Leo, Stu Pedley and Gabe Johnson of Corrosive Moses.
Leo Magri of Coromind magazine has said about Punk Rock, “It is loud. Punk Rock is rude, Punk Rock is in your face. It is not polite. It’s been upsetting people for years.” Leo is a Punk Rock musician (drummer) and is a member of the local three piece Punk Rock band, Corrosive Moses.
The entire community was invited to come and enjoy a night of punk rock at the Whitianga Town Hall on Saturday, 19 July. It was titled “What’s with all the noise”. It certainly filled that description. The central feature of the night was to celebrate the release of Corrosive Moses’ first single, and video, “Buttercup”, filmed by friend and director, Fauze Hassen. Other bands featured in the programme – TheBand.com, Commodore 65 – also of Punk Rock ilk. The duo of Roimata and Andy Hopping was not – they were Pop and upbeat and also great. DJ Sunray took the vibe to the late hours and she would have to be one of the most popular DJs in the North Island.
Everyone was local. It was an all ages gathering. I might have been the oldest there but the punk rockers of Mercury Bay have quite a few 50 plus friends.
The Town Hall’s official ceremonies and hundreds of civic meetings would not have recognised the dim, flashing lights, the very loud music, the luminous plants, the mass of shadowy figures – some dancing and a lot watching, as the music thundered – be it rhymical, and very discouraging of conversation.
I shout-chatted with some of the crowd, many whom I knew. It was a fact that after greeting one another, one of us would comment, ”This isn’t actually my kind of music. That conversation occurred several times. However, other things were shouted above the music. Such as – “Isn’t it great to see this on a cold winter’s night,?” or “I’m pleased for the youth to have this kind of event,” or “A good crowd – the place is thumping!”
These are not the utterances of the weak minded; they are not people pretending to be grooving to the latest noise of punk rock. Most can’t hear the words. They are there and they don’t look sour or bored.
The fact is many simply wanted to support Corrosive Moses and the other bands – support them in their vision of what they would like to achieve. Many had received a personal invitation. Also, some have children who love Punk Rock and so registered their support for whatever their children or grandchildren treated as a great night out. Some wanted to show their support for the event. It was a small town in action – acting locally but thinking in a global context, embracing something positive out of their circle of interest and out of their comfort zone.
It can’t always be about supporting what we enjoy personally. Some of the music was head banging in volume and rhythm, but seeing others really get into it meant it was a passion for them. Whoever went through the doors would automatically recognise that a lot of people had worked hard behind the scenes to create the atmosphere and energy and bring the crowd, all because they believed in it. Between 150 and 200 people went through the doors of the town hall on this mid-winter night.
Leo Magri, says that their full-length album is on the way. He invites people to listen to the songs and defies the community “Not to be moving and singing along to them in the end.”
