The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE COMPILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE: Karl Lock
24 Nov 2017 | 2 min read
There is an art to putting together a good compilation album. The tracks must hang together in some kind of logical way and the running order should take you from one song into the next seamlessly. If there's a theme it might be just a little easier because then you are quite genre-specific perhaps, but others which try to sum up a decade or even just one artist can be very tricky... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Richard X Bennett
20 Nov 2017 | 2 min read
Recently Elsewhere posted a column about the musically and literally itinerant American pianist/composer Richard X Bennett whose two new album were very different: What Is Now was a tough minded and very impressive piano trio recording; Experiments With Truth with a quintet (tenor and baritone saxes added to drums, bass and piano) had its roots in Indian classical music. We might have... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Frazey Ford
16 Nov 2017 | 4 min read | 1
Singer-songwriter Frazey Ford from Canada is a rare one who first came to attention in the band she founded, The Be Good Tanyas who knocked out three impressive albums in the early 2000s. They are still an occasional going concern but Ford has branched out as an impressive solo artist with two albums so far (starting with the impressive Obadiah) which range from contemporary Memphis-styled... > Read more
Indian Ocean
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Mel Parsons
31 Oct 2017 | 3 min read
As must be obvious to any longtime readers of Elsewhere, Mel Parsons has always been one of our favourite New Zealand songwriters. We have written favourably about her albums, interviewed her and had her do a Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire . . . but she has never answered our more specific Famous Elsewhere Songwriters' Questionnaire. And so, because she starts a tour with another of our... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Sam Trevethick of Shapeshifter
23 Oct 2017 | 5 min read
Half a dozen albums (three of them certified platinum), live recordings and EPs, massive shows, tours of Europe and Australia (where they have been based for the past 15 years), awards for best album and best live act, even more award nominations, side projects and collaborations . . . Shapeshifter have consistently been one of this country's most popular and impressive live acts.... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Declan O'Rourke
25 Sep 2017 | 5 min read
When the great singer-songwriter Paul Brady says Declan O'Rourke possesses a “rich soulful musical voice and a brilliant instrumental ability” and Eddie Reader considers him “one of the finest songwriters on the planet” it is time to sit up and listen. Mojo says O'Rourke writes “the sort of classic songs that people don't write anymore, that... > Read more
Galileo
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Nathan Brown
25 Sep 2017 | 4 min read
New York-based jazz bassist Nathan Brown has played with some of the best: Frank Morgan, Randy Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, John Faddis . . . He's also something of a multi-instrumentalist (learned cello initially, played tuba in school) and studied bass at Michigan State University. He has taught jazz appreciation/history while directing small groups, and lived and performed in Chicago... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Nick Hempton
25 Sep 2017 | 3 min read
New York-based Australian jazz saxophonist Nick Hempton has a clever link to his bio on his excellent website, it reads “Nick Who?” It's a fair question in this busy marketplace of music in the 21st century and getting your name out there has probably never been harder amidst the noise of people clamoring for attention. But Hempton is a player who deserves to be heard... > Read more
When I Grow Too Old to Dream (live)
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE REGGAE QUESTIONNAIRE: Conway Jeune of Tunes of I
25 Sep 2017 | 2 min read
How best to describe Wellington's Tunes of I who are on the bill for next year's Soundsplash festival in Raglan? Well, their bandcamp profile says they are an “expansive neo-dub/soul/psychedelia seven-piece” . . . but you can guess the “I” in their name means there's a healthy dollop of roots reggae in the mix too. With an EP and an album (the excellent... > Read more
Restless
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE REGGAE QUESTIONNAIRE: Logan Bell of Katchafire
22 Sep 2017 | 2 min read
Elsewhere has long gone into bat for the reggae gifts of Katchafire who walk a canny line between righteous roots and pop-reggae without ever standing too close to the barbecue. They have toured New Zealand and internationally very extensively, are crowd pleasers wherever they go and bring people together in the spirit of Bob Marley's One Love. And they have been doing this for two... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Simon Comber/Herriot Row
28 Aug 2017 | 4 min read
When we last interviewed singer-songwriter Simon Comber back in 2011 he was Simon Comber, but now he's not Simon Comber so we thought we should offer Simon Comber another crack at a different Elsewhere questionnaire. Now – after two albums and an EP under his own name Simon Comber – he is now not appearing as Simon Comber (okay, we'll stop this now!) but working under the... > Read more
Out of the Ordinary
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Kane Strang
12 Jun 2017 | 1 min read
Kane Strang at the time of this writing is touring in the US on the back his alt.pop singles so far, but also in anticipation of his new album Two Hearts and No Brain (due for release on June 30). Recorded in the studio at Chick's Hotel in Dunedin, his hometown, with producer Stephen Marr (from Doprah), Two Hearts and No Brain is a continuation and refinement of his highly enjoyable... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS QUESTIONNAIRE . . . JEFFREY PAPAROA HOLMAN
12 Jun 2017 | 6 min read
Christchurch-based writer Jeffrey Paparoa Holman was born In London but from the age of 10 was raised on the West Coast, has published a number of books of poetry and prose (he profiled his excellent memoir of his father The Lost Pilot in 2013 for us), is a senior adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury and has written for Elsewhere about Bowie, birds and the bard of the public... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Ben Ottewell
29 May 2017 | 2 min read
If the name Ben Ottewell doesn't ring any immediate bells then his gravelly and soulful voice certainly does. He is one of the cornerstone singers in the award-winning British band Gomez who have played exciting shows in New Zealand. And now Ottewell returns (dates below) for a couple of shows as a solo artist. He's already released two solo album (Shapes and Shadows, Rattlebag)... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITER QUESTIONNAIRE: Julia Jacklin
8 May 2017 | 2 min read
When Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin plays Auckland's Tuning Fork on May 27 it will be like a homecoming. Jacklin was a key attraction at Auckland's Laneway Festival earlier in the year and her debut album Don't Let the Kids Win was recorded at the Sitting Room studio in Lyttelton with Ben Edwards who has also produced for Marlon Williams with whom Jacklin has toured. One of... > Read more
Pool Party
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Peter Dickens
8 May 2017 | 3 min read
Last year Elsewhere spoke about the price musicians pay for their career choice: the hours are anti-social and some of the people are too; the rewards can be elusive; the competition is vast; with every success comes self-doubt and the thought that it may never be repeated . . . So why do they do it? The allure of fame is seductive, the thought the sex and drugs might be better,... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Callum Allardice
6 May 2017 | 3 min read
The Jac out of Wellington – an eight piece ensemble which has members drawn from rock, jazz and classical backgrounds – released the excellent album Nerve in 2014 which was a finalist in the jazz album of year category, and followed it up with The Green Hour in 2015 which made it into our best of the year list. The good news then is they are touring (see dates here) and so... > Read more
New York Alex Man (from Nerve)
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: Greg Haver
3 May 2017 | 2 min read
When producer Greg Haver answered the final question here he seemed unduly modest about his “32 years of studio experience”. He might have name-dropped because in the international arena he has produced for artists as diverse as Manic Street Preachers and Mel C, Bullet for My Valentine and Super Furry Animals. And many more. In New Zealand he has been behind... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Mark Kenington
1 May 2017 | 3 min read
Mark Kenington -- who has just released his debut album Going Nowhere (Faster Than You) -- is an Auckland-based singer-songwriter who was born in Colchester, England. By his own admission he grew up listening to Adam and the Ants and ELO. Moving to New Zealand in 2004, he began to study piano and guitar and an encounter with Mike Chunn had the former Split Enz/Citizen Band man getting... > Read more
Blue Sky
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE FILMMAKER'S QUESTIONNAIRE: Harley Williams
1 May 2017 | 2 min read
One of the most distinctive figures in the New Zealand musical landscape is Delaney Davidson. Over a series of albums and compelling live performances he has presented his often jarring yet beautiful songs like some strange spook-outlaw phantom more at home walking through the pines at midnight under a full moon. Or being interviewed at and writing for Elsewhere. Increasingly he... > Read more