'Thanks NZ, you really toughened us up': Midnight Oil's fiery start in GodzoneMidnight Oil is calling it a day with one last-blast album and tour. Peter Garrett and Jim Moginie talk about the Australian group's enduring trans-Tasman relations and the loss of Kiwi bassist Bones Hillman. By RUSSELL BALLIE Midnight Oil first took… Mar 08 22March 08, 2022Article at NZ Herald
Blowing his own trumpet: Why Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea left the band out of his memoirRed Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea tells Russell Baillie about his intoxicating autobiography and why the story stops just as the band hit the big time. Michael Peter Balzary isn’t the first rock star to write about his childhood. He’s not even the… Jan 22 20January 22, 2020Article at Noted
Two Oscars, seven Grammys, one hit: The strange career of Randy NewmanAs he heads to New Zealand for his first tour, Randy Newman looks back at his double career — as a movie composer and a sardonic singer-songwriter — while Martin Phillipps of the Chills sings his praises. He’s scored dozens of movies and released… Dec 07 19December 07, 2019Article at Noted
Holly Mathieson on why there's no better time to be a female conductorIn-demand Kiwi conductor Holly Mathieson, home to steer NZ Opera's The Turn of the Screw, is setting a fast tempo. On this spring Thursday, as NZ Opera rehearse The Turn of the Screw, conductor Holly Mathieson is on double duties. The kids playing… Oct 01 19October 01, 2019Article at Noted
The many miracles of Aretha Franklin movie Amazing GraceA long-lost concert movie capturing Lady Soul in her prime is heading to the New Zealand International Film Festival. Amazing Grace is a movie of many miracles. It was a miracle it never came out in the first place after it was filmed in early 1972.… Jul 15 19July 15, 2019Article at Noted
How the (younger) Finn brothers are branching outElroy delivers a solo debut as Liam joins an orchestra – and a Neil Young tribute band. A certain uncle of his may have sung about having a hard act to follow, but Elroy Finn doesn’t see it that way as he becomes the fourth in the Finn family with… Jun 11 19June 11, 2019Article at Noted
It's a little bit funny: The new Elton John biopic Rocketman achieves lift-offThe movie of Elton John’s life does some odd things in its mix of rock biopic and stage musical. Elton John spent much of his early career living dangerously and performing outrageously while delivering music that largely played it safe, but… Jun 01 19June 01, 2019Article at Noted
My back pages: Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy on why he wrote a bookJeff Tweedy doesn’t read rock memoirs but that didn’t stop him writing one. Now, the leader of respected American band Wilco brings his acclaimed autobiography to the Auckland Writers Festival. It takes one to know one. Occasionally, you’ll see a… May 10 19May 10, 2019Article at Noted
Shayne Carter’s memoir is hilarious, harrowing and brutally honestRussell Baillie reviews the veteran musician’s confessional autobiography Dead People I Have Known. The cultural impact of the music that emerged from Dunedin in the 1980s has echoed in the decades since. Lately, they’ve been resounding more… May 09 19May 09, 2019Article at Noted
Braving The Chills: Film on Dunedin sound pioneer Martin Phillipps packs a punchThe Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps directed by Julia Parnell Rockumentary goes beyond rudimentary as it charts the songwriter’s life and career. There are moments in this unsettling, brave and absorbing documentary about the long… May 01 19May 01, 2019Article at Noted
Detour off E Street: Steven Van Zandt’s solo excursion to NZThe Springsteen sideman and ‘Sopranos’ star is reviving his own music career. Steven Van Zandt is calling from New York. You might assume that he’d be somewhere in New Jersey, the place he’s helped immortalise in his roles as sideman to both Bruce… Apr 22 19April 22, 2019Article at Noted
Norah Jones’s new beginning and return to New ZealandThe jazz songstress is staying inspired by writing with others. When Norah Jones plays her first shows here in 14 years, she may open with My Heart Is Full, a song off her latest album, Begin Again, a collection of singles recorded in the past year… Apr 21 19April 21, 2019Article at Noted
Daffodils is a charming, bittersweet and tuneful piece of KiwianaAren’t pop musicals meant to be all sweetness and light? Daffodils contains death, divorce, dashed dreams and quite a bit of unhappiness. It takes place largely in Hamilton during the 60s, 70s and 80s, too. But we do get to go to the beach a couple… Mar 22 19March 22, 2019Article at Noted
The new Kiwi opera stars powering La BohèmeRising Kiwi opera stars Julien Van Mellaerts, Marlena Devoe and Thomas Atkins are home from London for Puccini’s famous tragedy. What does it take to be a professional opera singer? A voice, yes. Unwavering commitment and years of training, check. An… Sep 10 18September 10, 2018Article at Noted
Cat Stevens: The music legend gets back to his pre-Yusuf Islam rootsThe singer-songwriter who went from being Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam and back again is making a return visit to New Zealand. Morning has broken in Dubai when Yusuf Islam finally comes on the line. The interview with the artist formerly – and again –… Dec 05 17December 05, 2017Article at Noted
Movie review: Moana In a country boasting the largest Polynesian city in the world, it's a sure thing that Disney's Pasifika princess movie Moana will be welcomed with open arms and parental wallets. After all, aside from its setting in our big blue back yard, it comes… Dec 22 16December 22, 2016Article at NZ Herald
The Features: Nailing punk to the post Russell Baillie investigates The Features, the short-lived Auckland post-punk band whose 1979-1980 output has just been re-released. When it came to nailing the ‘post-‘ to punk, there was no shortage of New Zealand groups swinging the hammer. But… Dec 07 16December 07, 2016Article at The Spinoff
‘I wouldn’t have written this book if he hadn’t died’: Robert Forster on life with and without Grant McLennan On the eve of shows in Wellington and Auckland – his first in New Zealand since the death of his long-time musical partner Grant McLennan – songwriter Robert Forster talks to Russell Baillie about life in the Go-Betweens, and his new book, Grant… Nov 09 16November 09, 2016Article at The Spinoff
USA's Pacific North West: Rock 'n' roll rite of passageRussell Baillie follows the path of Kurt Cobain's career on a road trip from Seattle, the home of grunge, to San Francisco. You could spend days delving into Seattle rock history. After all, it is the birthplace of James Marshall Hendrix. Though he… Oct 18 16October 18, 2016Article at NZ Herald
Oscar-winner Ron Howard takes on The Beatles with his Eight Days A Week rockumentaryOscar-winning film-maker Ron Howard tells Russell Baillie why his Eight Days a Week isn’t just another Beatles documentary. Come to think of it, Ron Howard is the perfect guy to make a movie about how the Beatles changed the world. Yes, he may be the… Sep 08 16September 08, 2016Article at NZ Herald
