100 Issues - 100 Covers

Derek Lind   August/September 1994

Singer/songwriterDerek Lind had just released his fourth album ‘Stations’, and was looking to strengthen his musical presence offshore at a time when the Kiwi Christian scene was very buoyant. "‘Stations’ did end up getting US distribution. I had a couple of albums released on a US label (REX subsidiary Storyville), but nothing much happened." This was partly because things changed for Derek. He had no real desire to make it big in the US Christian scene, and admits he did not put his energies into doing so. "In America, if you’re not prepared to go over and just tour relentlessly it’s pretty hard to break an album. There’s so much material being released daily over there, you just get lost in the wash if you don’t build up some sort of live profile." Instead he has continued to play live here in NZ, playing mostly to small town halls, churches and community centres. "I’ve always done a lot of work with the Tear Fund. It’s a development agency active in the third world. I just use the music to raise awareness of issues regarding the poor, and basic human rights issues. Quite a lot of my songs have dealt with that kind of thing." Derek released ‘Salvo’ in 2000, a collection of his best songs spanning 15 years as an artist. In 2002, he released the acclaimed ‘Twelve Good Hours of Daylight’ through Someone Up There Records.

Ted Clarke   February/March 1994

The 1993/94 summer tour in support of album ‘Dejavoodoo’ was not what quite whatTed Clarke had in mind. "After that I stopped touring, it was an appalling summer."

The Backdoor Blues Band, Ted contends, was simply too large (along with the road crew) to be viable given the dwindling attendances. "Musically, I’d already moved on, and because I had become a solo artist, it wasn’t the band situation anymore." "Before doing my next original album in 2000, I started working in ‘98 on more original stuff with Mike Farrell. Our own label Emerge was started by myself and an old school mate of mine. Unfortunately, we just had the album pressed and then Mike Farrell died of a heart attack. It got wonderful reviews [but] unfortunately, Mike had passed away and the wind was knocked out of my sails." Ted is now also a recognised actor, having had roles in local dramas Shortland Street and Street Legal, international hit shows Xena and Hercules, and even a role in James Kahn movie Blood Crime. "I also had the lead role in the official tribute to the Blues Brothers," he adds. Musically, Ted secured the coveted Counting Crows support slot in 2003, and has recently been writing with Ardijah’s Anthony and Adrian Grey. Although an album is planned, he’s in no rush to release the material. "We’re having such a great creative period."

Trip To The Moon   June/July 1999

Trip To The Moon’s second album, ‘Dusk’ was about to be released when NZM spoke to them. The creative core of Tom Ludvigson and Trevor Reekie were looking forward to the release of their follow-up to the highly acclaimed debut ‘Jazz Hop’. Unfortunately, recalls Trevor, the album performed "dismally". "We tried to deviate from jazz, but we didn’t lock into the new audience and the old audience didn’t want to hear. For the album after that we went back to jazz." For their third album the band title was simplified to ‘Trip’ and the ambitious use of male and female vocals was similarly pared back. ‘Pretty Cool’ was released in 2003 to excellent reviews, its songs since included in several television documentaries and commercials. The pair are now working on their fourth album - optimistically titled ‘The Best Million Dollar Selling Jazz Album Ever’. "It’s kind of an extension of ‘Pretty Cool’, though musically it’s going into new creative areas." Trip have released all their records through Trevor’s own Antenna Records label, however he says the act’s future could be on the Net. "Because it’s stuff that doesn’t get radio play etcetera, I think the most valid way for it to perpetuate itself is through the internet. This year we’re going to do a few gigs, and basically it’s just more of the same... we’ve never stopped and never will probably."

The Hasselhoff Experiment   October/November 1998

The Hasselhoff Experiment were a roaring rock’n’roll two-piece whose influences ranged from R&B, to Lenny Kayes’ Nuggets-style ‘60s garage rock, to NZ punk trailblazers theAxel Grinders. Guitarist Andrew Tolley now leads Auckland three-piece Bloody Souls, while drummer Brendan Moran has been lending his services to a number of bands (including theFly My Pretties project), as well as booking acts for Wellington venue Indigo. Andrew says one of the highlights for him during the Hasselhoff’s career was the tour with Head Like A Hole. "The tour took us to a lot of places we wouldn’t normally get to - a lot of crowds we wouldn’t normally have seen. It was like a travelling circus... a lot of crazy nights." He thinks the least successful part of the band’s career was their debut album, because the band was "winding down by that stage" and the video single wasn’t represented on the album. Andrew reckons its exclusion damaged sales. This, and a number of other frustrations, lead to Brendan departing for the US for about seven months in 2002. Does a reunion look likely? "I wouldn’t rule it out completely," muses Tolley.

TrinityRoots   December/January 2002

Late last year TrinityRoots announced the band was being packed down, giving their faithful several last chances to catch them performing live. It was on stage where the trio’s international reputation had been gained - their blend of roots, reggae, waiata and cool pop combining to spiritualise and mesmerise audiences. Despite never enjoying a hit single in their six years together, by the time the band quit they had earned the tag ‘legendary’. Although refusing interviews at the time, the three members of TrinityRoots - Warren Maxwell (guitar/vocals),Rio Hemopo (bass) and Rikki Gooch (drums) - intend to pursue their own projects. Warren has a new band called the Little Bushmen, Rikki has a solo project namedEru, and Rio has been collaborating with Fat Freddy’s Drop’s Chris Faimu. TrintyRoots were on the verge of releasing debut album ‘True’ when they featured on the NZM’s cover back in 2001. Their second album entitled ‘Home, Land and Sea’ is widely held to be a Kiwi classic, showcasing a definitive sound of Aotearoa and still features on the IMNZ charts. Both albums have sold close to the 15,000 copies needed for platinum status.

Rob Guest   August/September 1991

The Kiwi theatre legend appeared on our cover about the time his three year stint playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables came to an end. Several months on a career-defining role as Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera commenced. For seven years, and over 2000 performances, Rob played the Phantom - leaving the show in 1998. Throughout his career, Rob has received numerous awards. An OBE for his services to the NZ entertainment industry, a Best Male Performer in a Leading Role Green Room award for Phantom, and Best NZ Theatrical Performer for his roles in Les Misérables and Phantom. His CV boasts an impressive 36 lead roles. As to what Rob Guest is doing right now - even the elusive actor’s Auckland agent isn’t sure. All she can tell us is he’s based in Sydney, and is currently touring Queensland with his own show - maybe called The Rob Guest Show. "He’s basically been overseas looking at various projects to produce and maybe play,"Karen Kay told NZM. "He’s interested in going into film and TV again, but he’s continuing in music - music is his first love."

The D4   February/March 2004

The sake bombs were going down like nobody’s business at the inspired Auckland release party for The D4’s exceptional new album ‘Out of My Head’. "Everyone just got very, very, very drunk," laughs frontman Jimmy Christmas. "It was fantastic. We just got off a plane ride from Melbourne. When we got to the party we were pretty much out of our heads to begin with." According the Jimmy, The D4 four enjoyed the chance to perform for their friends and not feel the need to impress. It was a true celebration of the hard work that had gone into the finished product. "It was a real buzz. It’s been a lot of work and a long time coming and to have that thing in our hands..." says Jimmy, lost for words. "I reckon it’s a lot better. I think the songs are better. Personally I think it’s an evolution on what we’ve been doing." The D4 is currently on a tour of Europe with popular Swedes The Hives, and will return for tours of NZ and Australia. Although no dates have been finalised "... at the moment it looks like mid-May".