The Renderers played Christchurch on Friday April 23rd, 2004 at Creation along with the Terminals and an acoustic performance from Hamish Kilgour (The Clean / Magick Heads etc). I conducted this interview with Brian and Maryrose Crook in the lead-up to the show.
A memorial I wrote for Michael J. Brassell after he sadly passed away from pneumonia in 2004. I helped organize a music tribute wake here in Christchurch to celebrate his life, whilst a similar event was also help in his then-current home of Dunedin.
The Christchurch scene of 1980-82 is pretty legendary, and rightly so. This was most fertile period of rock’n’roll in the city since the beat-boom days of Chants R’n’B circa 1966. There were some very good Christchurch punk bands (notably the… Read More »Christchurch in the 80’s [By David Swift]
An interview I conducted with Michael Brassell, aka Mike Hex – at the time the creative force behind Hiss Explosion and a musical co-ordinator for Arc Life Cafe / records down in Dunedin. Sadly Mike passed away just a few months later.
When a band’s been around a scene a long time, they start to develop a certain aura about them. Into The Void were always something of a notable band, with a vested interest in the local music and art scenes,… Read More »Into The Void [March 2005]
First off, describe your music in 10 words or less Antarcticish. Please substitute my use of the genre label ‘noise’, i’m not particularly fond of it myself.. Neither. ‘Noise’ is term usually used by Kylie fans to make generalizations about… Read More »Campbell Kneale [December 2002]
[Interview and Article by Andrew Barry, Photos by Christopher Andrews] Meeting with the members of Christian Rock at their spiritual (and in some cases literal) home of All Plastics Recording it is immediately clear that the band is no marriage… Read More »Christian Rock [Christchurch Band]
[Originally published in A Low Hum, October 2006] Skittery percussion, ethereal drones with metallic resonance, a disturbingly atmospheric sound counter-balanced by human, emotive vocals The Enright House sounds like a dramatic balancing act; much like the crumbling architectural images that… Read More »The Enright House [October 2006]
In September 2012 I conducted an interview with The Pin Group’s Roy Montgomery for an article published by the Christchurch Press. This is the complete interview transcribe.
Alec Bathgate isn’t a household name in New Zealand. Though his most famous group (Tall Dwarfs) and his subsequent partner-in-crime (Chris Knox) may have achieved a level of recognition slightly beyond the typical indie-rock crowd, Bathgate remains one of New… Read More »Alec Bathgate [November 2004]
This interview was conducted with Simon McLaren via email in late 2003; on the eve of the launch of his terrific ‘Giant Spheres’ album, released under the then-new moniker of Sleepers Union. First of all, we know you’re well inclined… Read More »Simon McLaren on Sleepers Union [August 2003]
[Originally published in A Low Hum October 2006] Will Edmonds is eager, passionate and luckily for Christchurch, one of the founders of Out of Kilter, an all ages orientated community that focuses on promoting bands and events. Out of Kilter… Read More »Will Edmonds / Out Of Kilter [October 2006]
The Leper Ballet burnt so brightly and so quickly that it’s astonishing they didn’t garner wider acclaim. Like Iggy and his Stooges during the epochal hey-day, the group were a writhing, for-the-moment ball of energy, engulfing rooms with pulsating sound… Read More »Leper Ballet [April 2005]
On Monday, September 15th I saw an innocuous Facebook post by Doo Ragnarok, aka Duane Zarakov, aka Pat Faigan – a fairly typical post by Pat, who spends a great chunk of the day posting excellent youtube clips of classic… Read More »RIP Peter Gutteridge
Over the last 20 years The Bats have garnished a label of dependability – and with good reason. Though now taking a little bit of time between releases (one might jump to the conclusion that ‘At The National Grid’ is… Read More »The Bats [February 2006]