The Selecter
By Poppy Tohill
Forming in mid 1979, with just a few breaks between 1981-1991 and 2006-2010, the 2 Tone ska revival band, The Selecter are currently celebrating their 35th anniversary together, and showing no signs of slowing down. Making their way to New Zealand for the very first time throughout their long career, to perform shows in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington this month, I had a chat with Selecter vocalist and front woman Pauline Black, about all things 2 Tone Ska Music, touring with The Selecter and their upcoming album and shows.
Sheppard
By Poppy Tohill
Being the first independent act to hit the top of the ARIA Singles Chart in a decade with their single'Geronimo' knocking out Pharrell Williams song 'Happy,' from the top spot, Australian band Sheppardproduced the first #1 single ever recorded in Brisbane, also breaking the record for making 'Geronimo' run as the longest independently released #1.
Angus & Julia Stone
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.
NZTrio
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).
Stormporter
By Poppy Tohill
Hot on the heels of their 2nd single, Sparkle Shimmer Shine, Stormporter, the New Zealand band of Brits,Tones Thorburn and Tim Allen are continuing to whip up a storm around their new(ish) home city ofAuckland.
Jol Mulholland
By Poppy Tohill
Interviewing Jol Mulholland proved a bit of a fun adventure, getting to head along to the Lab Recording Studios, where his musical space and humble abode he calls ‘The Oven' (due to being excruciatingly hot in the summer, because there's no windows) is located.
Howling Bells
By Sebastian Mackay
"Level with me." Howling Bells vocalist Juanita Stein doesn't say it but you can hear it in her voice, "this usually only goes one way." Again, she doesn't actually say it but it's there. Brimming at the top of her intonation. Surprisingly seriously. Oddly serious. Actually, a little bit ridiculous.
Phil Rudd
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.
David Ward
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.
Pop Will Eat Itself
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.
Interview: Shayna King
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.
Morgan Evans
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).
Justin Townes-Earle
By Poppy Tohill
Despite all the hardships Justin Townes Earle has been through over the past few years of his life, he's come out clean on the other side and is a wealth of knowledge and advice, proving a really down to earth, relaxed guy to chat to, early on a Tuesday morning.
Henry Wagons
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.
Interview: Shihad
By Jake Ebdale
Here's a catchy new chant for today's youth, courtesy of New Zealand's own Shihad. All together now:
G! C! S! B!
Seether
By Sebastian Mackay
There are some things in life you can control; small children, a line of ants, a dog, how many forks you eat your cereal with. And there things that you can't; Americans, Americans being good at their jobs, an army of possessed demon baby babies, what piracy (and the digital age) does to CD sales and fans getting band tattoos.
Parents
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.
Team Dynamite
By Poppy Tohill
With their distinctive smooth beats and easy listening New Zealand style, within five minutes of sitting down with vocalist Tony Tee and beat maker Haz Beats of hip-hop crew Team Dynamite you soon come to realise their personalities aren't much different.