The DJ is a transmitter!

There few times in life when you really, really get to experience each moment to it's fullest. We'd all like to live by the mantra of grabbing each of one of them as they pass by blah,blah, blah... but for the most part they're lost in the mundanity of paying the mortgage, trying to relax, or stopping the kids from hurting themselves. I feel pretty lucky because on Monday night between 8 and 10pm I get two hours when all the moments are mine. In those two hours each moment is slowed down inside a pair of headphones just long enough for me to put my spin on it, and in between a small, stinky room in the Oneroa arts complex and any number of radios on this island the moments that go out on the air waves are in the order that I want to put them. I am not the artist (my musical ability is sorely lacking), but in this pursuit I am the jigsaw maker, I decide which piece will be cut from the larger matrix of music to fit in with the other peices around it. And for those two hours I can live each moment, not only can I live it, I can make it what I want. If I want to make it sad -- easy (I do have a country music theme going on after all), if I want to make it rebellious? easy.... feel like drinking? You get the picture.

Why do I and a whole bunch of other Beach Radio DJs do it? We don't get paid for the time, or all the hours doing things like gathering new music, loading it on to computers, blogging playlists, making stings, etc. Not speaking for the rest of them, but I do it because I really like the feeling of making a show up, of getting into the groove and pulling one out, because a "show" becomes more than the sum of it's musical parts. This is why listening to the station's computer play music just doesn't really do it for most people. It's the DJ that really makes this thing hum, because the DJ is a transmitter. S/he is the soul of radio.

If you're reading this blog you probably already listen to the Beach and you may have heard a bit of the rumour or press of our somewhat troubled existence. The one thing about this station seems to be that it's bloody resilient! This island needs a radio station. That's all there is too it; and it seems to know it, because it would appear that the place has been on the brink more than a few times, but it's still here - transmitting. Keep listening, cause we're doing our best to keep thing going to keep the soul of the DJ what it's all about.

And maybe it just is the best little radio station in the world.

Who knows?

Image: Unhindered by Talent

Hauraki Hoedown - Kirk Rundstrom Tribute

One of my all time favourite live Alt-country bands was Split Lip Rayfied. They were one of the most original, hard working, nose-to-the-ground musical units you'd ever hope to see and their live shows were always sweaty, high-octane, beer feuled affairs that often left me contemplating buying a crappy old van and following these guys across the beaten musical pathways of the USA. I was shocked when last year I heard that Kirk Rundstrom, the tattood guitar player and one of the main songwriters in the band had been diagnosed with Esopheagal cancer. Kirk looked kind of mean while on stage; his guitar playing was ferocious and I often wondered how the hell he kept it up for a whole show, but afterwards he was a humble and down-to-earth guy with a wife, a couple of kids and a strong passion for the type of music SLR were creating. On February 22nd, 2007 Kirk lost his battle with cancer. He had quit the chemo 'cause he was sick of laying around in bed and he got the band back together and they did what they did best - went on tour. Kirk's last show was December 8th, 2006 at the Cotillion in Wichita, Kansas. This show has fortunately been captured for airing on TV and you can watch it in 6 parts on YouTube.

I still can't believe that I will never see another Split Lip Rayfield show again ... that sucks! I'd always hoped that maybe one day we'd get them down to NZ and I think they would have liked it. I would have sold my house to see a SLR show in NZ; to have stood in front of Eaton's weedwhacker strung gastank bass, 2-fingered salute ready to go and a gut full of beer ... i'd have bought that van!

R.I.P. Kirk (but keep playing guitar!)

Xmas on the Beach

Well after two of the Beach DJs being instrumental in saving the Waiheke Santa Parade from the apathy of Auckland City the thing went ahead on Saturday in all it's island glory with more floats than it's ever had and a good spectator turnout. Even despite the torrential rain that made the route back up Oneroa Village quite a battle against the forces of nature for both viewers and participants, the word on the street has been that it was one of the best parades in recent memory. So congrats to all those who put in the hard yard to get the thing back (you know who you are) and for all the Waihekians to turned out to watch.

The Beach had another spectacular float this year that consisted of a bamboo transmission tower ala Gilligans Isle on the back of Barry's trailer, surrounded by a banana tree and a couple of beach umbrellas, plus the usual DJs in their festive kiwi Xmas garb. We handed out the usual CD singles to the kids and blasted the Beach and generally a good time was had by all. Bit dissapointed to not win in any of the categories that were proferred up this year, but in effect I reckon a pat on the back for the Beach crew in making sure that the thing was still around anyways and for creating the most appropriately themed float in the parade.

Pre-parade meditations - getting in the zone.

The weather started getting rough...

There's a few more pics of the Beach float, here.

Cause of death: Heart failure due to tequila and morphine overdose

Such is the cause of death listed for one Cecil Ingram Connor, III better known to some of us as Gram Parsons. This coming Sunday will mark 33 years since that fateful concoction knocked one of country musics more interesting characters out of the game - aged 26. A solo artist as well as a member of both The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, he is best known for a series of recordings which anticipate the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. To mark the occassion I played the following songs from across Parson's oevre:

Life in Prison - The Byrds
Dim Lights - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Hot Burrito #1 - The Flying Burrito Brothers
We'll Sweep Out the Ashes - Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels (live radio broadcast)
Return of the Grevious Angel - Gram Parsons
Ooh Las Vegas - Gram Parsons
Love Hurts - Gram Parsons (duet w/ Emmylou Harris)
Sin City - Beck and Emmylou Harris

There's a fantastic bio of Gram Parsons called Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons, by Ben Fong-Torres if you're interested or quite a good article (that I contributed to years ago) here in Wikipedia. Worth a read if at least for the intriguing tale of his cremation by manager Phil Kaufman, a story that has taken on legendary proportions and been treated on screen numerous times.

The full playlist of Country Mike's Hauraki Hoedown can be found here.

This weeks Mix & Mash Radio Show - 11 November 2006

Yeah, good to get back in the seat after a week getting used to turning into a responsible adult, father type person somewhat earlier than expected this week!! and a good week to return it was too - Lots of new releases to keep at least this old man entertained!!!

Fatboy Slim returned with a new single, Champion Sound (which he cheekily put on his greatest hits CD a few months back), the Gossip released a single stuffed full of brillaint remixes off last years single Standing in the way of Control' and Basement Jaxx released an intruiging little track with a bit of a country flavour to it 'Take me back to your house'. Not forgetting the new single CSS - Alala (New single from the Brazilian band that brought you 'Let's make love and listen to death from above' - And it's darn funky. Essentially it's a bunch of hot Brazilian girls and an old guy making electro-party tunes in the LCD Soundsystem stylee.

Also worth a mention is The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Herculean (Out last Tuesday, 31st October) brand new from Damon Albarns's latest project and very fine it is too! He's turning out to be a bit of a national institution is our Damon isn't he?

Somewhere during the show I did play Spiller's Cry Baby (Röyksopp remix) for my new baby Bam Bam which did indeed make me cry! Must be going soft afterall!!!

Hour 1 Part 1 - 19:30

Guns n Bombs - Crossover Appeal
Fatboy Slim - Champion sound (Released on 6th November and already on his greatest hits CD out a few months back - which is a bit cheeky!!!)
The Gossip - Standing in the way of control (Playgroup mix) (From a new single release of last years brilliant Standing in the way of control from the Gossip - Other remixes include Headman, Playgroup, Tronik Youth and a belter from Soulwax.
Basement Jaxx - Take me back to your house (Out on 30 Oct 2006)


Hour 1 Part 3 - 21:56

CSS - Alala Released 30th October)
The Cure v Boomtown Rats v New Order dont like mondays its friday (club mix)(A brand new mix from Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions fame. For a copy of this and two other tracks from his new EP go to www.gohomeproductions.co.uk)
Datarock - Fa fa fa
Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel like Dancing - Erol Alkan's Carnival of Light re-work - ESSENTIAL!!!


Hour 2 Part 1 - 22:01

Beck - Nausea (new beck.com)
Teddybears - PUnkrocker
Wolfmother - Joker & the thief (to be released on 20 Nov 2006) I LOVE Wolfmother!!! :-)
The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Herculean (Out last Tuesday, 31st October)
Lily Allen - Littlest Things (Out on 9th November) Brilliant, love the lyrics from this third single from Lily Allen. The album is priceless!!
Air - Alpha Beta Gaga (Mark Ronson Instrumental Mix)


Hour 2 Part 3 - 24:31

The 25 minute mix

Spank Rock - Bump (Switch Remix)
Moby - Go (Trentemoller Remix) (Check out the superb Twin Peaks sample on this brilliant track, essentially more Trentemoller than Mody!)
Spiller - Jumbo
Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler

Enough said, all quality tunes, impecably mixed into 25 glorious minutes! :-) Go to http://kimberleymansfield.multiply.com/music/item/31

Until next time!

I'd Like To Thank The Academy, My Family, And God.

There has been a terrific response to the Counting The Beat Alternatuis (see the post below). This may even become an annual event.

Some of the winners have been in touch and made acceptance speeches.

Album of the Year: Steve Abel - Little Death

Steve recommends people check out the tracks he has streaming on MySpace.

Best Male Solo Artist: Dudley Benson

Best Group: The Mint Chicks

In My Humble Opinion

Never mind the Tuis - Here's the Alternatuis.
Last week the Tuis were held. These are probably the biggest of the NZ music awards. There are a number of categories based on commercial and artistic success. Unlike the Silver Scrolls, which are judged on songwriting ability, for the Tuis sales and public appeal do count. This week Counting The Beat will feature some of the Tui winners alongside the Counting The Beat picks for artists and releases of the year - The Alternatuis. The criteria for selection is simply whether or not Counting The Beat rates it or not - hence, In My Humble Opinion.

Single of the Year: Chris Knox and The Nothing
What is a single anyway? There are hardly any singles actually released anymore. A single nowadays is just a track picked for promotion and airplay. Even the single charts are put together on the basis of both airplay and sales. Whether it is a real single or not - to succeed it must have a hook, be catchy as hell, and preferably a great sing-along chorus. The Tui was picked up by Pluto for "Long White Cross". The Counting the Beat Alternatui goes to Chris Knox and The Nothing for "Great Big Puppy Eyes".

Best Male Solo Artist: Dudley Benson
Dave Dobbyn picked up the Tui for this category- his fifteenth. While he must be respected for his longevity and genuine talent, these award shows can sometimes seem a bit like the Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan show. Here on Counting The Beat we like to showcase new talent so the Alternatui goes to newcomer Dudley Benson. I guarantee you haven't heard of this guy. He put out an EP, Steam Railways of Britain, in a limited run of 75 - a surefire way to cultdom and obscurity. But what a voice. Take a listen.

Best Female Solo Artist: Bic Runga
Bic Runga won the Tuis For Best Female Solo Artist and Best Album, and you won't get any argument from me. Birds is a fantastic album full of dark, slightly unsettling but fragile songs. Runga is a fantastic performer and a truly great songwriter. Notable mentions in the female solo artist category go to Miriam Clancy (stream of live performance here), Reb Fountain (tracks on myspace) and Flip Grater (songs and video). New Zealand is producing some very good female singer-songwriters at the moment. These three are top class.

Best Group: The Mint Chicks
Pop-punkers Elemeno P pick up the Tui. There was absolutely no doubt in the Counting The Beat camp who the Alternatui would go to. The Mint Chicks are the stand out group of the year by far. Their album Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! is superb. These guys write pop songs full of oddball structures and tangential ideas. Live, they go off like the Energiser ad. As previously heralded here on the Counting The Beat blog the Mint Chicks are currently the best band in the land.

Best Rock Album: Jakob
One of two Tuis for The Bleeders in this category, they also took out Breakthrough Artist. The Alternatui goes to Jakob for their third album Solace. Jakob are a guitar, bass and drums instrumental three piece whose songs are at once brooding , powerful and beautiful. They draw influence from the isolation and power of the landscape around their home town, Napier. I once saw this band perform at The Big Day Out. They were so loud the whole crowd took an involuntary step backwards. They built slowly to a huge crescendo and then the gear blew up - literally - smoke / silence. Awesome. The Jakob website is currently being rebuilt so check out some tracks from their myspace page.

Album of the Year: Steve Abel
As mentioned earlier Bic Runga got the Tui for best album. My pick is a little old but one of the strange things about the Tuis is that they seem to span a long timeframe. This year Dave Dobbyn was nominated for Available Light, the same album he was nominated for last year. So, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me. Steve Abel's Little Death has also had a previous mention on this blog. He is an extraordinarilyly good songwriter - the album is haunting and quiet with the songs he often performs solo live augmented with additional instrumentationon including accordion and the additonal vocals of Golden Horse singer Kirsten Morrell. A hidden treasure in the New Zealand music scene, check out this stream of a live performance.

There you go - the Counting The Beat Alternatuis. Any questioning of the judges decisions will be treated with utter contempt. You can check out the full list of Tui winners here and if awards are your thing also take a look at the bNets.

Hauraki Hoedown Highlight - Ramblin' Jack Elliot

Apparently the name Ramblin' Jack is not as it may seem the mark of honor given to a well travelled man (although I'd imagine that he is that as well) but is rather the result of this 75 year olds propensity to retell countless stories before answering even the simplest of questions. It's kind of ironic that a man so prone to the conversational arts can produce an album of 16 tracks that clock in at a mere 32-and-a-half minutes. "My Old Dog and Me" lasts 19 seconds!

As you might suspect the story goes a little something like this: born 1931 in New York, ran away from home as a teenager and joined a rodeo in an attempt to fulfill his childhood dream. Learnt to play the guitar and started busking for a living. Eventually he hooked up with Woody Guthrie and lived with him as a kind of student. Not too bad. And at 75 Ramblin' Jack has changed labels and released "I Stand Alone" on the Anti- label (home to the likes of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Michael Franti & Spearhead) with an assortment of guest backup players including Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Lucinda Williams, and celebrated rockers Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker, Nels Cline, and X / Knitters drummer DJ Bonebrake.

I played one of the longest tracks on the CD: "Arthritis Blues", a nicely sung prescription of folk cures for the protaganists arthritis including apple jack, gin and opium, none of which seem to do the trick. The only cure seems to be shared misery. Theres a lot of tales shared with the listener on this short CD, tales from songs collected over a life of travelling. In an anecdote that may resonate with people on the island, Elliot was going to call this CD "Not For The Tourists" because it was recorded in response to his daughter's request for songs he loved but never played in concert. When she asked why he did not play them in public, he replied "These songs are not for the tourists".

There's a couple of free downloads of the "not for the tourist" songs available from the Anti- site, here: http://www.anti.com/media.php?id=33

The full playlist of the Hauraki Hoedown can be found at the Casa de Country Mike.