Introducing: The D4
This rock 'n' roll quartet hails from, believe or not, New Zealand. The D4 started their track across the vast landscape of all that is rock n roll, on the North Shore suburbs of Auckland. Longtime friends and musical partners, Dion and Jimmy, began writing songs for a band which would become known around New Zealand as full of "explosive potential." The band of course was the d4, still in early development, in 1998, as Dion and Jimmy added to other musicians, Vaughn (bass) and Beaver (drums). The guys started playing local clubs and soon became known for being "fun and [full of] vitality." In 1999, they caught the eye of Flying Nun Records and released their self-titled debut EP soon received heavy airplay on local indie radio stations. The duration of 1999 and 2000 were spent touring, including am eight night tour of Japan. The D4 supported such bands as the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Fu Mancho, and the Hellacopters. In early 2001, the D4 released their second EP, "Ladies Man," which included a live track, from a show in Tokyo. By now the band had created somewhat of a following in their native, New Zealand, and Australia.
Their debut full-length album, "6Twenty," had been in the works since late 2000, and would finally be released in NZ, in September of 2001. The album includes such singles as the fast paced, ode to all that is rock "Rock 'n' Roll Motherfucker" and the throwback to 1969 "Rebekah." Right now the band is continuing their heavy and non stop touring schedule and have crossed over into Europe and the UK, where "6Twenty" was just released. "6Twenty" has received remarkable reviews and continues to climb the charts internationally. "6Twenty" is set for a September release here in the States, and you can count on a tour. NME recently was quoted describing the D4 as, "They play mean garage punk rock with nods towards Motorhead and AC/DC and a pinch of Jon Spencer. They make the sort of joyous, mucky noise that The Hives, try as they might, consistently fail to render." With press like that, you can count on the rock n roll meets punk sound of the D4 to take the US indie scene by storm. As Dion recently summed up, "Junk is always where it ends. MC5 fucked out. Stooges fucked out. Thunders too. This ain't about drugs, it's about playing rock 'n' roll."
For mroe info on D4 check out their website @: http://www.thed4.co.nz/
Photos: http://www.nme.com and http://fmrecords.webhostcontrol.com