KEY POINTS:
There are quite a few vinyl records by the Rock and Roll Machine floating round in people's lounges. Since forming in 1999 the Auckland band have released a number of songs on the cute, and very rock'n'roll seven-inch single format, including this year's Creature of the Night.
But singer and guitarist Matt Stroobant wonders how much the fans actually listen to them. "So many people tell me, 'I've got your seven inch hanging on the wall in the lounge'. I say, 'Great. Do you listen to it?'. 'Oh no, we don't have a record player'," he smiles.
"It's probably better that way," he says, cracking up.
So it's about time the Rock and Roll Machine, which play tonight at the Dogs Bollix as part of the four-band nationwide tour A Low Hum, got a full length album out on CD.
"As much as we don't want to be a part of an industry or a cog, there's a certain point where it gets beyond a joke and you have to put something out on CD as opposed to vinyl," says Stroobant, who, along with bass player Karin Canzek, is relaxing on the couch at the Killing Room, a rehearsal space for bands in Grey Lynn.
The place stinks of stale smoke, but the old couches are comfy, there's a kettle to make yourself a coffee and a Coke machine on hand.
Former Black Cap Dion Nash and his band hire a room, says the Killing Room's manager, George, a tall, lily-white rocker.
Stroobant has been up all night watching the Black Caps play Australia and even though it's 1pm he's looking a bit sleepy, but is still chatty.
The band's self-titled debut is only nine songs long, but for a monstrous slab of straight-up rock'n'roll, it veers off in all sorts of directions - there's the bloodthirsty Animal; the sludgy Slave and rumbling Primitive; and live anthem and signature track, Rock'n'roll Junky, rounds things off.
"That's what we try and do with our songs, being a three-piece it's all about dynamics," says Stroobant. "You know, musically a song like Slave is supposed to evoke an Egyptian slave ship going down the river. But really, you know we could play anything and it'll still sound like us," he says.
They are heavily influenced by music from the late 60s because "in '68 you've got Motown going on and there's also the Stooges.
"You put on anything from the great 60s stuff, like the Kinks or the Troggs, it still sounds incredibly vital and if I put on Wild Thing I still get excited. That's what we try and do - bring in any style of music and turn it into our own thing."
The pair started a band because they wanted to give the live music scene a rev-up. Many of the musicians they were hanging out with at Grey Lynn's Frisbee Studios had the same idea.
The Rock and Roll Machine's first gigs were supporting the D4, who had just released their first EP. "They were all really, really well attended shows because it was the D4," remembers Canzek.
"In the late 90s and early 2000s, and some people might disagree, but there seemed to be a big gap in any band putting on an interesting live show. It was very jangly, you know?" she explains, trying not to offend.
Now, after hundreds of live shows, their gigs continue to be a blistering and sweaty experience.
For the Rock and Roll Machine, which also includes drummer Rich Mixture, music is a lifestyle. Stroobant says prolific Portland band Dead Moon are the band's biggest inspiration because rock'n'roll is their life.
"You always have your influences about where you come from musically, but with Dead Moon it's about lifestyle and attitude rather than just the music. And that's what being in a band should be like.
"It's not a very well-paying lifestyle," he laughs, "but that's the thing, you just do it, and maybe it did take too long for our record to come out, but well, I see myself playing music until I'm 80 anyway, so I don't think about it in a pop music sensibility of releasing something every year and a half.
"There's no longevity in that. It doesn't mean we don't want to reach as many people with our music, of course we want to, but you've got to set your standards," he smiles.
Because Canzek is from Croatia and hasn't been home since she first arrived here 12 years ago, they plan to do a European tour soon.
"We want to get over there and not necessarily dominate the world, but just go and see Europe, play gigs, meet good bands, play some more shows, and meet more people," says Stroobant.
It might not pay well, but that sounds like a pretty good lifestyle.
PERFORMANCE
Who: The Rock and Roll Machine, with the Bloody Souls, the Mysterious Tapeman and Don Julio and the Hispanic Mechanic on the A Low Hum Tour.
Where & when: Tonight, Dogs Bollix, Auckland; tomorrow, Tom Kroon's Music Works, 61 Picton St, Howick, (all ages from 5pm-8pm); and Sohl Bar, Hamilton, (from 10pm); Sunday, Kava Cafe, Waihi, 4pm.
New album: The Rock and Roll Machine, out now.
