Punk/blues band ready for Dead Kennedys Auckland gig

The Dicks. Photo / Paul Smith

Simon Donald was naturally surprised when a bandmate texted him saying their group had been invited to be support act for an upcoming Dead Kennedys gig.

The Dead Kennedys, a famous American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1978, play at The Powerstation, Auckland, on November 10.

Simon, the guitarist, singer and songwriter from The Dicks, said the support act invite was a real coup.

"We're really looking forward to it."

Another support band called Nuggiez would be playing.

"They're good friends of ours and we've been playing shows with them for a long time."

Other members of The Dicks include drummer Regan Flanigan, bassist Josh Armstrong, and an interesting stage presence simply known as Gus.

The Dicks, from left, Regan Flanigan, Josh Armstrong, Simon Donald, Gus. Photo / Paul Smith

They're a punk/blues infusion band who formed in Thames in about 2015 and "started out as a bit of a joke".

"We did a gig, because we thought it would be funny, and it went from there.

"Word of mouth spread around and about six months later we were headlining punk gigs in Auckland.

"We would do a show and people would go crazy — half the audience sort of didn't know what was going on, but the other half was right into it.

"We just get together and it happens — it's hard to explain.

"It's kind of like a joke that went too far, it just hasn't stopped, but it's awesome."

Simon, who lives in Paraparaumu Beach with supportive partner Rowan Cotterill and their 3-month-old son Alba, said the band opened for Marky Ramone, from the Ramones, last year.

"That was quite a big gig at The Studio, Auckland."

The band's name was "a different story everytime".

"We used to walk into a pub and the bar owner used to called us dicks — 'the dicks are here' — and it kind of went from there."

Simon has also started a band in Kāpiti, as a side project, with Nick Potts, from the House of Sound Music Academy.

"It's a two piece band, called The Deadbeat Dads, that sounds like a three piece band.

"We've played in Palmerston North and have a couple of gigs coming up in Nelson and Mapua."

And Simon has a solo project called The Boy In The Hall.

"It's like a folk blues song and a lot of poetry and writing.

"I played at the Raumati Social Club and there was a full house."