I sometimes get messages from parents, enthusiastic about their children’s music.

Contrary to what you might immediately assume, these almost always prove invaluable, alerting me to a swathe of great music.

In the middle of last year, Mike Shennen emailed and introduced me to my new favourite Tauranga band, The Knids. I realise having a “favourite band” sounds very 13-year-old-ish but I make no apologies. Music keeps you young. I’m not ashamed to have a favourite band and favourite song; both change daily, sometimes hourly.

Despite trying to keep up with the local scene I was late on board with The Knids – together since a first album in 2021 – perhaps because they had never played live. Now, after four albums and within weeks of their first and only live gig, The Knids have called it a day.

If you’ve never listened to their music all I can say is, do. A bunch of my picks are on this week’s playlist. They exist somewhere between punk rock and revivalist 1960s rock ‘n’ roll with a dose of 1980s synth rhythm under poppy melodies; lyrics are smart and focused, often ironic, occasionally dipping into the serious.

Billy Two 

Essentially the band were an outlet for the songwriting and musical creativity of Michael Baxter – Mikey Knid – with additional singers Coz Knid and Chris Knid. I’m not sure of the etiquette with pseudonyms but Chris is Chris Shennen whose departure last week for Australia precipitated the band’s demise, and whose father initially hipped me to them.

I’m still in mourning but Mikey has news: “We will miss Chris but Coz and I will be soldiering on as a punk duo called Billy Two. We have five songs already written and they should be ready by end of December for an EP release.” Good news indeed.

‘Black Limousine’ 

Moving on, leading blues outfit and frequent Bay of Plenty visitors The Flaming Mudcats have just released a vinyl compilation album. Black Limousine spans 15 years and five albums, from the band’s inception to the latest line-up featuring Waihi keyboard player Liam Ryan.

Flaming Mudcats.

And the band are visiting Waihi this Sunday, November 17, playing the Little Theatre along with local singer Sarah Spicer, who has quite a history herself having spent 10 years in the San Francisco area where she played and recorded with John Lee Hooker amongst others.

Spotlights.

One more gig. Local hardcore band Threat.Meet.Protocol are doing amazing things. Highly-regarded Pittsburgh post-metal/doom-gazer trio Spotlights arrive next week for a 10-date North Island tour, all shows with support from Threat.Meet.Protocol, whose singer/bass player Austin Cunningham arranged the whole shebang. Spotlights are fresh from extensive American and European tours with fellow Ipecac Records bands the Melvins and Mr Bungle.

Threat.Meet.Protocol.

This is pretty high cotton whoever you are and, surprisingly, the Tauranga show is all ages with koha entry. That’s an extremely generous gesture to the music fans of Tauranga for a gig I suspect will become legendary. It’s next Sunday, November 24, under the Harbour Bridge at 1pm.

Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: