Auto garage door pop-punk from members of Poverty and Spit, the DILFS and long-serving Punkfest attendee Dan Fraser.
Phone Sex Robots formed in early 2013 when guitarist/vocalist and chief songwriter Dan Fraser returned to New Zealand after several years in Australia. Already a familiar face in the Wellington scene from previous bands like Deaf Terrorists, Shumway, Bonus Donor, and Shortlived, Dan channelled his knack for raw hooks and self-deprecating lyricism into a new project. Bassist Ben Clausen, then also in party-punk crew The Dilfs and formerly in In Cahoots with Dan, signed on, along with drummer Cameron Reid, who had previously played bass in hardcore outfit Entrails and run his own label, Press Gang Records, from Hamilton. Dan was also drumming in Wellington d-beat band Bonecruncher.
Fraser summed up their lyrical focus with characteristic bluntness: “Our lyrics are mainly about being bad at doing life, paranoia, anxiety, apathy, being self-involved.” Musically, the band mashed up punchy pop-punk and power-pop with a healthy dose of rock ’n’ roll grit, drawing influence from the likes of The New Bomb Turks, late ’70s/early ’80s California punk, and the rosters of labels like Swami Records and Dirt Nap Records.
They debuted with a four-song self-titled EP in February 2014, recorded at Scumbag College, and played their first gig on March 29, 2014, at Black Coffee in Newtown. The band quickly became a staple of the local punk circuit, sharing bills with local and touring acts, and touring both the North and South Islands.
October 2014 saw them pile into a bus for the “Five Bands One Bus, Invasion of the South Island” tour alongside The Dilfs, The Methadonnas, Johnny and The Felchers, and Over-Population, capping it off with a set at Punkfest 2014 in Christchurch. Earlier that year they returned to Scumbag College to record their second release, the six-song Amnesia EP in December.
In August 2016, Phone Sex Robots hit the road again for a North Island tour with noise-punks Hollywood Fun Downstairs. Their final gig took place later that month at Onslaught 12 festival in Dunedin, closing out a three-year run that left behind two cracking EPs, and a reputation for fun, frayed-edge live shows, catchy lyrics and melodies that once hooked into your brain are hard to shake.
| Origin | Wellington/ Hamilton |
| Genre | pop-punk |
| Years Active | 2013 – 2016 |
| Labels | Press Gang Records War Robots Records |
| Associated Acts | Pop OD, The Dilfs Bone Cruncher, Poverty & Spit |
| Past Members | Ben Clausen (bass) Dan Fraser (guitar, vocals) Cam Reid (drums) |
Releases
| Title | Date | Label | Type | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone Sex Robots | 2014, Feb 18 | demo EP | tape/ DL | |
| Amnesia | 2014, Dec 2 | EP | tape/ DL | |
| Messed Up Mix Tape | 2014, Oct | compilation | tape/ DL | |
| Wiped Out | 2016, March 13 | compilation | tape/ DL |
Timeline
2014, February 18, Phone Sex Robots
2014, March 29, Black Coffee
Photos: John Lake
2014, June 6, The Stomach
2014, June 14, Valhalla
Photos: John Lake
2014, September 19, The Meteor
2014, September 20, Auckland
2014, September 27, Valhalla
2014, October 4, The Cabana
2014, October 17, Paradox – Nelson
Photo: John Lake
2014, October 22, The Crown
Photos: John Lake
2014, October 23, Oamaru
Photos: John Lake
2014, October 25, Punkfest
2014, December 2, Amnesia
2014, December 6, Death Ray Records
Photos: John Lake
2014, December 6, Moon Bar
2015
2015, February 7, Waitangi Wastefest
Photos: John Lake
2015, February 25, Valhalla
2015, March 7, Hamtown Smakdown
2015, March 27, Nivara Lounge
2015, March 28, Whammy
2015, August 28, Newtown Bowls Club
Photos: John Lake
2015, August 29, Valhalla
2015, October 31, Mem Drive
2015, November 7, Lucha Lounge
2015, December 18, Whammy
2015, December 19, Ellen Melville Hall
2016
2016, March 13, Wiped Out
2016, June 11, Valhalla
2016, August 17-20, North Island tour
- August 19, Tiger Spit Garage
2016, August 26-27, Onslaught
The Phone Sex Robots last gig
Photos: John Lake
