Walking off a cliff again and waving goodbye

The Mint Chicks - Walking off a cliff again, and this time, waving goodbye

It’s been a strange trip, these last few years: from playing punk rock parties, to puzzling the hipsters, to collapsing the ceiling of the St James theatre, to being the big winners at the 2007 New Zealand Music Awards, where they took home an armload of Tuis (and a mobile phone, according to Kody). The band have progressed and evolved over the course of five and a half years of live chaos across the world, two misunderstood EPs, two even more misunderstood albums, and made it through with their non-conformist “what next?” ethos intact.

So, what next? The December tour will be the last shows with The Mint Chicks as a quartet, and the last as residents of New Zealand. Early in the new year, the band will relocate to Portland, Oregon, USA, and embark on a new tangent as a three-piece; bassist Michael Logie will head instead to the UK and the Hendon Training College, and his position will not be filled. “The idea of replacing him is far too depressing,” says guitarist Ruban Nielson, “So instead we're reinventing the roles of the remaining three to create a smaller, faster band.”

But the Mint Chicks are not leaving anybody empty-handed: the tickets for all dates of this farewell tour will be a unique collectable, made exclusively for these shows -- a white vinyl, 7” 45RPM single, featuring ‘Walking Off A Cliff Again’ from the award winning Crazy Yes, Dumb No album, with brand new song ‘2010’ on the flipside. ‘2010’ is the band’s debut recording as a trio, and will be unavailable elsewhere in ANY format. So why choose the 45RPM single as the medium for this new music?

Well, as anybody who got hold of the previous singles released on vinyl by the Mint Chicks (‘Anti Tiger’, ‘Blue Team Go’, and ‘F**k The Golden Youth’) can testify, the adrenalised rush and immediacy of the band’s music lends itself perfectly to the format. When 7” singles were the main medium for a group to communicate to an audience, they were like a postcard from somewhere else: concise, evocative, and delivering a lasting impression. There are still many who swear the sound of these 7” discs is more alive, tactile, and powerful than modern digital formats; and there can be little argument that as a self-contained art object, 45RPM singles have other recorded mediums beat. Wait -- did we mention that the vinyl of the Mint Chicks 7”/ticket is white? And that it will not be available any other way?

Anyhow, as the band trade Orewa for Oregon, the single and these shows will be a great way to remember the first five years of critic-annoying, venue-terrorising, boredom-smashing, hugely-enjoyable fun. It was a blast.

SUN 16 DEC - Wellington @ SAN FRAN BATH HOUSE
TUES 18 DEC - Nelson @ PHAT CLUB
WEDS 19 DEC - Blenheim @ COPPER BOCK
THURS 20 DEC - Christchurch @ THE CIVIC
(licensed/ all ages)
FRI 21 DEC - Auckland @ THE TRANSMISSION ROOM (licensed/all ages)

7” SINGLE/TICKETS FROM REAL GROOVY (AK/WGTN/CHCH), EVERYMAN (Nelson) and COPPER BOCK (Blenheim)

themintchicks.com / myspace.com/themintchicks

ENDS

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