Cheap Sav For Dead Friends – Emotional: 13th Floor New Song Of The Day

One of Tāmaki Makaurau’s most exciting new indie rock acts Cheap Sav For Dead Friends drop their first single ‘Emotional’ off their self-titled debut EP.

Here’s the blurb:

Hailed as “a power-pop act whose practised precision seems to belie their newbie tag*”, Cheap Sav’s six track debut EP showcases the band’s versatility, heart, self-deprecating humour, and keen ear for a catchy hook.

“…good riff-laden suburban bedroom pop tunes…” – *13th Floor

With two lead-vocalist/guitarist/songwriters in Joe Dekkers-Reihana and Jack Buchanan, Cheap Sav’s catalogue is sonically diverse while still maintaining a cohesive and distinct sound. The rhythm section of Sam Clavis(bass) and Taylor Hall (drums) is one of the tightest and best-looking in the biz.

A band of many influences, Cheap Sav enjoy creating eclectic riff-laden melodic rock and infectious pop blends, evidenced with energetic opener and focus track ‘Emotional’, a catchy as hell, good time alt-pop track that is a live favourite both with the band and their fans.

‘Emotional’ is accompanied by a fun, fast-paced video starring Taylor, stepping up to the plate and throwing all his creative dance moves at the camera for an impressive 02:52 workout, while Jack cracks the whip as director.

Having all been good friends long before starting Cheap Sav, the band’s closeness is evident in their sophisticated arrangements and their energetic and playful live shows.

While Joe and Jack primarily write and sing the songs, the band are a very self-sufficient and collaborative unit whose talents and patience with each other allowed them to record, produce, and engineer the entire EP themselves – and emerge from the process still getting along together.

Influenced by a diverse range of artists spanning multiple genres, Cheap Sav are a band who defy classification, happy to remain genreless. Says Jack: “We have a pretty wide range of influences, and as a result our catalogue of songs is pretty sonically diverse. We don’t let ourselves get locked into one sound, style, or genre, which keeps things exciting for us.”

With a live collection of over 20 original songs, a full-length album will be sure to follow, but for now Cheap Sav are happy to have the first songs they ever played together as a band on their debut EP. Cheap Sav For Dead Friends are now ready to celebrate all their hard work with a release party, flying ever upwards and intent on having a good time!

ABOUT CHEAP SAV FOR DEAD FRIENDS:

Joe Dekkers-Reihana is directly responsible for about half of Cheap Sav’s original catalogue, penning such autobiographical bangers as ‘Silly Little Idiot’ and ‘Why Am I So Sad?’. Apart from his killer songs, heartfelt vocals and shredding lead guitar, Joe is known to his bandmates and fans for forgetting his own lyrics, playing his guitar down by his ankles, and asking the audience for a vape charger at gigs. He’s also a theatrical force to be reckoned with and has acted in dozens of professional theatre and film productions throughout the country – recently you may have seen him gallivanting around in a loin cloth for 3 hours in ATC’s sellout production of King Lear.

The other half of Cheap Sav’s vocalists/guitarists/songwriters is Jack Buchanan. With an impressively persistent lockdown moustache, a bright pink guitar, and an inexplicable penchant for writing songs about animals (the band’s catalogue includes no fewer than two songs about horses and two about possums), Jack’s bringing the style and the substance. Also a trained actor, Jack is probably best known as a one-time viral internet sensation for Family Lockdown Boogie – though he expects to reach the same level of global fame with Cheap Sav.

Holding down those sexy low-end frequencies is Sam Clavis on the bass. With his luscious mane of long auburn hair and the beard of a Norse god, Sam has the quintessential “indie rock bassist” look nailed. Coincidentally he’s also a very good musician. Don’t let appearances fool you though, Sam is also a massive nerd: he’s a highly accomplished sound designer and engineer for theatre and live performance, a thoughtful and thorough production manager, and an amateur but enthusiastic Formula One aficionado.

Cheap Sav’s delicious drummer is the one and only Taylor Hall: a rhythmic powerhouse on the drumkit and on the dancefloor. The most overqualified member of the band, Taylor is a trained actor and accountant, he starred as Vader in two seasons of TVNZ’s Filthy Rich, he’s consistently on the silver medal podium at local jiu jitsu tournaments, and he has a special interest in free-form musical spoken word about space. Taylor is currently expecting his first child, though he assures us the band will still come first.