Above Ground Explained

Above Ground
Origin:	New Zealand
Current Members:	Bill Direen Maryrose Crook Stuart Page Carol Woodward
Genre:	Freeflow psychedelic Christchurch garage
Years Active:	1983
Label:	Siltbreeze

Above Ground was a band from Christchurch, New Zealand formed in 1983.

History

Above Ground developed out of the friendship of the four members: Bill Direen (Guitar/Vocals), Carol Woodward (Keyboards), Maryrose Wilkinson (Bass/Vocals) and Stuart Page (Drums). The group played locally and at the Punakaiki Music Festival (West Coast, New Zealand); and would have been forgotten like a lot of bands had Page not recorded nearly every practice and concert and organised the "Gone AIWA" cassette (1983), re-released in 2011 on vinyl by Siltbreeze.

Historian of NZ music John Dix mentions the group in his encyclopaedia of NZ rock and roll .^[1]

Cassette

Gone AIWA (1983)

Album

Black vinyl 12" 33 1/3 album was released by Siltbreeze Records, Philadelphia, USA, (from cassette of 1983). 2011.

External links

• [URL = http://south.indies.online.fr]

Notes and References

1. 'In December came Dance of Death by the Soluble Fish Ensemble, and in July [the cassette] Gone AIWA, by yet another new band – Above Ground. Needless to say, the group was short-lived. ... [Bill] Direen had by now built up nationwide interest for his critically acclaimed but hard-to-get releases.' Dix, John (1988). Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock 'n' roll 1955–88. Page 299. Palmerston North, NZ: Paradise Publications.