Usually, when schoolboy bands form and make their own songs, you can tell them apart from the pros straight away. I can't describe it, but you can tell them apart from the professionals. I'm quite proud to say, that "Industry" by Daexis does not sound like something a bunch of students made up.

The band consists of my friends Sam Balzer(there ya go), Glyn Hughes, Jordan Morrison, Michael Molloy, and Michael Bullen (in no particular order). What they've achieved as 16/17 years olds is seriously unmatched in New Zealand. I know one of them may go "Oh no, you're sucking up to us, we're not that great etc etc". Seriously Glyn, shut up. You guys are doing it, and if you continue this way, there really is no stopping talent, is there?

"Industry" sounds very professional. It's amazing. You wouldn't think teenagers would come up with this stuff. Glyn sounds totally in the zone, and the guys on the guitars compliment each other. I don't know who did the solo there, but I must say, it didn't sound overly dramatic - which is good by the way. Yes, there are some flaws in the song, but the positives outweigh the negatives, and besides, this is their first "true" song (I don't consider "Drowning" their debut effort). They will learn from their mistakes and continue to make better and more epic songs. If "Industry" is the standard that they have set themselves, expect a lot from these boys. Now all it needs is a music video - guess they have to find a director or something (HUGE HINT).

Listen to Industry. You won't regret it.

www.myspace.com/daexis
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As for me, it's been a decent start to the year. I'll get you guys up to date:

Although I thought it was futile before it happened, I never thought my close group of friends would help me with film making. Boy was I wrong. James, who really is interested in medicine, was jumping up and down at the idea of creating short films, and really wants to dabble in the special effects area (NOT computer graphics as people always interpret it as, just the prosthetics and stuff). Darren is quite interested in drawing things for future projects, and Shiv, well.... Shiv has a camera :).

We've developed ideas for short films, which range from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. We're basically trying to tell stories within those limits (Peter Jackson would probably need that exercise), then we'll move onto the episodic and feature length stuff - hopefully started by the end of the year.

So, this new year is filled with bright people and bright ideas. The people I associate with are preparing for the big bad world, and if we support each other, we'll get where we want to.

Happy New Year everyone!