Silver Scroll Nominees Announced

Shockwaves were felt throughout the NZ music scene today when it was learnt that neither Don McGlashan nor Dave Dobbyn were amongst the five finalists for the 2007 Silver Scroll Awards. Within living memory it has been common practice for the two to take turn about for top New Zealand music awards, with the occasional concession to the third of the great Kiwi music triumvirate, Neil Finn.

A clearly shaken McGlashan, bathing in a river of tears, was unable to comment, but is said to be counting the cost of a now unnecessary mantle piece extension. Dobbyn, meanwhile, has put away the welcome mat at his comfortable Grey Lynn home and may be considering applying to Algeria for refugee status. When asked for his opinion on the matter Neil Finn flew into a rage and could be heard muttering, "It's all that b**** Helen Clark's fault".

New Zealand music fans now face the prospect of having to come to terms with a whole new generation of musical talent receiving acclaim and airplay. Music scene commentator and high profile DJ, Barry Jenkin, made a statement summing up public feeling on the scandal, "Everybody knows there's been no decent new talent since 1984, what are they playing at!"

What do you think? Cast your vote in the Beach radio poll - "Which song should win the 2007 Silver Scroll?" The poll can be found in the sidebar to the right.

Rock on the Rock - Clench

A few weeks back I went to see Clench at Malones in Surfdale after having missed them a few weeks earlier at the Dirt Track. The show was reviewed by a couple of the local rags who didn't really seem to know what to make of them ... which was a good sign in my book. A couple of the Clench crew are (or were) DJs on the station so supporting them and seeing whether Waiheke can actually rock was on the cards for the night. Rock bands on 'the Rock' are few and far between; we seem to attract more of the singer/songwriter types than you'd ever really want to meet and I must admit that I went down without too many expectations, just to have a few beers say hello to some mates, listen to some music then walk home. Surprise! First song hooked me right away and reeled me in for the rest of the night - Clench were the real deal. Original numbers, riffs!... good ones too, rock'n'roll with an attitude and some real grit to it had landed in Malones of all places. I've been thinking about the band and what a great show they put on that night ever since so if you want to see some fine local rock head on down to Malones again this Saturday. I'm going to try to get some tracks by Clench on the site as soon as possible so check back. See you on Saturday.

UPDATE

Listen to Clench's Live set on bFM here...

What The Folk!

Bill Whall is a Waiheke Island folk muso. On Saturday 28 July he popped in to Island Life to have a chat about a monthly Waiheke Folk Club jam night he's starting up. Club night is the first Wednesday of each month, starting August 1. The jam will be held at the Sports Club, down on the Causeway, staring at 7pm. Bill explained that the format of the evening will be open mic from 7pm through to about 8.30 - 9.00. After that there will be a feature act, this coming month it's a bluegass outfit called Shotgun from the Titirangi Folk Club featuring former islander, Alan Lewis. The evening will finish with a jam. Whether you want to play, or just listen, all are welcome for a modest charge ($4 for members, $6 for non-members). The bar and kitchen will be open and the music will be great.

Bill brought in his banjo and played a couple of numbers. He picked up quite an audience from those passing through the artworks courtyard. Take a listen on the player below or visit the Internet Archive for downloads.

For Your Listening Pleasure

Last week we broadcast a special on songs named after New Zealand place names. The audio for this show is now available. Either click on the flash player here or visit the Internet Archive for a range of download and streaming options. We're sure you'll enjoy this show, the audio for last years Place Names Special has become one of our most popular downloads.

Also, keep an eye open for an upcoming announcement of weekly podcasting of some the radio shows here on The Beach 99.4fm.

Out with the Old, in with the New(old)

Well the big news last week was the storm which ravaged Waiheke with 100+ km winds and rain, knocking down trees and casting most of the island into darkness for varying amounts of time. One of the casualties of this wrath of nature was the old Beach Radio broadcasting desk which got fried by an electrical spike or some such anomoly when the power eventually did come back on. Like most things in this station (including some of the DJs) that old desk was held together by chewing gum and spit but it did the job and its departure will be met with a mixture of sadness and relief. The good news is that due to an earlier donation by another island resident we had a backup desk ready to go. The new-old desk, pictured above, while not quite of the same caliber as the old desk and not technically a broadcast desk seems to be humming along quite nicely. We've chucked a bit of #8 wire into it plus a bit of the old Kiwi DIY ingenuity and the needles are hopefully bipping along nicely bringing the island the high caliber of volunteer radio that they've come to expect.

Viva la new/old desk!

I've Been Everywhere AND BACK!

A wide range of Download and Streaming options of this show are available at the Internet Archive

The idea behind this show (and post) is to focus on musicians who are celebrating or commenting on their country through their songs. Each song featured is named after a NZ town or location. As you'll see and hear, there is a diverse bunch, from traditional country to indie pop/rock. I have run a previous special of the same sort. Back then I traversed the country from North to South so this time I figured I better head bottom up. Putting the special together has given me the opportunity to play with a couple of new internet toys so below you'll find a map, click on the markers to get track info, links and even the odd download. And underneath the map a slide show to give you something to look at as you listen to the show. After all, we all love seeing people's holiday slides don't we.

Repost: I've Been Everywhere

About a year ago I ran a Counting The Beat special on songs that were named after New Zealand towns and locations. I recorded the show but a few technical problems meant the sound wasn't great. I've finally had a bit of a tinker and got it to a passable standard so I decided it was time to re-run the posting that accompanied the show, but this time you can listen too! This is a show I'm particularly proud of, I hope you like it. Working on this has also prompted me to turn my attention to a sequel - that should be coming in a few weeks. Listen into the show at 6pm on Sundays for details. You can listen to a stream of the place name special on the player below or download it from our friends at the Internet Archive.


Here is the long promised place name special. The deal is that all songs on the show have a New Zealand place name as their title. As you may imagine the result is an eclectic array of musical styles, from folk, to electronica, to punk and more. This post highlights a few of the artists, songs and locations featured.

Auckland Tonight - The Androidss
One of two songs about Auckland comes from The Androidss (sic), a band that actually hail from Christchurch. You can read a short bio on the excellent thebigcity site, an essential for your favourites list if you are into alternative kiwi acts.

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu - Peter Cape

One of the reasons this show took so long to put together was because I had to learn how to say the name of this place. The song is by Peter Cape, a cleric, broadcaster, and folk singer with a very interesting history. Believe it our not the song title is an abbreviation of the actual place name.

Cape Turnagain - The Warratahs and Sam Hunt
Named by Cook on his inaugural visit to these shores, Cape Turnagain became the subject of this fantastic song written by Barry Saunders and Sam Hunt. Here's Barry with the Cape in the background.

Otaki - The Fourmyula
Not much to say about this one. All you need to know is here on another essential kiwi music website.

Wellington - The Mutton Birds
Don McGlashan has a new solo album out called Warm Hand. I haven't heard it yet, but reviews are good. The Mutton Birds still have a site you can check out.

Christchurch (In Cashel St I Wait) - The Dance Exponents
Brilliant, Naming not only the city, but the specific street. Are there any kiwi songs with an actual address? If so, I want to hear about them.

Purakanui - Jetty
One of my favourite places in the world. I was very excited when I discovered someone had recorded a song about this beach on the Otago coast. Incidentally the band Jetty are also named after a place. The band name came about because their practice rooms were on Jetty St, down by the wharf area in Dunedin.

I've Been Everywhere - John Hore
John Hore gave John Denver his name. He later changed his own name to John Grenell. Who knew? More info here.

There you go; a musical journey from North to South. Keep a look out for the sequel.

Give Peace A Chance

The 8^th of June 2007 is the 20^th anniversary of the passing of legislation to make New Zealand nuclear free. To get a local slant on this historic occasion The Beach 99.4fm invited Waiheke woman Maynie Thompson onto our Island Life magazine show to discuss her involvement in the anti-nuclear movement in the 1980s. (Use the flash player below to hear the interview. To download or for higher quality streams see the link at the end of the post.)

Maynie is an amazing woman. In this interview she discusses the inspiration for her involvement in the anti-nuclear movement and some of her adventures as a front line activist.

Waiheke became a hotbed of activism in the eighties and Maynie and other local women found they had plenty of support from the island community as they took their message of peace to the world. In 1983 she participated in a march to Wellington calling for the New Zealand government to take a stand on the nuclear issue. Enthused by that experience, a year later Maynie visited Britain to join the women’s camp at Greenham Common protesting the deployment of American nuclear missiles on British soil. She wasn’t merely a passive participant in this protest, she was involved in cutting the fence and raiding the Greenham Common military complex.

Two years later Maynie again ventured overseas to participate in the Great Peace March across the United States, walking much of the way from Los Angeles to Washington DC, again calling for peace and an end to the nuclear threat.

Maynie’s activism continued into the 1990’s with her participation in the 1995 Peace Flight to Tahiti. This action was to protest French Nuclear testing on the Pacific atoll Mururoa and to lend support to the indigenous people of Tahiti and other Pacific nations who were in the region were the French chose to carry out their nuclear dirty work.

It was a real pleasure talking with Maynie. She has dedicated many years to the campaign for peace and wanted to emphasise the overwhelming support she had received from the Waiheke community over this time. She justifiably looks back on her involvement in the peace movement with pride.

You can download or stream the interview with Maynie here.

A music track featuring excerpts from Davis Lange’s Oxford Union Debate against Jerry Falwell on the morality of nuclear weapons is available for download here.