| The 3Ds | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Genres | Rock Pop Indie |
| Years active | 1988–1997, 2009-2010 |
| Associated acts | Ghost Club |
| Members | |
| Dominic Stones Denise Roughan David Saunders Dave Mitchell |
|
The 3Ds were an alternative pop/rock band based from Dunedin, New Zealand, together from 1988 to 1997. The band was formed in May 1988 by
The band's name referred to the members names all starting with "D". In 1989 they were joined by another "D",
Soon after the three became four they ventured out to play some live shows. These were mainly improvised songs, short sets and a Neil Young cover. The idea was to make a crazy, riffy, stick in your head noise, and to have fun. Three of the group were neighbours. All had been in other New Zealand bands, Stones was in Bird Nest Roys and Snapper and Roughan had been in Look Blue Go Purple. Mitchell had been in Goblin Mix and The Exploding Budgies and Saunders in the teen-folk band The Battling Strings. The band believed that making music ought to be about friends getting together, an attitude they maintained throughout their time together.
In 1992 the band played with Nirvana in New Zealand. This was followed by a brief tour of the United States supporting their first album Hellzapoppin and performing at the CMJ New Music Festival in NYC. In 1994 they toured Australia and also returned to the United States in support of their second album, 'The Venus Trail' released on Merge Records. The release of The 3Ds music on Merge Records had come about when Superchunk and The 3Ds played together on the 3Ds first trip to the States. The Venus Trail tour also took the band to the UK for the first time, where they played a sold out debut show, were awarded 'Band of the week' in Melody Maker, 'Album of the week' in the NME, and also recorded a John Peel session. Following the UK shows the band returned to the USA to tour extensively with Pavement, Superchunk, and Guided By Voices amongst others.
The 3Ds returned the favor to Pavement, Superchunk, and Portastatic, touring with them in NZ and Australia when the US bands made their first footsteps 'down under'. Following this, The 3Ds played two stadium shows supporting U2 on their Zoo TV tour in New Zealand at the personal request of the Irish super-group. Another tour of Australia performing main-stage on The Big Day Out series of shows followed along with many more great shows in NZ and Australia up to the summer of '97.
The distinctive cover art on the band's albums was designed by Mitchell, who is also a graphic artist. The cover of The Venus Trail was drawn by him left-handed.
The band drifted apart after releasing their third album, Strange News from the Angels, in 1997. Mitchell and Roughan soon moved to London, where they went on to form the Ghost Club.
In July 2009 The 3Ds got together to play two shows at the Merge Records 20th anniversary festival held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A documentary film of the festival at the Cats Cradle is planned. In 2010 the 3Ds toured New Zealand, including the inaugural Laneways festival in New Zealand. This was followed by an invitation to play the Pavement curated All Tomorrows Parties festival in the UK. The groups out of print albums have been made available again by the resurrected Flying Nun label. Future plans are uncertain.
Contents |
| Date of Release | Title | Label | Chart | Certification | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | ||||||
| 1991 | Fish Tales/Swarthy Songs for Swabs | Flying Nun Records (NZ) First Warning Records(US) |
- | - | FN188 | |
| 1992 | Hellzapoppin' | Flying Nun Records (NZ) First Warning Records (US) |
#4 (NZ) | - | FNCD225 | |
| 1993 | The Venus Trail | Flying Nun Records (NZ) Merge Records (US) |
#2 (NZ) | - | FN281 | |
| 1996 | Strange News from the Angels | Flying Nun Records (Worldwide) | - | - | FN351 | |
| EPs | ||||||
| 1990 | Fish Tales[1] | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FN150 | |
| 1991 | Swarthy Songs For Swabs | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FN167 | |
| 1993 | Beautiful Things | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD262 | |
| 1994 | Caterwauling | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD318 | |
The group have appeared on a few film soundtracks in New Zealand. Also an Abba tribute album. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by The 3Ds.
| Year | Single | Album | Charted | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Outer Space/Baby's On Fire"[2] | "Hellzapoppin" | - | |
| 1993 | "Beautiful Things"[3] | #49 (NZ) | - | |
| 1993 | "Hey Seuss" | The Venus Trail | - | |
| 1994 | "Caterwauling" | - | - | |
| 1996 | "Dust" | "Strange News from the Angels" | - |