What Do We Know?

Iconic New Zealand guitarist, singer and songwriter Hammond Gamble joined us for a fantastic conversation about all things music.  We talked guitars, we dove into Hammonds background and the psychology behind playing and performing.  Hammond came to prominence during the 1970s with Street Talk and went on to tour extensively with the Hammond Gamble Band and The Disappointments.  Joe Cocker even co...

Wellington musician, songwriter and bandleader Darren Watson isn't afraid to speak his mind and why should he be?  Darren has worked relentlessly over the years; touring, recording, connecting with audiences and making a living.  He's put his money where his mouth is and has well and truely earnt his stripes.  On a recent trip to Auckland to promote his new album 'Getting Sober For...

Marshall Smith is a composer, a songwriter, a producer, Musical Director of The Sound Room and Chairperson of the Screen Composers Guild of New Zealand.  He started out in bands, pursuing a career as a recording artist and soon moved into producing and soundtrack work, establishing a studio and creating music and advertisements for a long list of New Zealand and international clients.  We dive rig...

Harry Lyon is the guitarist and founding member of iconic New Zealand band Hello Sailor.  The band formed in 1975 and lasted five years before going separate ways.  Each member remained busy forming other bands and releasing solo albums and soon Hello Sailor reunited and continued to record and tour up until the untimely passing of Dave McArtney in 2013 and Graham Brazier in 2015.  For many years...

Andrew Thorne is a great guitar player who’s worked with a long list of fine artists including Jan Hellriegel, Greg Johnson, Dave Dobbyn, Tim Finn and he was the guitarist on Bic Runga’s first hit album Drive.  His own bands have included Splitter and the Calico Brothers, he’s played support for international acts like Radiohead, Bryan Adams and Jeff Buckley and he’s currently performing with the...

Part 2 with Debbie Harwood is here!  Debbie came back to share some of the wilder stories from her career.  Some are heartbreaking, most are hilarious.  She talks about touring with When The Cats Away right after having throat surgery, her eventful night trying to get home from Waiheke Island after being stranded, dancing evocatively on stage with Jimmy Barnes as Jimmy's wife stood in the win...

Debbie Harwood is a triple threat; she’s a fantastic musician, highly intelligent and as kind and honest as they come.  Debbie spent her early years performing constantly, making a name for herself in the local music scene.  She held her own in a male dominated industry and stood strong against the patronising and dismissive, who sniffed at the ‘cute female covers band’ When The Cats Away, which w...

Hinerongonui Kingi is a multi-talented musician, writer, dancer, journalist and even a body builder!  There seems to be nothing she can’t do, and her positivity and optimism is inspiring.  Hailing from Rotorua, Hine started performing at a very young age and has already performed around the world.  We talk about her time in Dubai, her strategies in setting and realising her goals and her can-do ap...

Episode #98 is now available! Our guest is Rikki Morris.  Rikki is a highly respected, multitalented singer, songwriter, musician, producer & live sound engineer.  He joined Th’ Dudes as a roadie back in 1979 and went on to have a huge hit as a solo artist with the song Nobody Else.  He appeared on TV shows like 3.45 Live, Alive and Kicking, Get Your Act Together and Super City and he ran his...

Dug Pinnick is the bassist and vocalist for legendary US band Kings X.  Kings X have been together for forty years and quickly became known and respected for their unique sound, their sophisticated musicianship and their powerful performances.  Their fans include Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, The Police’s Andy Summers, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and many more.  Dug's...

Born and raised in Mumbai, India, Aditya Kalyanpur began playing the Tabla as a toddler and his life since has been deeply immersed in his music.  He was trained by highly respected Tabla Maestro, the late Alla Rakha Khanand and by the time he was a teenager he was performing regularly and working as a session musician on albums and radio jingles.  In his early twenties Aditya was invited to recor...

Huia is a multi-talented music professional with many strings to her bow.  She's a singer / songwriter who performs in Te Reo Māori, she works at Kog Studio as publicist, she founded Integrity Promotions to look after the PR and management of performers, her Grandfather was artist & poet Rei Hamon and she's married to musician and mastering engineer Chris Chetland.  She's a hard...

Musician Joel Haines grew up immersed in music and his journey establishing a career happened organically.  His father Kevin Haines and brother Nathan Haines are both highly respected musicians in their own right and all three of them have carved out impressive careers and gained high praise and respect from their peers.  (We had Nathan on the show a few years ago on Episode #14)  Joel has worked...

Today (May 12th, 2020) we've posted a special edition of the podcast with Dr Siouxsie Wiles.  Dr Wiles is a British microbiologist and science communicator who specialises in infectious diseases and bioluminescence.  She's been a regular expert voice in the New Zealand media throughout this pandemic, while juggling her professional and personal commitments.   We recorded this episode a f...

Brad Stent is an entrepreneur, a filmmaker, a voice artist and presenter who began his professional life early, with youthful confidence and reckless abandon.  He was presenting his first radio show at fifteen years old and he had established a company making advertisements before he turned twenty.  A few years in, his professional and personal life unravelled and Brad spiralled to rock bottom whe...

Te Radar is a highly respected and well-known comedian, documentarian and social and political commentator who has worked in war-zones, dived with sharks, played with scorpions and even plunged into the Ross Sea in Antarctica wearing only a skimpy pair of togs.  You know Te Radar from his various shows including Off The Radar, Eating the Dog, Nine to Noon and War Tourist – Christmas in Bethlehem....

Bonnie Hurunui came from humble beginnings in a family that didn’t have much money but had a lot of love and positivity.  After her studies, she worked in retail and then the corporate world, living a very normal non-show business life.  When she decided to pursue music seriously in her thirties, she hadn’t been warped by the music industry and all the experience she gained in her career gave her...

Karin Horen is a TV Presenter, MC, Motivational Speaker, Founder of Paddle for Hope and an Author, but above all Karin is a survivor.  She grew up in Israel, survived two rounds of breast cancer, a failed marriage and the resulting emotional rollercoaster that continues to this day and yet somehow amongst the chaos, Karin found the strength to fight back, beat her cancer (twice) launch the charity...

Musician Jim Hall started his career in Christchurch in the 1960s and so began an epic musical journey and personal adventure.  Over the years he’s worked with a long list of great artists including Cilla Black, Ray Columbus, Ian Morris, Eddie Rayner and many more.  In the 1980s Jim established a very successful business recording and producing music for TV commercials and these days he is dedicat...

Alan Brown is a top pianist, Hammond organist, teacher and all round music professional.  His projects have included Blue Train, Grand Central Band, Alan Brown Trio, Alargo and his two stunning solo albums ‘Silent Observer’ and ‘Composure’.  In addition he’s worked with a long list of fantastic musicians including both Nathan and Joel Haines.  Alan is a true musician, journeyman, a family man, a h...

You know Kurt from Stellar*, Delete Delete, Splitter and his solo album called Blood Line Heart (2012).  As well as having a busy career as a musician, Kurt become a concert promoter working with people like Greg Johnson, Midge Ure, Lloyd Cole and many more.  On this episode we discuss Kurt’s approach to managing shows and tours, he talks about joining up with Boh Runga, Andrew Maclaren and eventu...

Wayne Bell’s career changed gear when he started playing drums for When The Cats Away and from there he went on to work with Dave Dobbyn, Jan Hellriegel, Andrew Fagan, Bic Runga, Greg Johnson, Ian Morris, Gin Wigmore, Greg Fleming and Tim Finn.  Not only has Wayne established himself as a world class drummer, he’s had great success as a producer, he’s world in television music production and now w...

Episode #84 is now available! Our guest is our very own Bobby Kennedy!  Keeping with the tradition of the show, Danny and Bobby open the new year by chatting to each other about anything and everything.  In their fifth instalment our hosts discuss movies, politics, art, deep fake, the music industry, how to find hope in this crazy world and plenty more.  This is the show where honesty is welcomed,...

Jasper and his family sold everything, flew to Croatia to pick up their new boat and spent a couple of years sailing around the world. In part 1 Jasper talked about his motivation for the trip, their time in Croatia, venturing out into the Mediterranean, stopping in Tunisia and eventually crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Panama Canal.  In part 2 his journey continues as he recounts their experi...

The Great Adventure Part 1 with Nick Granville and Jasper de Roos.  Do you ever get tired of the grind?  Do you ever feel like packing it all in and setting off on a life changing adventure?  Today we talk to two people who did just that.  Nick Granville and Jasper de Roos have both been on the show before and in the time since, have both thrown caution to the wind and set off into the great unkno...