Tag: Mitchell Hawkes

“Gone” was the first single off Garageland’s final album “Scorpio Righting”. And while they never quite reached the levels of international success they were striving for, they could at least pretend. The “Gone” video is set in an alternate reality where Garageland are big in Asia.

I don’t know exactly which Asian country exactly, but signs seem to point to China. The band are performing on a low-budget looking TV show, crammed into a tiny studio. The TV host introduces them (sounding like she’s reading the lines phonetically), and the camera lingers on the all-Asian crew, who look like a bunch of Chinese New Zealanders.

The band perform “Gone” on the tiny stage, with lead singer Jeremy wearing a pair of bogan sunglasses. Perhaps that’s trendy in faux Asia. We also see the lads signing CD singles for a small but excited group of fans (also all Asian). One fan is so excited she lifts up her top and has Jeremy sign her boob. Another fan presents Andrew the guitarist with a foot massaging stick ensuring a “Lost In Translation” kind of “OMG, Azns r weird!” moment.

The band are interviewed backstage, grapple with Pocky, and discover the song is number one, and not only that, they’ve earned a silver record for their efforts.

It all feels like an elaborate fantasy. If Garageland can’t have number one singles and CD signings to groups of adoring fans in New Zealand, then they can at least experience three minutes and 26 seconds of a Shangri-La where all their pop dreams have come true.

Best bit: the cat, a gift from a really tall fan.

Director: Mitchell Hawkes
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the wedding singer.