Hallelujah Picassos

The Hallelujah Picassos were a reggae, rap, ska, thrash, jazz, pop crossover band from Auckland, New Zealand. They started life in 1988 as a garage punk band The Rattlesnakes. They were released on Pagan Records for their first official single No More, following several self-released cassettes, then with the Wildside label for subsequent releases.

New Zealand publication "Rip It Up" described their music as a mix and match: "The Picassos mix and match musical styles to keep themselves, as much as their audience, interested. A reggae bassline appears in a thrash number, which breaks to a pop jazz ditty before thrashing back into something with a hardcore bassline which is finished off with a reggae outro." (Rip It Up, May 1992)

The Hallelujah Picassos are particularly notable for their association with other bands from Supergroove [http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/3100] , musician Greg Johnson and venerable ska band The Managers [http://southbound.co.nz/themanagers.html] , to Dub Asylum and new punk bands like City Newton Bombers, [http://www.nzmusician.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/article/pi_articleid/776] [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0512/S00037.htm] and also for their association with cult New Zealand figures such as Martin Emond who provided artwork for several of their releases. [http://hotelfred.blogspot.com/2005/12/hallelujah.html] In 2002 "New Zealand Musician" called Hallelujah Picassos "one of thiscountry's seminal reggae/rock fusion outfits." (Vol:10, No:3) [http://www.nzmusician.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/article/pi_articleid/205]

In 1991 they were the support act for Screamin Jay Hawkins on a tour of NZ. [http://home.datacomm.ch/mik/ba/h/hawkins_jay/bio/bio19901999.html] They also played support for Soundgarden, Faith no more, the Violent Femmes, Primus, Ice T and Body Count, Asian Dub Foundation, African Head Charge and more.

After they toured in support of "The Gospel Of The DNA Demon" EP, Johnnie Pain and Peter McLennan left the band, reportedly for 'spiritual reasons'. After recruiting new members, the band officially broke up in 1997 but occasionally reunite to play live gigs, such as Radio 95BFM's 30th Birthday, in 1999.

Although they had limited commercial success - "Rewind" was "the only single that ever made a dent in the charts" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOjYbdU1yoc] - the band retains a cult status in the New Zealand music scene among fans who recall their incendiary live shows. They were featured in the book "Kiwi Rock", published in 1996 - the entry for them is viewable on their Myspace page.

Members

* Roland Rorschach
* Johnnie Pain
* Peter McLennan
* Bobbylon
* Gavaroonie

Discography

Albums

* "Hateman In Love"(1992)
* "Drinking With Judas"(1993)
* "Gospel of the DNA Demon EP"(1995)

ingles

* "Taxi Driver"(1989)
* "Peanut Butter"(1991)
* "No More"(1991)
* "Lovers +"(1992)
* "U + I"(1993)
* "Rewind"(1994)

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/hallelujahpicassos Hallelujah Picassos Myspace page]
* [http://www.dubasylum.co.nz/hallelujahpicassos.html DubAsylum page]
* [http://www.wildsiderecords.com/artist.cfm?i=31 Wildside page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPN1sk_rMGA Lovers + featuring Greg Johnson (youtube)]