d

Giggin with Jon and Toni is always a blast.. at times zany, at times wonderous, at times mind blowing..

From Dingle to Castleblaney & Dublin, Old Colwyn to Lakes District, Huddersfield & Chester then on to Rheine, Halle, Zlotov & Mullenbach… wow! quite simply..

Sitting late night wired again before the rectangular-eyed cyclops tapping on its toenails i wonder where it all went. Supping coffee watching the autumn leaves turn, miles and miles of autobahns, ferries, show after show of  good vibe, music and laughs. time moves on, but time can take a while. we’ll do it again no doubt…

next chapter, after all it’s not about where you’ve been they say.. but if that were true i’d have only written three songs, hmmm speaking of which, two new songs near completion.. working tiltles - ‘i love europe’ and ‘baptism’ just about done… liking them too. maybe another recording session soon.

shows comin up though fewish and farish between… Oparau festival in a couple of weeks then Prana festival over new years… yeee and haaar!! A couple others will no doubt be thrown into the mix..

Lookin forward, as is often the case.. adios amigos

d

visit, please do, the ‘shows‘ page and get along..

see you there

onwards!!

a small stack of festivals - a few extensive-ish tours of  New Zealand - one microscopic tour in the north island - one album released - and amoung other things, finally making it to Stewart Island for a couple of nights..

too many highlights to pin down the quintessential.. suffice to say that the swimming hole in Oruru ranks somewhere up near the Auckland Folk Festival finale concert in that good for the soul kind of way… chocolate at Bennetts ranks right up there with cruising Ulva Island.. West Coast south island sticks in the memory alongside a show in Taihape where the brazier burnt late to the night..  Dingle Rd, Wanaka, Donovans Store, Picton and the fine art of burnt toast in relation to wine, the Mussell, Cathedral Cove on crystal mornings, crayfish at christmas, service station vege pie overdose and on it goes…!!

Thanks to all those who have hosted us along the way.. thanks to those who have shared a melody, a laugh or two, a meal, a tale and so on..

a solo tour and a trip to the other side of the planet in the pipe line… mayhaps

see you out thar

d

day one - heading north it began smooth like a fine aged single malt the four hour journey then around through Back River Road (there’s apparently an old New Zealand made movie about this place we’re told) we land humidified at the Swamp Palace where the greeting party greets and shows us the 2nd hand store in the ancient building we’re to play in, antiquated yet trusty water pumps lovingly restored and tailor made 2nd hand suits… hours later the gig rips and roars… molten musicians and dancers gel profusely blissed into one organism…   

day two - begins with a swim at the local watering hole where jon snaps a shot of a local fairie frolicking.. i slice open my foot quite nicely on a rock while jon perfects the belly flop… Steve and the gang show us around Oruru Valley and The Bush Fairie Dairy.. fond farewells and a jaunt down to Bennets Chocolate Factory via Whangarei for lunch.. the reverberant chocolate factory is a divine spot for playing music and the 8 strung minstrel serenades late night wine swept from the stairs…

day three - chocolated, ice creamed and content we head for 121 and a show for the local gathered fascinated and friends. stopping in at the muddy for a sesh later to be joined by Alex, Rod, Craig and Jono for some serious jammage..

day four - is a tursday we aim for Raetihi and the oldest purpose built theatre in the southern hemisphere so we’re told.. an exceptional building used also as a store house for the LOTR props… the show is intimate followed by suppage and chillage with our hosts… a morepork (ruru) vists deftly snapping up huhu beetles who flutter haphazard in the light while we spa beneath the stars under the vigilant white capped gaze of Ruapehu, soothing dram in hand..

day five - discussions of world politics and the truth of it all  precede our ritualistic road trip, this one sees the stoic white caps in the rear view as we directify our trusty tour wagon down on through Taihape and Shannon towards Raumati South, a funky seaside haven on the Kapiti coast… a speaker snaps crackles and pops we finally realise the wagon had leaked going through a carwash so a one speaker show was the order of the evening as the ill at ease one dried slowly her electrical intestines… a great snooze in a friends trusty house bus to finish the day…

day six - up over the hill to Kaitoke and the mainly acoustic music club where the back lawn show with the bush clad hillside backdrop and the gaggle of incessant passing harleys turns out to be an absolutely divine way to spend the arvo.. the evening settles into a superb sing around session fuelled by a pot belly fire, fine company and wine..  

day seven - off to khandallah (which i can’t help but call candelabra) where shady has an intense battle with a chicken bone and Bob (the one and only) McNeil joins us for some superb renditions of songs and tunes that were in need of superb renditionating…

day eight - the ferry… picton and Seamus’s, a fine bar run by a great crew who pour an exceptional pint.. ballistic! quadrophonic tuis at 3am (or was it 6a.m?) over-looking picton will be remembered as one of the most mind blowing sounds i’ve ever heard in the natural world..

day nine - sees us head to Lyttelton where the old building that is the Harbour Light stands embraced by a steel frame in the wake of the quakes… fall ye not great keeper of by-gone  sound and vibration… and on to the fishing shacks where a mattress on the floor is more valuable than gold itself.. 

day ten - strong korfee and toast wakes the day as we bid Chris adieu and it’s off to Oamaru, where the penguins wait in the night shadows and a crazy young violinist joins the fray.. tantalizing late night conversations speak of surreality, viking bards wielding bouzoukis in some far off indistant realm.. dessert and bed after blues and the like…

day eleven.. new zealands tallest tree it’s  thought, stands taller than an alien should being a gum and all.. we found her deep in the valley huddled with others of her kind birds of a feather trees of a leaf… who measured her so as to crown her such? and how? a kaka bird boldly ignores us whilst chewing on a branch then flutters deftly off.. over the hill and down into the stunning port chalmers, indeed stunning even with the piles of toy-like shipping containers… an old maritime pub built of stone majestic and serene marinated for a hundred years by tales of high seas so fitting it felt when Jocks sea shanty mesmerized i and the all around gathered and when tunes played till small the hour crept away quiet..

day twelve - good bye Jo we gotta go me o my oh.. a long drive ‘gotta get this old space ship home’  to hanmer where a much needed night off and a soak in the hot pools rejuvenates the road wary wanderers.. the joy of the back packers hostel and the not so mysterious sounds from ye old room next door..

day thirteen - on the highway to takaka and the mighty mussell inn… near we cooked the old girl her radiator groaned and she hissed something fierce. we watered her down and borrowed a fresh steed from Jeanette in Nelson (thanks ye Jeanette)  off up the grandeur that is the takaka hills and down the other side into what feels like another world where a relaxing calm settles over one and all apon entry… hmmm.. a show and an ale or two with whiskey and wine small houred stars  in the deep dark of time.. 

day fourteen - breakfast and yarns with the mussell inn folk, thank yous and farewells… a swim in the flowing river, i float nigh asleep out to sea.. on up to pupu springs and some of the clearest and most pure natural water on earth, behold… over to Pats to purchase a cut of goat skin lovingly fused to a finely fashioned shallow plywood cylinder which one beats thappity thap in time, if possible, to irish music… good bye golden bay off to nelson again to reunite with Lucinda our trusty camel/steed/tour wagon, who is delighted to see us intact and returned… we play for the fairfield folk laughter adorns the walls as it often tends do…

day fifteen - Lucy visits the tour wagon doctor who lavishes TLC apon her and wishes her luck then we aim her in the direction of picton.. after a drum lesson for a talented young local the show is a rip roaring delight as was the one the previous week. again the guinness is fine and whiskey deep warm… the tuis did not sing quite like seven nights before. scott (possibly the finest kerry style bodhran player in the country) gives me a lesson in the fine art of bodhran playing that changes things quite dramatically…

day sixteen - good bye south island and onto the ferry we go… a night in the home of the truly blessed welcomes us north..

day seventeen - fare ye well and we leave the valley of the luthiers and wellington behind… boggy gives Lucy a new respirator and the windsreen man says her monocle is not worth replacing for now.. Taihape!!!!!!!! holy jaysuss!!! the land of the humble gumboot.. them that were they came from out of the country side and listened intent to the melodies wide… the craic was almighty and the brazier glowed… the laughter and the mad song into the night flowed..

day eighteen - coffee and toast and a session of song in the morning light started the new day along.. to taupo a swim was the call the scene shone.. what a country..!! rotorua where the sulphur hangs onto the hairs in your nostrils and swings like tarzan.. the belgian bar welcomes us as only she can.. sleep ah sleep come hither..

day nineteen - hahei, hahei, my trusty old friend… the moon is a slither between us and them.. hahei, hahei my trusty old friend…

day twenty - the homeward stretch… dingle road, off Forkett lest we forget, head along Forkett and at some stage turn left.. with Chris, John and the gang again we laugh long. the night blends into something from out of beyond… when Greg speaks fluent neanderthalese surely the laughter can be heard from the top of Pirongia… 

day twenty one - until next time we say, when down dingle road way, may the manor be merry, all the dingle road days… we skirt around hamiltron making for the west we stop in at home base for a moment no less… the hill climbs to piha where the mist teases the headlands and the tour nears its end with each curve of each bend.. we play for the hills we play for the road we play for each settlement where afore we did go.. to the people all over this great little land who we’ve met in the last few weeks… many a hearfelt thanks…

d

 also we have ‘there but for the grace of god go i” which is a kind’v self explanatory title which should therefore not need explaining. “Tides” an 18 month old song about the shape of the planet, figuratively speaking, reworked slighty to imbue? the vibe of the Hokianga and also

‘walk to a pier” written in connemrra in 2006 about walking to a pier… a song of irony i guess… 

and various others mayhaps…  aaaah this i like!

d

onto waiheke for a night of music, friends and a massage chair.. then to whangarei heads for the week long Gaidhealtacht summer school of gaelic music & dance. this is a cool annual gathering of folks who are passionate about their music & arts of a celtic nature. great weather, people, music, food etc amoungst inspiring surroundings with the massive back drop of Mt Manaia. the finale concert with mazey, the robertson girls, fiddle lore, bob mc neil, dave khan and jon sanders was wicked!!

the following night it was back to waiheke for a most cool jam with old  friends Carp, Shayn Wills, Freddy Limbert and Al.. this was the most enjoyable blues jam i’ve had this year and it’s always great catching up with these giants of the sonic realm..

coming up we have concerts planned with Sanders Alley, Dave Khan and various others so check ye old gig guide and we’ll see you about!

have a great year

d

thanks,  jon sanders, rod redgrave, al griffith, jono lonie, dave khan, toni geiling, pacific curls, myles o’reilly  & aidan , chris priestly, ben reel, ted & ro, bex, eoin & ilonca, scott O, martin, jerry, steve bro, kila, roger & hilary, seldom sober co, ian simpson, gina, bede & carp, mark & kelly, the beattie family, brodie, the robertson family, dave smith, mazey, bluekeys, rick & dori, todd & pip (all the best!), caley, cat tunks, wazza, ben, robbie, gordy, the rest of my friends and family (and many others) for makin’ it a year well worth remembering for i…

highlights have been numerous and had i not lost my diary in the UK  somewhere i’d be able to recount more faithfully more of them. the main ones that spring to mind however are - the pacific curls tour in march, a very cool mission with some great people - tour de franklin, again a great bunch of crew giggin around the franklin district - and the tour of UK, Ireland & Germany with jon and toni..

the recent series of shows with Jon -Sanders Alley- back here in NZ has been great (thanks to our hosts and venues in the coro-kerikeri micro tour) and the sunday 13th  show at ‘the bunker’ in devonport with Dave Khan & Jon possibly rated as one of the most enjoyable gigs i’ve played in this lifetime though there of course have been many of those..

anyways.. to all of ye out there, all the best for the festive season and a mighty 2010 to yaz. look forward to seeing y’all out there

dave