 |
Music Plus with |
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear there’s something of a crisis in the music world; these days there are crises everywhere.
There’s the oil crisis, the butter crisis, and the continuing affordability crisis, of which I’m currently stuck at the not being able to afford to get out of bed stage. It’s a worry.
Clearly bands are having a hard time. It’s a squeeze from all directions. Touring bands are now paying a chunk more for travel, and audiences don’t have a lot of dosh to splash around going out.
So hats off to bands that are brave enough to be still doing the hard yards and to the venues that are still supporting music despite smaller crowd numbers.
BB & The Bullets. Photo / Tamsyn Hansen-Hill
I was struck by this when BB & The Bullets, the pride of Whanganui, played at Jack Dusty’s in Bureta a couple of Saturday’s back. BB & The Bullets is a blues-rock guitar trio led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Brian Baker. I’ve been keeping an eye on them because I reckon they are the hardest working band in the country.
Old school way
What fascinates me is that they are doing it the old school way. They released a debut album last year; half classic blues, half original. They were signed to France’s prestigious Dixie Frog label. They released a second album last month. Each album has imaginative accompanying videos. And throughout that time they have toured relentlessly, up and down the country, playing for 5 or 500 people, gigging, gigging, gigging...
This is the classic template. Or it used to be when the world leaned more analogue. Does it still work? I’m fascinated but, in the meantime, the new album, Wrong Side of The River, is really impressive, impeccable hi-energy blues-rock. It’s been charting in several places internationally, showing that they’ve certainly built a strong online following.
The crowd at Jack Dusty’s was down on numbers but enthusiastic. As I mentioned at the start, bars all over are quiet so I commend Jack Dusty’s, which still features music Saturdays and Sundays, with an open mic night on Wednesdays and the ukulele group Mondays. Good job!
New jam session
Also, a shout out to The Barrel Room and The Matua Bar for offering regular high quality music. And just a quick heads up, there is a new jam session every Thursday at the new Social Club in Greerton. Sounds like some good players have been turning up and much fun is being had.
In Waihi there’s a splendid double-header on May 22 when singer-songwriter – and much more – Jan Hellriegel comes to town for a forum and concert at the Little Theatre.
It’s come about because of the Air Sculptures songwriting courses Liam Ryan has been running in Waihi, working with 30 local songwriters. Hellriegel will discuss her career since winning Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1996 NZ Music Awards. She now heads New Zealand’s main independent music publisher, Songbroker.
The forum is for an hour from 5pm, then the concert, with Dan Sharp opening, at 7pm.
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: