What Do We Know?

Guitarist Neil Watson has played with a long list of great artists including Michael Brecker, Ali Campbell (UB40), Anika Moa, Tim Finn, Greg Johnson, Lucy Lawless, Jordan Luck, Nathan Haines, The Finn Bro’s, Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, Tami Neilson and many more.  On this very special episode the two guitarists settle in for a great chat about their approaches to guitar playing, their careers...

Ruth Power is the founder of online creative piano school Piano Picnic.  To date, Piano Picnic has approximately 2500 subscription-based students and is going from strength to strength.  Ruth’s career has included music publishing, a Christchurch rockstar start up and working in London as a sheet music editor, before moving back to New Zealand to start her online school based out of her home studi...

ARIA has spent many years working as a vocalist for numerous artists including Homebrew, Dr Colossus, Teek and Noah Slee.  ARIA lived in the bustling music scene of Berlin for several years before returning to New Zealand where she got to work writing and recording her own music.  Now ARIA is celebrating the release of her new EP ‘Love Songs Till Midnight'.  We had a topical and hilarious cha...

Anthonie Tonnon is a sing songwriter from Whanganui who is about to begin his ‘Leave Love Out Of This’ New Zealand tour.  He’ll be playing in Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington and Whanganui from May 6th to May 21st.  He’s released a number of new songs in the last year including his latest single ‘Lockheed Bomber’.  You can check out his music and buy tickets at www.anthonietonnon.com  ...

Wellington based producer Toby Lloyd has worked with a long list of great artists including Hollie Smith, Stan Walker, Ladi6, Louis Baker, Jermaine Clements and Shapeshifter.  Before going out on his own, he worked at Peter Jacksons’ Park Road Studios and was part of the team that made The Hobbit Trilogy, Mortal Engines and Hunt For The Wilderpeople.  These days Toby is all about his family and al...

In our first episode for 2022 we talk to Guy & Suzanne Pope-Mayell, two of the founding members of the Dyslexia Foundation.  We discuss what it means to be dyslexic, how we could better support the dyslexics in our life and how dyslexia is not a disability, it’s simply a different way of thinking.   Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Bobby Kennedy and Danny McCrum discuss the lessons they have learnt while making the podcast over the last six years and talk about the future of the show.   Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Self-proclaimed "pop star for dorks" Geoff Ong stopped by for a fascinating conversation about funk guitar, racial profiling, his journey establishing his music career and the making of his brilliant music videos.  Check out his videos on YouTube and enjoy the conversation! Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Caitlin Smith is one of New Zealand’s local music legends.  Being a professional musician is challenging enough, but if you’re also a blind, female, jazz singer, with a big personality and an honest heart, it’s a rollercoaster.  Caitlin talks candidly about her experiences in the business, her struggles with addiction and mental health and the psychology of singing and performance.  This is a funn...

Organising and promoting gigs!  One of the biggest challenges a musician has to face is how to manage and promote their own shows.  We certainly don't claim to have all the answers, but recently Bobby Kennedy organised and promoted a show for Opshop and Gorilla Biscuit in Christchurch and back in March, I promoted our first Noise Play show.  Bobby suggested we get together and compare notes,...

Beatbox champion Steven Crooks only discovered beatboxing a few years ago and ever since his life has drastically changed. Finding purpose, identity and clarity through his craft, Steven quickly became the national champion and is now a co-organiser of the Beatbox Championships. On this episode we talk about Stevens life, the positive impact beatboxing had on him and his plans to continue growing...

Ekko Park drummer Nick Douch drops in for a fun conversation about all things music.  We talk bands, drummers, getting started in the business as well as Nicks journey from Te Awamutu to being a professional touring drummer and drum tutor.  Nick’s a great example of how it should be done.  Great guy, great chat. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Actor, writer and director Tim Balme has had a full and varied career.  His work has included Braindead, Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Mercy Peak, The Almighty Johnsons and his current project The Brokenwood Mysteries.   We chatted about how Tim got his start in acting, working with Peter Jackson, how he approaches his craft and his experience stripping!  Great chat! Send us Fan Mail Suppo...

Cassandra is a director, playwright and performer, and the artistic director of the Wellington-based Red Scare Theatre Company.  She recently directed Single Asian Female and her previous work includes Bloodlines (2014), Long Ago, Long Ago (2015), Ordinary Days (2016), Yellow Face (2017), M'Lady (2017), A New Brain (2017), The Bone Thief (2018), Gutenberg! The Musical! (2018), The Aliens (201...

Legendary New Zealand drummer Frank Gibson Jnr.  has had an astonishing career and has deservedly earned the upmost respect from his peers.  He’s worked with a long list of artists including Shona Lang, Diana Krall, Joe Henderson, Leo Sayer, John Scofield, Dusty Springfield, The Temptations and Glen Campbell.  He’s dedicated, grounded and an all-round good guy.  It was a thrill to talk to him.  Se...

Mike Chunn needs no introduction.  He played in Split Enz and Citizen Band, he was the director for APRA NZ, he founded and still runs Play It Strange, he's been a loud voice for many important subjects including mental health and the need for music to be given a higher priority in New Zealand culture.  This was an exhilarating chat. There was laughter, there were tears and we even wrote a so...

Drummer & Producer Greg Haver returns to the show to talk about his recent review of certain areas of the music industry and to discuss the new producers funding initiative called The New Music Development Scheme.  We have a good laugh while tackling some hotly debated subjects.  Dig in.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Joe & Danny get drunk.  Joe Walsh is constantly touring with Jordan Luck Band and his own band Ekko Park.  Almost two years ago Joe was sitting on a completed Ekko Park album (Horizon) that hadn't yet been released.  In the lead up Joe suggested we record an episode with a focus on the lyrics and back story to the album and in true Irish style, we met at the pub for a pre-recording drink....

Our guest is Alex Leighton, one of the creators and directors of New Zealand's premiere 2D animation studio Mukpuddy.  We spoke to Alex and his business partner Ryan Cooper a few years ago about their then new show Barefoot Bandits and now Alex returns to talk about their brand new show 'The Adventures Of Tumeke Space' which has just launched on TVNZ OnDemand.  We have a very real a...

Episode #112 is now available! Our guest is Barnaby Weir.  Barnaby leads two of New Zealand’s most popular bands (The Black Seeds and Fly My Pretties) and we had a great chat about life/work balance, his childhood, his creative process and the rise of The Black Seeds and the Wellington Reggae / Dub scene.  Barnaby is a kind and thoughtful guy and this turned out to be a really interesting conversa...

In the 1990s Christchurch based drummer Jason Peters and his band Pumpkinhead became a popular touring act with a loyal following and more than their fair share of Rock n Roll stories.  In more recent times Jason has been making music with Hunt The Witch and Kong Fooey and recently organised a series of tribute shows for the late, great Aaron Tokona.  This was a fun chat.  Enjoy!  Send us Fan Mail...

In keeping with tradition we're opening 2021 with a chat between myself and our shows cofounder Bobby Kennedy.  This episode also features a short interview by Emme Lentino, with myself and Dan Antunovich.  Good times! Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Our 2020 Christmas Special is out now with special guest Molly Devine.  Molly is a singer, songwriter and music professional from Dunedin who impressed us with her interesting and very musical style of pop music and her pragmatic approach to her career.  We had a great chat about her background and her relationship with music.  Be sure to look her up!  We also play some notable moments from some o...

Guitarist Kara Gordon who now goes by the stage name Jimi Kara, regularly performs around the country and never seems to slow down.  He's opened for Slash, Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, George Clinton, toured New Zealand, Australia and the UK with Alabama 3, performed many times with Fly My Pretties and has recently been a part of the tribute shows for the late Aaron Tokona.  He's a big cha...

Alex is the guitarist / singer for alternative rock band Skinny Hobos.  Alex Ferrier (aka Alex Elvis) and drummer Sam Holdom first met at high school and didn’t immediately click.  Alex put’s it simply “He kind of thought I was a dick and I probably was.”  Some years later they ended up working at the same instrument store and during a jam one night after the store closed, the two discovered their...