Dave Kennedy – LINK “Only Time Could Let Us Know” / “Highway Driver”
Aug 16
Dave Kennedy, singer / songwriter / musician headed the band LINK from 1973-1975 (after the demise of the Chapta, who had previously won the Loxenne Golden Disc Award for their song “Say A Prayer”). They officially released one single, double-A sided: ‘Only Time Could Let Us Know’ / ‘Highway Driver’ with ‘The Day You Came Into My Life’. The song reached the national top twenty in New Zealand and won the 1973 RATA Award for Best Group Song of the year. A little known fact is that the band also recorded a song titled “Break the Ice” which only ever appeared on a compilation LP titled “New Zealand’s Top 12 Groups”. The song is slightly heavier than “Only Time”, more reminiscent of the music Nazareth or Foghat were putting out at the time and never was released as a single [reportedly because the record company execs didn’t like it]. The two principle songwriters in Link were Dave Kennedy and keyboardist Dave Gillies. Due to gruelling work schedules rhythm section members changed frequently – the original line up below consisted of: Craig Nicholson (drums), Dave Kennedy (vocal / guitar), Nev Claughton (bass), Dave Gillies (keys). After Link Dave moved to London (in the mid 70s) then to Sydney, Melbourne and finally Auckland in the 90s. He was called back to his native Invercargill in 2003 and was awarded Southland’s vocalist of the year in 2005. He still sings and is a talented musician – playing guitar, bass and drums. To contact Dave go to this site:...
Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way 2010
Jul 10
Joe Walsh has had a long musical career spanning over 40 years. Hailing from Wichita Kansas, Joe attended Kent State University in the 1960s and it was during this era that he formed what would eventually become the James Gang. James Gang were moderately successful and released several albums, the most successful being ‘Rides Again’. After the demise of the ‘Gang’ Joe forged a solo career, with a backing band known as “Barnstorm” and it was during this time that classic tracks such as ‘Rocky Mountain Way’ and ‘Turn to Stone’ were penned. Joe’s solo career hit a peak in the mid-70s and cumulated in a live album recorded as part of the ‘Don Kirshner Rock Concert’ series aired in 1975. The LP released was ‘You Can’t Argue With A Sick Mind” and featured a stellar backing band including: Jay Ferguson (Spirit / Jo Jo Gunne), Don Felder (Eagles), David Mason (Traffic) and highly sought after session drummer Joe Vitale [a long time friend of Walsh’s]. A very successful album “but Seriously Folks” followed. In 1976 Joe joined the Eagles and along with songwriter Don Felder played the classic “Hotel California” solo, which is now entrenched in music history. He also wrote all the music to ‘Life In the Fast Lane’ and the Felder/Walsh dual guitar partnership was cemented. During this period Joe sought nomination as an independent candidate for congress, but was knocked back due to being under-aged. There are still some “Joe Walsh For President” stickers about if you look hard enough (I still have one). The Eagles parted ways for 14 years in 1980 and Joe resumed his solo career, with mixed results. The highlights of Joe’s post-Eagles work was probably his time down under where he played with New Zealand band “Herbs” and later “The Party Boys” (a band founded by Kevin Borich and Paul Christie). They recorded several albums, including a great live LP in Melbourne 1989. Joe lived in New Zealand for some years and I met him in 1988 during his time there. The Eagles reformed in 1994 and a newly sober Joe was ready to take the world by storm. The “Hell Freezes Over” era was extremely successful for the Eagles, but little new material surfaced from the band. It would not be until 2007 that the Eagles would release a full album of new material – but alas the...
Live – Kevin Borich
Jun 15
KEVIN BORICH photo by C A Poulter, from 2011 TOUR DATES Get Kevin Borich music at this link Kevin Borich Music!
Medium, Rare and Well Done – Hard To Find NZ LP’s From The 1970’s and Early 80’s
Jun 15
There are some rare little gems from the shaky isles still on vinyl which have never been re-mastered and released on CD and for years it was assumed that they never would. Sadly, this means that they are as rare as hens teeth and attract ridiculous prices from vinyl scalpers around the world. Case in point are “original presses” of albums like “Ticket – Awake” which up until recently changed hands at prices akin to gold … well not quite, but a 120 gram vinyl record selling for $400 USD has got to be considered gold. There is some call you’d think to reissue these on CD and thus alleviate the pressure on prices. Only the resellers benefit; the bands themselves get no royalties for second hand sales and as for those who simply want to listen to the music it’s just downright hard to get hold of, if you can. OK there are a few “Best Of’s” and various artist compilation albums about – but they are largely eclectic collections that leave you somewhat wanting. Basically, nothing beats getting the original album, with perhaps a few bonus single tracks added. Now back in the 1980s when I started up my archival music collection (I’m still going some 30 odd years later) I tried to track down bands to see if they would be putting out their records on CD. To my dismay I discovered that record labels like CBS had dumped the original masters. But it gets worse… other producers sold the rights off-shore and as to access to the masters, well, who knows … the bands certainly don’t have the rights! Then you get all the label buy outs and the signing away of rights in perpetuity, so that even if the artists want to release their own works 30 years or more after the so called “sound recording mechanical rights” normally expire – it all just becomes ‘too hard’! There is some relief in play though – Ticket have released their classic 1971 album AWAKE on CD, so it’s available to the world again (and hopefully this will take the sting out of second hand record prices). You can now buy this in music stores, on eBay and on websites (like www.gocatalogue.com ) around the world. Wellington band ‘Highway’ have re-release their only self titled album on CD – great, I won’t have to try and...
Nambassa Festival 1978-81
Jun 14
Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. They were music, arts and alternatives festivals that focused on peace, love, and an environmentally friendly lifestyle. In addition to popular entertainment, they featured workshops and displays advocating holistic health issues, alternative medicine, clean and sustainable energy, and unadulterated foods. What we consider mainstream living today was pretty radical in the 1970s. The New Zealand hippie movement was part of an international phenomena in the 1960s and 1970s, heralding a new artistic culture of music, freedom and social revolution where millions of young people across the globe were reacting against old world antecedents and embracing a new hippie ethos. Specifically New Zealand’s subculture had its foundations in the peace and anti-nuclear activism of the 1960s where hippies were actively trying to stop New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam war and to prevent the French from testing nuclear weapons at Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia in the Pacific Islands. The January 1979 three-day music and alternatives festival held over Auckland anniversary weekend attracted over 75,000 patrons making it the largest event of its type in New Zealand and the world (per capita). Timeline: 1977 January. Waikino music festival at Bicknel’s farm, Waitawheta Valley, between Waihi and Waikino. Attendance 5500. 1977 December. Parade from Queen St, Auckland, to nearby Albert Park for a free concert. Attendance 10,000. 1978 January. Nambassa three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyles festival on Phil and Pat Hulses’ 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Golden Valley, north of Waihi. Attendance 25,000. 1978 October. Nambassa winter road show toured the North Island promoting the 1979 festival. 1978 December. Two-day gathering in Maritoto Valley for the Mother Centre and friends. Attendance 1500. 1979 January. Nambassa beach festival touring family roadshow – Whangamata, Waihi Beach, Mount Maunganui and Coromandel. 1979 January. Nambassa three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyles festival on Phil and Pat Hulses’ 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Golden Valley, north of Waihi. Attendance 75,000 plus. 1981 January. Nambassa five-day celebration of music, crafts and alternative lifestyles culture on a 250-acre (1.0 km2) farm at Waitawheta Valley between Waihi and Waikino. Attendance 15,000 – well down on the 1979 festival. Reacting against the huge 1979 event which was deemed by many of the counterculture movement too large and not reflective of the alternative message, the organizers purposely ran this festival on...
The Wong Way To Marry & The Nambassa 1979 Rock Festival on TVNZ
May 26Colleen Poulter’s book “the Wong Way to Marry” on 1970s culture down under and the Rock Festivals of the era was featured on TVNZ (Asia Downunder). You can get signed copies of “Wong Way” and C A Poulter’s latest installment “Trippin’ the Wright Way” by contacting the author direct on Facebook. Now also available as...