Fat Freddy’s Drop
Based On A True Story


Label: The Drop
Released: 2005
Source: Original CD 
Size Torrent: 407 MB
Format: FLAC





Fat Freddy’s Drop's first studio album in 2005, Based on a True Story, showcased polished versions of songs the band had developed gradually at live shows over the years—in some cases going back to 1999; the album's title is a reference to that process. Many Fat Freddy’s Drop members still played with other Wellington bands while recording Based on a True Story, and scheduling conflicts forced them to record their individual parts at different times to be mixed later. In a later interview, they said it is "healthy for members to be able to do other things," but they hoped to record the tracks together in the same room on their next album. Replacing Faiumu's MPC sampler on the album—and in some live shows afterward—were drummer Riki Gooch and bassist Rio Hemopo, who together with Fat Freddy’s Drop saxophonist Warryn Maxwell make up the band Trinity Roots. Also contributing were vocalists Hollie Smith, Ladi 6, and P Digsss, and Bongmaster guitarist Aaron Tokona. After mixing Based on a True Story for 18 months at his home studio in-between tours, Faiumu took the album to San Francisco-based Fantasy Studios to be mastered. 
Based on a True Story became the first independently-distributed album to reach first place in New Zealand record sales directly after release and is the highest-selling album by a national artist in the country's history. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand's (RIANZ) sales chart listed Based on a True Story as one of the top 40 selling albums for more than two years after its release. The album's only single, "Wandering Eye", spent more than four months on the top 40 selling singles chart. Like Live at the Matterhorn, the album was given no formal promotion or marketing; its popularity largely due to the band's reputation in New Zealand. At the 2005 New Zealand Music Awards, Fat Freddy’s Drop won awards in every category they were nominated: Best Group, Best Album, Best New Zealand Roots Group. They also won the Peoples Choice Award in both 2005 and 2006. Based on a True Story had sold 120,000 copies in New Zealand as of April 2009. The album received critical acclaim from reviewers in Europe, but was not a commercial success there, selling only 30,000 copies.
The band continued touring for the next four years while planning and developing a second studio album. They returned to Germany, England, and Italy in 2005; returned in 2006 for their European World Cup Tour, and again for a set of shows in 2007. They also toured the east coast of Australia in 2006 and 2007. Many band members were fathers by then, a factor increasingly affecting their "touring stamina". Warryn Maxwell left the band in 2007 for family reasons, and was replaced in live performances with Scott Towers. Towers attended the Conservatorium of Music with Maxwell and was trombonist Joe Lindsay's tutor there.





Personnel

•Dallas Tamaira ("Joe Dukie") – vocals 
•Chris Faiumu ("DJ Fitchie") – percussion, production 
•Toby Laing ("Tony Chang") – trumpet 
•Tehimana Kerr ("Jetlag Johnson") – guitar 
•Iain Gordon ("Dobie Blaze") – keyboards 
•Joe Lindsay ("Hopepa") – trombone, tuba 
•Scott Towers ("Chopper Reedz") – saxophone 
•Warryn Maxwell ("Fulla Flash") – saxophone 


Track Listing

1. "Ernie" – 7:17
2. "Cay's Crays" – 7:07
3. "This Room" – 5:00
4. "Ray Ray" – 7:38
5. "Dark Days" – 6:40
6. "Flashback" – 6:30
7. "Roady" – 7:08 (features P Digsss)
8. "Wandering Eye" – 9:49
9. "Del Fuego" – 5:24
10. "Hope" – 7:19 (features Hollie Smith)