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Fanuc Man Profile

By Stacey Knott | 9 Jul, 2007

It’s not often that a band’s first public performance ends with such pleasing results as Fanuc Man’s. In the recent Wellington Student Battle of the Bands, three highly surprised Victoria music students took out first place, earning a spot at this weeks re-orientation. New on the scene, Fanuc Man were formed a year ago when high school friends and jam mates Zack Webber (drums) and Craig Elliott (guitar) met keyboardist/vocalist Jess Gardiner in one of their music classes.

Webber modestly states, “Battle of the bands went surprisingly well. It was the first time we played and we were all real sick. I thought it was going to be real crap. I thought we were going to get kicked out in the first round.”

The competition featured an assortment of Wellington acts, from dub to metal, to solo singer-songwriters to eccentric keyboard players. However, the Fanuc Man sound - according to Webber - is a little harder to describe. Apparently, it’s “speed garage sci-fi ghost-fuelled rock for the masses”. This comes about from collective writing and varied influences, such as Modest Mouse; Radiohead; The Pixies; The Chills and the Postal Service, to name a few. As the three are all composition students, the writing of their music proves to be a focal point. “We all do an equal thing with the writing of the music; we’re all really into the writing part of it. And all are multi-instrumentalists and all do vocals for the band,” Webber asserts.

Since their first winning public performance, there have been many practices and a few gigs around Wellington - where they are “definitely improving” and have gained “a little bit of a fan base”. As far as the next step for Fanuc Man goes, Webber earnestly states: “We just wanna make heaps of good music and go touring, hopefully.”