Angus & Julia Stone

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By Poppy Tohill

I was very excited when I heard Julia & Angus Stone are heading our way to perform one show at Auckland's Civic Theatre later next month. Even more so, when I got asked to interview Julia. Unfortunately losing her voice prior to our interview, Julia was kind enough to still respond to my
questions about her solo project and time apart from Angus, their recently released self-titled third album, working with Rick Rubin and of course, their upcoming show on September 27th.

 

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NZTrio

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By Poppy Tohill

Described as a ‘national treasure', the genre-bursting NZTrio continue to thrill both national and international audiences. Bringing the second show of their three part loft series to Auckland's Q Theatre this month, I sat down with cello player Ashley Brown for an in depth conversation about contemporary and classical music, working with composers and what we can expect from the trio's upcoming show this Sunday (September 14th).

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Phil Rudd

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By Jake Ebdale

Phil Rudd is a beguiling, classic character in the world of rock. The drummer for AC/DC, one of the biggest rock bands ever in terms of both tours and album sales, he once gave it all up for a simpler life - in fact, he retreated to Tauranga in the eighties and is still living there today. Once he rejoined Acca Dacca in the early 90s, instead of begging for his old job back, the rest of the band came to him. It shows how powerful and crucial his style of drumming is to the band - but I've always wondered how he would sound on his own.

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David Ward

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By Poppy Tohill

Written and performed by the exceptionally talented trio, David Ward, Peter Daube and Dave Kahn, Wheel Of Experience is a unique musical and theatrical experience that paints the lives and legends of early NZ through a collection of stunning original songs. Having recently returned to Auckland from an extensive 26 date tour around New Zealand, I caught up with composer, musician and producer of the show, David Ward, in the middle of Aotea Square where the project first debuted back in 2011, for a chat prior to their upcoming shows at Auckland's Q Theatre in September.

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Pop Will Eat Itself

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By Sebastian Mackay

Pop Will Eat Itself, thankfully isn't pop and hasn't eaten itself (you could argue they did but vomited themselves back up 10 years later) and that means they're coming for us. For the first time in 20 years the good ol' chaps are bringing their live shebang to our rainy little shores. It's a wonder any still cares, really. ButGraham Crabb (co-vocalist and last standing original member) has answer for that. Well, he has an answer for most things.

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Interview: Shayna King

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By Poppy Tohill

Lately I've been hearing a lot about numerous emerging artists from Christchurch, with one of those being the talented alternative songstress Shayna King, who has been on my musical radar for a while. With the release of her new single ‘Calling You' on Monday, it was a treat catching up with Shayna for a chat on the phone a few days prior to the single's release.

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Morgan Evans

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By Sebastian Mackay

Interviewing is a lot like discovering. Artists come across your desk and there's a fair amount of 'who the hell are you?'. The next thing you know you're on the phone and there's a suspended silence before the hum and haw over a left field question. I'm ashamed to admit there was a fair amount of that during my interview withMorgan Evans (full disclosure: I'm the kind of guy that has heavy metal labels on speed dial, not country singers).

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Henry Wagons

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By Poppy Tohill

After having had the privilege of interviewing a number of bands now, I love that some-times the best conversations and interviews you have are the ones with the artists you know the least about. While researching the Australian indie rock band Wagons and their front man Henry Wagons, I was intrigued with what I read about them and didn't know quite what to expect from the interview.

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Parents

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By Poppy Tohill

I was fooled by the classic ‘punk musician stereotype' when trying to spot Auckland hardcore punk band,Parents guitarist Jono in a cafe yesterday afternoon. As we sat down, we joked about the fact that if you were meeting him for the first time (which I was) and you had no idea he was in a band, a punk one at that, it would probably take a little convincing for one to believe.

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