FEATURE: December 2010 / Januay 2011 Issue

It’s summertime and Rip It Up’s got everything you need. There’s a free Balcony TV DVD with every copy, plus stories on Ladi6, Rihanna and Tool. Download an exclusive free summer mixtape, and be in to win over 400 prizes. Also in this issue we’ve got stories on Shapeshifter, Nick Cave, Reggae in New Zealand, and we go one on one with Lars from Metallica.

Subscribe to Rip It Up now and get a free CD, and a complete TV season on DVD. The huge summer issue of Rip It Up with a free Balcony TV DVD - out now.

Free Balcony TV DVD With Every Issue

It's been a busy first year for the team at Balcony TV Auckland. Having kicked off way back in February 2010, over 100 New Zealand artists have graced the Balcony since. With a stack load of acts in the waiting, things are looking very bright for the al fresco online show. To celebrate it's first year, Smokefree and Rip It Up gives you the best of Balcony TV Auckland 2010 DVD, Free with this issue.

Aloe Blacc

A singer, rapper, beatmaker and musician, Aloe Blacc has been a titan in the global soul and hip hop scenes for over a decade. He heads to New Zealand in January 2011 for what will no doubt be an unmissable show.

With the 2010 release of his hit single 'I Need A Dollar' and the album it features on, Good Things, Aloe Blacc has been catapulted to a new tier of success. Martyn Pepperell spoke to Blacc about his life and influences ahead of his journey to Aotearoa.

Read the full interview in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

The Jim Jones Revue

The Jim Jones Revue might sound like they came straight from the 1950s, but the group is so much more than a rockabilly knock-off. Anna McKeon spoke to lead guitarist Rupert Orton about the band’s newfound success and why they’re excited to head to New Zealand for the Big Day Out.

Formed just three years ago after Rupert Orton met Jim Jones at a London nightclub, the Jim Jones Revue got its start playing gigs at dive bars around the city. Since then, the band, which also includes Elliot Mortimer on piano, Gavin Jay on bass and Nick Jones on drums, has released two albums and left an impression on crowds around the world.

Read the full interview in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

Ladi6

Following on from the extensive interview we ran on Ladi6 in the last issue of Rip It Up, Martyn Pepperell pauses to investigate her fantastic second album The Liberation Of… song by song.

All in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

Lars Of Metallica

In a rare one on one interview, Dan Rutledge sat down with Metallica founder Lars Ulrich pre-show in Auckland, before the band annihilated Vector Arena.

Read the full interview in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now. Watch our exclusive video interview with Lars of Metallica.

My Chemical Romance

After being crowned the kings of emo-rock, My Chemical Romance rode a wave of controversy following the suicide of one of their fans. Now they are back with a new sound, and a new attitude.

“You’re a pawn in somebody’s game,” My Chemical Romance bassist Mikey Way says of the relationship between a band and the media. “Like, ‘who’s the scapegoat? Ok, My Chem’s the scapegoat - kids love them.’”

It’s not surprising he’s more than a little passionate about this particular aspect of life in the limelight. In 2008, when My Chemical Romance should have been revelling in the success of their multi-platinum album Welcome To The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance found themselves in the midst of a UK-spawned moral panic. Following the suicide of a 13 year old My Chemical Romance fan, UK paper the Daily Mail released an article describing emo as a ‘suicide cult’ - with my Chemical Romance the macabre ringleaders.

Read the full interview by Amberleigh Jack in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

Paul Smith

After releasing three albums and touring the globe several times since the release of their debut LP in 2005, Middlesborough quintet Maximo Park were probably in need of a rest. Rather than put his feet up though, frontman Paul Smith rushed straight back into the studio to record his solo album Margins.

“After you’ve done it for a while you need a bit of a break, otherwise you’ll end up on some sort of treadmill or the music will become stale,” Smith says. “Before that happens you’ve got to take some time out to look at your songs and the way that you write them, which is what we’re doing at the moment. I’m taking a month off to promote my own record but I’m already thinking about what the next Maximo Park record will sound like and what we can do to rejuvenate and reinvent ourselves in our own way.”

Read the full interview by Stephen Jewell in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

Rihanna

She’s one of the hottest women in pop right now, and with her new album, Loud, Rihanna is determined to prove that she’s also one of music’s most vocal acts.

Rihanna’s on a roll right now. She’s just become the first artist in a decade to top the US singles chart eight times with her latest single, ‘What’s My Name’, thereby cementing her place alongside Lady Gaga and Katy Perry as one of the hottest women in pop today.

Read the full interview by Des Sampson in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.

Tool

When it comes to groups with a fanatical fanbase, few can boast the commitment that Tool fans possess. Having appeared, and brought down the house, at the Big Day Out in 2007, Tool return in 2011 with their superior stage show. Helene Ravlich spoke to guitarist Adam Jones about the how the band has survived the test of time, passion and returning to Aotearoa.

Read the full interview in the December 2010 / January 2011 issue of Rip It Up magazine, out now.