Songs of Sweated Labour

From the nz-folk list, John Archer writes:

Attention has been drawn to the sweated labour of young girls in South China. There are several New Zealand folk songs denouncing this abomination.

From Neil Colquhoun's Song's of a Young Country

Who robs the young girl of her right
by work that takes her day and night
to earn her poor starvation mite?
The sweater.

Who is it that will cheat and lie
and every cunning trick will try
his greed of gain to satisfy?
The sweater.

He is society's disgrace
and must be told so to his face
so out with him. Leave him no place
The sweater.

From Rona Bailey's Shanties By The Way

In the lands beyond the sea
where Khan and Sultan rule
Where they drink their coffee thick and black
and sip their sherbet cool
They have white Circassian girls for slaves
as well as nigger black
And now it seems in our own free land
that slavery's coming back.
It's fenced about with common law
and given a pretty name
But despite the paltry wage that's paid,
it's slavery all the same.

Such a good woman is Mrs McFee,
toiling with voice and hand
In the cause of the little Chinese girls
away in a distant land
Such a good woman is Mrs McFee,
for hers is an open door
And her name's at the top of the charity list
for the wives of the drunken poor
But Amelia Jane has a hungry look,
with hollows under her eyes
She says she was starved. But everyone knows,
Amelia Jane tells lies.

Silly and light is Amelia Jane,
she has no ideas of her own
You would never think her the bright little girl
that you one once on a time had known
She was clever enough when she went to school
she was pretty enough in her way
She hasn't improved, her schoolmates think,
when they met her in town today
It's all her fault, for whatever the cause,
I'm sure that Mrs McFee
Is a model mistress in every way,
and with that you will agree.

And my aunts taught me this song - there was a young boy on a the next
farm to theirs in South Taranaki in the 1920s who worked from dawn
until after dark seven days a week.

One day when I was out of work a job I went to seek
To be a farmer's boy ....
At last I found the very job at half-a-crown a week
To be a farmer's boy ....
The farmer said, "I think I've got the very job for you
Your duties will be light, for this is all you've got to do....
Rise at three every morn, milk the cow with the crumpled horn
Feed the pigs, clean the sty, teach the pigeons the way to fly
Plough the fields, mow the hay, help the cocks and hens to lay
Sow the seed, tend the crops, chase the flies from the turnip tops
Clean the knives, black the shoes, scrub the kitchen and sweep the flues
Help the wife wash the pots, grow the cabbages and carrots
Make the beds, dust the coals, mend the gramophone....
And when there's no more work to do.... the rest of the day's your own"

http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiRESTODAY.html

I would like to feature these on the NZ Folksong website and I would welcome any song-writer's compositions on the current New Zealand practice of conspiring in the deaths of young Chinese girls by buying sweated goods.

Thanks
John A

A True Heritage Instrument

From the nz-folk list, Noelle Jakeman writes:

"I am trying to find out about my randfathers kauri timber elaborately Maori wood carved lap steel guitar with paua shell inlay and all original 8 ivory keys which has been handed down to me. It opens out in the back and the electricals inside are in need of repair and needs new strings however the body is in excellent condition and is a beautifully handcrafted instrument. My mother had bought it for my grandfather back in the 1960's from a music store in Queen Street Auckland called 'Harmony House' which has since closed down and no longer there. I was contemplating selling it and had emailed images of it to vintage guitar dealers and collectors overseas and was surprised to get some very interested responses that it has since prompted my interest to find out the guitars origins and history. I did manage to speak to a local lapsteel guitar enthusiast here in Auckland who had mentioned these guitars popularity back in the 50's and 60's with country and western and Maori showbands and I've been trying to make contact with other NZ music stores in the hopes finding out more about these guitars as well, anyone there able to shed some more light on these guitars for me?"

John Archer wrote:

"That carved Hawaiin guitar a piece of folk history. Haere mai, everything is kapai - Daphne Walker - Sam Freedman - Johnny Cooper and His Range Riders.
"The expert on evaluating and repairing that is Simcha Delft in Otaki.
Eight years ago artist Michael Parekowhai put on a fancy installation in a
posh Auckland gallery with ten beautifully made f-hole inlaid paua
guitars. Maori bro's sat around on beer crates playing the guitars while
Jafa glitterati stood around drinking champagne.
"Parekowhai was commenting on the detribalized de-cultured urban Maori of the 1960s. But Noelle's lap-top is a much more poignant relic of that
time. Once Were Warriors - Paradise Lost."

There were a few other posts imploring Noelle not to sell it, to which she most eloquently replied:

"Greetings all,
Thank you all who have responded to my inquiries about my grandfathers lap steel guitar with some great advice and wonderful information. To perhaps answer some of the questions some of you may of had about my earlier notice and intention to sell the guitar I hope the following will offer you some insight. The guitar was a a gift my Mum had bought new for her Father around the 1960's from a music store in Auckland. It is a well loved family instrument and I've been told that my grandfather and muso granduncles would play this guitar and have jam sessions back in the day.

"It is a well loved family instrument and being Maori myself I am aware of the importance of family taonga and have discussed my intentions to sell the guitar with my Mum who had handed the guitar down to me. The guitar has been in my care for a few years now and I've been able to admire its beautiful craftsmanship and uniqueness however as I travel a lot and have very few personal possessions I would much prefer to have the guitar in someone elses care who'd appreciate and hopefully play it again.


As a recently self employed artist relying totally on the income from my artwork this is the only item I have of value and I know that should I eventually sell it, it would help a lot toward much needed tools and equipment that I need to continue making my work. I believe this to be an honorable purpose for selling the guitar and my Mum has given me her full support as well. I plan to make sure that should it eventually get sold it's to an appropriate person that will appreciate care for and hopefully get it playing again.

It's only been just over the last week that I've made inquiries to various NZ music/guitar stores and sites along with vintage guitar dealers and collectors overseas trying to find out a little more about the history of these guitars and an idea of it's value. So far most of the responses I have received back have been from the US and UK. All have been guitar enthusiasts who've only had positive things to say, and as well as admiring the Maori carvings they've also been really helpful with information about the lap steel guitar as an instrument. I have been involved in the Maori visual arts scene for many years now and am very aware of the exploitation of our Maori taonga and imagery and others ignorance as to the importance it is to our people. However it is a family taonga and I have asked the appropriate person in my whanau to do this, the notices I have sent out has been in no way to exploit or disrespect my Maori culture and I too believe that this is a wonderful piece of our NZ music history and would like to eventually find a good home for it. Regards, Noelle

The Southern Man Song

I've been noticing one of the more frequent key word searches within the KiwiFolk site has been for "southern man". I was there (in my role as a Pog) at its inception and it's still one of the most requested songs in my repertoire.

I've written up the history of the song as it relates to the Pog Band but it would be good to hear anyone elses point of view. Particularly, it would be good to get some dates around those rugby games.

Tommy Makem dies age 74

From the nz-folk list:

Irish singer, songwriter and storyteller Tommy Makem has died after a long battle with lung cancer. For over fifty years Makem entertained the world with self-penned songs and Stories. Makem died in Dover, New Hampshire (USA) where he lived.

Makem grew to international fame with The Clancy Brothers in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Listen to Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem:
When The Ship Comes In' (YouTube)
'Ballad Of William Bloat' (YouTube)
'Red Haired Mary' (YouTube)

VIEW PHOTOS: Makem's career spanned more than five decades
TALK ABOUT IT: Share your memories of Makem's life and work
ARCHIVE 11/21/06: He still sings to Irish ears
On the Web: http://www.makem.com

From Wellington

From Barnsey:

"Dear all nz-folk,

"Firstly some breaking news - Tim van Eyken has had some great news in that he has been offered a part in the National Theatre Christmas production. It's a direction he has been wanting to go in for some time, however as it means solid work from August through February he won't now be able to attend our festival this year. So we're following up a couple of options and will let you all know what eventuates.

Tim is re-arranging his flights to come out next year instead, and hopes to be able to be in the country rather longer. Secondly, get booking for the festival to take advantage of the earlybird discount and especially if you want bunks. Go to the website http://wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz/ and go to the Registration page. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of you there...

Cheers, David
http://wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz/
http://morrisdancing.org.nz/

Website Rant

From the nz-folk list, Jo Foster writes:

"I am going to offend at least one person without doubt but it has to be said. I keep coming across club pages, individuals websites, and a plethora of others just like this

"If you have a website advertising your group club or event take the time to build a reasonable quality homepage. A hastily erected homepage with broken links half completed pages, cute but unreadable fonts and backgrounds, full of moving graphics, files and links which dont work are detrimental to the growth and wellbeing of your organisation.
People use search engines, when they look for a band name in a certain area and you have a website or a homepage with details on that band, your site will be somewhere on the top of the search list, take the time and the care to do it properly. If your site is not up to scratch, fix it. It doesnt have to be fancy, it has to be not broken. There are thousands of guides and templates available online, if html in its raw form scares you, use your word processor.
A simple well laid out website is by far much better than a website with graphics leaping all over the place, a giant watermark in the background, 3 year old details to people who have either passed away or moved, and a bunch of broken links. Forget cute javascript popups - just about every user these days has a popup blocker of some sort, forget anything difficult to use, many users have difficulty (believe me - helpdesks are a real eye opener on skill levels).

"To the outside world this is your advertising, your personality. People will judge your organisation based on your website, if no one has the time keep it as simple and as dateless as possible, add a photo gallery for interest, and encourage members to submit photos. If you cant dedicate time do not put information online that can become dated quickly."

Mike adds:

"When I'm putting together publicity for festivals or concerts I go to the artists' websites and look for some quotable text. Often I find their gig information, latest blog entry (aimed at people who know them, i.e preaching to the choir) or quirky flash files which are not pasteable into my document. You'd be amazed at how many sites have the most useful text as a graphic file.

"What I'm looking for is a succinct description of the artist and what they've done, that will be informative to someone who has never heard them before. It's lovely to have an interactive website for your fans but unless you're catering for the first-time visitor and providing useable copy for promoters, you're wasting your webspace."

Songwriters' Workshop Online

During New Zealand Music Month (May 2007) I was invited to give a workshop at a seminar run by the NZ Songwriters' Trust. I was also invited to be one of the judges for their original song awards. I have reconstituted the workshop here as a series of web pages.

I was in the highly auspicious company of Don McGlashan, perhaps our greatest ever songwriter. It was a privilege to see his presentation, to see how he writes, where he gleans his ideas from and how he draws inspiration from the seemingly ordinary and mundane.

Cafe Culture Downunder

CoffeeGeek - Cafe Culture Downunder - explains why we in NZ have become such coffee snobs and why we can't find a decent cup of coffee when we go overseas!

Wellingtonians: The Singers' Club Needs You!

June Sizzled at The Singers’ Club!

Our superb guest line-up of Darren Watson plus Bob Cooper-Grundy with Kate Marshall turned up the heat and gave a full house a truly memorable evening of music that had Upper Cuba Streetjumping, despite the winter chills.

However, there will be no Singers’ Club in July! We’re taking a Mid-Winter Break to catch our breath; get ourselves organised and do some recruiting.

We have lost two of our original Residents, Alistair and Catriona, and we can’t function properly with just the two of us remaining to run the club, run the sound and stage and host the evening. Not to mention the odd performance, which is the object of the exercise!

So we are actively looking for one or two new Residents to help us. Ideally (but not necessarily), musicians, who are easy going, with a passion for live acoustic music. They should also have a small talent for organisation and a big sense of humour. We do this for fun!

There’s not a huge amount to do. We’re well set up and we have a full Programme of Guests organised out to the end of the year and the venue and the audience to support the Club. So contact us now as we need you urgently. 021 253 8996

We’ll update you about August and any changes or news nearer the time by Newsletter; and we’ll update the webpage www.nzacoustic.net

But, don’t despair, there will be live music at The Roxy on Tuesday July 31st.

Bob McNeill is in concert at the Café on that night (see below for details), so keep the last Tuesday of the month programmed in your diaries for great live acoustic music.

As ever, if you don’t want to get news about the Singers’ Club, just send us an email with ‘I don’t want this stuff!’ in the subject line. J

The Singers’ Club Residents:
Tony Hillyard & Tracey Haskell

For regular news about who’s playing at the Singers’ Club on the Last Tuesday of every month, go here: www.nzacoustic.net

If you’re interested in playing at the Singers’ Club contact Tony Hillyard:
021 253 8996 or: tonyh@clear.net.nz

Phil Garland seeks Kiwi Rhetoric

Phil writes:

Greetings all,
This is a call for any Kiwi sayings, ditties, drinking toasts, farewell toasts, backblocks rhymes and simple ditties. If you know of anything appropriate to this subject would you please contact me either on or off list.

I have collected many such pieces of folklore over the years and should anything of note come to light I would like to feature it in my almost completed book of Kiwi folklore and music. Acknowledgements and sources will be given wherever appropriate. I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Many thanks.
Phil Garland
pgarland_at_xtra.co.nz
http://www.philgarland.co.nz/

Kiwi Records, the History of a New Zealand Record Label.

Kiwi Records (NZHistory) This essentially Maori and Pacific record label became very supportive of our own Pakeha folk music artists, Kiwi’s recordings of ballads and folk songs captured the past that the publisher's books celebrated. Neil Colquhoun’s group, the Song Spinners, put out Songs of the whalers, Songs of the gold-diggers and Songs of the gumdiggers. In 1972 Colquhoun produced the landmark collection Songs of a young country. Other typically Kiwi Records artists were balladeer Peter Cape, songwriter Ken Avery, song collector Les Cleveland, the Kokatahi Band of Westland and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

YouTube posts on the nz-folk List

Anton Karas plays Zither
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFz79SBnuk8
This is a most amazing piece of footage - you'll know the playing for sure. I bet you thought it was a guitar!.

Jake Shimabukuro plays "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9mEKMz2Pvo
Who says ukulele is not a serious instrument?

John Fahey - 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3hY8HQFSE
"American primitive" open tuned guitar styles explained and played.

Bothy Band from 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgXwIIHAmaw&mode=related&search=
Kevin Burke (fiddle), Triona Ni Dhomhnaill (vocals, clarinet, harmonium, keyboard), Michael Ni Dhomhnaill (guitar)

Paul Brady playing Arthur McBride, 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBGkhPx529g&mode=related&search=
"Beautiful Pat, just beautiful. Genius at work. The album is still on my
most frequently played list - a treasure trove of stunning music. Lots
more clips of Brady there too. Thanks mate - Tony Hillyard"

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - You Dont bring me Flowers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ba1e9GkI4c&mode=related&search=
Who says ukulele is a serious instrument?

Battlefield Band Concert Review, Dunedin

It was not without trepidation that I waited for the doors to open at the Regent Theatre at 7pm. I tried to suppress an initial flush of optimism as a few people fronted up right away and headed for the ticket counter. I allowed myself a small increase in positivity as an orderly queue of twenty or thirty assembled at the auditorium door. By the time those doors opened and the bow-tied and suited ushers were tearing tabs off tickets, I was something approaching elated. This was a big financial undertaking for the club and it was looking like any bath we might take would at least be a warm one.

A healthy Thursday-night cohort of about 450 people settled in and Lindsey Shields cut a dapper figure as she strolled into the limelight to welcome everybody and introduce the support act, Ben the Hoose. Bob and Kenny played a sterling set, Kenny’s Scottish fiddle styles were sublime and Bob delivered his self-penned songs in what proved to be the pick of the voices this night. His warm tones rang around the Victorian alabaster and shut the Scottish cold out. It was pleasing to see a New Zealand act every bit the equal of the international act to follow.

And follow they did. The first half of the Battlefield Band concert seem to set them all up individually, featuring each in turn playing to their strengths: a rugged set of pipe tunes from Mike Katz, an inspired set of strathspeys and reels from Alisdair White who has just released a solo album (“The White Album” – no mention of The Beatles) and songs from Sean O’Donnell (the Tom Waites Shiver Me Timbers being a particular favourite) and band kaumatua, Alan Reid. Reid took great delight in the theatre’s Yamaha grand piano which enabled him to move away from his twin keyboards for a more traditional Scottish accompaniment.

In the second half the band delivered en force tunes and songs that made the wee hairs stand up. The unison playing of pipes and fiddle were perfect to the finest ornament – it is only in a sound-reinforced concert or studio recording that these two instruments could be equal in volume, so it is pleasing to be able to experience the synergy of both. And as for the sound, while for the most part perfectly balanced, I did find the overly lavish reverb left a harsh tail on the vocals, fiddle and whistles which I found quite distracting.

All in all though, it was the most pleasing way to spend one of the coldest Dunedin nights for a while.

Whare Flat Folk Festival

Several great artists have been confirmed already for this year's festival (December 30th 2007 - January 3rd 2008) including the amazing and prolific Irish singer/songwriter Kieran Halpin, Scandanavian trio Habbadám (featuring the wonderfully charismatic Hannah Wiskari, the guest saxophonist of two years ago) and the highly acclaimed Sam Burke and the Wifeys from Melbourne.

More information on the Whare Flat Folk Festival website.

Grada Concert Review

Sean Manning reviews the Grada concert, April 28th at the Dunedin Railway Station.

Now I have to say that Grada are a very good-looking band. Structurally similar To Lunasa – guitar and bass on either side holding the thing together and driving the music along, with the tune players, and in this case the singer, in the middle. They are young, energetic, and seem to really enjoy what they do together. There were no moments of ennui, no difficult dynamics. Even after god knows how many almost identical concerts, they seemed to be really having a good time. They told an illustrative story, how on their only day off in an Australian tour, which happened to be in Bondi, they stayed at home to rehearse new material.

They also seemed to be genuinely friendly. After the concert I went up to see what kind of guitars Gerry Paul was playing – he was off somewhere talking to someone else – and the fluter, Alan Doherty, merrily invited me to have a go with them. When their owner returned he was even more encouraging.

(For the guitar players, mostly he played a McIlroy, made in County Antrim by a refugee from George Lowden’s guitar factory, where they make instruments with a major reputation among folk musicians – Donal Hennessey of Lunasa plays one. Another graduate of the same school, Sam Irwin, made one of my guitars. The other one was a 1960-something Martin, a lovely little parlour guitar with tremendous intonation.)

With Gerry Paul crouching over his instrument on the right and Andrew Laking bending across his stand-up bass on the left, both of them New Zealanders, the music was pushed along – they don’t do much in the way of slow tunes. At times it was too complex for me, I wanted to yell, ‘hang on a bit, what happened there? Do that bit again.’ But they were already on to the next, equally complex measure. I can’t really complain, I found the whole concert completely engaging, which is remarkable, coming from this old grump, who can find something boring or just wrong with almost anything. As the concert developed, the layers of the music became plainer – I suppose they were teaching me to listen.

What they do has some roots in Irish diddley-aiddley music, but while superficially similar groups like Lunasa, Danu or Solas remain with the traditional, albeit in a modernized form, What Grada do turns it into pop, jazz and poetry. Nicola Joyce’s singing was not an old-fashioned traditional voice. She delivered the songs with passion and lyricism. An old-fashioned critic might carp that the words were indistinct, something that usually irritates me, but even that was OK, probably more a result of the venue. On their CD, I discovered later, the words are clear.

On either side they were flanked by two stunning instrumentalists – Alan Doherty of flutes and Colin Farrell on fiddle, both also playing whistles on occasion. These are both clearly capable of playing in a traditional style, but apparently impatient with that, their harmonies and solos owed much to improvisation and sounded at times more like jazz.

Favourite moments? Well, the encore for a start (so to speak). They did two things. First, Nicola Joyce and Gerry Paul returned to the stage and did the only reasonably slow thing of the evening – Suzanne Vega’s ‘The Soldier and the Queen’. Not an easy song, it was breathtaking. Then the whole group did something very fast that ended in a chaotically deliberate and high-spirited cacophony. But the best for me was as much visible as auditory. There was a duet on identical low whistles from Doherty and Farrell. Both dressed in black, they framed the singer who sat in the middle playing bodhron, and were framed in their turn by Paul and Laking. To add to the effect, Laking, left-handed on the right, played with his right hand above the left on the whistle, and Doherty, on the left, had his left hand on top. They are the most symmetrical band I’ve ever seen, and they didn’t even know it. When I told Gerry Paul about it afterwards, he seemed bemused.

e-Interview with Ben the Hoose

Ben the Hoose is the award-winning duo featuring fiddler Kenny Ritch from the Orkney Isles and songwriter-guitarist Bob McNeill from Glasgow based here in New Zealand, albeit in different cities. Their music is a spirited interpretation of the dance mu-sic of Scotland; uniquely rhythmic and energetic, they embody the modern Scots tradition. I asked them a few questions by email.

Scottish fiddling is the new gravy on the potatoes of Celtic music. John McCusker is all over and under everything that comes out these days. Is this a good bandwagon to be on? Do you think there is a Renaissance in Scottish music?

Bob: Yes I suppose so. I think the Scottish music world is in a very healthy state. In the last few years I think there’s been a real revival of what I see as the spirit of the music, in contrast to the tendancy for some of the drier institutions to view it a bit academically. There are so many young ones playing now, it’s fantastic. And so much diversity.

Kenny: I’d say that Scottish fiddling has been gravy for a very long time and by that I mean very nice, slightly peppery gravy with no lumps. Being on the Scottish music “bandwagon” is a great thing and Bob and I both know how lucky we are to have grown up with it. A renaissance in Scottish traditional music has been going on for years now. Blazin’ Fiddles injected a lot of life into the scene back in 1998 and it really opened the eyes and ears of young folk all around Scotland who perhaps didn’t appreciate the music they had at their fingertips. Since then young Celtic bands have been appearing all over Scotland.

Do you prefer the guitar for accompaniment rather than the cittern/bouzouki or, for that matter, the piano? Bob, what instruments are you currently playing?

Bob: I like both guitar and piano for accompaniment. It’s not the instrument, it’s the person playing it! Generally, I like far more guitar backers than piano backers. I’m not a huge fan of the “vamp” style on any instrument, especially piano, so I’ll leave that alone, thanks. I also really don’t like the modern splashy right hand style they have in Cape Breton. Kenny and I found early on that guitar worked much better for us in Ben the Hoose, to the extent that I don’t play bouzouki at all in the band now. I wish my piano playing was better!

Kenny: I’ve always loved hearing piano and fiddle together. My Granny, when she was alive, was a lovely pianist and she used to play with me at competitions when I was living at home in Orkney. When Bob and I started playing together, Bob played as much bouzouki as he did guitar. It didn’t take us long though to realise that the sound we were after only came out when he played guitar. Yes, I obviously love the guitar (how could I say otherwise?) but a tune with a great piano player is a magical thing too.

Who is inspiring Ben the Hoose?

Bob: Gavin Marwick, Jonny Hardie, The Iron Horse, Capercaillie (their early music especially), Cry Cry Cry, Richard Shindell, Mark Nevin. A big mix of people.

Kenny: Fiddlers Johnny Hardie and Gavin Marwick are two huge influences for me and the two albums they made together are unforgettable. As far as bands go I’d have to say Session A9 and The Iron Horse and the early Capercaillie stuff. Then there’s Alistair Fraser, Gordon Gunn, Eilidh Shaw, Jennifer Wrigley …

There's a fair bit of kudos in winning the 2006 Folk Tui but is it helpful?

Bob: Well. We suppose it will be especially so when we go abroad (outside NZ) with the band. For us I guess it came across as a sort of vote of confidence in what we were doing – that a Scottish album (albiet with some New Zealand flavour to it) could win in NZ.

Kenny: Winning the Tui was a great thing for us and has certainly helped to boost album sales. Bob and I didn’t set out to win an award with the album – it was just a good way of solidifying a lot of the music we had in our heads – but getting recognition for it is always appreciated.

How do Orkney fiddle styles and arrangements differ from Scottish?

Bob: Orkney has theoretically been Scottish since 1472. However, its culture and by entension music, seems to have remained quite unique until fairly recently. Kenny’s the expert here, but I hear a lot of north east fiddle style in Orkney music now – all the regions in Scotland have borrowed, expecially recently, from all the others – Bands like Blazin’ Fiddles, Session A9 and Fiddler’s Bid, all of which have lots of fiddlers, have encouraged this

Kenny: It’s hard to say if there’s any difference at all. Perhaps 100 years ago you could have drawn a distinction, but not now – there’s just too much blending of influences. That said, I’m sure if you asked a Scottish mainland player about Orkney fiddle playing they’d swear it was fuelled solely by beer and single malt. Who am I to argue?

Bob, your original songs are particularly well crafted and evocative of the bleaker bits of Scotland and its history. There seems to be a very methodical approach to you songwriting, is this so? Who is covering your material?

Bob: Thank you! But that’s really only one aspect of my writing. I’m not a historical writer at all in fact – just that, when I started writing songs, I found that type of song easier to write. Most of the stuff I’ve written in the last three years has been contemporary, about modern themes.

I can’t do what somebody like James Keelaghan can do with real stories. (By the way, the Scotsman newspaper described him as the “Master of Disaster” - brilliant).

I think when you’re talking about songwriting you can get very technical about some-thing that really isn’t – there’s a particular evocation of sound and melody that I’m going for, every time, to frame the words and the way the character is saying them. The lyrics, phrasing, singing style, guitar style, chord shapes and tuning are all textures that, if you get it all right, will make the listener hear what you heard, when you wrote the song. Great songwriters make you feel what the character feels, not what the songwriter feels, I guess. That’s what you aspire to.

Who’s covering me? I don’t actually know, a lot of the time. But I do know that people are. I get emails asking for backstory and lyrics etc, the two most recent ones from Ireland and Germany, and I do get the (small) cheques, too, so I know people do actually do them and report it, bless them. I don’t Google myself much. Should I?

Explain the cuisine component of the full Ben the Hoose experience.

Bob: Difficult. I refer the interested reader to The Playboy Gourmet Cookbook by Thomas Mario. There you will discover a world of cuisine, elegance and class that I personally found hugely appealing. It may be a strange thing to say, however, in my opinion at the time, this was what was missing from Scottish music.

Kenny: When Bob and I started playing together in mid-2005 we quickly realised that we both have a bit of a passion for good home-cooked food. We did a wee workshop at the Dunedin Celtic Arts Festival that same year that involved us playing tunes and yapping while cooking steak (with a particular tasty red wine sauce). We did plan on putting recipes on our album sleeve but it never happened. Anytime we’re together having a tune, mince and tatties, bacon sandwiches or steak feature high up on the meal list. Music and good food is a killer combination.

Rumours of Bob's imminent departure from these shores would appear to put the duo into recess - or is it something that can be maintained and developed despite the 'tyranny of distance'? Does Ben the Hoose intend to do some international touring? Does Ben the Hoose aspire to being an internationally recognised unit?

Bob: Yes. Yes. Yes.
I wouldn’t think that if either of us were to return to Scotland it would make all that much difference to Ben the Hoose’s modus operandi. We tend to do gigs in bunches anyway, and living in different cities, we have to do a fair bit of planning ahead. Currently gigs have to pay a certain amount before they’re feasible – that’ll just get more pronounced. We’ll just do fewer gigs, but bigger ones. Longer term, having one of us in Scotland, for example, would be a big advantage – there are a lot of festivals over there.

Kenny: Certainly Bob being in Scotland is a trickier situation than him being in Wellington but we intend to keep things going. We’re looking at the possibility of touring Scotland, Ireland and parts of Europe and having Bob based over there will make that easier.

Both of you being musicians AND working in computers must make you Super Geeks. How do you manage to communicate with your audiences?

Bob: For me, it’s the left brain – right brain thing. It may sound hackneyed, but it’s true. A good balance is to use both. I suppose that our core audience is from the Web generation as well, they’re our age anyway, but I hadn’t really thought about it like that… I’ve always regarded having a day job as fairly separate from what I do at night.

Kenny: By talking out of our mouths. In these days of email and text messages it’s quite a novel way of communicating, but it really does work. But, if that fails, the following computer code usually works:

10 Print “Hello, we’re Ben the Hoose”
20 Print “Here’s a set of Scottish tunes …”
30 GOTO 20
RUN

A Small Diversion on the NZ Folk List

Brian Dooley writes:

This all reminded me of the Bog Pipe, a classical folk instrument that I recall from schooling in Britain. I went to Amersham College of St Thomas a Becket, on the outskirts of London. Despite its impressive name, Becket School (called thus, as there was another Amersham College) was largely made up of prefabricated buildings. To complete the picture, I remember when my friend Jeremy, alias Stick, threw his father's WWII bayonet into the wall between classrooms and it collapsed.

But there was one permanent building made of stone blocks from an earlier era; of course, this would be the loo. It stood by itself, and had been re-plumbed from something else many years previously. Now, this having been a part of a larger complex, and the materials being ancient stone, the original plumbing still ran through the walls and exited through an open pipe that would have connected to the previous building. Young criminals in waiting that we were, the player would wait for a visitor to visit this loo, and, whilst he was comfortably ensconced upon the throne, would submit embrochure to pipe end, and blow a furious tune in the manner of a bugle. A terrible moaning would erupt throughout the small building, and the walls would literally shake. The terrified visitor generally came flying out the door, whilst the player of the Bog Pipe, now away from the dread instrument, would look on quite innocently - doubtlessly infected with a multitude of cooties from the mouthpiece, and yet, content in the results of his recital on that grand old organ!

2007 Country Music Award finalists announced.

News release May 4,
Two relative newcomers and one of New Zealand’s favourite country duos are the finalists for the Best Country Music Album of 2007. Perennial Kiwi country favourites The Topp Twins join Wellington’s Warren Love Band and Johnny Possum’s Good Time Hootin’ Band from Christchurch as the three to compete for this year’s Tui award. The winner is to be announced at the Gold Guitar Awards in Gore in June and will also be acknowledged at the New Zealand Music Awards in October.Jools and Lynda Topp have been selected as a finalist for their album “Flowergirls & Cowgirls”. The Waikato-born and Auckland-based duo aren’t strangers to the music awards stage after winning the best Country Album Tui in 2001 for their highly successful ‘Grass Highway’ album.

Former busker Warren Love’s debut album “Warren Love Band” comes off the street, teaming up with some of country’s leading New Zealand musicians. They include Warratahs’ accordionist Al Norman and local music icon Wayne Mason, writer of ‘Nature’.Formed in 2005, Johnny Possum’s Good Time Hootin’ Band’s debut CD “Tickets” features old and new country favourites as well as an original single called ‘Bluegrass Saved the Earth’. Taking their cue from traditional country music roots, the band has included several standard tunes with new arrangements whilst also digging deeper into 19th century blues to apply the special Possum treatment.

New Zealand Music Awards spokesperson Campbell Smith says the finalists represent a cross section of country music in New Zealand.“Jools and Lynda are New Zealand’s icons, superb songwriters and entertainers.“Johnny Possum and Warren Love bring a fresh new perspective to country music with their modern interpretations and wonderful story lines.

Country music is very much alive and well in New Zealand as the standard of these finalists shows,” Campbell says.“It’s fantastic to see our Country artists producing great music, and when they come together in Gore at the biggest Country music festival in New Zealand, it makes for a very special occasion. ”The winners are announced at the New Zealand Country Music Awards on Friday June 1 in Gore as part of the Gold Guitar celebrations. Attracting more than 5,000 country music fans during the festival, Gold Guitar week is in its 34th year. For more information visit: http://www.goldguitars.co.nz More information about the Country Music Album of the Year Award is available at http://www.nzmusicawards.co.nz

About RIANZ: The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Inc (RIANZ) is a non-profit organisation representing major and independent record producers, distributors and recording artists throughout New Zealand. RIANZ works to protect the rights and promote the interests of creative people involved in the New Zealand recording industry.endsIssued for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) by Pead PRRIANZ Best Country Music Album (Tui award)For more information including award criteria and history, and finalist information please contact:
Pead PR ContactBonnie Smail, Pead PR, Tel: 0-9-918 5581, Mob: 021 722 276, E-mail: bonnie@peadpr.co.nz Bonnie Smail( bus +64 (9) 9185581 mob 021 722 276Level 2, Carlton DFK Centre, 135 BroadwayPrivate Bag 99911, Newmarket, Auckland

The Wrong Trousers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Qi3gApUWc&NR=1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSUX9byu6NY&mode=related&search=


Couple of YouTube clips of a great young trio - double bass, mandolin and harp.

Folk and Country

A while ago, somewhat unintentionally, I chucked a hand-grenade into the nz-folk list. There was a post, mentioned in an earlier blog:

"Folk? The Warratahs? They are listed as a Country band."

To which I somewhat rashly replied,

"Something I notice that we have trouble getting our heads around is that country music is the folk music of this country."

The response was astounding, from those who thought I was joking to those who were indignant and miffed (and those who agreed and told me so quietly in the background).

"Mike, I am guessing that you are teasing when you say that country is the real NZ folk music, but I'll react just for fun... Country has always been a small, but welcome part of our folk music, but is hardly the folk music of New Zealand because it has always so commonly featured American culture: All that fake rolled-r accent emulating Texas, the whiny nasal singing about county jails and horses, the Stetson hats & braided clothes and boots with spurs. Contrast that with our our Swandris, stockmen's hats & oilskins & gumboots."

"I find it rather interesting that Bluegrass music is seen as part of the folk scene, whereas 'whinge and cringe' country isnt."

"There's been no mention of Victorian palour music or classical music which I think has had a huge influence of NZ music from the early days right through to the Verlaines and beyond."

"But to say it's THE main influence? I don't think country is quite a 'national' music here in the same way as in Australia. It's big and been around for a while, but so have brass bands and Highland piping."

"I tend to agree with Mike, Phil and Alan that country music has had a strong influence on 'homemade' songwriting in NZ, ever since it was the latest trendy music back in the 1930s."

"And as far as I´m concerned, country music stemmed from this celtic stuff anyway... don´t believe me?? Go out and rent Songcatcher."

I have no problem with any of this. I was talking somewhat historically. Back in the 50s and 60s as the folk revival burgeoned, folkies started looking at their own rich traditions; Ireland and Scotland had their celtic musics, America had its dust-bowl ballads and blues and appalachan traditions and so forth. New Zealand folkies, NZ being a much younger country, struggled a bit to find a traditional identity in their music. We tended to look straight past characters like Tex Morton and Cole Wilson because they were a bit recent, a bit twee and maybe, a bit naff. Paul Metsers wrote Farewell to the Gold to get the ball rolling in the NZ folk songwriters' camp, Neil Colquhoun collected some songs of a young country. Phil Garland wrote, resurrected and reconstructed contemporary and other material and so did Martin Curtis (these are the most noteable I can think of, there were heaps of others). We looked at our fields of gold and gum for old songs. But meanwhile, perhaps from as early as the 20's, there was a mainstream music that was being played in parlours, theatres, pubs and shanties that was "ordinary" and played with instruments of the day. A lot of formal music was based around the piano, but those songs that were based around more portable stringed instruments were undeniably "country" in sound.

Now whatever you choose as your folk music is absolutely fine by me whether it's based on a tradition or not. But when you're talking about the indigenous music of this country (with a respectful nod to the tangata whenua), it's country music that has been the mainstream music of the dock worker, the stockman, the tramp, the soldier, the miner and the digger.