Entertainment you can bet on

Pic provided by Peter from the Pessimist Club

Today, for the first time in years, I bought one of the major music mags that I used to occassionally contribute to back in the early nineties. Back then they were free newsprint and getting black type on your hands was a joy that went with reading the latest reviews of albums. Nowadays they might even pay their contributors and as the paid writers sip their cappuchino, former writers read their overpriced glossy magazines in the shop instead of buying it. This month's Real Groove features an interview with Ima-Hitt records founder Brian Wafer. Amongst other things Brian mentions a guy from Wellington band, TAB dropping his pants on stage and setting his pubes on fire.

There was a time when the New Zealand betting agency, T.A.B. only allowed gambling on horses and greyhounds and in the late 80's they were running a television ad with the slogan "Entertainment You Can Bet On" and the slogan was the meaning of the band's abbreviated name. The band take in American 80's punk like Bad Brains with a reggae track to boot and they have a similar punch to early Naked Raygun. There's a punked up John Denver cover that was done in the days before ironic punk covers were the norm. In '89 I picked up this EP from a second hand record shop in George Street, Palmerston North which sold brand new Ima Hitt record releases. Only 500 copies of this record were pressed. Is it any good? Hell, yes. For me, Christmas Day starts in less than six hours.

So, Merry Christmas.