Dead Pan Rangers

Originally known as Mystery Machine the band was formed by Mike and Darran in 1997 after meeting at Uni and performed spasmodically around the Waikato area until midway through 1998.

Recording at home using a combination of four-track and computer they began what was initially planned to be an EP, however five months and a name change later they emerged from the studio with an entire album.

Since its release in early ’99, their debut CD has enjoyed favourable reviews and various songs have received airplay on a number of B-Net stations throughout New Zealand. Over the next couple of years the band played live occasionally including gigs with Chicane and Regurgitator but primarily laid pretty low as they struggled to find a drummer (going through about 8 and even resorting to using a drum machine) until Amy joined the band in 2000.

Playing their first gig together this new lineup entered and surprisingly won the “Hamilton Band Experiments” competition… the prize being the production of 500 CDs and four days of recording at Clicksound. After using their prize to remaster and rerelease their debut CD the band headed into the studio in 2001 to begin work on their next album, and continued to do so for the next 2 years, thus earning their reputation as being the laziest band in Hamilton.

Live performances during this period were pretty rare, the highlights being a 95-BFM live to air and supporting The Subliminals at Ward Lane Tavern.

Continuing in the Dead Pan Rangers tradition Amy left to pursue studies in Wellington, leaving the band drummerless until the current incarnation was formed when Bevan joined in ’03.

This lineup has been on a couple of NZ tours and released their second album ‘We’ve Done So Much Good For So Many People’. Currently based in the UK they have just released a new EP ‘Not Much Less Further Than Last Time’.

Offering a somewhat distinctive variation on the indie guitar genre the music has been described as melodic guitar lines contrasting with (sometimes) sinister vocals and the odd analogue synthesizer moment.

Influences are varied and include Flying Nun greats (especially The 3Ds), early Mercury Rev, and Pavement. When it comes to labeling themselves, they have only got as far as “experimentally skewed indie pop”.