The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
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Fifteen revealing questions submitted to well-known musicians or newcomers to the game which they can answer seriously or as silly as they please.
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Rennie Sparks of the Handsome Family
As the Handsome Family the husband and wife duo of Rennie and Brett Sparks have made some of the most beguiling, curious, romantic, strange and delightful albums to come out of the corner we sometimes call Americana. They have written albums about science, Brett's bi-polar affliction and the wonder of Nature (the excellent Last Days of Wonder, see here) and their songs have been... more >>
Added: 20 May 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Jan Hellriegel
For far too long Jan Hellriegel was known by the shorthand of "Westie singer" which might have been literally true -- she lived in West Auckland, she sang -- but rather diminished her songwriting skills and the power of her delivery. You often read more about how she worked in her dad's panelbeaters than the quality of her songs on albums like her impressive debut album It's My... more >>
Added: 10 May 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Nadia Reid
Raised in Port Chalmers and Christchurch but now living in Auckland, singer-songwriter Nadia Reid (no relation to Elsewhere) has won consistent acclaim for her sometimes melancholy voice coupled with intelligent and insightful lyrics. Her debut EP Letters I Wrote and Never Sent appeared in 2011 and since then she has won praise from the likes of Adam McGrath of The Eastern whose opinion you... more >>
Added: 4 May 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Luckless
As singer-songwriter Luckless, Auckland-raised but now footloose Ivy Rossiter has been taking her charged up songs which employ loops and loudness to audiences nationwide for some years now. Her self-titled debut album won consistent praise (four stars just about everywhere) and as a live performer she is dynamic and committed. So as she embarks on a national Ballads and Badlands tour... more >>
Added: 4 May 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Etana
With a sound located between emotional soul and street-smart reggae, Etana (Shauna McKenzie) from Kingston, Jamaica has certainly made her mark. After a brief period in the States (where she was studying) in a girly-girl band she returned to her homeland and concentrated on a serious music career when she embraced Rastafarianism. Her debut album The Strong One brought reggae and folk... more >>
Added: 29 Apr 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Hamilton of British Sea Power
Elsewhere has had a long interesting in and affection for the UK band British Sea Power who have delivered four previous albums and a couple of soundtracks and yet never quite got the wide acclaim they deserve. So it was a pleasure to hear their new one Machineries of Joy because it marks a career high and economically encapsulates their many styles but pulls them together in songs which... more >>
Added: 22 Apr 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Clayton Anderson of Beastwars
So of course the new Beastwars album Blood Becomes Fire out on limited edition 12" record for Record Store Day -- when they play free at Real Groovy in Auckland -- is on blood red vinyl. That's utterly fitting because this thrillingly disciplined metal band from Wellington deliver songs with titles like Tower of Skulls, Ruins, Blood Becomes Fire and Shadow King with all the intensity of a... more >>
Added: 18 Apr 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Darren McShane of Superturtle
Darren McShane has been a serial offender in the New Zealand music scene, and we've all been the better for it. Way back he formed Stick No Bills (brilliant name, you'd see it everywhere) and then went on to form Chainsaw Masochist (on Flying Nun) who roared and sawed. He was also on bFM hosting The Electric Chair show on which he played rarities and imports. He moved on to the band... more >>
Added: 15 Apr 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Sam RB
Singer-songwriter Sam RB is probably seen by more people than most others in the country. She busks regularly on Queen Street, and it was through that she self-funded her second album Queen Sreet Acoustics. But don't let the title fool you, it isn't some lo-fi thing recorded on the street but a smart, sensitive and mature studio album which comes with some excellent assistance (see review... more >>
Added: 27 Mar 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Brett Adams and Dianne Swann, the Bads
For a band so right their name could not be more wrong: New Zealand group the Bads are good. Better than good, in fact. Way, way better than good. As you can see from the answers of Brett Adams and Dianne Swann below, they are steeped in music from classic rock though indie.pop to alt.country and . . . So much more. And for their third album Travel Light they have come to terms with their... more >>
Added: 18 Mar 2013 
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Tami Neilson
Canada-born Tami Neilson has been a longtime Elsewhere favourite for her unique blend of classic and traditional country with originals which have a contemporary spin. She has won the country album of the year three times (2009, 2010 and 2012, in that between year she picked up best female country artist), impressed audiences on solo tours, when out with Lauren Thompson and Jackie Bristow, and... more >>
Added: 18 Mar 2013 1 Comment
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Gary Harvey
Gary Harvey is one of New Zealand's great journeyman rock'n'roll blues musicians. He has been long overdue for the questionnaire (let alone a decent paycheque for his labours over the years) and when I asked him if I could put some gig dates with his answers he said, "no tours on the horizon, currently playing parties and back yards, but it's fun". For decades Harvey has done... more >>
Added: 11 Mar 2013 1 Comment
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Simone Felice
The surname gives it away for lovers of Americana. Simone Felice was one of the much acclaimed band The Felice Brothers whose 2007 album Tonight at the Arizona was a best of Elsewhere selection, their self-titled album of 2008 made the same list that year. They effortlesly and intuitively channeled the spirits of Dylan and the Band but also made something for themselves out of that raw... more >>
Added: 10 Mar 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Bernie Griffen
Pulling together the best elements of road-worn country-rock, folk, old style rhythm'n'blues and alt.country, Bernie Griffen and the Grifters have opened on New Zealand dates for Lil Band o' Gold, Justin Townes Earle, Emmylou Harris and Eilen Jewell. Griffen -- guitar and banjo -- brings to the band a wealth of writing and life experiences, and their recent album Everything So Far was a... more >>
Added: 6 Mar 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Rickie Lee Jones
The first and only time I have seen Rickie Lee Jones was at the Laurie Anderson-Lou Reed curated Vivid Festival in Sydney a couple of years back. Rickie Lee played an intimate show with her band in a room of the Opera House and she was . . . different. My first impression was she was very stoned, or acting like someone very stoned. But then as the sorta/autobiographical show unfurled... more >>
Added: 2 Mar 2013 1 Comment
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Salim Ghazi Saeedi
One of the many pleasures of Elsewhere is that we get to meet and hear from interesting people. Salim Ghazi Saeedi is certainly interesting, and not just because he has invented his own language on his most recent album namoWoman (reviewed here). Saeedi from Tehran is a multi-instrumentalist (he plays everything on the new album) who describes his music as "avant-garde ancient art-rock... more >>
Added: 1 Mar 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Donna Dean
New Zealand singer-songwriter Donna Dean might have won a number of local sogwriting awards (twice picking up country album of the year, twice winning APRA songwriting gong) but she is increasingly coming to global attention. How else to explain the presence of her new album Tyre Tracks and Broken Hearts of great players like guitarists Gurf Morlix (longtime player with Lucinda Williams,... more >>
Added: 28 Feb 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Joanne Shaw Taylor
Here's an interesting thing about blues-rock singer-guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor: she's the first I can recall who, given the Lennon Vs Jagger option in the questionnaire below, has gone with the man about whom Joan Rivers said, "He has child-bearing lips". But Shaw surprises on all counts: this astonishing guitarist and gutsy singer sounds like she was raised on Texas gin and... more >>
Added: 23 Feb 2013 1 Comment
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Jack Landy
On the strength of his folksy troubadour-styled debut album Lost and Found -- and that he referenced Moby Dick, Flaubert, Kerouac and Cervantes -- it was pretty clear that Auckland-based Jack Landy would make a prime candidate for the Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire. And as you can see from his witty answers below, we weren't wrong. Landry -- age 27 -- has busked his way around parts of... more >>
Added: 8 Feb 2013
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Ken Matsutani of Marble Sheep
Okay, a rather different series of answers here because obviously Ken's first language isn't English and he had to run most of this through some kind of English-Japanese translation machine. But here the mainman behind Tokyo's cosmic space-rock outfit Marble Sheep – which he has helmed since the late Eighties – answers (most of) our Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire in... more >>
Added: 11 Jan 2013
