WhatNow – fleaBITE

WE WON!!!

August 1, 2015 by Robin

APRA, Best New Zealand Children's Album, Best Nz Children's Album, Children's Music Awards, Don't Sit Under The Poo Tree, fleaBITE, The Jungle Is Jumping, WhatNow

Hello fleaBITE fanciers

We just wanted to let you know that fleaBITE won two awards at the 2015 NZ Music Awards!

1. Our latest album THE JUNGLE IS JUMPING won Best NZ Children’s Album.

This follows the success of our previous album CIRCUS OF FLEAS which took the Tui in 2013. We are thrilled!

Thanks to: contributors Conrad Wedde (guitar) and Chris O’Connor (drums) from THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION, jazz wild-man, Jeff Henderson who played sax, clarinet and sang deep manly backing vocals and Angus McNaughton who did a great job of mixing and mastering.

And thanks also to Creative NZ for their support.

You can listen/buy THE JUNGLE IS JUMPING via our website here.

2. Our animated music clip DON’T SIT UNDER THE POO TREE won What Now Video of the Year. This was decided by audience vote!

Thanks to Stephen Templer (illustrator) and Ross Payne (animator) who co-directed this classic clip.

You can watch it below:

Thanks for your support

xxx

Horse of the Year

August 11, 2013 by Robin

APRA, Children's Music Awards, fleaBITE, Horse of the year, WhatNow

On the last weekend of July, Christchurch hosted two awards ceremonies.

The first was the Children’s Music Awards.

The second was Horse of the Year.

We all stayed at the same hotel.

There was a full size replica of a horse at reception.

As I arrived, a herd of horsey folk trotted out of the conference room and raced down the stairs towards the groaning buffet tables. None of them looked like drivers (these were harness racing awards, so don’t call them ‘riders’). There were many older men, many protruding stomachs, much back slapping and bonhomie. I thumbed through a Harness Racing magazine, which had been placed conspicuously near the hotel entrance.

It wasn’t hard to spot the children’s musicians. A very neat Christian couple with their well-behaved children waiting patiently in the foyer, a couple of rouseabouts yahooing in the corridor, and a pirate with blackened teeth and peacock feathers in his cap. With a sigh I turned my back on the smorgasbord and joined the thinner group.

There were three awards up for grabs on our side of the fence:

APRA Song of the Year (won by Chanelle Davis)

What Now Video of the Year (won by Raymond McGrath)

Recorded Music NZ Best Children’s Album of the Year (won by fleaBITE for CIRCUS OF FLEAS…thank you very much.)

The Children’s Music awards were tacked on to the end of a kids’ talent quest sponsored by Singapore Airlines (and possibly Taylor Swift). While the underage winners grasped their airline tickets to Singapore, or Dunedin (second place), our lot tucked certificates (or in my case a gold statuette!) under their scrawny armpits, and headed out for pizza.

The next morning, over a continental breakfast, my path crossed with one of the horsey brigade.

“Good morning,” I rasped blearily, sprinkling pumpkin seeds onto my fresh fruit.

“Who won Horse of the Year?”

“Terror To Love,” he replied, and leaned past me to order bacon and eggs.

As I lugged my bag down the corridor on the way out, I nodded my regards to the lobby horse, and trotted out to the waiting airport shuttle.