What Do We Know?

Melbourne songwriter Michael Burrows has landed on his feet, but not in the way he ever imagined.  Like most young musicians he wanted to be a well known and respected songwriter and performer, but the realities of life and bills forced him to problem solve.  As a response Michael set up a business writing and selling jingles, some of which have become part of the soundtrack of Australian life.  A...

Bryan Bell has been a firm fixture of the New Zealand music scene for many years.  Throughout the 1990s he fronted his band the Dead Flowers, releasing three albums, touring constantly and supporting bands like Guns n Roses and Pearl Jam.  When The Dead Flowers wrapped, he was invited to join the Jordan Luck Band and later Ekko Park.  Bryan’s views and his approach to his career are refreshingly p...

Mark Lettieri is one of the guitarists for legendary fusion band Snarky Puppy.  He's played for a long list of great artists including Erykah Badu, American Idol: Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips, Nelly, David Crosby, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Adam Levine and even comedians Dave Chappelle and Harry Shearer.  Mark has released several solo albums including his latest 'Deep: The Barito...

He’s a radio presenter, a prolific author and an all round good-bastard.  Justin is the kind of guy that thinks up crazy ideas and then goes and does them!  His adventures have included travelling around the UK door to door busking.  “I knocked on the door, played them a song and next minute I was plucking a turkey!”  Justin’s world was turned upside down during the recession and after a short per...

Joel Shadbolt grew up in Tauranga and quickly gained a reputation as a stand out guitarist on the local scene, playing in both original and covers bands.  He was briefly a member of Batucada Sound Machine before receiving an invite from Laughton Kora which lead to the formation of L.A.B.  L.A.B. have been touring extensively over the last couple of years and have just released their second album. ...

He was Props Boy on What Now, guitarist for Autozamm, he runs a post production film company and he now manages Alae.  The insatiable Mikee Carpinter sits down with Danny to chat about the evolving guitar culture, why so many top NZ artists have come out of Christchurch, behind the scenes on the What Now set, the inner works of Autozamm and why he decided to put on the managers hat for Alae.  Ther...

For the first episode of each year Bobby Kennedy and Danny McCrum catch up about their lives and careers.  On their fourth such episode they discuss Danny’s new upcoming album and the writing and production process behind it. They each share their experiences and struggles on past recording and creative projects.  They discuss the ‘post-truth’ era, the manufactured aspect of modern pop music, whet...

Sylvia is a world renowned producer who has worked with Tool, Prince, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Barbra Streisand, Smashing Pumpkins and many more.  She’s one of the most innovative and courageous producers out there and her irreverent recording practices have become legendary.  On this episode Danny and Sylvia talk about her approach to music, her experiences working with some...

Piano player, vibraphone player, coffee connoisseur, Los Angeles socialite and Sylvester Stallone fan Alex Burke is a true artist who seemingly exists in his own world and who can’t touch an instrument without making sparks fly.  He was the youngest musical director for the legendary comedy show Second City, he’s performed and recorded for many years around Chicago, New York and L.A. and has worke...

English drummer Chris Bailey has played with the likes of Chaka khan, Boy George, Britney Spears, Nick Jonas, Desree and many more.  Having established himself in the UK music scene, Chris relocated to L.A. and found himself starting again as an unknown in the sprawling, highly competitive concrete city.  Danny sat down with Chris at a studio in Hollywood and the two musicians compared notes and d...

One of the most highly regarded songwriters in New Zealand, Greg Johnson bounced around the local music scene playing jazz and listening to punk before gaining national attention with his breakthrough single Isabelle. Greg now lives and works in Santa Monica, CA and Danny McCrum recently caught up with him to record an honest and inspiring conversation about the highs and lows of Greg’s life in th...

Dr Kirsten Zemke is a Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland. She specialises in teaching popular music history and has a particular interest in New Zealand hip hop. We sat down with Kirsten this week and touched on many subjects from genre, to the Eminem vs. The National Party copyright case, to Bounce Music. What is Bounce Music I hear y...

Dane Girauds’ life took an unexpected turn when his band broke up, the hair-metal era abruptly ended and he found himself suddenly single, drunk on vodka and Raro, while wearing fishnet stockings in a new world of flannel. Perhaps this was a good thing as he eventually found his way into acting and writing and has since had a fascinating and prolific career. Dane began his screen career by starrin...

Shaun Howes is a comedian and entrepreneur from Wellington. He’s performed sold out seasons at the 2011 and 2015 New Zealand International Comedy Festivals and internationally in Australia, Hong Kong and the UK. At 23 years old he became the youngest Regional Manager for The CD & DVD Store, helped labels sign artists and was even a judge (three times) at the New Zealand Music Awards. We chat a...

On this episode we discuss what it’s like being part of the LGBT community in New Zealand and in the music industry. We make no presumptions going in, instead we simply have an open and honest conversation with two individuals about their personal experiences. Alex Farrell-Davey is the singer/songwriter from upcoming band Alae and Jak Stone is the guitar player for Motorboat and previously Heathen...

Joe Walsh is the energetic frontman of Ekko Park and member of the Jordan Luck Band. Less than a week before this episode was recorded, Ekko Park finished recording their new album. Danny and Joe sat down on a Tuesday afternoon and discussed how the album was made and the events that inspired the bands new musical direction. They also discussed Joe’s childhood and family, what it was like growing...

It’s our first episode of 2018 and in keeping with tradition we’re kicking the year off by talking to each other! Our conversation winds like New Zealand’s roads, which happens to be one of the subjects we touch on. We also discuss the ‘Me Too’ movement, the day to day of our careers as musicians and the upcoming reunion of Bobby’s band Opshop. Get it in ya! Send us Fan Mail Support the show

We’re wrapping up 2017 with out Christmas Special! In this episode we talk to Allister Meffan and Jayden Lee from Alae, Molly Rowlandson from Molly & The Chromatics and Brandon Dickert from Save Ferris who first appeared on Episode 7. We also listen to several clips from the year, including segments with Scotty Pearson (Elemeno P), Cherie Mathieson, UK Producers Dave Eringa & Guy Massey, L...

Michelle Bakker is a passionate and forward thinking music manager who has been working internationally for more than two decades and is proactively and vocally rethinking her approach to the music business. We talk extensively about her current band Dead Poet Society who she’s been working with for the last three years. She also talks about her time managing Greg Johnson, working with Prince and...

Paul WalshWe have a really interesting guest on todays episode. Paul Walsh works in private security and his clients have included Metallica, Slipknot and Just Bieber. He’s also worked for the Police and The Special Tactics Group all over the world. We talk about his time in Afghanistan and Tanzania, the psychology behind his work, the close call with Metallica in Mexico and much more. We’ve also...

Stephen Gallagher is an award winning composer and music editor based in Wellington, New Zealand. His music is haunting and he’s one of these people that makes it look easy. Of course in reality his life as been one of dedication and hard work. In this episode we talk about the process of writing soundtracks, how Stephen’s career came to be, his work on The Hobbit, The Lovely Bones and Human Trace...

We’re celebrating our 50th episode with guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel. Tommy is an Australian icon with an enthusiastic international audience. Everyone who sees him play, knows they’re witnessing something special. His music is a rare mix of feel, emotion and technical ability, all delivered with energy and personality. He is a profound musician and a great guy. Over the years Danny toured with To...

Rachel LaFond is a pianist and composer from Seattle, who recently moved to New Zealand. Rachel’s mother was a piano teacher so her relationship with the piano started when she was very young. When she was a teenager she studied music in Austria before returning to the US. Several years ago Rachel and her husband gave up their day jobs (that’s right folks!!) to travel the world. Their travels brou...

Scotty Pearson is best known as drummer for New Zealand band Elemeno P. The band’s abrupt and controversial ascent (as some people saw it) earned them a solid fan base, significant album sales and more than their fair share of criticism. We go back to the start. We talk about Scotty’s beginnings in the punk days of the late 70s, touring with christian bands, Ringo Starr, forming Elemeno P, getting...

Gray Bartlett has been a prominent and unrelenting force in the music industry for over fifty years. He is a highly respected guitarist who has performed regularly around the world since the sixties. As a music promoter he brought some the the biggest names in music to New Zealand (including Michael Jackson) and as an artist developer he launched the careers of numerous artists including Hayley We...