Grunge revival hits Gin Shack

When Megan Rosene and Ellie Brooke first started playing together as Free the Girl, neither imagined they would end up fronting a grunge band.

Since forming earlier this year, Better Than Never has played more than 20 gigs and is now gearing up for its first single release.

Their track Fooled Again will debut twice at a pre-Christmas party at Roots Gin Shack on Saturday, 20 December, among a live set of originals and covers.

Ellie and Megan say after months of late-night chats and open mic sessions in Picton, the idea began to take shape alongside Mark Smith, Felipe Mesquita and Reece MacDonald – musicians who shared their love for 90s icons like Alice in Chains and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“We first met at the Choral Society but I had all this material written from university that really needed a band,” Megan says.

“I did a contemporary rock music degree down at Otago in the early 2000s, run under very much Dunedin Sound people – Graham Downs was in charge – but I’d sit hiding away in a music room listening to music my brother three years older liked, instead of hanging out in the lunch field.

“My brother played bass, and little sisters always think their brothers are cool, so I was really influenced not by my taste, but really his and what he’d show me.
“Ellie was keen to try something new while we performed as Free the Girl and it just grew from there through connecting at open mic nights here in Picton.”

For Ellie, the shift from her usual style to grunge was a leap. “At first I wasn’t sure, but now I love it,” she says.

“It’s fun to get into character and perform something different, get introduced to all this beloved music and bring live rock gigs into Marlborough.

“The band has picked things up so quickly, and it’s so satisfying when you are all on the same wavelength with how it’s supposed to sound. Everyone brings their own little taste and there’s space in all the music. The songs were written for each musician to have their own little pockets. It’s funny because grunge was the one genre I thought might never come back, but now young people are asking their parents for old Nirvana CDs – it’s having a revival,” Megan says.

“People always say they want more original music. This event helps fund our recordings and future gigs while supporting the Gin Shack over the bar, and we’d love to take it further.”

Tickets are $15 through Under the Radar.