Hallelujah Picassos - Rewind the Hateman book - Amplifier

Uni Cafe, but one of their performances which
stands out was at a rammed and hyped Pelican
Bar in the city. Harold got a mean gash on his
head courtesy of a very low ceiling. Another
standout was when they reformed for bFM’s
30th anniversary party at the Powerstation in
1999. They made the night truly special.
I had the privilege back in 1995 to spend
a weekend assisting Elmer Reitsma with
recording and mixing the Picassos at bFM for
what eventuated into their eight song EP “The
Gospel of the DNA Demon”. This transpired into
the most fun and rewarding sound engineering
experience I’ve ever had.
The guys were great to hang out with and
knew exactly what they wanted. The studio was
on the 3rd floor of the student union building
with cables going down to the 2nd floor where
the band were all set up. Got very fit running
up and down those stairs! We even managed to
mix the 13 minute dub epic “Snowcrash” in one
take; eight people around the mixing desk and
everyone in sync!
Back to now and every time I play a Hallelujah
Picassos song on bFM I always get a response
from someone with a memory from back in the
day, or a young kid wondering who this band
is and where can they get their music. Picasso
core indeed!
Justin Atkinson: Hallelujah Picassos, Super
Liquor, Palmerston North, 1991
Another great performance of what would later
form the tracks for Hateman In Love. The night
included a typically wild Picasso Core which
melded into a blur of feedback and local mofo’s
smashing each other against the tiny stage.
Harold had motioned for me to take his guitar
so he could also join the fray (I was in the
crowd). Hornblow did remind me afterwards
that he had no idea what I was playing and I
told him that neither did I – just trying to make
some noise.
I had offered the guys a place to stay
overnight en route to Wellington, so after
the gear was packed we took the van back to
my place. On the way we made a quick stop at
the service station for a few munchies, which
turned out to be a Harold Dutch special of
plastic cheese on white bread smothered in
mayonnaise.
At the time I lived with four female teachers
college students, who though Vanilla Ice was
BAD ,so the sight of Harold unleashed and
shirtless, heading through the door was pretty
confronting. Sleeping arrangements were
pretty cosy, one of my flatmates was away so
Harold and Johnny shared her bed, the sheets
were nice and floral - Pete, Bob and I tucked
them in.
Although Pete and Bob and I shared my room,
there wasn’t much space to share. Light’s out
and we listened to Junior Reid, Progress…
Bobbylon sang along and we all went to sleep.
The End.
Let’s be under no illusions, this was hardcore
rock and roll !