Opshop

Opshop rose to prominence among New Zealand rock bands during its era thanks to the breakthrough single "No Ordinary Thing" in 2004. The quartet took its name from the local slang for secondhand shops and came together in Auckland two years earlier when frontman Jason Kerrison, then holding down a solo residency at a downtown backpackers' bar, asked longtime acquaintance Tim Skedden to join him on guitar; mutual friend Bobby Kennedy soon came aboard on drums. Guitarist Matt Treacy and bassist Ian Munro rounded out the original roster, which first performed under the name GST. In the winter of 2003 the band entered Project NZM, a competition for unsigned acts backed by radio station ZM; after taking first place it cut its debut single "Saturated," which ZM promptly placed in rotation. Opshop then joined the fledgling Siren Records label and completed its first album, You Are Here, in 2004. The record's fourth single, "No Ordinary Thing," included piano from Christian pop star Brooke Fraser and propelled the group to widespread national attention through heavy airplay and inclusion on several compilations such as Now That's What I Call Music 16, Lazy Sunday 5, and State of the Nation: Fresh New Zealand Rock. Following that hit, both Skedden and Munro departed; bassist Clint Harris came in to stabilize the lineup as a quartet, which then turned to recording its second album, Second Hand Planet, released in 2007. The set climbed to number three on the New Zealand charts, driven by its lead single "Maybe."