the local release of Hunting Whales.
's studio, with it being released as a digital download in late May, and a video being released in support in September. The song has since gained airplay on The Rock Radio Station
. As of late 2008, the band are currently unsigned to a label. In early February 2009, the band began recording their second album at The Lab Studios in Auckland, and was self-produced. Recording finished in March and the first single released to the radio was "You and Me" in March, with the video being released online on 28 April, which was directed by Tim Van Dammen, drummer for the band Collapsing Cities. The band opened for The Killers at their Auckland gig in April before the release of their second album. Alice by the Moon
was released on 8 June in New Zealand and was met with positive reviews. The release was followed with a series of sold-out tours around New Zealand. The band performed on the main stages at the Rhythm & Vines
Festival on New Year's Eve 2009 and at the Big Day Out
. They will also perform once again at the Homegrown Festival
in 2010.
The Checks supported AC/DC
during the New Zealand leg of their Black Ice World Tour
in January/February 2010. Alice By The Moon was announced as one of the five finalists for the inaugural Taite Music Prize, which was won by Lawrence Arabia. In October the band won the NZ Music Award
for Best Rock Album, and were also nominated for Best Group. The success was unparalleled, coming over 16 months after the release of Alice By The Moon.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
rock band formed in 2002 that are well known for their brand of blues-driven and high-energy rock, similar to contemporaries such as The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
and fellow New Zealanders The Datsuns
The Datsuns
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom...
, and are at the forefront of the North Shore/Devonport sound, along with Brain Slaves
Brain Slaves
Brain Slaves are a band from Auckland, New Zealand, formerly called The Coshercot Honeys. They are acclaimed for their unique sound, which combines neo-psychedelia with garage rock, pop hooks, and syncopated grooves.-History:...
, The Electric Confectionaires
The Electric Confectionaires
The Electric Confectionaires were a four-piece musical group from Auckland, New Zealand. Their music is a diverse fusion of styles ranging from rock to garage, blues, surf and jazz. The band formed in 2005 at Takapuna Grammar School where original members Jaisi Sheehan, Haddon Smith, Rob Fenton,...
, and White Birds and Lemons. In 2006 they moved to England to begin work on a debut LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, titled Hunting Whales, which was released on 1 October 2007, and spent four weeks in the New Zealand Top 40 Album Charts, peaking at number 21. The album was produced by Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
. Their single "What You Heard" debuted at #16 on the UK Indie charts, and peaked at 21 on the New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart. The band released their second album Alice by the Moon
Alice by the Moon
Alice By The Moon is the second full-length studio release from The Checks and the first released on their own label.-Background:The album was recorded by the band in February and March 2009 at The Lab Studios in Auckland. The first single You and Me was released to radio airplay late in March, and...
on 8 June 2009 through their own label Pie Club Records. The album peaked at number 13 on the NZ Top 40 Album Charts.
Brief history
The band was formed in early 2003, with many members of the band coming from musical backgrounds at Takapuna Grammar SchoolTakapuna Grammar School
Takapuna Grammar School is a decile 10 secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont, North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, TGS currently has a roll of around 1600 students from the North Shore. It serves many communities such as Bayswater, Belmont, Devonport, Takapuna...
. The first concert that the band played was for a friend's birthday party, and played several cover songs. In March the band entered a school music competition, coming second to the only band to play an original song, which drove them to write their first original song 'The Creek', a live version of which is available on the Take Me There EP. In June of that year Student Radio Breakfast DJ Hugh Sundae visited their school to listen to the winners of the music competition. The Checks also put in an appearance while Hugh was still there. He was so impressed he asked them to perform live-to-air on the BFM Breakfast Bus. The BFM newsreaders later announced that the future of rock'n'roll "is aged 16 and wears yeti-like leg warmers" - in reaction to The Checks front man Ed Knowles' unusual taste in stage wear. In September, the band wrote 4 original songs in 2 weeks in preparation for the Smokefree Rockquest, and the band won the regional finals and qualified for the national final. For the rest of 2003 the band began to generate more buzz by playing a series of sweaty gigs in the fringe bars of Auckland's K-Road. They were invited to play at local indie label Lil Chief's Christmas party, where they impressed Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman - the man who discovered Nirvana. In June 2004 the band were hand picked by ex APRA
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
boss, Mike Chunn
Mike Chunn
Mike Chunn is a former member of the New Zealand bands Split Enz and Citizen Band. He performed alongside his brother Geoff Chunn in both bands....
, to open a live 24-hour TV broadcast of all New Zealand musical talent. They ended the year by winning the 'Most Promising Band' award at the 2004 bNet
BNET
BNET was an online magazine dedicated to issues of business management.It was owned by CBS Interactive and was a part of its business portfolio alongside ZDNet, TechRepublic, SmartPlanet before it was folded into CBS MoneyWatch, a sister personal finance site that was launched on April 6, 2009.BNET...
Radio Network Awards despite being unsigned and unreleased, and also appeared in various international music and fashion magazines and newspapers.
They began 2005 by playing the Auckland Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
. The band managed to generate considerable international buzz for an unsigned New Zealand band, much of it based on rave reviews from their live shows, playing support slots for such bands as R.E.M., after they were personally requested by Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
after hearing their song "Mercedes Children" on a compilation of New Zealand music. The band were invited to play the NME New Music Tour of England by editor Conor McNicholas in April, and supported Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
, Towers of London
Towers of London
Towers of London are a Punk Rock n Roll band, fromLondon, England, who formed in 2004. Their music mixes elements of rock and heavy metal music with 1977 style British punk...
and The Cribs
The Cribs
The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group...
for 6 nights. While they were away, the band won the 'Most bNet Play' award at the 2005 bNet awards.
In 2006 the band relocated to London to record their debut album, Hunting Whales. They stayed in London for 18 months, and the album was released on Full Time Hobby Records through Sony BMG and produced by Ian Broudie. The album was released on 1 October 2007, and spent four weeks in the New Zealand Top 40 Album Charts, peaking at number 21. The Checks also supported The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
for two of their shows in Tokyo, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
in Australia, Jet
Jet (band)
Jet are an Australian rock band formed in 2001 while attending St Bede's College Mentone in Melbourne, . The band consists of lead guitarist Cameron Muncey, bassist Mark Wilson, and brothers Nic and Chris Cester on vocals/rhythm guitar and drums respectively...
and Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
on their Australasian tour. Throughout 2007 the band played 170 shows and played in Europe five times. In October the band played 6 gigs in New York as part of the CMJ Music Festival
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
. The Muse support slots in Australia and NZ began a summer of shows in New Zealand, which was highlighted by a rousing midday slot at the Auckland Big Day Out, where they grew a large crowd of roughly 2000 people. In late March 2008 the band returned to Japan for a mini tour to promote the local release of Hunting Whales.
Recent activity
Upon their return to New Zealand, they recorded new song "There Is A Field" at Neil FinnNeil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
's studio, with it being released as a digital download in late May, and a video being released in support in September. The song has since gained airplay on The Rock Radio Station
The Rock (New Zealand)
The Rock is a New Zealand rock music radio station. It currently holds the #1 ratings spot out of the music stations nationwide. The station is known to broadcast material of a controversial nature, and The Rock has in the past had some issues with the Broadcasting Standards Authority with a number...
. As of late 2008, the band are currently unsigned to a label. In early February 2009, the band began recording their second album at The Lab Studios in Auckland, and was self-produced. Recording finished in March and the first single released to the radio was "You and Me" in March, with the video being released online on 28 April, which was directed by Tim Van Dammen, drummer for the band Collapsing Cities. The band opened for The Killers at their Auckland gig in April before the release of their second album. Alice by the Moon
Alice by the Moon
Alice By The Moon is the second full-length studio release from The Checks and the first released on their own label.-Background:The album was recorded by the band in February and March 2009 at The Lab Studios in Auckland. The first single You and Me was released to radio airplay late in March, and...
was released on 8 June in New Zealand and was met with positive reviews. The release was followed with a series of sold-out tours around New Zealand. The band performed on the main stages at the Rhythm & Vines
Rhythm & Vines
Rhythm and Vines is an annual music festival held at Waiohika Estate vineyard, several kilometres from the city of Gisborne, New Zealand...
Festival on New Year's Eve 2009 and at the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
. They will also perform once again at the Homegrown Festival
Homegrown Music Festival (New Zealand)
Homegrown Music Festival has been held annually in Wellington, New Zealand since 2008.- The Line-Up :ROCK STAGES- Shihad, Kora, Pluto, The Feelers, Opshop, Elemeno P, Goodnight Nurse, Autozamm, The ValvesDUB & ROOTS STAGE...
in 2010.
The Checks supported AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
during the New Zealand leg of their Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC in support of the group's 15th studio album, Black Ice, which was released in October 2008. The tour was the band's first since the Stiff Upper Lip World Tour in 2000/2001.The jaunt began in Wilkes-Barre,...
in January/February 2010. Alice By The Moon was announced as one of the five finalists for the inaugural Taite Music Prize, which was won by Lawrence Arabia. In October the band won the NZ Music Award
2010 New Zealand Music Awards
The 2010 New Zealand Music Awards was the 45th holding of the annual ceremony featuring awards for musical artists based in or originating from New Zealand. Finalists for the three technical awards were announced on 16 August 2010 with winners announced on 1 September, the date on which finalists...
for Best Rock Album, and were also nominated for Best Group. The success was unparalleled, coming over 16 months after the release of Alice By The Moon.