DZ

It's hard not to love DZ. The duo embody danceable garage punk, with hyperactive drums and a dual guitar and bass rig that manages to pull a pummelling, lysergic tone. The band pretty much play the same song all night, but it's a good one. The drawled vocals are repetitive and rhythmic and catchy-as-fuck, while the choruses issue forth brutal walls of head-bouncing noise. The intros to Cobra Knife Fight and The Mess Up get cheers from the crowd, and there's a rousing call for an encore at the end of the set. The band do resurface briefly, but only to shout “We haven't got any more songs!” and depart again. I never understood the whole 'Ones To Watch' concept, but for cathartic sonic indulgence, my eyes are glued. - Rave Magazine

As the weeknight crowd trickles into The Arena on this particularly nippy Wednesday to witness Scottish alt rockers Biffy Clyro’s swift return to Brisbane stages, fresh-faced local two-piece DZ open the show up. With a kick drum that penetrates like a lubed-up jackhammer, DZ’s guitar and drum duo are an injection of punk rock energy, fuzzed out guitar tones and well-written songs that Brisbane’s alt rock scene needs. Despite their limitations as a two-piece, DZ create a thick sound bursting with energy that resonates within the growing crowd tonight. With a sound comparable to Big Black, DZ are definitely worth checking out. - Rave Magazine

Catchy “la-la-la”-s might not be their thing, yet DZ certainly know all about tough, sexy garage-punk, coming off as The Dirtbombs in duo format. Heavy on the effects use – at one point, frontman D makes his axe sound like Godzilla mating – and aided by strobe lights, the local two-piece are a sight to see in their own right. Drummer Z keeps relentless beat behind the febrile guitar bluster and when the octave fuzz-drenched riffs start veering into psych-rock territory, this reviewer cannot resist wondering “Tame Impala … who?” to himself. - Rave Magazine

DZ get the night off to a cracking start by punching out a stack of fast-paced, effect-laden punk numbers. Considering the band is composed of only two guys, they manage to bash out a brilliantly loud show of deliberately messy tunes, flicking their shaggy locks and jumping about, making them a formidable act to have as first support. The crowd is growing and in full swing, with indie kids nearly thrashing themselves unconscious dancing in the front row. - Rave Magazine

DZ get the night off to a cracking start by punching out a stack of fast-paced, effect-laden punk numbers. Considering the band is composed of only two guys, they manage to bash out a brilliantly loud show of deliberately messy tunes, flicking their shaggy locks and jumping about, making them a formidable act to have as first support. The crowd is growing and in full swing, with indie kids nearly thrashing themselves unconscious dancing in the front row. - Rave Magazine

DZ look like nice young men for about three seconds before they rip through their opening song, from here on in it’s all about the curious interaction between fuzzy guitars running through various pedals and primal drumming. It’s their party and they can go schizo if they wanna. This can come off as rudimentary musicianship – at some stages both performers seem like they’re struggling to catch up with each other – but mostly it’s an intense and aggressive outpouring that honours the unspoken contract between bands and audiences: you go crazy and so will we. The Troubadour sweats as the crowd stumbles to get closer to the sound, those at the back look on and listen in awe. The kids are alright … a little bit snotty and squeally, and there are too many people dressed like they’re in a 1982 beach volleyball competition … but the new kids, with their hot and sweaty robotic-caveman punk, are indeed alright. - Rave Magazine

Brisbane two-piece DZ are proud of the fact that they don’t play along to backing tracks live, and they should be. Their take on hyper electro-sounding punk would be no less impressive if it was programmed and sequenced, but pulling this shit off live is a pretty big feat. Their debut EP is a smash in the face of simple, tweaked out guitar lines and hard as fuck rock drumming delivered over five tracks of uncomplicated punishment. The video for ‘The Mess Up’ is one continuous shot of them doing as many Jaeger shots as possible over four minutes, which disappointingly ends with one of them throwing up in spectacular projectile style, and is so awesomely juvenile it makes me want to try that stuff as well. I’ve heard it’s delicious – shame I only enjoy a snifter of brandy at Christmas [I can’t believe you wrote that – Ed]. Wicked band and wicked EP dudes. - Time Off Magazine

Forget Girls or Wavves – it’s scuzzy Brisbane duo DZ who win the award for best lo-fi punk scunge video of the last 12 months. The Mess Up, which has been re-recorded for this EP with a more psychedelic groove, first appeared late last year as an online music clip with a budget of about 50 bucks. A tin shed, a table, a strobe light, two white T-shirts and a bottle of Jagermeister were all it took to get these loud louts noticed on YouTube and start major labels sniffing about. Unlike The Mess Up’s clip, Ruined My Life doesn’t end in vomit and regret, but it’s a dirty, noisy delight that sounds like The Bronx getting pissed on XXXX and licking cane toads for kicks. - Rip It Up Magazine

DZ continue to make music that sounds like a party just before a fight breaks out, and so far they’ve managed to get in with the in crowd without coming off as hipster d-bags. You know what I mean right? Those bands that the leopard print lycra girls profess to liking for some indie edge and cred, well DZ aren’t one of those bands. Yet. Ruined My Life has enough robotic beats and shouted vocals to soundtrack your next dystopian steampunk nightmare … or hot Brisbane nights before hitting the town. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. - Rave Magazine

I was secretly worried that DZ were not going to be able to match their LIVE intensity when they (finally) got around to laying down some of their songs on tape/wax/record. Blue Blood pretty much shoots any of those worrying thoughts in the face.
This song is roughly two and a half minutes of endless uppercuts, groin shots and lovely raw 'get outta here' punk music. It's laced with the group's signature instantly catchy party sound, but also manages to pack in enough ball breaking attitude to sprout pubes on a youngster, turn ladies into pirates and rip the ears/eyes/unspeakables off the toughest 'fucker' in the room.
Blue Blood is the first single from the group's forthcoming debut EP, which is due out in October via Useless Art Records. As per usual, the band currently have about 500 shows planned. In case you didn't get it yet.. we think you should go and see them play.
- Polaroids of Androids

It has been a damn long time since I have attended a show and been genuinely blown away. In fact, we probably need to time travel all the way back to 1998 for the last occurrence of such a 'epic event', when I saw Snoop (Doggy) Dogg play a fairly smoked out performance at the Enmore Theatre. Ok, maybe the show wasn't that good but he did play both versions of Gin and Juice - the popular original one and the lesser known/kinda shit sequel. Back to back. Like nobody's business. Whadddup?
But yes... DZ at the Essential Festival last Saturday evening was one of those 'holy shit' kinda performances.
It took all of five seconds of the first song for me to realise that my initial high school crush was just about to develop into a nasty, unhealthy stalk-fest and/or 'head over heals' romantic comedy style eternal love - starring Billy Crystal as DZ and a young (hot librarian) Meg Ryan as myself.
I was prepared to be disappointed as well. I had heard nothing but gushing praise for their live show and, after several missed opportunities to see them play, I had also built up my own stupidly large expectations. But even my highest of hopes were met as the Brisbane duo pretty much exploded my brain (something which I later re-enacted to the drummer, much to his confusion).
Although hardly re-inventing the wheel, their 'house party' punge (punk/grunge) sound is primarily powered by an extra level of intensity that backs every sloppy riff and pounding rhythmic thud. I have witnessed countless other local bands thrust forward a similar accessible punk sound but fail to also mix in a believable sense of ownership, propelling the feeling that they are simply getting noisy 'for the fuck of it'.
But while others fail to connect all the dots, DZ strike up the perfect balance between youthful, aspiring determination and genuine emotional control. They are hardly crying into their instruments, but there is still an underlying sense of 'feeling' behind ounce of angst they thrust forward. Every note counts and even with the bare bones set-up (guitar and drums) they create the kind of monster sound that engulfs the audience, demanding their complete attention.
After a near-flawless thirty minutes of pop-punk noise, they closed out their set with a quick shot of liqueur and a cover of the Venga Boys' classic We Like To Party, aided by a cameo vocal appearance from Random Frat Boy. More shows NEED to end like this.
I am counting down the days until I get another chance to see these guys
- Polaroids of Androids

A Sydneysider steps foot into Fans club night at the Alhambra lounge in Brisbane’s swarming Fortitude Valley. The smell of sweat and beer pierce her nostrils as a band in the adjoining room sounds out its last chords.

Minutes later, two boys take the stage, a mop of blonde hair behind the drum kit and his early-20-something bandmate sporting a Young and Restless t-shirt up the front. The distortion, dancing and delirium that would come next meant nothing could stay the same for that Sydney lady. This was the Night that DZ ruined my life.

Six months on, Simon ‘Sci-Fi’ Ridley and Shane ‘Party’ Parsons sit across the table from me at the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown. It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon, but the boys look a little worse for wear, telling me they had been out till 5:30am that morning. Doing what? “Ruining lives,” drummer Ridley explains.

The Brisbane two-piece met while Ridley “was working on a cruise ship as a barmaid,” he recalls. “Shane was on there with all his Japanese businessmen friends. He was really into that scene back in the day.”

“Sci could do a magic trick behind the bar, he got a dish rag and turned it into a pony, named it Roger and gave it to me,” Parsons adds, smiling his crooked smile and playing with his feather white-man fro.

“I forgot about that trick!” Ridley interjects excitedly.
“And I asked him if we wanted to make a band, he said yes! So we played the final party on the cruise ship when we docked back into Australia. It was crazy,” Parsons finishes, smiling.

Watching Ridley and Parsons feed off each other, elaborating on what the other has said and building a world around a lie, you can tell this is no fly-by-night relationship. Friends since they were 13 after meeting at a party in their hometown of Bundaberg, their ten-year-long bond seems to have had a definite impact on their live shows.
Known for their ferocity and energy onstage, there is a sense of comradery as they hurtle through their house party thrash; driven by simple, but dance inducing riffs and storming drums. Watching each other through their signature strobe light, DZ consistently produce performances worthy of bands twice their age and stature.
Rising from the ashes of Brissy band Denzel, who hung up their sticks after its drummer moved to Europe, DZ came together under the new banner in February 2008, when the boys first experimented with playing as a two-piece.

“The songs were really dodgy because I still couldn’t drum, but it just seemed so effortless compared to [Denzel],” Ridley recalls. “We wrote down a list of bands we’d like to see play at house parties, and then we tried to make something that sounded like all those bands playing at the same time.”

Since then, they have supported Crystal Castles, Ratatat, Temper Trap and I Heart Hiroshima as well as playing Come Together and Essential Festival, and scoring a coveted DJ set at Splendour in the Grass.

But the music is only half of the DZ legend. Their first unofficial single The Mess Up comes complete with a video clip which documents the boys downing an entire bottle of Jager in three minutes flat. No easy feat. Their penchant for tequila and seemingly mystical peer-pressure party powers see anyone in their vicinity waking up the next day wondering what happened, where they are and why they aren’t wearing any pants.

Which is how they scored a record deal.

After being approached by labels both major (EMI) and indie (Rice Is Nice), DZ decided to go with a purpose built label closer to home. Useless Art Records was created by the same handful of Brisbane dudes (and the boys drinking partners) who run Fans club night in the Valley every month. The label was created with the initial sole purpose of unleashing DZ on the world.

So why choose a bunch of newbees over seasoned professionals? “All the other labels had a different vibe,” Parsons says. “They all had their set list of, ‘this is how we release an EP,’ they were like a machine.”

I guess it can’t hurt that the label offered to send them to their EP launch in a limo, supply free beer, and get DZ tattoos either. With the support of the fledgling label, DZ went to work with Cam Smith from Incremental Records, recording the five track EP in Smith’s bedroom. The hot little tracks were then sent to Big Jesus Burger studios in Sydney, where Berkfinger of Philly Jay’s fame mixed it over the Come Together weekend.

The resulting EP, DZ Ruined My Life, is set for release on the 11th of September. As well as the video clip for their first single Blue Blood (which sees the boys covered in blue blood and engaging in some pretty Crouching Tiger moments), a 12-minute band documentary has been created for release with the EP. “We think we’re going to do a special edition USB with the EP and the videos on it,” Parsons reveals.

Announced last week, DZ will embark on a national tour with Wolf & Cub and Vasco Era as well as playing both Brisbane and Sydney Parklife shows. However, before that, the duo have their own sneaky little East Coast EP tour to destroy. So what can people expect from this tour?

Parsons rubs his impressively cultivated sideburns as he contemplates the question. “Probably Andrew W. K.” he says. “We’re going to dress like Andrew W. K. and give each other blood noses before we play. It’s going to be so mad.”
“And High Fives,” Ridley suggests. “I’m just going to pick one guy out and just take him down with High Fives. Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam,” he says, slamming his long armed hand into mid-air repeatedly. “I’m going to bring back the High Ten.”
“I think at Parklife I’m going to have a really old Megadeath shirt, cut the sleeves off, look like a bogan, and then wear really, really tight black jeans. That would be awesome,” Parsons exclaims. “Whitest. Arms. Ever.”
“Just wear stubbies, if you’re going to go Bogan,” Ridley suggests. “And then just have one foot up on the fold back. Testicles blowing in the breeze,” and the boys are off on another tangent.

Glancing over at the knitting club who have taken residence at the table next to ours, I long for the simple life I led before Easter. Before DZ ruined my life.
- Faster Louder

Luckily the next two bands proved that “garage rock” does not have to be bad on purpose. DZ (joining I Heart Hiroshima on tour from Brisbane) came on next, and quite frankly wiped the floor with The Weevils, leaving nary a trace of the last set. This is how rock is meant to be played: with passion, heart and a focus outwards, not inwards. The crowd immediately started gravitating towards the stage during their set, us included. DZ were loud, raw, raucous…and brilliant! Sonically inspired, creative, and most importantly – fun. The guys were happy to be on stage and gave a great show, responding to the crowd’s enthusiasm. - Faster Louder

Having heard whispers on the wind about a scuzz punk duo from Brisbane, I followed my nose to Unearthed, got on a tangent and lucked upon the unbridled DZ tunes.

Rough as guts - and they sounded exactly as they should to me: chanted, fuzzed out and a bit over excitedly drunk. The uninhibited peak drunk, before you cark it in the flowerbed with spew in your hair. Fortunately this kind of spunk is recognised round our office, and DZ become our temporary Unearthed feature artists, with their hypothetical animal battle tune 'Cobra Knife Fight'. Here here, great track.

Things accelerated, and next I hear they're supporting indie-club heavies Crystal Castles on a national tour, and are notching up the motherload of local shows with Australian festival A-listers...you know...Temper Trap, The Scare, Children Collide...

I am personally pretty excited to hear they're hitching their wagon to I Heart Hiroshima all through August for a spell of dates all over the place, and have a new single to play. 'Blue Blood's its name and it's up there for the listening. Additional wind whispers have informed me there's an EP out soon
- Triple J Home & Hosed: Unearthed

If DZ were a religion it would be concerned only with house parties, tequila and 'club banger' tunes. This EP would be the bible of said religion and its philosophy would be rammed down your throat at 2000 decibels and 150 km/hour.

DZ Ruined My Life is the suitably named debut EP from the Brisbane duo. Of the five tracks in total, the newly released single 'Blue Blood' really takes the wallop. The song itself is a short masterpiece and to the point tells what happens when music is stripped back and thrashed out.

Their sound is best described as pure and simple thrash punk. However it's easy to notice influences of electro pop champions such as Justice sprinkled over that loud guitar for good measure.

If you plan to attend the launch this Friday expect strobe lights, lasers, shirts off, smoke machines, about 1000 tequila shots and no memory of how you got home on Saturday morning. DZ will ruin all of our lives before the year is out.
- Four Thousand

"Bourgeoning two-piece DZ perform a feat of almost categorically opposite polarity. A truly volatile act with an explosive sound and an increasingly legendary reputation for intensively vitriolic live performances." - Time Off Magazine

"Brisbane newcomers DZ whip up a storm of frenzied grooves powerful enough to
rattle the teeth of the throng of punters already amassed front of the stage.
Front man 'Z' wrenches a monstrous racket from his Fender Tele, backed by 'D'
who absolutely pummels his kit as only an angsty skinny kid can." Dan Simmons - Time Off Magazine

"Local boys DZ open proceedings tonight, their sharp, shouty rock tinged with
psych elements unusual in a two-piece. There's an intensity to them similar
to Melbourne's Eddy Current Suppression Ring minus the bucket loads of hype…” Topher Healy
- Rave Magazine

“…they kept each song grounded and forever driving in rich and textured
riffs, thunderous low tones and high impact percussion. All in all a
confident ride into refreshing somewhat-new territory.” Jessica Kill
- Faster Louder

“… loved every minute of them. Very energetic performance, great stage
presence, thundering drumming and howling guitar (though they could go a
little easier on the strobe lighting). Definitely a band to look out for.”
- Real Topeka People

DZ - two young Brisbane locals - are on a fast track to superstardom, and with supports for acts like Crystal Castles just one week after playing their first headline gig, it won't be long before their dream of working with Justice becomes a reality.
Public servants Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley, aka DZ, are on the up and up. After playing in separate bands for the last few years the two joined forces to form DZ just over a year ago, with the aim of entertaining friends at drunken house parties.
“I would describe our sound as something that you would hear at a loose house party,” Simon says, with a laugh.
In other words thrash punk with a smattering of electronic thrown in for good measure, not the easiest feat to achieve when there are only two people in the band. Somehow these two manage to pull it off seamlessly, proudly proclaiming on their Myspace that they don’t play live with a backing track.
Simon laughs when asked how the two came up with the band's name, considering neither of them have D or Z as an initial.
“It was a name we re-used from a previous band of ours; other people have asked us the same thing and the best I've heard would be either Disco Zombies or Disgruntled Zebras.”
Ridley, the D half of the duo who’s only been drumming for two years, says being a two-piece often bvrings comparisons to other duos, even if they sound completely different to DZ.
“In the past we have been compared to The Mess Hall I think simply because we are a two-piece, it's frustrating,” he says.
Gigging solidly from the beginning of the year, the boys managed to score a support slot for Crystal Castles in February.
“That was definitely the most fun tour we have ever done,” he says. “The week before we played our first headline gig at The Zoo to about 100 people and the next week we were down in Melbourne supporting those guys in front of 1,200 people, it was pretty scary not so much because of the audience but because we had to play in front of these people we were huge fans of. I remember sitting there waiting to go on and saying to Shane, 'what the hell are we doing here?'”
Considering that was their introduction to the world of big gigs, have they ever been starstruck by anyone they’ve played with.
“I'm a massive Ratatat fan so playing with them was really nerve wracking and then we were worried about what they would say after the gig but they were really nice, in fact we haven't really received any bad raps from anyone we've played with.”
Not bad considering their time in the game. In their short time together, the boys have played with British India, Bluejuice, Cut Off Your Hands, Children Collide, The Grates, I Heart Hiroshima, Philadelphia Grand Jury, The Temper Trap and Tame Impala; and just a month ago they signed themselves to a friend's label. Unfortunately the bills still need to be paid, and DZ’s rapid rise hasn’t seen them to give up their day jobs, just yet.
“It's been crazy, we work Monday to Friday for the Government and fly out for gigs on Friday afternoon and fly back on Sunday night ready for work again on Monday morning.”
After six months of such mammoth achievements, who would they most like to work with in the future?
“We are both huge fans of Justice so probably those guys, if you have seen their DVD ‘Across The Universe’ you will know what I'm talking about.”
In the true form of rock gods gone before them, the boys say they’ve got something special planned for their Big Sound gig next month.
“There's going to be smoke machines. Smoke machines, lasers and strobe lights - there is no way you could possibly go wrong with that combination of effects.”
- Scene Magazine

Part 1:
DZ Ruined My Life because I didn't go see them when they came to Sydney to play in front of 48 hipsters and two 'all up in the music blog scene' kids. DZ Ruined My Life because they collectively smashed a bottle of Jagermeister in three minutes while simultaneously putting Sofia Ford Coppola out of a job and bringing back the strobe light. DZ Ruined My Life because in order to listen to Ruined My Life in full effect I had to buy two beers each round: one to drink and the other to spray the crowd with. DZ Ruined My Life because they do covers of Daft Punk's Da Funk and Vengaboys We Like To Party. DZ Ruined My Life because there's only two of them. DZ Ruined My Life and for that they get eleven chains out of ten for being completely 'off the chain'.

Part 2:
DZ Ruined My Life because every time I hear them play I immediately get looser than a hooker's 'money slot'. The next day I wake up simultaneously wishing I am dead and really happy that I am alive so I can listen to DZ some more. DZ Ruined My Life because they make me head butt bros who are smaller (but cooler) than me. DZ Ruined My Life because they remind me that Death From Above 1979 decided to become techno fuckheads - which really bums me out. DZ Ruined My Life because they swagger like confident cunts with heaps of shit to prove, yet they also seem to enjoy being bratty party-starting punks who love to repeatedly punch me in the face while I try and get 'my drink on' and/or transform into my younger moshy self. DZ Ruined My Life when they called me The Internet.

Part 3:
This is the kind of music you can really crack a bag of Doritos to. Any flavour.
- Polaroids of Androids

There are a number of people eager to catch the first band at Artisan Gallery. DZare the duo tearing it up onstage, and as soon as they begin everyone moves under the marquee for a closer look. Their brand of thrash indie punk is well known around Brisbane, and tonight they are energetic and get a few people dancing around. They have a raw sound, and the distorted riffs and beats within each song are simple but effective. The crowd are impressed. - Faster Louder

"I listened to DZ, who I loved; this kind of hardcore band.. and they have the brilliant videos and songs and a great sense of humour and style.”
Mark Ronson
- See youtube video at URL - Peer Group c/o Ted The Lab Competition

Brisbane’s kings of the par-tay DZ opened with a new, as yet unnamed, song. Looking damn comfortable on the Metro’s stage, the duo’s punky thrash sound was massive, seeking out every face in the theatre and attempting to melt it off.
Under the veil of red light and their signature Strobe, DZ smashed out radio single Blue Blood, infectious Cops Capacity, Jager swilling Mess up and blood heating Two Lungs.

Set highlight was the tentatively named track Slow Burn, which shows a depth to both DZ’s musical and lyrical abilities. A pulsating song which emphasises the bands ability to make their crowds get down and groove, Slow Burn is a kick-arse, sexy track. If this is the direction DZ is heading, then we can expect (and demand) massive things from this two-piece.
- Lost In Suburbia

Next was Queensland two-piece DZ. As with the previous band, these two guys showed immense talent. With a couple of pedals and samples, their sound was massive for just two guys on stage. The drummer whipping his head around and playing without missing a beat, it really does show when natural talent hits the skin - Faster Louder

Triple J Unearthed winners DZ – œs punchy, violent energy borders on metal on occasion. The two boys leaped about the stage, thrash the drum kit... They draw a solid crowd and prove their status as a headliner beyond a doubt. - Faster Louder

... as soon as the sticks hit the skins, every single person in Transit was mesmerised. Fantastic guitar skills and a killer drummer, the Brisbane band had the crowd in their hands throughout the whole set. Head banging and rocking music were the order of the night, with simple catchy lyrics... Showing Canberra a rocking great time, DZ is a band to watch out for in the near future. - Faster Louder

This is how rock is meant to be played: with passion, heart and a focus outwards, not inwards. The crowd immediately started gravitating towards the stage during their set, us included. DZ were loud, raw, raucous…and brilliant! Sonically inspired, creative, and most importantly – fun. The guys were happy to be on stage and gave a great show, responding to the crowd’s enthusiasm. - Faster Louder

Garage kids, DZ provided a set that was very loud and very repetitive, although in a trance-ish rather than boring kinda way. The two-piece kicked off with a bowel-clearing frequency on the electric guitar. The rest of the half hour included lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth from guitarist/singer, Z, while D is a relentless and unforgiving drummer. The early crowd responded eagerly to the dance punk fare, warming up quite nicely in the sweaty environs of The Zoo. - Faster Louder

First up were the dynamite duo DZ. Lets be honest, these boys have a big big sound for a two piece. Dirty bass lines, hooky drum beats, and screamy lyrics drenched with a tasty grungy feel. Pulling a number of great supports over past months, if they have not already done so these boys are sure to gather a following. In saying this, most of the audience seemed new to this act, but looked intrigued enough to offer some sober head nodding. DZ smashed out a set that hit like a sucker punch to the face, filled with a ton of songs you could probably mosh too. Their set was well worth an early attendance, and remember if you haven’t seen these two menacing rockers before, they are locals so you should be able to catch them sometime relatively soon. - Faster Louder

With the unsheltered fields before the main stages too scorching to bear, it’s the boiler room and DZ who kick start the music for the day. Their dirty, bluesy rock and unrelenting enthusiasm replenishes the small crowds’ energy stocks, with an ambitious (1-person-deep)-crowd-dive and subsequent hanging on the barrier by front man Shane Parsons leaving us equally bemused and entertained. - Faster Louder

Openers DZ begin without much fanfare, walking on stage and beginning their set of garage rock. Although at this stage both their catalogue and following is rather small, their sound is large and fast paced. The local boys have developed an almost completely unique sound that got the crowd at the front of stage jumping around and those towards the back tapping feet and nodding heads. DZ do little wrong when it comes to the musical aspect of their live show which they have clearly polished through various shows and support slots around Brisbane. The only thing lacking from their set was crowd interaction with a count in before a couple of songs and a thanks at the end just about all that was said, yet the punters were still involved and ready to keep bouncing to the next two acts. - Faster Louder

There are a number of people eager to catch the first band at Artisan Gallery. DZare the duo tearing it up onstage, and as soon as they begin everyone moves under the marquee for a closer look. Their brand of thrash indie punk is well known around Brisbane, and tonight they are energetic and get a few people dancing around. They have a raw sound, and the distorted riffs and beats within each song are simple but effective. The crowd are impressed. - Faster Louder