The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire

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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Darryn Harkness of New Telepathics

18 Dec 2017  |  2 min read

Multi-instrumentalist Darryn Harkness is a man of irrepressible energy and enthusiasms. To Elsewhere's knowledge -- and we are perhaps just scraping the surface here -- he has been in bands such as Braintree, Spacesuit, Serafin (in London) and Loud Ghost, has played in From Scratch for many years, publishes his own poetry and artwork, has a studio space on Queen St in Auckland, was a key figure... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Ed Knowles of Racing

15 Dec 2017  |  3 min read

Ed Knowles, singer with Racing, has what the authorities call “prior form”. A decade ago he and Racing guitarist Sven Pettersen were in the hugely popular North Shore rock band the Checks who knocked out three albums in little more than four years and endeared themselves to audiences everywhere they played. They opened for REM and picked up nominations and awards . . .... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE COMPILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE: Grant Gillanders

11 Dec 2017  |  3 min read

When Auckland's Grant Gillanders puts together a compilation or prepares a reissue of New Zealand music – and he has done at least two dozen in the past decade or so – it's not for the money. It is hard work and often quite labourious tracking down copyright, artists and songs in excellent condition . . . but there's no coin in it. Gillanders does it because he... > Read more

The Gremlins, Blast Off 1970

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Reverend Peyton

7 Dec 2017  |  3 min read

You gotta love the name: The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. Love it because the Reverend isn't actually one and the “big damn band” is just a three-piece of guitar, homemade drum kit (with a plastic bucket) and washboard. Out of the delightfully named Beanblossom in Indiana, the RPBDBand are schooled in old country blues (Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton etc), the... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Tim Chaisson of the East Pointers

7 Dec 2017  |  2 min read

At this year's Taranaki Womad back in March one of the more popular outfits was the East Pointers out of Prince Edward Island in Canada. The trio of guitars, banjo and fiddle delivered a set divided between Celtic-influenced dance and ballads, but Elsewhere noted in its review that an outdoor setting during the day – which is when we caught them – was not ideal. The... > Read more

82 Fires

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Paul Van Ross

5 Dec 2017  |  2 min read

Saxophonist Paul Van Ross is no stranger to these shores and returns for what he says is his 15th New Zealand tour next week. The Melbourne-based composer (and flautist) has also played in the US, Japan, Colombia, Germany and Cuba. He studied in New York for two seprate periods, played alongside the likes of Roy Hargrove and George Coleman, has appeared at jazz festivals throughout Asia and... > Read more

Swami in Da House

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE COMPILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE: Alan Perrott

1 Dec 2017  |  4 min read

Auckland DJ and dapper man about town Alan Perrott has long had a love for the classy end of kirsch, MOR, easy listening and soul-funk music. He's a record collector of the nicest kind (he shares the love when appearing as his nom-de-turntables House of Bamboo) and is also behind the new compilation of rare New Zealand soul-funk and disco songs Heed the Call. With John Baker, Perrott... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE COMPILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE: Karl Lock

24 Nov 2017  |  2 min read

There is an art to putting together a good compilation album. The tracks must hang together in some kind of logical way and the running order should take you from one song into the next seamlessly. If there's a theme it might be just a little easier because then you are quite genre-specific perhaps, but others which try to sum up a decade or even just one artist can be very tricky... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Richard X Bennett

20 Nov 2017  |  2 min read

Recently Elsewhere posted a column about the musically and literally itinerant American pianist/composer Richard X Bennett whose two new album were very different: What Is Now was a tough minded and very impressive piano trio recording; Experiments With Truth with a quintet (tenor and baritone saxes added to drums, bass and piano) had its roots in Indian classical music. We might have... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Frazey Ford

16 Nov 2017  |  4 min read  |  1

Singer-songwriter Frazey Ford from Canada is a rare one who first came to attention in the band she founded, The Be Good Tanyas who knocked out three impressive albums in the early 2000s. They are still an occasional going concern but Ford has branched out as an impressive solo artist with two albums so far (starting with the impressive Obadiah) which range from contemporary Memphis-styled... > Read more

Indian Ocean

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Mel Parsons

31 Oct 2017  |  3 min read

As must be obvious to any longtime readers of Elsewhere, Mel Parsons has always been one of our favourite New Zealand songwriters. We have written favourably about her albums, interviewed her and had her do a Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire . . . but she has never answered our more specific Famous Elsewhere Songwriters' Questionnaire. And so, because she starts a tour with another of our... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Sam Trevethick of Shapeshifter

23 Oct 2017  |  5 min read

Half a dozen albums (three of them certified platinum), live recordings and EPs, massive shows, tours of Europe and Australia (where they have been based for the past 15 years), awards for best album and best live act, even more award nominations, side projects and collaborations . . . Shapeshifter have consistently been one of this country's most popular and impressive live acts.... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Declan O'Rourke

25 Sep 2017  |  5 min read

When the great singer-songwriter Paul Brady says Declan O'Rourke possesses a “rich soulful musical voice and a brilliant instrumental ability” and Eddie Reader considers him “one of the finest songwriters on the planet” it is time to sit up and listen. Mojo says O'Rourke writes “the sort of classic songs that people don't write anymore, that... > Read more

Galileo

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Nick Hempton

25 Sep 2017  |  3 min read

New York-based Australian jazz saxophonist Nick Hempton has a clever link to his bio on his excellent website, it reads “Nick Who?” It's a fair question in this busy marketplace of music in the 21st century and getting your name out there has probably never been harder amidst the noise of people clamoring for attention. But Hempton is a player who deserves to be heard... > Read more

When I Grow Too Old to Dream (live)

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Nathan Brown

25 Sep 2017  |  4 min read

New York-based jazz bassist Nathan Brown has played with some of the best: Frank Morgan, Randy Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, John Faddis . . . He's also something of a multi-instrumentalist (learned cello initially, played tuba in school) and studied bass at Michigan State University. He has taught jazz appreciation/history while directing small groups, and lived and performed in Chicago... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE REGGAE QUESTIONNAIRE: Conway Jeune of Tunes of I

25 Sep 2017  |  2 min read

How best to describe Wellington's Tunes of I who are on the bill for next year's Soundsplash festival in Raglan? Well, their bandcamp profile says they are an “expansive neo-dub/soul/psychedelia seven-piece” . . . but you can guess the “I” in their name means there's a healthy dollop of roots reggae in the mix too. With an EP and an album (the excellent... > Read more

Restless

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE REGGAE QUESTIONNAIRE: Logan Bell of Katchafire

22 Sep 2017  |  2 min read

Elsewhere has long gone into bat for the reggae gifts of Katchafire who walk a canny line between righteous roots and pop-reggae without ever standing too close to the barbecue. They have toured New Zealand and internationally very extensively, are crowd pleasers wherever they go and bring people together in the spirit of Bob Marley's One Love. And they have been doing this for two... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Simon Comber/Herriot Row

28 Aug 2017  |  4 min read

When we last interviewed singer-songwriter Simon Comber back in 2011 he was Simon Comber, but now he's not Simon Comber so we thought we should offer Simon Comber another crack at a different Elsewhere questionnaire. Now – after two albums and an EP under his own name Simon Comber – he is now not appearing as Simon Comber (okay, we'll stop this now!) but working under the... > Read more

Out of the Ordinary

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Kane Strang

12 Jun 2017  |  1 min read

Kane Strang at the time of this writing is touring in the US on the back his alt.pop singles so far, but also in anticipation of his new album Two Hearts and No Brain (due for release on June 30). Recorded in the studio at Chick's Hotel in Dunedin, his hometown, with producer Stephen Marr (from Doprah), Two Hearts and No Brain is a continuation and refinement of his highly enjoyable... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS QUESTIONNAIRE . . . JEFFREY PAPAROA HOLMAN

12 Jun 2017  |  6 min read

Christchurch-based writer Jeffrey Paparoa Holman was born In London but from the age of 10 was raised on the West Coast, has published a number of books of poetry and prose (he profiled his excellent memoir of his father The Lost Pilot in 2013 for us), is a senior adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury and has written for Elsewhere about Bowie, birds and the bard of the public... > Read more