Sweetman Podcast

An in-depth chat with drummer/DJ/producer/beatmaker Riki Gooch. He's been behind the kid for Trinity Roots and Fat Freddy's Drop and out in front under the moniker Eru Dangerspiel - sometimes conducing a giant big band other times tinkering away in the studio making bedsit-beats. He's worked with Crowded House, Leila Adu and Bic Runga and is currently the drummer for Orchestra of Spheres while rel...

An in-depth chat with Wellington-based film review for Stuff/Dominion Post Graeme Tuckett. He's also a film maker and regular crew member on various video shoots and movie sets. We talk about his approach to reviewing, we geek out on favourite films, film score and all sorts of things to do with movies. We talk too about his documentary Barry Barclay: The Camera On The Shore and we talk about fail...

An in-depth chat with Auckland-based musician Anthonie Tonnon. We talk about songwriting and his approach and influences, we talk also about the development and evolution of his stage-show, craft and character, from leader of Tono and The Finance Company to Anthonie Tonnon solo performer and/or bandleader. We talk about the start of his new upcoming record as well as looking back at his solo debut...

An in-depth chat with Emily Writes - the second time she's been on the podcast; this time the mummy-blogger, writer, activist, campaigner and public speaker is now a published author and the conversation is a catch-up on what's happened in the year since she was a guest the first time around (episode 14). This time we talk about her role as editor of Spinoff Parents - the popular section on the po...

An in-depth chat with Wellington-based musician and composer David Long. We talk about his various roles in bands such as TEETH, The Mutton Birds and The Labcoats. And beyond that his 'serious composing' for TV, film and documentary. We talk about his Wellington life, growing up to attend formative gigs by the likes of Talking Heads, exploring records by XTC and Eno... Get full access to Sounds Go...

An in-depth conversation with singer/songwriter Sharon O'Neill. From her early days (solo and with The Chapta) to carving out a role as a singer/songwriter in an era when the industry was less than supportive of female talent. We talk about her writing process, so many of those key songs (and the soundtrack to Smash Palace) and to her work in recent years writing material for Robert Palmer, Jimmy...

An in-depth chat with Paul Ubana Jones; since the mid-1980s he's been living in New Zealand and touring almost every town with his music and a range of covers. Before that he was living in the UK, he grew up in South East London where gigs by the likes of Bob Dylan made a huge impression. Paul and I talk about his live as a touring musician, the ups and downs and the way he evolved from band-membe...

An in-depth chat with James Robinson. He's been a freelance writer, student of politics and a good friend. He's also my brother-in-law. We sat down and talked about his life and times blogging and writing, some of the famous people he interviewed, the book he crowdfunded from the blog he slaved away at. And then we talked Trump. And the last days of Obama. And the fog. And the sadness. And the bro...

An in-depth conversation with Debbie Harwood about her time with When The Cat's Away and as the organiser not only of that band but of recent concerts featuring some of the cast and crew from the Melting Pot days along with Sharon O'Neill, Hammond Gamble and Shona Laing. We talk too of her time working with Jimmy Barnes, of the early years carving out a space in a male-dominated industry and of he...

An in-depth chat with film-composer, arranger and musician Victoria Kelly. We talk about her musical upbringing, the twin loves of classical music and Prince, her education - including studying film scoring in America; to work on local horror films and to composing, arranging and performing work with a range of bands and artists including writing and arranging the strings on Neil Finn's Dizzy Heig...

An in-depth chat with Wellington-based film and theatre director Dean Hewison. We talk about his experiences and influences working up through local theatre and on to producing NZ versions of international scripts as well as writing his own short and feature films. We discuss the making of his debut full-length feature, How To Meet Girls From A Distance (2012) and his various pursuits in and aroun...

An in-depth conversation with Wellington photographer/promoter/author/DJ/lecturer Blink (b. Ian Jorgensen). We talk about his time shooting fashion to pay for his hobby (shooting great rock'n'roll photos) and how from there he moved to creating a magazine and promoting shows and then festivals (mostly under the 'A Low Hum' banner) and to running overseas tours and a venue and now to lecturing and...

A brief sum up of the year and some highlights - a Christmas wish, a few thanks, that sort of thing... Get full access to Sounds Good! at simonsweetman.substack.com/subscribe

An in-depth chat with music journalist/author and musician Nick Bollinger. We talk about his brand new memoir, "Goneville" and the process behind writing it - including his time completing a Masters in Creative Writing. We talk too about the characters in the book (Rough Justice, Rick Bryant, Bill Lake, Blerta, Red Mole and co) and we talk about his life and career as a writer of music reviews, oc...

An in-depth chat with singer/songwriter Nadia Reid. We talk about her battling away doing gigs and low-key recordings and then getting launched onto the international stage and touring behind a record already two years old. We talk about next year's follow-up record which is in the can, waiting. We talk about the pressures of the industry and some of the bullshit around "red carpet" events and awa...

An in-depth conversation with Auckland-based musician Sean James Donnelly (SJD). We talk through all of his albums and his recent work composing soundtracks. We talk about some of the frustrations around being critically acclaimed but not seeing commercial success. We talk about his collaborations with Don McGlashan and Neil Finn, his time spent crafting his various sounds as a determined "non-mus...

An in-depth chat with actor/writer/director/musician Aidee Walker. She's just finished the Wellington season of the play "Lungs" so we talk about that, and trace her career back through Step-Dave and Outrageous Fortune, the films The Locals and How To Meet Girls From A Distance and we talk also about her charity work, numerous short films and music videos and the days when she played drums in the...

An in-depth chat with Wellington filmmaker, critic and teacher Costa Botes. We talk through his association with Peter Jackson, his time as a film critic for Wellington's newspaper, his extensive work in documentary and as a tutor and we talk about film piracy and the frustrations around working as a creative; that hideous term "content provider" which neither makes us content nor provides...We ta...

A windy wee conversation with Robert Forster, caught on tape in the garden bar out the back at The Southern Cross. It's not the best sound-quality, there's a bit of wind but we had a nice chat and talked about the band and his solo recordings and the book ("Grant And I") just ahead of his two great Wellington performances (a book launch and separate concert). It would have been nice to have a bit...

An in-depth chat with Wellington singer/songwriter and artistic director Charlotte Yates. Through her earliest experiences with music we get to a started solo career, the breakaway success of the band When The Cat's Been Spayed, a return to solo albums, teaching, writing and then the creation of theatre shows and albums celebrating the works of some of New Zealand's greatest poets. We talk too abo...

An in-depth chat with Kiwi-born, Australian-based pianist and composer Mike Nock. We talk about his years in America, opening for Miles Davis, playing in Dionne Warwick's band and working with Yusef Lateef. We talk about growing up in New Zealand in the 40s and 50s - and finding jazz. We talk also of his life now in Australia (for the last 30 or so years) where he is in a teaching role but continu...

An in-depth chat with Delaney Davidson - singer/songwriter, producer and touring musician. We talk about growing up with a great record collection, we talk too about his new band Manos del Chango and his solo work too. His collaborations with Marlon Williams and Tami Neilson, his time away from New Zealand with Reverend Beat-Man, The Dead Brothers and The Voodoo Rhythm Records crew. We talk about...

And in-depth chat with Wellington writer, artist and musician Jon McLeary. We talk about the 35 year history of his band, the Spines. We talk about songwriting and his other writing pursuits including the novel "Manslaughter" and his weekly guest-post series at Off The Tracks, "The Ghost of Electricity. We talk influences and inspiration, playing music live and rehearsing. We talk about the artist...

An in-depth chat with musician Jan Hellriegel. We talk about her bands - Working With Walt and Cassandra's Ears - and her solo career. We talk about the long gap between records, the need to get "real jobs" and the growing up that was done before he re-entry to the world of releasing albums (a record called "All Grown Up"). We talk about Jan's role in music publishing and there's some advice for e...

An in-depth conversation with Wellington-based comedian, actor and podcaster Jonny Potts. He hosts regular stand-up nights, performs sets as often as he can (the aim is once a week this year, minimum) and he's also hosted and created podcasts including last year's "The Year of Reading Massively" and been a guest-blogger, writer, actor and all-around pop-culture enthusiast. We continue a conversati...