Made world-famous in Dunedin for their flamboyant appearance in the 1999 Robert Sarkies feature film Scarfies the Yams had a short but sharp musical career as Dunedin's answer to the Sex Pistols
Stylistically, the Yams effortlessly blended an eclectic mix of 80's glam metal, 70's punk, and 60's style surf music into a unique brand of "drunken guitar pop" which has subsequently inspired numerous other kiwi acts such as: The Bleeders, The Mint Chicks and many other "The..." bands.
There are some rumours of a reunion tour in late 2007.
NB: the reunion gig almost took place on 27th August 2007 at the Crown Hotel in Dunedin, when Drew, Dave and Hugh were present at a Skaface Claw and GHOTA gig. Unfortunately, all original members were far too intoxicated to remember the songs.
The core band members (1997-2001):
Vocals - "Electric" Drew Munro
Drums and Guitar - "Bat Boy" Pat Soper
Guitar and Drums - "Filthy" Dave Dudfield
Other members 1998-2001:
Bass - Robert "Wibble" Bale (1998)
Bass - Mark "Little Sami" Dudfield (1998-2001)
Bass - "Crazy" Josh Thompson (2001)
Guitar - Hugh "Huge" Harlow (2000-2001)
Drums - Little "Little" Chris (2000-2001)
Plus additional bassplayers* :Drunken Dave, "The" Mark Neilson, Dave Neilson, Mr. Mike Bracey, Kelly Bur, Monica, Tahsa, Di, Kim, Ricky Didham, Paul D, Amy N, Mouse, Jamie Cooper, Mark Williams, Ian Elliot, Capt. Ron "100 year storm", Sharl "Vot ist yams", plus many others.
* may not have actually performed with the group
Stylistically, the Yams effortlessly blended an eclectic mix of 80's glam metal, 70's punk, and 60's style surf music into a unique brand of "drunken guitar pop" which has subsequently inspired numerous other kiwi acts such as: The Bleeders, The Mint Chicks and many other "The..." bands.
There are some rumours of a reunion tour in late 2007.
NB: the reunion gig almost took place on 27th August 2007 at the Crown Hotel in Dunedin, when Drew, Dave and Hugh were present at a Skaface Claw and GHOTA gig. Unfortunately, all original members were far too intoxicated to remember the songs.
The core band members (1997-2001):
Vocals - "Electric" Drew Munro
Drums and Guitar - "Bat Boy" Pat Soper
Guitar and Drums - "Filthy" Dave Dudfield
Other members 1998-2001:
Bass - Robert "Wibble" Bale (1998)
Bass - Mark "Little Sami" Dudfield (1998-2001)
Bass - "Crazy" Josh Thompson (2001)
Guitar - Hugh "Huge" Harlow (2000-2001)
Drums - Little "Little" Chris (2000-2001)
Plus additional bassplayers* :Drunken Dave, "The" Mark Neilson, Dave Neilson, Mr. Mike Bracey, Kelly Bur, Monica, Tahsa, Di, Kim, Ricky Didham, Paul D, Amy N, Mouse, Jamie Cooper, Mark Williams, Ian Elliot, Capt. Ron "100 year storm", Sharl "Vot ist yams", plus many others.
* may not have actually performed with the group
The term "status candidate" is a term used by the US Government on various federal employment websites. The term means that the only acceptable candidates are CURRENT or FORMER Federal Employees. This definition is explained at the following website (Jan 2008) http://federalgovernmentjobs.us/jobs/Administrative-Support-Assistant-Oa-Non-Status-1077820.html
Detailed information on federal employment is available from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. That handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.
Detailed information on federal employment is available from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. That handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.
Reel Sound Productions is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida based audio marketing company that creates audio for websites, telephone systems and On Hold systems. In addition, the company produces website audio, storecasting (overhead audio through speakers) content, jingles and telephone prompts. Although some companies choose to play the radio (which violates U.S. copyright laws) or silence, a more generally accepted and popular method of "On Hold" is customized/branded productions.
History
Reel Sound Productions began in the 1980s as Flying Fox Productions and was producing music for documentary films in New York, California and New Jersey. The owners were graduates of Berklee College of Music and became well known for their film music in the industrial, training and documentary film score circles. When the Internet started to develop in the 1990s Reel Sound saw the need to have audio on websites as well. They developed a plan to implement audio on many websites for car manufacturers, hotels and computer makers and to this day produce audio for websites, On Hold programs for corporations and write music (original and ghostwriters) worldwide
Equipment and formats
Most On Hold systems are integrated into a businesses telephone system via an audio jack on the telephone equipment labeled "MOH". The source of the music is usually from CDs or digital files such as MP3, but some older systems may still use cassette tapes (sometimes employing endless-loops), or reel-to-reel tape players. With the advancement of the Internet and high-speed data connections, players that take adavantage of this technology are now common and facilitate the copying of files to thousands of locations instantaneously.
Stock MOH CDs (with or without voice-overs)
Productions are available that have been specifically recorded and licensed for royalty free applications. These may contain only music, or may include periodic voice-overs with messages such as "Your call is important" or "Please stay on the line". Such off-the-shelf recordings may be generic or may be specific to individual industries, but usually are not customized for individual companies.
Custom-designed MOH
Productions (or other MOH formats, such as MP3 files) can be custom-created to suit the particular needs of a business. The announcements can be scripted to emphasize particular attributes of the business such as location, store hours, or special promotions or services.
Styles of music
The style of music mixed with the production depends largely on the type of business offering the service. It is generally best to present music that will not be offensive to the audience, but that would also be consistent with the type of caller that would typically be listening to it. For example, a western apparel store may choose to play country music. A Christian book store may choose to play popular Christian music. A university may choose to play classical music. Light classics, smooth jazz, and beautiful music are common choices, as is fully synthesized melodic music.
Benefits
Retains callers and propects by doing one or more of the following:
*Assures the caller that their call is still connected
*Entertains the caller, which gives the impression that the time spent on hold is shorter than what it really is
*Informs the caller of his place in queue and the approximate length of time until his call will be taken
*Informs the caller of information about the company, such as store hours, locations, or services
*Informs the caller about promotions or new products
*Informs the caller about options to leave the on-hold system, such as pressing a key to leave a voicemail or to be transferred to a different department
Statistics
*80% of all business calls get placed "On Hold" every day.
*88% of people "On Hold" prefer customized productions over silence or the radio
*Silence will prompt people to hang up within 30 seconds if the call is not connected.
*Of those that hang up, 42% will never call back if they can call a competitor.
History
Reel Sound Productions began in the 1980s as Flying Fox Productions and was producing music for documentary films in New York, California and New Jersey. The owners were graduates of Berklee College of Music and became well known for their film music in the industrial, training and documentary film score circles. When the Internet started to develop in the 1990s Reel Sound saw the need to have audio on websites as well. They developed a plan to implement audio on many websites for car manufacturers, hotels and computer makers and to this day produce audio for websites, On Hold programs for corporations and write music (original and ghostwriters) worldwide
Equipment and formats
Most On Hold systems are integrated into a businesses telephone system via an audio jack on the telephone equipment labeled "MOH". The source of the music is usually from CDs or digital files such as MP3, but some older systems may still use cassette tapes (sometimes employing endless-loops), or reel-to-reel tape players. With the advancement of the Internet and high-speed data connections, players that take adavantage of this technology are now common and facilitate the copying of files to thousands of locations instantaneously.
Stock MOH CDs (with or without voice-overs)
Productions are available that have been specifically recorded and licensed for royalty free applications. These may contain only music, or may include periodic voice-overs with messages such as "Your call is important" or "Please stay on the line". Such off-the-shelf recordings may be generic or may be specific to individual industries, but usually are not customized for individual companies.
Custom-designed MOH
Productions (or other MOH formats, such as MP3 files) can be custom-created to suit the particular needs of a business. The announcements can be scripted to emphasize particular attributes of the business such as location, store hours, or special promotions or services.
Styles of music
The style of music mixed with the production depends largely on the type of business offering the service. It is generally best to present music that will not be offensive to the audience, but that would also be consistent with the type of caller that would typically be listening to it. For example, a western apparel store may choose to play country music. A Christian book store may choose to play popular Christian music. A university may choose to play classical music. Light classics, smooth jazz, and beautiful music are common choices, as is fully synthesized melodic music.
Benefits
Retains callers and propects by doing one or more of the following:
*Assures the caller that their call is still connected
*Entertains the caller, which gives the impression that the time spent on hold is shorter than what it really is
*Informs the caller of his place in queue and the approximate length of time until his call will be taken
*Informs the caller of information about the company, such as store hours, locations, or services
*Informs the caller about promotions or new products
*Informs the caller about options to leave the on-hold system, such as pressing a key to leave a voicemail or to be transferred to a different department
Statistics
*80% of all business calls get placed "On Hold" every day.
*88% of people "On Hold" prefer customized productions over silence or the radio
*Silence will prompt people to hang up within 30 seconds if the call is not connected.
*Of those that hang up, 42% will never call back if they can call a competitor.
The story is simple, really. Three ordinary girls audition for the world's biggest talent show on reality television, Idols. One originating from Centurion, one from Randburg and the other from the Free State. All three girls are fortunate enough to make it to the Top 100 throughout the entire country and beyond. As the competition heats up, the public gets the opportunity to vote via phone lines for their favourite contestant, whom would ultimately make it into the coveted Top 10. Both Deidre and Kesha had the public's support. Unfortunately Nicky did not gain enough votes from the public and therefore did not make the Top 10 ... yet. The Idols format is ruled by endless twists and the Top 10 is converted into a Top 12. Hereby giving the judges the opportunity to give a few of the unlucky contestants the privilege of being an Idols Top 12 competitor. Nicky got a second chance to perform for the judges in the wildcard round, in which contestants with the most potential were called back. She impressed the judges and narrowly made it into the Top 12. Now Deidre, Kesha and Nicky had to compete against one another for the ultimate prize, the Idols crown. One by one they each fell out of the competition, failing to make it to the final. However, Nicky proved to be most popular among the judges and the public, being the last girl voted off from the competition. Fans of all three girls couldn't wait for the girls to release their CD's once the competition ended. Everyone was expecting each girl to record a solo album and launch a career as a solo artist, but instead the three girls decided to release a CD together with the help and management of Sony BMG. Today Nicky, Kesha and Deidre are known as NKD, the first band formed by former Idols finalists in South Africa. Finding a name for the band wasn't an easy task, and initially they came up with DKN, but changed it around because of it being too close to DKNY. The girls recorded the theme song 'I Want Your Love' for Supersport, which has been on supersport ads on all our local sport channels. Their hit single 'What I Believe' have also been played on several radio stations country wide. Their debut album was due for release on 05 October 2006 and judging by the media speculation, their CD is sure to become one of the biggest selling albums in the history of South African music .