For lunch, that’s all you get to taste, poverty and spit, spit, spit. (X)

Poverty & Spit were a short-lived but intense New Zealand punk band known for their monotonous, wall-of-noise guitars, minimalist drumming and raw, ear-piercing vocals. Drawing influence from acts like Brain Bombs and Dawn of Humans.

Originally formed in 2015 in Wellington under the name Whore Pleaser, the band featured vocalist John Dimery performing in a leather gimp mask. They made an early appearance at Christchurch Punkfest that October, playing an afternoon show at the Log Recording studio.

In 2016, they rebranded as Poverty & Spit. A name directly inspired by lyrics from “Nausea” by seminal LA punk band X. Their own lyrics often delved into grotesque body horror and worldly afflictions.

All members were active in the NZ underground scene, which kept Poverty & Spit gigs relatively rare. Bonnie played in Ayn Randy, Lucie and Ben were in The Dilfs, and Dimery drummed in Downer Buzz while pursuing various solo projects. Ben Clausen was also in pop-punk act Phone Sex Robots.

The band played select memorable shows, including a December 2016 Take Shelter gig at the World War II bunkers in Strathmore, an early 2017 appearance at the Now Festival on the south Wairarapa coast at Flat Point, Dunedin’s Onslaught 13 festival in August 2017, Double Whammy in Auckland in May 2018, and their final performance at Neil Roberts Day in November 2018 at the Duncan Pavilion, Castlecliff Beach (which also marked the debut gig of Bonnie’s new misanthropic doom metal project DAHTM).

In January 2017, they released their self-titled debut EP on Dimery’s label Zero Style. Recorded and mixed by Dan Fraser (Phone Sex Robots), the eight-track release featured songs with titles like Live Like Trash, Filth, Quivering and Ingrown. A reviewer at Six Noises described it as “a squalid, eccentric and ear-piercing racket – for lovers of mind-melting punk and hardcore that takes a steep dive off the deep end.”

The band quietly disbanded after 2018 with John Dimery going on to front anarcho-punk outfit Fog, among other noisy and experimental projects.

Origin	Wellington
Genre	punk, noise
AKA	Whore Pleaser
Years Active	2015 – 2018
Labels	Zero Style
Associated Acts	Total Ruin The Hag DAHTM
Past Members	Lucie Camp (guitar) Ben Clausen (bass) John Dimery (vocals) Chris Hardy-Jones (drums) Bonnie Tonkin (guitar)