www.fnb.co.za : Taxi Violence

Published on www.fnb.co.za (April 2007)

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Taxi Violence : the purity and the passion

Four white Afrikaans boys making bad, beautiful music are unlikely demographics for a rock band called Taxi Violence, right? Wrong. Well, then, they’re probably a bunch of backyard wannabes with air guitars making lame stabs at success? Wrong again. Lump all you ever knew about rock ‘n roll and throw it into the ocean (or the nearest duck pond), because Taxi Violence are rewriting the business of music. As pacifists who like to “misbehave without hurting others” they’ve declared war on mediocrity and though they mix their drinks, they don’t mix their metaphors. They’re a hardcore trad-rock outfit who insist on purity and deliver the wildest Rock ‘n Roll.

Taxi (as they’re affectionately known by those who can sing along to every base-chakra-thumping track) are totally off the rails and absolutely independent. They sing their hearts out about love, lust and lingerie (ok, ‘a red dress with high heels’, so sue me) at select venues and festivals across the country. Indie from the G-string to the grave, this strapping quartet produce their own albums, make all their own videos, fix their own equipment and handle their own distribution (and, yes, straighten their own hair).

Naturally they indulge in indecent amounts of partying and take turns in whipping each other’s whatnots at Poker. But they aren’t your average rock stars. They’re the kind of guys who don’t disappear in a poof of pseudo-mysteria after a gig, but stick around to have a chat with their fans. Their approach to music biz is a passionately professional DIY and they don’t have time for pretenses. Their formula? “Be on time, be polite and value your fans because those are the people that make or break you.”

As human beings with bills to pay and very expensive passions, they all have day jobs. Rian Zietsman (guitar) is the electrical engineer. He’s amped to fix cables and able to fix amps. Louis Nel (drums) has niched himself into a lifestyle store for music aficionados. George van der Spuy (vocals) is a sound engineer/producer at Rockitdog Sound Production and Loedi van Renen (bass) recently started his own media company and makes amazing music videos. Making music is very different to making money from music. Total independence gives creative freedom and more control over how the money comes and goes, but it also takes time and clever tactics to develop a media presence that can compete with the high-end advertising budgets that major labels use to punt their artists to the public. Taxi’s media hype is not inflated and national radio is finally cottoning on. A recent poll of 41 000 downloads of their debut album’s title track ‘Untie Yourself’ on www.24.com in one week, is proof that South Africa likes their style.

But the ties that bind are not the ties that hold Taxi together. This is a band that carefully considered and consciously turned down a contract with a major SA label. They explain that “It came down to us asking what the record label could do for us that we haven't already done, or could do, ourselves? “ Gone are the days when a band’s only hope of success involved bowing down to the demands and dictates of reprobate record deals. George elaborates: “Things like being the owner of your own work, maintaining creative control over how things are going to sound, choosing what songs are going to be used on an album and what type of budget will be put aside for marketing purposes. These are just some of the benefits of taking the independent route. We like to do things our way.”

Most live bands make their cash at the door and by selling albums. But in an industry where CD sales are down and music production is up, selling music online (on sites like rhythmrecords.co.za and iTunes.com) gives a local band a global market. Music and moolah aren’t the easiest bed partners at the best of times, so it’s good to use protection. The proliferation of P2P file sharing and personal copy hardware means that a lot of music is moving around the internet illegally with money not reaching the music-maker’s pockets (or going into somebody else’s!) the boys caution that “If bands protect themselves and copyright their material they also get royalty checks from SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) or SARRAL (South African Recording Rights Association Limited) for radio or TV airplay every 2 years.” Aspiring musos might think it’s all in the hips and the fingertips, but it’s actually in the fine print. Intellectual property law is a semantic minefield and Taxi’s warning is wise: “Don't go shark diving without a cage - capiche! Always get a musical lawyer to read over your contracts (especially with the big ones). They will get the best possible deal for you and assure you don't get screwed over.”

Fame is fun but the post-lib music industry is no yellow brick road. If you want to invest in making South Africa (and/or the world) sing and dance you have to remember it's not all jelly tots and lollypops. It takes guts to make your way, so take a few tips from those who know the score because they walk their talk. For four boys fast becoming men in an industry that separates the musicians from the mice, it’s all about attitude and delivery. They put it best in their own words: “Challenges make us work harder. Fast cars make us want to write songs about them. Beautiful women make us want to play those songs to them. And then of course there’s Poker.”

Poker, keen planning and professionalism have cut music loose. Fans have gone wild. Violence is everywhere. And it’s not going to stop.