Pop/Rock: Malu van Leuuwen
IF the name The Springbok Nude Girls conjures up images of nubile strip-artists decked out in cheeky cheerleading outfits in the old green and gold — think again.
In fact, the name belongs to an all-male, five- piece band based in Stellenbosch where, in the band’s early days, half their audience used to depart between sets disappointed that they weren’t a strip show.
Since then, The Springbok Nude Girls have notched up a considerable amount of airplay with two tracks (Bubblegum On My Boots and I Am Your Friend) lifted off Neanderthal 1, their debut CD.
Besides their music — a smorgasbord of accessible pop/rock, catchy punk-ska breaks and the occasional folk melody — it’s not difficult to see why the SNGs are gaining popularity: onstage they boast the unusual addition of a trompetspeler and a vocalist whose stage gyrations prompted one journalist to describe him as “net soos ‘n boer op Bioplus”.
A significant amount of the SNG’s flourishing popularity can be attributed to vocalist Arno Carstens’ charismatic ego. He points out that his stage antics owe much to legendary performers such as Nick Cave and the manic Iggy Pop. Despite a rather restrained performance at the Purple Turtle in Cape Town recently, in Carstens’ opinion the live appeal of local music could definitely benefit from a few more crazy pop sters.
“Ek’s creative,” says Carstens, who dismisses speaking in either English or Afrikaans, choosing instead to mix and match the two. He concedes, however, that his is a creativity indebted to the last 10 years of British and American indie music.
Anything from the lo-fi punk squalls of New York’s Sonic Youth to the morbid, alcohol-induced songs of London’s Tindersticks can factor into the SNG’s musical equation. “Ons is alternative but we do everything, anders kan dit boring wees. I wouldn’t be able to stick to a certain formula; ek word baie maklik ge-influence but I do my own interpretation. So perhaps that’s what keeps it fresh …”
The band’s ideas are not exactly new, but they are in synch with international music trends, and especially the Nineties fascination with the trashy glitz of the Seventies.
More original is their name, which appeared to Carstens in a dream — “so vinnig in ‘n droompie”. He had few qualms about appropriating the national symbol of the springbok; even fewer when the piracy was leavened with a healthy dose of irreverence: “We’re using wat vir die boere moerse patrioties is, dis vir volk en vaderland. It also reminded us of those girls in bikinis on the covers of old Springbok Radio records.”
As for the name of their debut CD, Neanderthal 1, Carstens candidly admits “there’s nothing to it” and that the entire production, from recording to artwork, was a rush job. It is also, he adds, the source of the only negative criticism the band has received to date. “It’s because the CD’s mixing isn’t so hot. It was done in three days and we did it ourselves.”
Nevertheless, Neanderthal 1 follows in the footsteps of other local bands who have seized the initiative by producing their own discs via small and relatively cheap overseas pressing plants. The result is a generous cut above the average garage demo cassette and is one way of obtaining decent airplay. Besides, it beats waiting around for major record labels to take notice.
“It’s worked very well,” Carstens acknowledges. “Maar ons is nie verskriklik ingestel om what’s going to happen and how far it’s going to go.”
Indeed, it remains to be seen how many of the debut CDs that local bands are producing will produce follow-ups, or even signatures on record contracts. Otherwise, who knows, the Springbok Nude Girls may be obliged to shed their clothes after all.
The Springbok Nude Girls will embark on a national summer tour from December 15 to January 10. Neanderthal 1 is available at gigs, or phone Arno Carstens at (021) 887-2696
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