21 Oct Sound the trumpet for Cheap Fakes in New Zealand
The Nelson Arts Festival brought the band Cheap Fakes (from Australia) to the festival main stage at Founders Park on Thursday night, although rumour has it, lead singer Hayden Andrews is a Kiwi. This five person band performed one show only in the gorgeously decorated energy centre. I will forever remember the tulip chandelier.
Cheap Fakes is a professional band with tonnes of fun songs to dance to. In fact they had two thirds of the seated audience up and dancing within the first three songs. Nelson patrons compared Cheap Fakes style to Fat Freddy’s Drop, Super Groove, and Stray Cats. Simply put they are upbeat, funky, sometimes trippy, and wonderful.
It was said to me by a few audience members that they adored guitar player Scotty French – several said they couldn’t resist his musicianship nor his fantastic energy. I liked him too but I couldn’t get enough trumpet from wonderful versatile Scott Bignell, this multi-talented maestro played trumpet and piano simultaneously. It was impressive. Massive kudos to lead singer guitarist Hayden Andrews, bass player Ben Hack and super cool drummer Sam Mitchell.
All the band members have full time jobs and I was told they have not had a free weekend in eons. Cheap Fakes, deserves to have both a lucrative and prolific career. Their new CD, Modern Vintage was recorded with Grammy nominated John Merchant who has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravits, and Barbara Streisand.
Big credit to sound, lights (and fog) to J.R. Richardson and his crew who handled their huge jobs smoothly and professionally. If you missed Cheap Fakes you can follow them to Wellington where they will be performing soon.
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