Band deals with First World problems

Stealing pies from the school tuck shop, karma, burning sausages on the BBQ or just having a bad day are among real-life situations that make up songs in Gisborne punk rock act Sit Down In Front’s new album Confessions Of A Pie Thief.

The album is not due for release until June 26, a month away, but after tasting chart success with their last two singles, the band has released its lead-in single, First World Problems.

Written about problems that aren’t really problems, and why people should stop complaining about small things that don’t matter, the single is a characteristically fast-tempo, gritty, stomper.

Sit Down In Front’s brand of rock is built on the foundations of old-school punk, but the band is inspired by genres that range from the 60s rock of the Rolling Stones and Beatles through punk bands like Sex Pistols and Green Day to the modern-day rock of Foo Fighters and Rage Against The Machine.

New Zealand artists, Villainy, Shihad, Devil Skin, and Alien Weaponry have also all had an influence on the band growing up.

After forming in 2017, Sit Down In Front recorded their debut album Red Light Runner in a studio in Wairoa’s Clyde Hotel the following year.

The first single from the album, Runaway Chair, racked up more than 45,000 streams on Spotify.

After placing first in the 2019 Smokefreerockquest East Coast regional final, the band placed third in the national showdown.

Young punks Cory Newman, Jackson Clarke, Roman Benson and Rikki Noble — all in their mid-teens — have since performed with acts such as Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel, Villainy, Aussie shed-rockers The Chats, Skinny Hobos, Jon Toogood, The D4 and Head Like A Hole.

Sit Down In Front closed out 2019 with a performance on Rhythm & Vines’ Garden Stage.

The music video for First World Problems can be found on YouTube via this shortcut: