Sweetman Podcast

Some of My Best Friends Have Been Songs by Simon Sweetman

The Impressions I Got - Discovering Curtis Mayfield at the End of A World by Simon Sweetman

The Email From Robbie Williams by Simon Sweetman

Not Much of a Bookstore Job by Simon Sweetman

The Day Harrison Died by Simon Sweetman

Torch Song For My Father by Simon Sweetman

She’ll Be Right by Simon Sweetman

Your Mate by Simon Sweetman

Eaglehawk Down by Simon Sweetman

We Must Be The Eggs by Simon Sweetman

The Year of The Rat by Simon Sweetman

A phone conversationw with TV host and comedian Dai Henwood. We've never met and this is our first ever chat, so we talk lockdown and covid, and rap music, and we talk about his father, the late, great Ray Henwood (a wonderful actor). We do talk comedy, a bit. But this was more a getting-to-know-somehow chat. And I loved it. I hope you do too.

An in-depth conversation with Wellington-based actor, writer and producer Jean Sergent. We talk about her life and work, growing up in an acting family, her current show - Live Through This - her interest in reading Tarot and a whole lot more. Great chat!

A talk I gave at the 2020 Manawatu Writers Festival. I'm talking about blogging - and indeed all the writing I do and my journey towards it and through it.

An in-depth conversation with Wellington-based performance poet Tarns Hood. We talk about her style of work and she recites several poems - we talk poetry slams and performing in general. We also talk about sobriety, celebrate her recent 5-year (60 month) milestone. And she talks candidly about alcoholism. Her bottoming out. Her decision to work a program, to stay clean, to live day by day. And to...

An in-depth conversation with Andrew Gladstone, drummer for Garageland. We talk about the highs and lows of the band's career across the mid/late 1990s and early 00s and then Andrew's move to Hawke's Bay to hide from the music industry - where of course he went on to play even more drums (including with Fane Flaws - R.I.P.) We also talked about the upcoming Anniversary Tour where the original band...

An in-depth conversation with the writer and book-store owner Catherine Robertson. We talk art, books, music, movies - all the good things. Huge chat. We talk about Catherine's books - but also about writing in general; books in general. We talk through her life and influences and discuss book reviewing. And many other things along the way.

An in-depth conversation with poet and sculptor Sam Duckor-Jones. We talk about, and he reads from, his new book, Party Legend. But we talk about his life making and creating, the need to make - and the search to find and announce one's self through the work. We talk about not connecting with school and not writing - beyond poetry. We talk about finding your medium, about the IIML, about listening...

An in-depth conversation with Otaki-based actor Jeff Kingsford-Brown. He's currently - as you hear this - the lead role in the show Elling at Circa Theatre in Wellington. He's been a professional actor for many years and we talk about his life and work, talking also of great screen performances by many acting legends. We talk technqique, we talk about some of the funny things that can happen on st...

A brief phone conversation with the legendary comic mind and author Ben Elton. We talk about his tour with a bit of looking back to when and how he made his name in the 1980s as a writer for legendary TV shows and creator of iconic characters.

an in-depth conversation with Jo Marsh - aka JoJo Bellini. As Bellini, Marsh works across comedy and burlesque as a performer and MC. She has a background in theatre, singing and production and arrived late at burlesque via a life-threatening car crash. In wanting to start a dance class she found burlesque as the most accepting place. She now finds New Zealand as the most accepting place to live v...

An in-depth chat over the phone with Richard Morris - aka Rikki Morris. He's a singer, songwriter, producer, engineer and former roadie to Th' Dudes and The Crocodiles. He's best known for his runaway hit single Nobody Else recorded and performed with his brother Ian under his solo moniker Tex Pistol. Rikki had been a member of The Crocodiles and would go on to pay tribute to his brother in the re...

An in-depth conversation with Ben Tolich aka Mali Mali. We talk through his life and catalogue of music; discussing the need to work and be creative on the side. We also talk religion, mental health, Bob Dylan and many other things and to top it off there's a live performance of an as yet unreleased Mali Mali song.

An in-depth conversation with Father Christopher Orczy, vicar at St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Christchurch. Chris didn't grow up with religion. He had an epiphany, an awakening, he felt a calling in his late-30s. He grew up a music man - including listening to death metal. He worked in a music store and was obsessed with prog and synth pop (still is). He was composing music and not...

An in-depth conversation with Wellington's Kate Spencer - aka CreatifKate. Kate is a poet and performer, a photographer, a producer - and to break the spell of 'P' words - she is an MC and organiser, both a talent herself and a talent wrangler. She moved to Wellington half a decade ago, from England, via a teaching stint in China and is a full-time creative. Two seeminly disparate communities keep...