associated_acts label article_title background genre origin name
supergroove second child , greg johnson , the managers , dub , asylum , city newton bombers urban disturbance , loves ugly children , wildside records hallelujah picassos
 group_or_band reggae , pop , rap , ska , thrash , jazz auckland , new zealand hallelujah picassos
hallelujah picassos

hallelujah picassos were/are a reggae , rap , ska , thrash , jazz , pop crossover band from auckland , new zealand .
they started life in 1988 as a garage punk band the rattlesnakes .
they were released on pagan records for their first official single no more , following several self-released cassettes , then with the wildside label for subsequent releases .
new zealand publication `` rip it up '' described their music as a mix and match : `` the picassos mix and match musical styles to keep themselves , as much as their audience , interested .
a reggae bassline appears in a thrash number , which breaks to a pop jazz ditty before thrashing back into something with a hardcore bassline which is finished off with a reggae outro . ''
-lrb- rip it up , may 1992 -rrb- hallelujah picassos are particularly notable for their association with other bands from supergroove , urban disturbance , love 's ugly children , second child , musician greg johnson and the managers , to dub asylum and new punk bands like city newton bombers , and also for their association with cult new zealand figures such as martin emond who provided artwork for several of their releases .
in 2002 `` new zealand musician '' called hallelujah picassos `` one of this country 's seminal reggae/rock fusion outfits . ''
in 1991 they were the support act for screamin jay hawkins on his two nz shows .
they also played support for soundgarden , faith no more , the violent femmes , primus , beastie boys , ice t and body count , asian dub foundation , african head charge and more .
they played at the 1995 big day out , after being overlooked for a slot for the first big day out in nz the previous year .
in early 1994 they added a fifth member , gavin downie , formerly of colony .
after they toured in support of `` the gospel of the dna demon '' ep in late 1995 , johnnie pain and peter mclennan left the band , reportedly for ` spiritual reasons ' .
after recruiting new members , the band officially broke up in 1996 and occasionally reunited to play live gigs , such as radio 95bfm 's 30th birthday , in 1999 .
although they had limited commercial success - `` rewind '' was `` the only single that ever made a dent in the charts '' - the band retains a cult status in the new zealand music scene among fans who recall their incendiary live shows .
they were featured in the book `` kiwi rock '' , published in 1996 - the entry for them is viewable on their myspace page .
the band reunited to play live shows in 2013 , following the remaster/reissue of their back catalog on the compilation rewind the hateman -lrb- 2011 -rrb- and picasso core jukebox -lrb- 2012 -rrb- , featuring their collected cover versions .
the band added darryn harkness on bass , with john pain moving to keyboards .
they released some new recordings on a 4 song digital ep , bullet that breaks the key , in september 2014
