Rubicon was a New Zealand
pop punk
Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...
band best known for their singles "Bruce" and "Funny Boy" from the early 2000s.
History
Rubicon was formed in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
in 1999 by drummer, bassist and singer
Paul Reid. He had previously drummed with
Loves Ugly Children
Loves Ugly Children were a New Zealand indie rock band on Flying Nun Records, amongst other labels, during the 1990s. They released two albums, many EPs, singles and videos and toured extensively through their home country of New Zealand, as w ...
and
The D4
The D4 was a rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Their music was released by Hollywood Records in the U.S., Flying Nun Records in New Zealand and by Infectious Records in the UK.
The group was assembled by vocalist/ guitarists Dion Palmer ...
and also played
Marshall Heywood
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' in 2001, by order of first appearance.
Marshall Heywood
Marshall Heywood debuted in early 2001 as part of the show's revamp. Marshall ...
on New Zealand television soap ''
Shortland Street
''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...
''. Reid was joined by his school friends: guitarist and vocalist Gene Bennett and bassist and drummer Jon Corker. The trio first gained attention with their song "California", which had come second in a demo competition held by Auckland radio station 96.1. This led to the band signing with
Wildside Records
Wildside Records is an independent New Zealand record label, owned and run by former '' Rip It Up'' magazine editor, Murray Cammick.
Current artists include
*HLAH
*Shihad
*Slim
*Graham Brazier
See also
* Best of Wildside
* List of record label ...
, including distribution in New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
The band released single "Funny Boy" in 2001, which reached #46 in the New Zealand charts, followed by single "Bruce" in 2002, which charted at #22. The band's debut album ''Primary'' was released in 2002, charting at #16.
Rubicon received 10
NZ On Air
NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...
grants of $5000 for the production of music videos and a $50,000 grant for the recording of ''Primary''.
In 2004 Bennet and Corker left the band to pursue their own musical directions, with Reid relocating to Los Angeles. New York musicians Scott Zant and Frank Zumo joined the band, with a new line-up of Zant on bass and vocals, Zumo on drums and Reid on guitar and vocals. In 2005 the band released their second album ''The Way It Was Meant To Be'', but it did not experience the same popularity as ''Primary''.
By 2006 Rubicon had broken up, with Reid having returned to New Zealand and launched a now defunct web directory similar to
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark ...
called The Thing. As of 2012, Reid is the managing director of Auckland real estate company Iconicity, later renamed The Icon Group.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
Rubicon at Muzic.net.nz
{{Authority control
New Zealand punk rock groups
Pop punk groups