Betchadupa

Betchadupa are:
Joe Bramley
Matt Eccles
Liam Finn
Chris Garland

Official Website

MySpace Page

Aust/ NZ Booking Agent

One of New Zealand’s most exciting bands, Betchadupa have realised their goals with the release of the debut album – an album that equally balances the hard-rocking nature of the band with the more reflective side of their personalities.
“When we were starting out the majority of our music was a lot heavier and faster,” explains Liam Finn. “There was still mellow stuff but our crowds just wanted to go hard. We knew we could write the melodic stuff – it just took a lot of practising and getting really tight, but in a slower way. It’s a whole different dynamic.”
True enough, and the finished result swings effortlessly from extremely mellow to extremely raucous. The album has an irresistible energy, coupled with a diverse and melodically rich style. It’s a creation all of it’s own, and raises the bar from the band’s early EP’s quite significantly.

The four guys have spent recent months on the road in Australia and New Zealand, taking their sparkling new tunes to the people and having a blast at the same time. This year they have performed shows on the Big Day Out tour in Aust/NZ and have toured with Jebediah/Tea Party and completed a string of bruising, strenuous Orientation shows with Tim Finn and Deja Voodoo (a band reminiscent of the aforementioned Spinal Tap). And it seems the live crowds are enjoying the whole package.
“There seems to be more familiarity with people hearing our songs on the radio (in Australia) and we had more betchadupa fans this time than we would have expected. People turning up to shows wearing our t-shirts!” says Liam, singer and guitarist for the band. “Touring is probably the most fun thing I can think of doing, but it takes a lot out of you physically.”

The new album’s songs benefit from their live expertise, and also reflect a changing band dynamic as all four members are now having an input to the songwriting. Betchadupa spent two weeks rehearsing the album tracks in an industrial warehouse then entered Revolver Studios with their friend and engineer, Sam Gibson.
“It was the first time we got to do some recording in an intense couple of weeks, rather than just a couple of days here and there. It meant we got into a real flow and slowly lost our minds to cabin fever. Writing & recording can be deeply satisfying but it is a very intense thing to do.”
The recordings were completed at Roundhead Studios, then whisked off to 301 Mastering in Sydney for the polishing touches. Two cuts from the album, ‘Sleepy News’ and ‘Supa Day’ were identified as singles and were mixed offshore by Nick Launey and Tchad Blake, respectively.

With the artwork and album title deadlines approaching fast, the band got together for an off-the-cuff photoshoot and then started messing around with their name.
“We were all hung over after the last night of the BDO in Melbourne, the guys hated me for dragging them into this lift to take the (covershot) polaroid,” says Liam. “Plus, we were already past the deadline for an album title, so we started adding words to betchadupa and Alpha sounded right. Then we realised that Alpha means 1 and this was our first album. It was almost too perfect!”

The Alphabetchadupa – 12 songs that encompass both the power and energy of the live shows (such as singles ‘Sleepy News’ and album closer ‘Drop D’) with the emotive beauty of a band (‘Lucy’s Song’ & ‘Easy As It Seems’) that is maturing beyond their time.

And in the future?
“Well, the album is being released in NZ and Australia, but hopefully by the end of the year ‘The Alphabetchadupa’ will be released worldwide. We’ll be touring Australia and NZ as much as we can and having as much fun as we possibly can.”
Wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?

REVIEWS
JUICE MAGAZINE - JUNE
7/10 ALBUM REVIEW
sample quote - "The young Finn and his band are powerful songwriters, and The Alphabetchadupa is a debut album that promises a whole new era of fantastic music from New Zealand's fine family of pop-rock"

ROLLING STONE - 4 STARS
Rock star's offspring know a whole lot more than just their ABC. There are three things you can infer from this Auckland quartet's debut full-length LP: they sound much older than 18: they are definitely influenced by the Beatles; and Liam Finn resembles his dad, Neil Finn, whenever he opens his mouth. But don't think Betchadupa is still burning the Crowded House flame. The Alphabetchadupa's well-crafted songlist has something for everyone. They rock out on such songs as the wickedly catchy "Supa Day", while "Filthy McNasty" and "Drop D" toss punkish guitar riffs into the mix. "Lucy's Song", meanwhile, does full justice to Finn's sweet voice. OK, they may not be the Fab Four, but you can bet that Betchadupa plan to stick around for quite a while.
Vanessa Franko

DAILY TELEGRAPH
the alphabetchadupa - 4 STARS
He's the teenage son of rock icon Neil Finn, but Liam Finn deserves accolades for his songwriting ability and vocal prowess in his own right. The talented lead singer/guitarist started up a band with three Kiwi mates - including Matt Eccles, son of the Angels drummer Brent - in the summer of '97. Five years and two highly praised EPs later, betchadupa's debut album, The Alphabetchadupa, is born. The group of 18-year-olds are vitually unheard of in Oz, but that should change with the release of their album next week. No two tracks sound the same. The only constant is Liam's lilting, soothing, melodic vocals, soaring and dipping at his whim. The ballads, like Easy As It Seems and Lucy's Song, are sad and sweet. When Liam sings "We'll all be true, ' cause I love you" in Lucy's Song, it's hard not to believe him. Some vocal harmonies mastered by Liam and bass player/backing singer Joe Bramley are reminiscent of Coldplay's genius on Parachutes. Supa Day comprises up-tempo Beatlesque harmonies, and the electric guitar riffs in Filthy McNasty and Rain are just superb. But it's too hard to single out one track, since the album doesn't comprise just two or three good songs, but rather 12 gems.

“They’re good. Not just worryingly good for their age…but a fresh-faced, pop-rock, occasionally noisy, effortlessly melodic, alarmingly assured sort of good”
(NZ Herald)

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1. At Night
2. Supa Day
3. Easy As It Seems
4. Rain
5. Filthy McNasty
6. Life Will Be The Same
7. Feed The Dogs
8. Unused Potatoes
9. Lucy’s Song
10. Sleepy News
11. Drop D
12. Other Way

1. Supa Day
2. Drowning
3. Lost My Friends

1. Sleepy News
2. Move Over
3. Lucid Dream

1. I Want It
2. Awake
3. Drive Away
4. Guiding
5. Man On My Left
6. West Coast Religion
7. Brighter Sound

released with 3D eyewear to compliment the artwork!

1. Empty Head
2. Spill The Light
3. Bits
4. Mr White
5. Derelict
6. Heavy Dog

Originally released in aqua blue cover, then orange