Heartland New Zealand calls for Elemeno P

Elemeno P's Dave Gibson, Scotty Pearson, Lani Purkis and Justyn Pilbrow.

Auckland-based rockers Elemeno P are looking forward to rewarding their fans by spending a month touring heartland New Zealand.

The band have achieved plenty of success in a relatively short time with two hit albums, constant radio play and a huge amount of touring to back it up.

Drummer Scotty Pearson said their 2003 debut Love & Disrespect surprised everyone after heading straight to No 1 on the New Zealand charts.

"It was so exciting. Everyone right across the board who works with us was totally blown away.

"The record company liked it and thought realistically it would maybe sell gold, but it went gold in a week and platinum in a fortnight," Pearson said.

When the band got over the initial joy of having made a hit album, they started feeling the pressure to do it again.

That album - Trouble in Paradise - was released late last year and appears to be following in the footsteps of its predecessor.

"The stakes were much higher and we had something to prove to come up with a new record - a better record - which I honestly think we did," Pearson said. "I think this album is much stronger, and definitely more subtle."

Elemeno P's local tour comes on the back of a recent tour in Australia, where local radio has also started warming to them.

"We're making some in-roads onto radio stations over there, which is a hard thing to crack, but we're doing really well.

"It's a process, and we just have to get over there and keep at it and hopefully it will all come together for us in the end," Pearson said.

The New Zealand tour "One Left Standing" with Goodnight Nurse starts in Invercargill on June 22.

"We love getting down south and will be playing places like Timaru, Methven and Blenheim, so it should be really fun - and a lot of those are all ages."

Pearson said the band were aware that many of the fans were young and in some places two shows would be played in one night to get around the age limit restrictions.

Some venues were often not willing to host underage gigs because there was no opportunity to make money through alcohol sales, but they were more willing to make the sacrifice if a later all ages show followed.

As well as having played about 70 shows since November, the band have been busy making videos for the string of singles from Trouble in Paradise.

Fans are likely to get a taste of a couple of new tracks which will appear on a re-released version of Trouble in Paradise later this year.

Pearson said Elemeno P fans were likely to appreciate Goodnight Nurse and the two bands were looking forward to having some fun on tour.

"They've worked hard ... they've got good songs and good following and I think the two bands will complement each other well."

He said being able to have fun was an important part of touring. "Hopefully the fun we're having can translate into fun for the punters."

One Left Standing tour. Elemeno P with Goodnight Nurse:-

Invercargill, Army Drill Hall (All Ages), June 22nd; Queenstown, Revolver Bar, June 23 and June 24; Oamaru, Penguin Club, June 27 (two shows); Timaru, Bar Xcel, June 28 (two shows) ; Methven, Blue Pub, June 29; Christchurch, Esplanade Hotel, June 30 (two shows); Motueka/Nelson, Riwaka Hotel, July 1; Blenheim, The Copper Bock, July 2; Taranaki, Eltham Town Hall, July 5 (two shows) ; Palmerston North, Colosseum, July 6; Wellington, Indigo Bar, July 7; Napier, Sideline Bar, July 8; Hamilton, Altitude, July 13; Glenfield, Glenfield Tavern, July 14; Auckland, The Studio, July 15 ( two shows).

- NZPA