PistolGrip came into existence in early 1996, and was the brainchild of one Jason Clements, who was the bassist for legendary Christchurch band The Puffins, at the time. He had an idea for a side project, for which he’d penned a few songs: Social Welfare, (Too Tough To Give A) Flyin’ Fuck, Getting Pissed, and a few others. The concept was for punk songs with tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and he wanted it to sound heavy, and figured what could be heavier than two bass players?
He roped in The Puffins’ drummer, who also played in another band with Peter K Malthus, who became the 2nd bassist. The novelty of a two-bassist band combined with high-energy performances and catchy songs led to PistolGrip quickly earning notoriety in the local music scene, which in turn left to Jason reluctantly leaving the band, due to constant clashes between Puffins commitments and PistolGrip gig offers. Jason was replaced with Blain Hart, and Peter took over lead vocals, thusly cementing the “classic” PistolGrip lineup.
The next couple of years saw PistolGrip playing a massive amount of shows around the South Island, recording a 5 song EP, and a single that appeared on the Bride Of Brat compilation of Christchurch bands. They also appeared on a local live compilation that was a fundraiser for an animal welfare charity. Due to other commitments, Blain was replaced right at the end of the ’90s by Stephen Lane, of Stoatgobbler and Bekonstein fame.
The turn of the century saw PistolGrip go on hiatus, as Peter and the drummer focused on another project for a few years. They did one show circa 2008 at the much-mourned Dux De Lux with 3 bassists, which would be Blain’s last hoorah with the band.
2011 saw Peter, Stephen, and the drummer pick PistolGrip up again, writing quite a few new songs and playing a handful of shows, the last one being at Lincoln Rd’s Dux Live, supporting UK band Subhumans in 2012, before disbanding again.
Which brings us to 2025, when Peter was approached by Pumpkinhead and asked if there was a possibility of PistolGrip reforming to play support at their 30th anniversary show. Having always wanted to be on a bill with Pumpkinhead, being a fanboy since moving to Christchurch in ’92, Peter refused to be put off by Stephen being unable to take part for health reasons, and the original drummer not being a viable option, and enlisted the skills of brothers Nick (Wart, Tainted, Finger Of Contempt) and Dave (Spicy Vikings, Imagineers) King. Thus, a new lineup of PistolGrip was cemented, and a new era began.
