There are some famous surnames in the line-up of Auckland band Betchadupa, but the group wants to find fame on their own account.Young Auckland band Betchadupa make no bones about what they want to achieve in the music industry: they want to be rich and famous."... we've seen the pinnacle of where you can get to, and it looks pretty good," drummer Matt Eccles says.He and the fellow 17-year-old sitting next to him should know. Eccles' father Brent played with a leading New Zealand group in the 1970s, Citizen Band, before crossing the Tasman to play those with enduring favourites of the Australian rock scene, The Angels.His colleague is Betchadupa's lead singer, Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, of Split Enz and Crowded House fame, who like Eccles has spent his entire young life living the rock 'n roll dream.It's a lifestyle they are trying to introduce their fellow band members Joe Bramley (bass), and Chris Garland (guitar) to, but Finn and Eccles are determined Betchadupa are going to succeed their way."If we're going to get somewhere we want to get there on our own merits and because of the music," Finn says."At the end of the day I think it will have to be because of that anyway, because you're not going to get far riding on the back of your father. You might be able to release one album and it might sell three times more than someone no one's ever heard of because it's got that connection. After that, if the music isn't there it's not going to get you a hell of a lot further."

Fortunately for Betchadupa, the music is there. Within a year the group has released two impressive EPs on independent label Flying Nun, showcasing an exciting array of songwriting skills.Eccles and Finn met as 12-year-olds when their families were holidaying at the same spot.Despite initially disliking each other, their mutual love of music saw them sit down and try to write a song together."We called it Gee This Sounds Good, I Can't Believe We Wrote It, because it was like the first proper song we'd written," Finn says."We'd both written songs, but nothing which had been structured, saying `Let's put this bit here and that bit there'. We were pretty stoked. Without sounding cliched, it was a magic moment: we just immediately clicked."

Further songs were written during subsequent holidays, songs which would later form the backbone of Betchadupa's first EP.Finn's neighbour Garland was roped in on guitar.Bramley, who Finn knew from school, was handed a bass guitar, and a band was formed.The group was originally called Lazy Boy, but after objections from a chairmaker with a similar name, Betchadupa, taken from a group game in the studio where they make up words out of the sound of drum fills, was finalised."Every now and then I think `God, we're called Betchadupa. Why did we do that?'," Finn admits."It's not commercial suicide, but you tell people the name of your band and they go `Oh. That's nice'. A big contender was Neil Finn's Son's Band, because that's kind of what we get called as much as Betchadupa. I thought a good name for our album would be Neil Finn's Son's Band's First Album."

Betchadupa have had an ambivalent attitude to their very own "F" word at times.Finn admits there have been moments when the band have become sick of questions about his famous father, to the point of getting into what he calls "a bad mindframe" about it."Then we realised we should embrace it, because people are always going to ask about it," he says."I'm proud of my Dad and I'm proud to be his son, but basically we didn't want to be seen as only being here because of him, when that's absolutely not the case."The "F" factor was one of the reasons why Betchadupa have signed to hardy New Zealand independent label Flying Nun, rather than one of the majors.

Despite having written a slew of canny melodic pop songs which could easily crack the charts if given the right promotional push, Betchadupa instead wanted to find their feet both musically and mentally: it's only because they keep reminding you about their age that you realise they are still teenagers.By recording and releasing rather than trying straight away for a pop hit, Betchadupa wanted to learn the trade and find their own sound."At the time, Flying Nun were the only label who were happy to let us do what we wanted to do, which was record one EP at a time and build it up slowly. They were really into that, saying that is the way you should do it," Eccles says."I think if we'd gone straight to a major they would have wanted to milk," Finn adds."They might not have said `we're going to market you as Neil Finn's son's band' because we would have said no to that, but they would have wanted to go all out on the first album and make it a hit. We wanted to build and create an audience who really likes you, rather than just likes your single."

Listening to Betchadupa's two EPs, it is obvious this is a band moving forward in leaps and bounds.It's not that there's anything wrong with the band's first release, which features several classically-styled pop songs including Empty Head and Spill The Light, as well as some genuine hard rocking tunes.It's just that on new release The 3D EP they've taken all the elements of the first release and added several more besides.A variety of musical styles and tempo feature on both EPs, and Finn and Eccles acknowledge that's partly because Betchadupa are still trying to find their feet.They're learning quick though, and the results when the band record their debut album later this year will be well worth listening out for."It's going to be the best representation of us so far," Eccles says."Everything we've released up until now doesn't really show where we're at as a band because it's old."It'll be like another three steps forward," Finn adds."I've always really liked what we've done, but I've been hearing it for so long before it's gone out. I've never been so much into the music as I am now because I'm really excited about what we're doing now, and that people seem to be reacting to it better than ever."

Betchadupa's two EPs are out now on Flying Nun. - NZPA