Rubicon was a New Zealand

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

band best known for their singles "Bruce" and "Funny Boy" from the early 2000s.

History

Rubicon was formed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1999 by drummer, bassist and singer Paul Reid. He had previously drummed with Loves Ugly Children and

The D4 The D4 were a rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Their music was released by Hollywood Records in the U.S., Flying Nun Records in New Zealand and by Infectious Records in the UK. The group was assembled by vocalist/guitarists Dion Palmer ...

and also played Marshall Heywood on New Zealand television soap ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

''. Reid was joined by his school friends: guitarist and vocalist Gene Bennett and bassist and drummer Jon Corker. The trio first gained attention with their song "California", which had come second in a demo competition held by Auckland radio station 96.1. This led to the band signing with

Wildside Records Wildside Records was an independent New Zealand record label of the 1990s and early 2000s, owned and run by former '' Rip It Up'' magazine editor, Murray Cammick. Its signings included Shihad, Head Like a Hole, Slim, Pumpkinhead, Hallelujah P ...

, including distribution in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. The band released single "Funny Boy" in 2001, which reached #46 in the New Zealand charts, followed by single "Bruce" in 2002, which charted at #22. The band's debut album ''Primary'' was released in 2002, charting at #16. Rubicon received 10

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...

grants of $5000 for the production of music videos and a $50,000 grant for the recording of ''Primary''. In 2004 Bennet and Corker left the band to pursue their own musical directions, with Reid relocating to Los Angeles. New York musicians Scott Zant and Frank Zumo joined the band, with a new line-up of Zant on bass and vocals, Zumo on drums and Reid on guitar and vocals. In 2005 the band released their second album ''The Way It Was Meant To Be'', but it did not experience the same popularity as ''Primary''. By 2006 Rubicon had broken up, with Reid having returned to New Zealand and launched a now defunct web directory similar to

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussi ...

called The Thing. As of 2012, Reid is the managing director of Auckland real estate company Iconicity, later renamed The Icon Group.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Rubicon at Muzic.net.nz
{{Authority control New Zealand punk rock groups New Zealand pop punk groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 1999 establishments in New Zealand