As I believe has been occasionally noted, New Zealand is not a large country. So it seems all the more unlikely we should produce two internationally-regarded... Read More

We're pretty much into December. It focuses the mind, doesn't it? As I mentioned last week, gigs drop off the closer to Christmas we get. It's just too busy.... Read More

We must be getting close to the end of the year - gigs are starting to wind down. Not the gigs themselves of course, but as December arrives they get sparser.... Read More

I sometimes get messages from parents, enthusiastic about their children's music. Contrary to what you might immediately assume, these almost always prove... Read More

Last weekend I went to the Trinity Wharf Hotel launch of a big, bold and beautiful new book. ‘Paperboy Writer', by Tommy Kapai Wilson, is a lavishly-illustrated... Read More

Around 1980, I quit Southampton University and upped sticks for New Zealand, an uninformed decision fuelled by bad drugs and hubris. I spent my last night... Read More

Labour weekend already? The year is rushing to a close. Only a week until an American election. The world is on a knife edge. We finally learn whether being... Read More

One thing to know about jamming and open mic nights: in Tauranga and the Mount they mostly happen on Wednesdays. Mostly. So, I donned my Secret Squirrel hat... Read More

October on the music scene? Let me describe it in three words: busy, busy, busy. Three? That's how many gigs I wanted to mention happening next Saturday alone.... Read More

This week was for October gigs - there are a lot. But Kris Kristofferson died, so let's take a minute. I've been listening to Kris since I was a teenager,... Read More

This column doesn't really do nostalgia: there's always something more important. But I like a warm wallow as much as anyone so, just for this week,... Read More

I'll start with a new single from a reasonably new band. No Reply are a nine-piece spread between the Mount, Pāpāmoa, Hairini, Matua, and Ōtūmoetai. With... Read More