Steriogram cover the country

They may have made heaps of money out of the iPod ads but Steriogram's first love will always be touring.

They're doing 29 dates starting in Paihia on May 17, then heading down the country to reach Invercargill by May 31 and then back up to Auckland by June 18.

After playing more than 300 shows overseas in the past couple of years this time there won't be any planes involved. They're keeping it real, piling in the van, finding a designated driver, leaving no beer undrunk, and no rest area unvisited.

They haven't been on a New Zealand tour this big since their 2002 NZ Schools tour.

With a top 20 UK single for Walkie Talkie Man - thanks iPod - and a Grammy nomination for the video to that song, Brad, Tyson, Jake, Tim and Jared have got to be happy. Schmack!, their debut album, was released last year and featured Walkie Talkie Man, Go, Road Trip, new single On and On, and, of course, White Trash.

Steriogram will be supported by local pop punk bands 48 May and Goodnight Nurse.

For tour dates see What's On page 25.

Meanwhile, self-confessed good time party band The Rogers Sisters play three shows in May.

Made up of Miyuki Furtado (vocals/bass) and sisters Jennifer Rogers (vocals/guitar) and Laura Rogers (drums), their story goes something like this: Jennifer and Laura met Miyuki through a mutual friend. It wasn't until a late night karaoke session (where he sang Purple Rain and Somewhere Over The Rainbow) that he was invited to join the band. The band initially formed as a fun project to perform at parties but things changed.

And in 2003, after their debut release Pure Evil, they landed opening slots for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Har Mar Superstar, and The Kills, as well as one-off gigs with their heroes ESG (from New York), The Fall, and Mission of Burma.

The band's EP Three Fingers is out on May 9 and is best described as snotty, pretty, and punky with growly vocals and catchy melodies.

The Roger Sisters play Dunedin's Arc Cafe, Wednesday May 25; Wellington's Indigo, Thursday May 26; Auckland's Kings Arms on Saturday May 28.