The Checks

Playing Mountain Mardi Gras 10pm 28 June

The Checks have had a meteoric rise in their native New Zealand, their bluesy, age-defying garage rock racket winning them fans as illustrious as REM’s Michael Stipe and bagging them a 2005 New Zealand Music Award after just one 7” single. The Checks’ sound, however - spine-tingling, raucous, riff soaked rock n’ roll - is a product of the modern world. “We started off doing covers in front of our school, you know; playing ‘Twist And Shout’ to your mates for the fiftieth time, then got our first proper gig at someone’s 21st when we were fifteen…we busked outside the supermarket for 15 minutes, earned 40 bucks and bought a bottle of whiskey before the gig; it made for an eventful night.”  Yet from such humble beginnings, The Checks blossomed.

Co-erced into writing an original song for a local talent show, the band came up with ‘The Creek’ - which appears as a b-side on debut single ‘Hunting Whales’ - and things progressed from there; aged just 18, The Checks were supporting REM, one of the biggest bands in the world. Then NME editor Conor McNicholas saw them perform and wowed by the band’s now-legendary live show, he offered them a spot on the 2005 NME New Music tour, giving The Checks the chance they craved to have their music heard outside their native land. 

The sky is now the limit for The Checks; still frightfully young and already one of the hottest live bands around with a fantastic debut album up their sleeves, you could almost forgive them a touch of arrogance. Yet the band remain ever-humble about their ambitions.  “We’re not interested in being huge rock stars and making a bazillion dollars; we had a great time making the record and we’re very proud of it. It’d be nice if it could connect with people on some kind of level.”