Awkward Death was a rungus-as punk band from Te Whanagnui-a-Tara/Wellington with songs that had a darkly satirical bent while taking shots at politicians, pedos and police. Formed in 2012 after drummer Liz Gibson found herself at a loose end following the break up of fast-core punks Shock Futuro. Teaming up with ex-Scabies (CHCH) member Axel to stitch a band together they quickly roped in Sammy on bass (formerly in early 2000’s pirate-punks the Carnys) and completed the lineup with the inimitable “Nobs” on vocals.

Debuting on March 9, 2013, at Lorne Street, Awkward Death played the inner city punk hovel with Numbskull, The Methadonnas and gutter crawling crust-punk’s Gutrot. Awkward Death and Gutrot soon became BFF’s and hit the road that winter, touring the North and South Islands and culminating at Dunedin’s Onslaught festival in August.

Back in Wellington, Awkward Death headed to the legendary Scumbag College to record a ten song EP, which was released in October.

2014 began with Waitangi Waste Fest and a Take Shelter show at the Scorching Bay bunkers. However, the band’s momentum was curbed by Liz’s departure for European adventures with Awkward Death playing a farewell show at Valhalla on April 24. Liz’s return to Wellington in 2015 sparked an Awkward Death resurrection with the band playing a “surprise” show at the Ski Lodge punk house on February 28. The band played sporadically through the rest of the year. Fundraisers for various causes and a trip up to Auckland for “Hungry For Punk” at Whammy Bar/ Wine Cellar.

Awkward Death played their last show on March 11, 2016, at a fundraiser for anti-war industry protestors who had been arrested months earlier (the charges were all thrown out). After this, Nobs and Axel buggered off overseas, Liz was still itching for new musical outlets and had already assembled a new band, Ayn Randy, who would make their debut a month later on April 8 at Valhalla.

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Origin	Wellington
Genre	Awkward death rock
Years Active	2012 – 2016
Associated Acts	Carnys, The Johos Scabies Ayn Randy
Past Members	Axel (guitar) Liz (drums) Sammy (bass) Nobs (vocals)