Top 5 for Focus & Fun with 5 Takes



It's weeks like these that make keeping a blog worthwhile, so that I can look back later in life and remember the rollercoaster ride. For as well as juggling an international television crew this week, we have also been celebrating our debut release racing up the Tidy Digital dance chart. Existence by Focus went straight in at number 16, and is now at number 5 up there with old hands like Technikal.

It's an incredible acheivement in the first week, and reminds me of the buzz we were on when we released Evil Plans four years ago. In a lovely piece of synchronicity, I had the chance to thank Bomber Bradbury on air during a radio show this week. Bomber played Evil Plans on his Channel Z show in September 2002, and it stayed in the listeners chart for three weeks. It gave us the courage to launch a digital label when most people thought it an insane idea. Now we're celebrating our first international hit, and our music is being featured in a global TV show. I promised Bomber on air that I'd buy him some beers, so am looking forward to meeting him in the next few weeks.

The 5 Takes crew have moved on to Wellington now, but we have a great time hanging with them in Auckland. I met Tony and Gabe on Tuesday night, when I interviewed them on Twisted Radio alongside Dodgy Sam & DJ Blush. Chelfyn taught them some magic tricks in Aotea Square, to give them some busking skills to supplement their $50 a day budget. Apparently their efforts were hilarious, and you can read their take on the experience from Tony and Gabe at their travel blogs.

Tony blogged some really lovely things about us for which we are really touched. He's an awesome guy from inner city DC, who is tons of fun with a big heart. He's also a party animal, so we roped him in to help with our label party on Wednesday night at Bacios. A core crew of NZ Ravers came to celebrate our Tidy success, and had a great time jumping around in front of the Discovery TV cameras. Many thanks to CJ, the Kiss/Bacios crew & Justin Sane for organising the festivities at such short notice.

It was a bit like joining a travelling circus for a week, and I'm very impressed with how quickly they turn the 5 Takes show around. Their three dedicated editors spend hours locked in hotel rooms cutting like crazy, and the only other show with a shorter lead time has a team of twenty six. It's testament to the power of new digital tools & techniques, and fantastic to see at first hand a cutting edge interactive travel show being made. One thing people have been asking me is how real is reality TV, and I can vouch for the fact that 5 Takes is pretty realistic.

The viewers get to vote on where the TJs go, suggest things to do when they are there, and they find their local hosts through the 5 Takes Forums. They do have a support crew to help arrange things, as with only four days shooting per city they need backup to meet the tight deadlines. But they have to stick to their budget of $50 a day and if they run out of money then they really do go hungry.

We took pity on Gabe for his day off on Saturday, as he was the ony TJ who'd not made it out of the Auckland city centre. We took him on a Waitakere bush & beach experience with a roadtrip to Piha, then brought him back to the studios and fed him steak with blue cheese sauce. Gabe is the TJ the 5 Takes viewers voted for, and I think they made a great choice as he's a very special guy. He's really passionate about music and exploring different cultures and was buzzing out on the beauty of where we live. I hope we get to see him again soon for some more Kiwi roadtrips.

I'm glad things are a little quieter this week. I need time to reflect after such an intense experience. Luckily we are surrounded by lovely people in New Zealand, who are too grounded to be fazed by something as silly as television. The TJs and crew have another seven weeks of it and you can follow their adventures at www.5takes.com

You can watch the footage from our Bacios party on 5Takes, Discovery TV, Wednesday 17th May at 21.30 (AUS) & 23.00 (NZ).