Steriogram

Steriogram were a New Zealand punk rock band formed in Auckland in 1999, built around friends Brad Carter and Jake Adams from Whangarei joining up with Tyson Kennedy and Tim Youngson from Auckland. Their name was a mash-up of two bands members had previously played in - Rogergram and Steriosugar. The band started as a melodic rock four-piece known for manic live shows, but their sound shifted dramatically in 2001 when Kennedy began rapping over Carter's guitar riff on their single White Trash. The song's huge local response convinced Kennedy to swap his drumsticks for a microphone permanently, and mutual friend Jared Wrennall joined as the new drummer to complete a five-piece lineup. The band toured New Zealand relentlessly in a friend's van, played free shows at high schools to build their fanbase, and used an innovative online fan street team - mailing promo CDs and stickers to supporters to help spread the word. In 2002 an American A&R scout discovered their White Trash video on the internet and within weeks Capitol Records had signed them. Their debut album Schmack! was released in May 2004, produced by David Kahne who had worked with Paul McCartney and Tony Bennett. The album's lead single Walkie Talkie Man - a funk-driven rap-rock track about power-tripping security guards - became a global hit after being used in Apple's iPod advertising campaign. The video, directed by Michel Gondry using stop-motion knitted puppets, was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards and a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. The song debuted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and appeared in films and video games including Elite Beat Agents and MVP Baseball 2004. Two further albums followed - This Is Not the Target Market (2007) and Taping the Radio (2010) - before the band went inactive around 2011.