Local lads return home with their band

It'll be a round trip for two Wairarapa lads when they take to a hometown stage on Saturday as part of Brisbane-based band Dubdoubt.
The live fusion of reggae, dub, hip hop and "jazzy vibes" at Stellar Bar and Restaurant will be made even more special for drummer Nic Ramsden, who grew up in Masterton, and lead man Hayden Andrews, who originally hails from Carterton.
They join Brisbane bandmates Darren Skaar on trumpet, guitarist John Ruggles, saxophonist Euan Gray and Mitch Ruggles, on bass.
Ramsden can't wait for that feeling of being on stage during the Wairarapa performance that will show friends and family just what he and Andrews have been up to since the band began four years ago.
"There's a lot of energy transferred and you can really feel it. It just makes it a really special experience," the 26-year-old drummer said.
"The power you get over the massive sound system (while you're) taking out a beat and hearing it amplified a bazillion times is just something you can't explain. It's just a feeling that's just unreal."
Dreams have come true for this drummer ? though you could say he was destined for big things from an early age when aged 13 he joined a band with The Black Seeds guitarist Mike August.
"I want to make a living off doing music, it's what I love," Ramsden said.
"The ultimate goal would be to take our sound worldwide and just sell millions of albums," he said ? though front man Andrews with his short-term hopes of Dubdoubt becoming a household name in New Zealand and Australia is perhaps more realistic.
Ramsden holds the New Zealand's dub genre in high regard and credits bands from these shores as being the world's best.
He attributes their success to the influence of music like Herbs and UB40, the cultural influence of Maori and Polynesian song and New Zealand's laid back attitude towards music ? the whole playing a guitar around a campfire type of approach.
Andrews said his small town Carterton beginnings have made being in "one of Brisbane's biggest bands" more worthwhile.
And he puts the band's success down to an energetic stage performance and "individuality ? not following the trends and just doing it our own way".
In December last year Dubdoubt members added a full-length album Sunshine and Scenery to their four eps already released; for the past three years have played at the Woodford Folk Festival and this year they took to stage at the Gold Coast Big Day Out.
Meanwhile, the Masterton venue Stellar Bar and Restaurant is expecting a full capacity crowd of up to 250 people as people flock to the band on Saturday night, manager Lee Wilby said.
She hired Dubdoubt after putting a "shout out" on her My Space page.
"My Space really got us out there so that bands know we are here because they are always looking at places to play at."
Mrs Wilby said Dubdoubt would take over the second floor of the venue with support from Auckland-based reggae outfit The Midnights, with DJ Budda from Wellington downstairs ? tickets are available at the door.
Other musical acts that have graced Stellar's stage are Auckland-based punk ska group Quarter 2 and 2004 New Zealand Idol runner-up Michael Murphy's band Five Star Fallout.