Mailbox Skipole were an alternative rock band from Palmerston North, New Zealand, blending pop-punk, grunge, and ska into an energetic and melodic mix that captured the student-flat scene of the late 1990s.
Formed in February 1997 by Mark Rawstron (bass, lead vocals), Matt Barnes (guitar, backing vocals), and originally John Rawstron on drums, the band started out playing covers before finding their own sound. When Matt Barnacott joined on drums, the classic lineup was set.
Drawing inspiration from the local punk and indie circuits, Mailbox Skipole quickly became a staple of the Palmerston North live scene, sharing stages with touring acts like 28 Days, Tadpole, Sommerset, Mary, and Foamy Ed, as well as hometown peers like Nana Squad. In just three and a half years, they played around 180 shows, about a third of them in Massey University student flats.
Their debut album, Broadway, dropped in June 1998, recorded at local venue The Stomach with engineer Rob Williams. Released through Stakeout Records (a DIY label founded by Barnes to promote local punk bands), Broadway earned strong reviews. The Evening Standard praised its “great rock songs” and “punchy blend of pop-punk-ska,” while NZ Musician highlighted its “confident musicianship and strong vocals.”
In March 2000, the band followed up with the Lose the Halo EP, recorded at Marmalade Studios by Andrew Downes. Its four tracks explored life, love, and student-town ennui “meandering thoughts about Palmerston North, university, girls, life, the universe and everything.” Around the same time, Barnes launched Punkas.com, a website that became a key online hub for the New Zealand punk scene before the social media era. The band’s track “Fucking Ordinary” was featured on the Punkemon compilation in 2001.
By 2002, geography began pulling the members apart, Barnes stayed in Palmerston North, Barnacott moved to Wellington, and Mark Rawstron relocated to Auckland to study sound engineering. Still, the band kept creating: they purchased a Fostex VF-160 digital recorder, tracked new songs, and premiered “Stress Fracture” on Radio Control’s “Stagedive” punk show. In July 2003, Rawstron and Barnes recorded 10 new tracks with drummer Glen Coulter, culminating in their final release, Epiphany (November 2003).
After the band’s quiet wind-down, Mark Rawstron went on to found The Rock Factory in Auckland in 2004.
| Origin | Palmerston North |
| Genre | pop punk, grunge |
| Years Active | 1997 – 2003 |
| Labels | Stakeout Records |
| Associated Acts | Brubeck Nana Squad |
| Past Members | Mark Rawstron – (bass/ vocals 1997-2003) Matt Barnes (guitar/ vocals 1997-2003) Matt Barnacott (drums 1998-2002) Glen Coulter (drums 2002) |
| Links |
Releases
| Title | Date | Label | Type | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stakeout | 1998 | single | ||
| Broadway | 1998, Oct 10 | Stakeout Records | album | CD/ DL |
| Lose The Halo | 2000, March | Stakeout Records | EP | CD/ DL |
| Somebody Ordinary | 2000 | Stakeout Records | single | mp3 |
| Punkemon vol.1 | 2002 | Smalltime Records | compilation | CD |
| New Day | 2001 | Stakeout Records | single | mp3 |
| Stress Fracture | 2002, April | Stakeout Records | single | mp3 |
| Epiphany | 2003, Nov | album |
Timeline
1998
1998, April 25, The Stomach
Monsterworks, Mailbox Skipole
1998, July 3/ 4 (?), Wild Horse
Breathe, Mailbox Skipole
1998, October 10: Broadway
1998, October 10, 85 Broadway Ave
Mailbox Skipole: Broadway release
1999
1999, February 22, Massey University
2000
2000, March 1, Mailbox Skipole: Lose The Halo
2001
2001, March 2, The Stomach
Foamy Ed, Mailbox Skipole, Mary, Rimend
2001, July 1, The Stomach
2001, August 17, 85 Broadway
2001, August 18, The Odeon
2001, November 16, Indigo
2002
2002, January 26, Indigo
Bad Religion: Process of Belief release party – Mailbox Skipole, The Offbeats, Tempo 38
2002, March 2, The Temple
Mailbox Skipole, The Rabble, Fifth Threat, Duffeysome
2002, April 14, Aotea Centre, Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo
Glen Coulter (Crippled Sidekick) on drums after Matt broke his arm.
2002, April 16, Stress Fracture
2002, May 31, The Stomach
Kitsch, Missing Teeth, Mailbox Skipole, Sheriff Lobo, GMC, Channel 13
2002, July, The Killing Room, Auckland
Recording songs for the second album, Epiphany, with Glen Coulter on drums.
2002, November 29, The Stomach
Punkas 2nd Birthday: The Offbeats, Missing Teeth, Mailbox Skipole, So To Speak, Blake
2002, November 30, Valve
Punkas 2nd Birthday: The Offbeats, Missing Teeth, Mailbox Skipole, So To Speak, Blake
2003
2003, January 11, Brewers Bar, TGA
Brubeck, Mailbox Skipole, Tempo 38, Dead Letter, Misadventures
