new zealand music month

Q&A with Adam McGrath (part 3)

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Adam McGrath is well known for his work with the band The Eastern. He will be Live at the Library for New Zealand Music Month 2017.

Adam McGrath
Adam McGrath live at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Image supplied.

We asked him some questions:

What’s your favourite recent NZ release?

The Warratahs Runaway Days that came out last year. In a time where folks seem to care less and less about records, The Warratahs put a pole in the sand with a flag on the top flying high and strong with the words ‘Yeah, So what…’ stencilled on it. Any album with the song ‘Kupe’s Tears’ on it would be a classic out the block and that would be enough, but after 30 years of song for the Warratahs to still be punching in that division makes me feel unworthy and ready to give up. And also to keep swinging, get better and lift my reps of songwriting push ups.

Which other instrumental musician would you most like to share a stage with?

Well I would like to stand in the middle of the sound of Booker T and The MG’s. Al Jackson, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and Booker T create the sound of God in both my ears and my heart.

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Who would be your ultimate singing duet partner?

I would happily be the Cisco Houston to Woody Guthrie, or the Marvin Gaye to Tami Terrell, or the Gram to Emmylou, or Sam with Dave or any of those perfect combos. But in reality I’m the most excited about singing with the random stranger after the gig around a table. They are the shining-est (I know that’s not a word, but it feels like it should be in this context) moments of singing I could think of and no matter the fame or wonder of any of those others, there is nothing more holy than a post gig sing-along.

If a song started every time you walked into a room, what would you like yours to be?

“Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” by AC/DC or “I just want to see his face part 1” by the Staple Singers or “High Hopes” by Frank Sinatra.

If you could’ve written any song ever written, what would it be?

I would be proud to sing Anchorage by Michelle Shocked if it was me who’d come up with it.

Adam McGrath’s Top Ten albums of all time

  1. London Calling – The Clash
  2. Nebraska Bruce Springsteen
  3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back Public Enemy
  4. The Asch Recordings Woody Guthrie
  5. Live at the Harlem Square Club – Sam Cooke
  6. Devil Got my Woman Skip James
  7. Strangeways Here We Come The Smiths
  8. Funhouse – The Stooges
  9. Sign of The times – Prince
  10. Horses Patti Smith tied with Master of Puppets – Metallica

That’s my list and I’m sticking to it.

 CoverTop five musical influences?

  • The Clash
  • Woody Guthrie
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Chuck D
  • Barry Saunders

 And what album is on high-rotation for you right now?

Over the years I’ve become very frightened of flying and considering I fly every week, this is very troubling. Every take off and landing I listen to ‘Hats’ by The Blue Nile and it helps chill me out. Also every morning I listen to Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs as I sift the many confusions in my brain over coffee.

Read our first and second batch of questions for Adam.

Here are the dates and times for Adam’s performances;

Central Library Peterborough – The Showcase Concert 

Saturday 20 May, doors open at 7pm

Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre

Friday 26 May, 3:30pm-4:30pm

New Brighton Library

Saturday 27 May, 2pm-3pm

South Library

Sunday 28 May, 2pm-3pm

Ukulele lowdown with Lynda

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lynda.com logoIs there anything that Lynda can’t do? She is one talented lady. She already starting teaching me how to take better photographs, and do some computer coding.  So for New Zealand Music Month I thought I would find out what hidden musical talents Lynda.com had, and oh boy is there anything she can’t do! She can play and teach:

  • Guitar (Rock, blues, acoustic)
  • Electric Bass
  • Ukulele
  • Banjo
  • Mandolin
  • Drums
  • Piano

Although I have always fancied myself as playing electric bass (like Kim Gordon, or Kim Deal), I actually have a ukulele so I that is what I am learning today. I have convinced my darling daughters to learn with me but I think that is because they want to be like Grace VanderWaal.

So we get started and our teacher knows how to play, they refer to some notes which I quickly found right under the video. Then we were away strumming. Our rendition of When the saints go marching in wasn’t quite as musical sounding as the teacher, but with a bit of practice I think we could start our own ukulele trio.

For more help learning to play the ukulele:

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There are NZ Music Month performances with ukuleles, including a workshop for beginners.

NZ Music Month 2017 – Live in the library

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Christchurch City Libraries has a brand new initiative for 2017 and it’s all about MUSIC!

NZ Music Month

We are celebrating Christchurch stories. We are celebrating music. And most of all, we are celebrating libraries and the way they can enrich any creative pursuit you are undertaking, at any stage of development. Christchurch City Libraries have a wealth of resources that can help you learn, discover or simply enjoy music.

Our collections and our communities can also inspire the creation of music and we are fortunate this year to have Adam McGrath to share his expertise.

Adam is best known for his work being the driving force of the band The Eastern, who are widely regarded as the hardest working band in the lands. But did you know about his social conscience and the value he places on not only community but public libraries too?

During the time of the earthquakes Adam and his band played widely across Christchurch, acoustically and at no charge. His drive was to help communities in their recovery in the best way he could – by giving relief from stress by way of music. He continues to contribute to the creative output of our city, playing regularly here in New Zealand, touring across Australia and over to Europe, sharing the stories he has gathered along his journeys.

Image supplied
Image supplied

In the lead up to New Zealand Music Month, Adam will be spending time in our libraries all over Christchurch. He’ll be reaching into the depth of our digital resources, searching and exploring our physical resources, and most of all he’ll be connecting with the people of Christchurch by hearing their stories and discussing their lives/loves/losses. He will use much of what he discovers to inspire new works, songs and music, and during May, Adam will be performing a series of “Live in the Library” concerts, during which he will tell his stories of us, the people of Christchurch.

Come and celebrate with us at one of our concerts – hear new work by Adam McGrath, performances from our communities, or even a group made up of some of the musical talent we have on our library staff. Who knows….. YOUR story may be put to music by Adam McGrath.

We’ll be speaking with Adam throughout his process and he’ll be giving us some insight into his creative processes, and his musical background. Keep an eye on our website for interviews, Q&A, and more. Stay tuned!

Browse our full list of NZ Music Month events and performances.

New Zealand Music Month 2016

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May is New Zealand Music Month! Celebrate New Zealand music throughout May with Christchurch City Libraries – there’s a lovely batch of NZ Music Month events at your libraries. Subscribe to our NZ Music Month Facebook event for regular updates.

NZ Music Month

NZ Music Month launch – Sunday 1 May, 7.30pm

Kane Strang at the Christchurch Art Gallery
Sunday 1 May, 7.30pm All ages (ID required)
Tickets $15 ($20 door sales if not sold out)
Follow the Facebook event

Start NZ Music Month the right way! Dunedite Kane Strang brings the tousled charm of his off-kilter indie-rock songs to the Gallery for the evening. Support from Candice Milner and Jack Montgomery.

Photo: Loulou Callister-Baker
Photo: Loulou Callister-Baker

Free gigs at your local library

There are gigs of all sorts, including:

Here’s the full list of performances at libraries.

John Chrisstoffels: The Novel and the Theremin
John Chrisstoffels performing at WORD Christchurch. Flickr 2014-08-31-IMG_1811

Gig guide flyer
Download the NZ Music Month gig guide [1.36 MB PDF]

Alternative radio: RDU98.5FM since 1976

Celebrate 40 years of iconic Christchurch radio station, RDU98.5FM in a new exhibition at Canterbury Museum. 18 March – 14 August 2016. Find out more.

The following RDU gigs take place in NZ Music Month:

RDU Live to air
A performance by a local Christchurch musician. Special Exhibitions Hall, Canterbury Museum
Sunday 1 May, 12pm

RDU Live to air
A performance by a local Christchurch musician. Special Exhibitions Hall, Canterbury Museum
Saturday 14 May, 12pm

RDU Live to air
A performance by a local Christchurch musician. Special Exhibitions Hall, Canterbury Museum
Saturday 21 May, 12pm

RDU LIVE GIG! Kill your television
Featuring Scythes, Transistors, Salad Boys and The Bats. Canterbury Museum, Saturday 28 May from 7pm. Tickets available via dashtickets.co.nz from 2 May.

NZ music resources

NZ Music Month on Twitter

See #nzmm tweets

Parklands enjoyed New Zealand Music Month

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One of the great things about community libraries is the way we can source local expertise and NZMM was a perfect excuse for us to throw out our nets and land some sparkling talent for all to enjoy at Parklands Library.

NZMM Bryony Matthew

We opened with singer/songwriter Bryony Matthews. Just returned from a year’s stint in Europe enjoying the live music scene, including the Iceland Airwaves Festival, Bryony captivated us with a soulful presentation of original songs about her emotional and physical journeying. This gig led to live slots for Bryony on The Breeze Radio and Plains FM, a happy outcome to playing in the local library!

NZMM Matt HowesBright, smooth jazz was up next, brought to us by Matt Howes, a poised and accomplished young guitarist and member of the NZ Jazz Orchestra, who took us through relaxing and rocking pieces from names including John Scofield and Miles Davis. With great aplomb Matt turned technical difficulties with loop pedals into an opportunity to interact with his attentive and appreciative audience, letting us into some secrets of interpretation, counter melodies, and techniques of “swinging” a melody. We wish him all the best for his season with the Jazz Orchestra.

Our next “audience” was in the business of making music. Ten young people turned up to Tuesday Tunes to explore GarageBand with our own Betty Situe. Ipads were the instrument of choice and basic principles were quite quickly mastered, resulting in some interesting original pieces, which were burned to a disc to be taken home. A very successful event and hopefully to be repeated.

NZMM James DanielsPeople came from across town to hear Parklands based James Daniels of The Breeze radio station, joined by fellow musicians, Tony Clark and Malcolm Harris to wow us with “songs world famous in NZ”, the ones we’ve sung around the barbie. Old favourites from Kris Kristoffersen and John Rowles, “How Bizarre,” the theme to “Princess Bride” all created a fun, happy whānau atmosphere of joining in and clapping along to first rate singing and guitar playing. A great day out!

Music Month would not be complete without performances from our children and the Queenspark Primary School Choir was first to entertain family and friends with their enthusiastic singing of a variety of engaging songs, some featuring wonderfully energetic actions.

Parkview School Choir gave us a happy programme including “Haere Mai Everything is Ka Pai”, “Just One Earth”, “I got the Sun in the Morning”, and a swinging version of “Yes Sir That’s my Baby” obviously enjoyed by the singers and certainly by their audience. All in all sweetly satisfying.

On the last Saturday of May we brought Music Month to an end with a bang and our biggest audience yet. Friends, family and customers watched and listened and, in the case of one little girl who almost stole the show, danced to Better Than Bacon, a talented up-and-coming young rock band. Kayne Child on lead guitar, Josh McCaffery on bass, Joel Coleman on drums and Keira Jonkers, singer/songwriter and instrumentalist, had feet tapping and hands clapping with songs like “Joker and the thief” “I love Rock n Roll” and “Can to Can’t”. A highlight was Keira’s superb original song “No Noise Pollution”. With each musician gifted and committed, this band is one to watch for.
NZMM Better than BaconWhy limit ourselves to the month of May? We hope to continue listening to local musicians throughout the year. Watch this space!

For more photos of performances at Parklands and our other libraries check out our NZ Music Month Flickr 2015 set.

New Zealand’s national anthems. Yes, anthems!

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So how many people in New Zealand realise that we have two national anthems? I bet not a lot.

Everyone knows God Defend New Zealand/Aotearoa. Well, at least the first verse anyway.

There are actually five verses in total. You may have heard part of the third verse in the Royal New Zealand Navy ad.

The words to God Defend New Zealand/Aotearoa were written by Thomas Bracken back in the 1870s. These were then used in a competition to compose a national air (tune or song) for New Zealand, with John Joseph Woods, a teacher from Otago, winning with his now familiar composition.

Cover of Hear our voices, we entreatThe song’s popularity grew throughout the the 19th century and became one of the most popular songs in the 20th century.

It became our national song in 1940, but wasn’t adopted as one of our official national anthems until 1977! This was as a result of a petition to parliament the previous year.

Hinewehi Mohi sang God defend New Zealand/Aotearoa in te reo Māori only before the All Blacks versus England match at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, causing a huge public debate in New Zealand. Wow, I remember that. Some people were outraged and others said “about time”.

It just shows you how one person’s brave act can change history. Everyone now expects both languages to be sung. As it should be.

Our other national anthem is God Save the Queen. Yes, the British national anthem. I’m sure most New Zealanders wouldn’t know the words to this, but as a proud dual citizen – the child of a British parent, and with strong Loyalist Grandparents – I can belt this out. Well, verses 1 & 3, haha.

It is usually only used when Her Majesty The Queen, a member of the Royal Family, or the Governor-General is officially present, or when loyalty to the Crown is emphasised.

The Ministry for Culture & Heritage/Manatū Taonga website has lyrics to both God Defend New Zealand/Aotearoa and God Save the Queen if you’re feeling inspired to learn all the verses.

Or you could check out the following:

NZ Music Month 2015

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Celebrate New Zealand music throughout May with Christchurch City Libraries, CHART, RDU and live gigs. NZMM launches in Christchurch on Friday 1 May 7pm at Central Library Peterborough. The gig features the legendary Martin Phillipps from The Chills performing a short solo set, along with smooth sounds from The Bats offshoot – Minisnap – featuring Kaye Woodward’s songs plus Amiria Grenell and Amy Grace as The Swan Sisters.

Sound Garden (across the road from Central Library Peterborough) will be hosting Beat in the Street before the launch gig (6 to 7pm on 1 May). Come along, bring the kids and get creative.

Explore more NZ Music Month events including jazz, sax, violin, folk, choirs, and ukulele pirates.

NZMMbrochure2015

Aquarius: Music by John Ritchie – free online New Zealand music

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A concert overture Papanui Road was commissioned for the Christchurch Symphony’s 25th Anniversary in 1987. The composer was John Ritchie, and Aquarius features a selection of works for string orchestra and full orchestra spanning thirty years of his life.

John Ritchie founded the John Ritchie String Orchestra and wrote much of his music in the 1950s and 60s for this group and the Alex Lindsay String Orchestra. This release marks John Ritchie’s 80th birthday.

Ritchie has created a body of work loved and enjoyed by performers and audiences alike for its deft craftsmanship and pleasing melodic grace.

This album (and over 52,000 more) is available online for free from anywhere with your library card number and PIN.

For New Zealand Music Month we are featuring a daily dose of free online New Zealand music from Naxos Music Library and the Source.

Winds that Whisper by the Tower New Zealand Youth Choir – free online New Zealand music

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Winds that Whisper is a collection of 20th century choral music from New Zealand’s outstanding Tower NZ Youth Choir directed by Karen Grylls.

It brings together a wide range of New Zealand choral music – from waiata by Ngapo Wehi and Richard Puanaki to major works by Jenny McLeod and David Hamilton. It provides a comprehensive overview of the rich choral music that has been produced by New Zealand composers.

This album (and over 52,000 more) is available online for free from anywhere with your library card number and PIN.

For New Zealand Music Month we are featuring a daily dose of free online New Zealand music from Naxos Music Library and the Source.

Grant Cooper & Concord Brass: Points in a Changing Circle – Brass Music by New Zealand Composers – free online New Zealand music

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On a disc with the somewhat enigmatic title, Points in a Changing Circle, American-based New Zealander Grant Cooper and his group Concord Brass perform a group of works for acoustic and electronic instruments.

Lilburn’s Quartet for Brass Instruments is the first track in a disc that has some rewarding listening. Points in a Changing Circle features:

This album (and over 52,000 more) is available online for free from anywhere with your library card number and PIN.

For New Zealand Music Month we are featuring a daily dose of free online New Zealand music from Naxos Music Library and the Source.