AXEMEN


AXEMEN, formed in 1983, are notorious for an anarchic style of rock and roll with a multi-media "total art" approach. Founding band members Steve McCabe and Bob Brannigan are both extremely prolific songwriters.

Although Brannigan would eventually depart in order to concentrate on leading his garage rock band, Shaft, the long term on-and-off partnership with McCabe resulted in the ongoing release of an enormous output of recordings, mostly in a home-made cassette format but also including vinyl & CD releases on such labels as Flying Nun and Siltbreeze.

Stevie McCabe recording 3 Virgins, 1985
The AXEMEN at Mighty Mighty, 2011
Stevie McCabe, Stu Kawowski and Bob Brannigan
Photo credit: Photo by Renée Barrance
Sac Tap Nut Jam, 2013
AXEMEN on TV3's Yahoo (1992)
Stevie McCabe in Columbus, Ohio, 2009
Carmen on Ice (1987)
DJ Stevie McCabe at Mighty Mighty, Wellington, 2010
Photo credit: Design by Stu Page
The 1984 Big Cheap Motel cassette
Sac Tap Nut Jam graphic, 2013
The AXEMEN 1991: Stevie McCabe, Bob Brannigan, Stu Kawowski
A 2011 Australasian tour flyer
The AXEMEN at Peterborough Studios, Chrischurch 1984
Drink For The Heart... (1985, directed by Lawrence Lens)
Stevie McCabe, Dragan Stojanovic, Stu Kawowski and Bob Brannigan, North Carolina 2009
Nutsack (2009) side AA of the 2011 AXEMEN Nutcracker Suite Australian tour 7-inch
The AXEMEN tag Christchurch in 1984
The AXEMEN at Auckland's Whammy Bar, 2011
The 2011 Australian Tour poster
The 2009 Siltbreeze vinyl reissue of the 1984 Big Cheap Motel cassette
Little Stevie McCabe with a big guitar, 2011
Stu at Sun Studios, Memphis 2009
The AXEMEN in Columbus, Ohio 2009
November 2009 poster for Local 506, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Wellington 2014
The poster for the September 2014 show at Wellington's Pyramid Club
The cover for the 2009 digital release of Beat It, recorded live at the Star & Garter Hotel, Christchurch, November 1983
Mourning of Youth (1987)
The current – since 2011 – AXEMEN lineup: Stu Kawowski, Dragan Stojanovic, Stevie McCabe, William Daymond
The Wharf With No Name (1989)
The AXEMEN on the site of the failed music festival Neon Picnic in January 1988
Photo credit: Stuart Page collection
The 2011 NZ tour poster
Little Stevie McCabe and fans, Memphis 2009
The AXEMEN at the Pyramid Club, Wellington, September 2014
The AXEMEN at Hell Farm in the early 1980s
Stu Kawowski at EMI Lower Hutt to master 3 Virgins, 1986
A Scar is Born, 1984
Photo credit: Design by Stu Page
US T-Shirt logo, 2009
Stu Kawowski and fan, Morgantown, West Virginia 2009
The sleeve for 2013's Sac Tap Nut Jam, released by US label Spacecase Records
The first AXEMEN cassette Equinox from 1983
Bob Brannigan with George Jones, Texas, 2009
Rock'n Roll Legend (1987)
Three Virgins (1986)
The AXEMEN, 1984: Stevie McCabe, Bob Brannigan, Stu Kawowski
Dragan and Bob at Graceland, Memphis Tennessee
The AXEMEN at The Mercury Lounge, NYC, 2009
Be My Slave (2009) Live on Radio WFMU, USA
Sickh & Tyred 7-inch sleeve. A split release with Times New Viking in 2009, it was released for the tour and only available at the gigs.
The AXEMEN recording, 2009
The AXEMEN at the Ambassador, Pt. Chev, Auckland 2009
Stu Kawowski, Dragan Stojanovic and Bob Brannigan, May 2009
Stu at the end of the 2009 US tour
Stevie McCabe and Steve 'Humann' Pfauter, a Los Angeles punk legend, LA 2009
Bob Brannigan at the Stax Museum, Memphis, 2009
Stu Kawowski, 2012
AXEMEN - Point That Thing (Golden Dawn 19/12/14)
Philly, 2009
The AXEMEN on The Grassy Knoll, Dallas, 2009
Stu Kawowski in his High Street Ink Inc. studio in Christchurch, 1984
Nutshack Redemption Song, 2011, side AAA of the AXEMEN Nutcracker Suite Australian tour 7-inch
Stu Kawowski in New York City, 2012
Bob Brannigan reading Garage, 1985
Screenprinted poster from the 1980s
The AXEMEN as one with nature at Totaranui Beach, Golden Bay, 1986
Nutsack (2009) Live on Radio WFMU, USA
Handcut stencil poster, 1985
The AXEMEN, Morgantown, West Virginia 2009
The AXEMEN and friends at Auckland's Whammy Bar, 2009
Stevie McCabe, Stu Kawowski and Bob Brannigan, Christchurch 1980s
One of the 3 Virgins mastertapes
Stevie McCabe, 1983
The first ever AXEMEN poster from 1983, later used as the first of two 2009 US tour T-Shirt designs
Derry Legend recording session at Writhe Studio (1987), left to right: Stu Kawowski, Dragan Stojanovic, Little Stevie McCabe and Bob Brannigan
Big Cheap Motel - Live at Permanent Records, Chicago, USA 2009
Stu and Bob with the test pressing of Big Cheap Motel, 2009
The Axemen write to Russell Brown at Rip It Up. The letter itself is lost in time.
Steve McCabe and Stu Kawowski recording on the train to Whangarei, 1986
Members:

Bob Brannigan - guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals

Stu Kawowski - drums, vocals

Steve McCabe - guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals

Dragan Stojanovic - guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals

William Daymond - bass, vocals

Labels:

Flying Nun


Siltbreeze


Spacecase Records


Sleek Bott

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