www.consumerproductions.com
Avoidable droid are an ex Tasmanian band that formed in 1998.
Avoidable Droid split up in 2003. featuring members of Midnight Caller, Witch hats, End Show, Rentboy and Fifty million clowns.
Random reviews
Togatus 2001 AVOIDABLE DROID
cdr e.p.
The popular conception that Hobart has no underground music scene could not be more wrong - it had about three last time I checked, and I still haven't made it to the glitch-hop night at Syrup on Wednesdays. One particular axis revolves around the small group of cynical geniuses that compromise the roster of the Consumer Productions label, notably the Cross brothers Dan and Patrick. At last count, there where at least five musical projects featuring both or one of these lads, and all were pretty fine musical experiences in the eyes(ears?) of this jaded reviewer. The most recent actual product they've coughed up isn't actually a Consumer Productions release, rather it's a label-less five track e.p. self-titled Avoidable Droid, which gets my award for a truly shithouse band name. It's the only thing wrong with this disc though - it's a wee corker, actually. The big emphasis has been on songwriting, with strong pop structures undermined by a gorgeous ruggedness of sound - It's rough but not sloppy; the abrasive qualites hiding a strong sense of melody that actually makes this very accesible music. All five tracks are propulsive and fun, a bit angsty but not wallowing; a bit silly but not juvenile. I can't quite think of a comparison either, maybe there's a bit of that New Zealand lo-fi thing going on, maybe a splash of the Beat Happening. My only whinge (apart from the wacky 'students-reciting-Young-ones-episodes' name) is that it's all just too short - I wanted more by the end of Your Face (easily the standout track), and there wasn't more - give me an album, now! Still at a pathetic five dollars whinging is difficult. I have no idea where you might find this, so check the usual haunts in which one finds local releases or check the website for Avoidable Droid (cripes - it pains me to even type it) at www.geocities.com/avoidabledroid or email [email protected]
Andrew Harper 2001
Avoidable Droid - Mystery Breeze CD Review April 2003
I've had this on the discman for the past week and after repeated listenings I've still come to the same conclusion. Great songs, very ordinary vocals. For a band to have such instrumental cohesiveness, excellent material and good production captured on tape with singing which for the most is part flat and and off key is disappointing. This isn't to say that 'Mystery Breeze' is unlistenable, its just that its the glaringly detractive feature from what would otherwise be a fantastic CD. The opening track 'Bulhorn' is like The Pixies doing The Velvet Underground / Lou Reed. The second track 'Your Face' is the standout of the disc with a refrain that sticks in your head like chewing gum in a high school girls hair, escept far more enjoyable. Other highlights are the meancing dirge 'Sleep, Barge' and the fuzzy pulse of 'Coy'. To finish it all off there's some good old white noise with 'Smells Like Time' and the funeral march of 'The Cult Song'. I also found the sample of a radio interviewer comparing a track to The Doors hilarious. Overall its still pretty good, previous gripe excepted and if it wasn't given to me to review I'd probably have bought a copy anyway for some of the fantastic throat tearing screams.
review from 'cornucopia' local music zine.
Tasmanian arts and culture magazine.
11th June 2002 issue 002
Avoidable Droid self titled cd
released in 2001, recorded 2000 and 2001
Avoidable Droid have been around the Hobart original music scene for a while... fuck a long time, i guess. They either have that 'Hobart' sound, or they have been part of the scene long enough for their sound to influence the 'Hobart sound... At forst listen the songs on the CD sounded the same, but after a few times on repeat a ditinct style and feel that Avoidable Droid put into their songs emerged. Then the songs started to take on their own personality. The first track 'And the World has gone' has, for me, a powerful anthem like quality. The other track that stood out for me is track 5 'Your face'. Both of these songs could have a 'fulle' sound, either in the mixing or by adding harmony vocals.
Iv'e only seen Avoidable Droid a few times and not been familiar enough with their songs to really get into them. After listening to this CD I have a better feel for the band and look forward to hearing them live.
Here is a review from the Magic Dirt gig 3rd November 2001 at Insomnia
Rentboy sucked!
At the all ages, the supports were awesome. Ballpoint went off, and got the crowd pumped with a good mix of original melodic punk covers of other peoples good melodic punk. Top quality covers, like NOFX and Millencolin were played with aplomb. I was very impressed with the vocal range of the singer, sounding authentic in San Dimas High School Football Rules and having a good melody in the original songs. But, that being said, the original songs were the bands weak point. From their covers, it was clear they were all very talented youngsters. Some of the originals (especially the second one) I thoroughly enjoyed, and with a bit of work on their song writing talents, this band will go a long way.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on the dancefloor to this band. Ballpoint left the stage and Spilt arrived to keep the crowd at peak level. I have seen spilt many times before, and I am always impressed by their rock songs, and disappointed by their soft radio-friendly crap. However, they played to the occasion, leaving Scarlett by the wayside in order to play favourites such as Cruiser, Bilby Eradication Scheme and OMSD. I have seen spilt play better, and the mixing didn't sound as crisp and clear as it has previously, but in my opinion the decision to replace the sequencer with an extra guitarist works wonders. Spilt also gave out some free CD's, much to the enjoyment of some of their new teenage fanbase. The crowd liked them very much indeed.
By the time magic dirt came on, the crowd just couldn't get anymore excited. They played a good set mixed set, with a lot of songs from the latest album mixed with old classics. She-Riff was noticeable by it's absence, but other favourites like Supagloo and Dirty Jeans were present All in all the performance was good. Not brilliant, but they certainly kept the crowd entertained. It seemed they were restraining themselves though, which is not surprising considering that, in 4 hours, they had to play...
The 18+ gig. Here the situation was the complete opposite. Huge crowd, but they were all there to get drunk and be entertained by a band, as opposed to the all ages, where EVERYONE was a fan. I got there at 10:00 (two hours after doors opened) hoping to miss the support acts. Silly me. I got there to find RentBoy (the first support) had just gone on stage...and they were shit. Absolutely shit. The singing was atrocious, and they were way out of time. Halfway through the set, the bassist picked up a guitar instead, so they had two guitars and no bass. It was appalling. I remember saying to myself "I hope the second support is better than this"... Well, they weren't.
The process of Rentboy leaving and Avoidable Droid arriving consisted of the following steps.
1. Change Drummer
2. Guitarist and Bassist swap instruments.
3. Get the other guy to sing.
That's right, RentBoy and Avoidable Droid are the same band with a different drummer, and this Really really pisses me off. Any other band could have had that support spot. How arrogant would you have to be to get both spots with your own bands? Even if it was a talented band it would still be a pathetic thing to do. When it's a shit band, it just makes the crowd hate you even more. There were plenty of other Hobart bands who were more than happy to have that spot, so stop being so selfish! (I wrote this whole review just so I could have my little rant about that. It pissed me off lots.)
Honestly, words cannot convey how shit this band was. A person I was chatting to at the gig went and bought the rentboy CD so he convinced himself in the morning that no, he wasn't drunk and yes, the band really was that bad. He was then going to find the band to get it signed, but he decided it would probably be worth more if he signed it himself. In my opinion, it would be worth more if it was frisbee'd across the room and smashed into a million pieces. This band was so shit, I had to leave the room...I couldn't stand it anymore.
Whilst outside, however, I started chatting to a lovely young lass, who was rather drunk but DEFINATELY NOT CHEAP! This was the highlight of the night. When the band finally stopped playing, and I had finally stopped laughing at this charming lady's great comedy, I went inside to watch the one and only Magic Dirt. And they rocked. Rocked hard. Much better than the all ages. They played a set for real fans, with some of their great classics being played, as well as a new song "Sarah Mae". While not a rock song like the others, it was certainly much appreciated by the crowd.
The audience participation was awesome. Rapping, commenting, heckling and even just having a conversation with the band...it was a great atmosphere, and I was really glad that I live in Hobart where we can see the audience getting so up close and personal with the band. The audience was much better than at the Something For Kate/Powderfinger gig.
Anyway, the crowd loved the band, and the band loved the crowd. There were some drunk cawkheads in the mosh, but that is to be expected. Generally speaking the mosh was one of the nicest, best behaved moshes I've been in (and I should know, I was in the middle of it.) Anyone who didn't go to this show missed out. Sure, they missed out on a sore neck and sore legs and sore feet and smoky, sweaty clothes, but they also missed out on a goddamn awesome night. Thank you Magic Dirt, and thank you to The Greens for bringing them. (No thanks to rentboy or avoidable droid. Seriously guys, you should disband real soon.)
Forum Joe
