Music & Events

The Wellington Sea Shanty Society Sing odes to the men and women of the ocean.

Shanties are about that impulse to just take off, to leave dry land, leave behind  the better part of comforts and securities - to get out to sea, the unknown – it doesn’t even really matter where you're going... Destinations come later.

Come sing a shanty and sink a shandy with New Zealand's no. 1 sea shanty band!

Lyrics provided for all ye landlubbers!

Back from India, after studying Bansuri with her Guru on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, Tamara, the composer and bandleader for Mundi, has got her creative juices flowing again.

On Tamara’s return Mundi kicked off the year by performing at The Luminate Festival in Canaan Downs to a rapturous crowd. Here at the Brewery they will showcase some exciting new compositions in preparation for their third album following on from “In the Blink of an Eye”, under the label Monkey Records.

Mundi is a high energy group featuring a exciting array of instruments such as flute, sax, banjo, marimba, bass and world percussion that is irresistible to dance to. Mundi’s music, while utterly original, it is a synthesis of many global colours and influences. It takes the listener on a musical journey...traversing landscapes rich with texture and surprise; allowing them to experience through their own imagination other vignettes of the world...

www.mundi.co.nz

Sabor Latino (Latin Flavour) Trio is a professional Latin Jazz group, with the line-up from the Sol Latino Latin Band. Consisting of musicians Wendy Mercer on Vocals, Tom Harris on Piano and Mike Kime on Double Bass, Sabor Latino takes you on a musical journey of Latin origins with tunes sung in their native languages of Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Their repertoire consists of a mixture of tunes ranging from Bossa Nova, Samba, Cha cha, Bolero, as well as a splashing of Gypsy flavour and other popular Latin Jazz tunes.

Le Groupe featuring Greg Knowles on Vocals/Trumpet and Chris Dabinett on Guitar plays a unique blend of acoustic pop & jazz.

Le Groupe performs a wide selection of music from well know popular songs to original music and improvisations.

Sit back, relax and be transported by the smooth of Le Groupe.

“Wild, unruly and staunchly alternative, Invercargillʼs Unknown Blues have a special place inNew Zealandrock history. Inspired by the 1965 tours of the Rolling Stones and the Pretty Things, the Unknown Blues picked up the torch of teenage rebellion and ran with it - stumbling around stage drunk, destroying equipment, brawling amongthemselves - and quickly gained notoriety as the wildest band in the land...”

- - Jon Dix, “Stranded InParadise”

Since they imploded in 1970 with only one scratchy recording to their name, the Unknown Blues have remained a fascinating footnote in Kiwi music history. Together with their equally-infamous biker mates the “Antarctic Angels”, the band made such an impact in New Zealandʼs conservative deep south they continue to be talked about more than four decades later after they stopped playing.

Then in 2011 the complete Unknown Blues lineup reformed for the very first time in more than forty years. Simon Ogstonʼs 52-minute documentary features this very special reunion, and also provides the very first comprehensive account of both the Unknown Blues and the Antarctic Angels. This documentary is a unique, parochial and often hilarious tale of New Zealandʼs emerging counter-culture as told by the trailblazers themselves. It features interviews with all of the band members and former-Antarctic Angels, as well as around 100 fantastic photos from the era. This self-funded film is about to premiere inChristchurch,Dunedinand Invercargill. It will screen as the first-half of a short series of double-features, together with two of Simon Ogstonʼs other rock documentaries, “Rumble & Bang” (about Chch legends “Chants R&B”) and “Gone With The Weird” (about Chch underground band “Squirm”). Both of these films were part of the 2011 NZ International Film Festival. 

www.bellbirdpictures.co.nz

Dr Sanchez - Latin Guitar. 12 years national and international experience, over 200 shows per year. Spanish and Mediterranean beats and nylon string guitar..suits all occasions. Available as a solo, duo or trio. (conga and saxaphone optional).

For the last 10 years Dr Sanchez has played professionally as a Latin Guitarist all over Europe and Australasia.

Dr Sanchez has held contracts for most of the large hotel chains such as Hilton, Versace, Sheraton and Raddisson, as well as Restaurants, Wine festivals and Corporate functions such as the Gold Coast Indy and the Americas Cup - both solo and with a range of top New Zealand performers and DJ's such as Auckland Latino band Vox Nova, Aaron Tokona, Carmel Courtney and DJ Nacoa.

Averaging around 250 performances a year, Dr Sanchez plays a mixture of traditional Mediterranean and South American songs, from artists such as Paco de Lucia, Armik, Ottmar Liebert and Santana..right thru to original tracks that lean more toward progressive beats fused with nylon string guitar..all improvised and dynamic.

Dr Sanchez embraces the sounds of Latin Guitar in both the traditional and new flamenco manner.

Dr Sanchez is currently based in Christchurch.

Christchurch has been moved by a lot of things lately and that includes local 7-piece reggae band Merchants of Flow. This band has risen from the rubble of a city that is desperate for something positive. Amongst the constant aftershocks, stress and anxiety is a group of musicians who are out there helping people dance and making people smile. For months now Merchants of Flow have been doing their part for this shaken community.

When the earthquake hit on February 22 the boys of Merchants of Flow had a dilemma. Five of the band members were from other parts of the country and they had to consider the option of returning to their home towns and abandoning the young band. But the boys knew that there was so much potential with Merchants of Flow.

The drummer needed to return to his family in Taranaki but the rest of the band made a decision to stay. Bass player Christian Gallen remembers the struggle, “Before February 22 we were booked out for months at bars, festivals, weddings and were even supporting Salmonela Dub on their Christchurch tour but in a moment all of that was gone. We had no practice space and all our band gears were stuck behind cordons. And we needed a new drummer”. The story even appeared on I AM TV in June. It was unanimous that the band was keen to keep jamming and share their music with the people. So they found an incredible new drummer who has been involved in the Christchurch reggae scene for years and began the struggle to booking in some new gigs.

As soon as they could the Merchants offered their music to audiences who had seriously been affected by the earthquake in a number of post-quake benefit gigs. It has been months of hard work and now the band is in heavy demand across the South Island. They have been playing to crowds from Christchurch to Dunedin and are a regular floor-filler at Fox and Ferret Riccarton.

Merchants of Flow – Kerepeti Paraone, Marcus Aotea Abraham , Tihirangi Brightwell , H Kaa , Christian Gallen , Tahu Brown , and James Ferry – love making music and their enthusiasm is evident in their upbeat live performances which are enjoyed by all audiences.

Hip-Hop music has taken a whole different style of street form. This fifth generation High Country shepherd brings a unique blend of rural reality to life with MC skills honed in woolsheds to pubs to city clubs.

Born in the north and raised in the south, from the Southern Alps to city streets. The Rhymestone Cowboys' street (The Southern Alps) New Zealands' South Island, High Country has produced a rapping shepherd well almost born in Wairoa on the East Coast of the North Island shifting on to south of Auckland, Port Waikato, then down to Canterbury The Rhymestone Cowboy brings a all New Zealand style to the microphone literally off horseback.

Chants R&B (originally known as Chants) were a rhythm and blues band from Christchurch, New Zealand, and are considered one best examples of garage rhythm and blues from Australasia during the 1960s.[1] They won the Battle Of The Bands contest at Addington Showgrounds in 1964.[2] Their line-up was:

• Trevor Courtney on drums
• Michael Rudd on rhythm guitar and vocals
• Pete Hansen on bass
• Jim Tomlin lead guitar

In 1966 the position of lead guitarist was taken by Max Kelly, a deserter from the Australian Air Force. When he had to return to Australia for desertion charges, the band followed with him. By this time they had a bassist by the name of Neil Young - no relation to the well-known Canadian musician of the same name.

The band broke up in 1967.

Back from India, after studying Bansuri with her Guru on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, Tamara, the composer and bandleader for Mundi, has got her creative juices flowing again.

On Tamara’s return Mundi kicked off the year by performing at The Luminate Festival in Canaan Downs to a rapturous crowd. Here at the Brewery they will showcase some exciting new compositions in preparation for their third album following on from “In the Blink of an Eye”, under the label Monkey Records.

Mundi is a high energy group featuring a exciting array of instruments such as flute, sax, banjo, marimba, bass and world percussion that is irresistible to dance to. Mundi’s music, while utterly original, it is a synthesis of many global colours and influences. It takes the listener on a musical journey...traversing landscapes rich with texture and surprise; allowing them to experience through their own imagination other vignettes of the world...

www.mundi.co.nz

Consisting of Sam Hill (vocals, guitar) and Simon Tester (guitar, mandolin) 'Assembly Required' are a high energy highly entertaining duo who never fail to deliver crowd cheering, toe tapping, foot stomping performances. With a blend of everything from Folk/Blues to Rock/Reggae combined with plenty of on stage antics its no wonder many people describe 'Assembly Required' as one of the most entertaining acts around.

This is the Split Enz at their most complete, from start to finish, through all their different incarnations. Split Enz, the DVD, showcases one of the most important and influential bands to come out of New Zealand in the last 30years.

Features 18 digitally remastered video clips (all their video clips), live segments including 'Enz With A Bang' and BBC 'Sight Sound', 'Spellbound' the documentary, interactive discography, photo gallery and poster gallery.

Dr Sanchez - Latin Guitar. 12 years national and international experience, over 200 shows per year. Spanish and Mediterranean beats and nylon string guitar..suits all occasions. Available as a solo, duo or trio. (conga and saxaphone optional).

For the last 10 years Dr Sanchez has played professionally as a Latin Guitarist all over Europe and Australasia.

Dr Sanchez has held contracts for most of the large hotel chains such as Hilton, Versace, Sheraton and Raddisson, as well as Restaurants, Wine festivals and Corporate functions such as the Gold Coast Indy and the Americas Cup - both solo and with a range of top New Zealand performers and DJ's such as Auckland Latino band Vox Nova, Aaron Tokona, Carmel Courtney and DJ Nacoa.

Averaging around 250 performances a year, Dr Sanchez plays a mixture of traditional Mediterranean and South American songs, from artists such as Paco de Lucia, Armik, Ottmar Liebert and Santana..right thru to original tracks that lean more toward progressive beats fused with nylon string guitar..all improvised and dynamic.

Dr Sanchez embraces the sounds of Latin Guitar in both the traditional and new flamenco manner.

Dr Sanchez is currently based in Christchurch.

Marlon Williams, lead singer of local alt-country group; The Unfaithful Ways will sing you songs of love, loss and tales drenched in whisky so smoky, we'll have to take all the batteries out of the fire alarms. With a voice to die for and a love of storytelling, this fella is not to be missed.
A great way to ease into the the week ahead.

Marlon has performed with Christchurch greats such as John Grennell, The Eastern, Ariana Tikao, Lindon Puffin and Flip Grater and recently supporting Band Of Horses in Auckland. He has released his first EP, 'Four First Songs', four tracks of alt-country-meets-old-timey-pop tunes and recently signed to Native Tongue Music Publishing.
-christchurchmusic.org.nz

Li'l Chuck - The One Man Skiffle Machine is a traditional 'One Man Band' performing mainly original material in the style of the 1920's - 50's Jazz, Blues, Ragtime and Folk.

Li'l Chuck is living proof that men can multitask. He performs his songs while playing drums, resonator guitar, harmonica, kazoo and voice simultaneously. This is all mixed with a dollop of good humor and some surprising culinary delights.

If you reminisce about the sounds of yesteryear this gig is for you.

Good Time Music, Old Time Style.

The genesis of the idea was the 75th anniversary of the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) in New Zealand in 2001 and the selection of the top 100 New Zealand songs of the past 75 years. A list of over 900 candidate songs was prepared, and voting was open to APRA members and an invited academy. The list of the top 100 songs was announced in stages in 2001, with the number one place going to the 1969 song "Nature" by Fourmyula.

A collaborative effort by representatives of major record companies and APRA - most notably Mike Chunn - took place to produce an album of the top 30 songs from this selection. The resulting album was named Nature's Best after the title song, and was released in January 2002 on the Sony Music label. Sales were extraordinary - in the first four months after its release, over 100,000 copies were sold (over quintuple platinum in the New Zealand market).

The Nature's Best DVD is a DVD release of sixty music videos to songs from the three Nature's Best compilation albums.

Chavvah Sturrock and Al Park ran the legendary Al's bar and have taken that partnership from behind the bar to behind the mic.Their repertoire comes from then to now and entertainment is their forte.

Into the fire with 'King Tubbs'

New and hot on the scene Christchurch band King Tubbs features Harry Harrison (Guitars), Justine S (Saxophones & Flute), Mike Story  (Bass), Luke Smiley (Drums).

Instrumental, dubbed out twists on songs and grooves from Hendrix, The Beatles, The Police, Chilli Peppers, Earnest Raglan, just to name a few.

King Tubbs oozes feel and soul. Their unique combination of virtuosity and electric energy captivates and rocks the dance floor.

Come on down for the sonic sounds of King Tubbs!

Shihad:  Beautiful Machine; A Documentary on legendary Kiwi group Shihad, chronicling their two-decade rise to greatness. From their roots in Wellington’s ’90s punk metal scene, Shihad’s rock dreams faced wild days in Berlin, the tragic overdose of their manager, the international explosion of their The General Electric album and the infamous American name-change.

This “all-access pass” doco charts the journey, and the bands fight with fame, the industry and finally – itself.
This is the feature debut from Sam Peacocke, who made the award-winning short film Manurewa and has directed a handful of Shihad’s music videos.

Starring John Toogood, Tom Larkin, Phil Knight, Karl Kippenberger, Directed by Sam Peacocke (feature debut), Written by Sam Peacocke.

Music, Documentary | 103mins | Rated (M) | contains offensive language, sexual references & drug reference | Origin: NZ

Source = Flicks.co.nz

Featuring MC Jenna, Dr Sanchez, Jules and DJ Alby plus guests;

In The Night Kitchen perform breaks and house with live horns, vocals, percussion and guitar.

Park is well known on the Christchurch music scene having been in the hugely popular 80s band Louie and the Hotsticks, and as owner of Al's bar.

Join him for an evening of introspection as he explores your soul with music.

Jimi Hendrix is a 1973 rockumentary about Jimi Hendrix, directed and produced by Joe Boyd, John Head and Gary Weis. The film contains concert footage from 1967 to 1970, including the Monterey Pop Festival the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, Woodstock and a Berkeley concert. The film also includes interviews with Hendrix' contemporaries, family and friends. People appearing in the film include Paul Caruso, Eric Clapton, Billy Cox, Alan Douglas, Germaine Greer, Hendrix' father, James A. "Al" Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Eddie Kramer, Buddy Miles, Mitch Mitchell, Juggy Murray, Little Richard, Lou Reed and Pete Townshend.

The film is also known as A Film About Jimi Hendrix. The title was used on the 2005 DVD-cover and theatrical poster.

Marlon Williams, lead singer of local alt-country group; The Unfaithful Ways will sing you songs of love, loss and tales drenched in whisky so smoky, we'll have to take all the batteries out of the fire alarms. With a voice to die for and a love of storytelling, this fella is not to be missed.
A great way to ease into the the week ahead.

Marlon has performed with Christchurch greats such as John Grennell, The Eastern, Ariana Tikao, Lindon Puffin and Flip Grater and recently supporting Band Of Horses in Auckland. He has released his first EP, 'Four First Songs', four tracks of alt-country-meets-old-timey-pop tunes and recently signed to Native Tongue Music Publishing.
-christchurchmusic.org.nz

Funk, roots, rock, reggae outfit The Floating Bridges' formation and inception may be based at home on the Sunshine Coast, but diversity, eclecticism and travel is in the blood of these adventurous creatures. Initially meeting in high school, the five eventually came together to form what many would argue to be simply one of the best live bands around.

Swiftly pushing out a couple of EPs in their formative years, these stepping stones quickly came and went, the musicianship sharpened intensely, the lineup became static and the live show became an energetic experience to be well reckoned with. This show has served them well, taking them to stages with the like of John Butler Trio, Fat Freddy's Drop, Katchafire and The Beautiful Girls as well as relentless killer headline slots and festival appearances nationally at the likes of Caloundra Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival and Golden Days amongst many. They garnered triple j airplay and captured the attention of community radio nationally with not only songs like 'Soul Searcher' and 'Foreign Land', but also for their good vibes aesthetic and observant commentary of social justice.

All paths eventually led to 2012's release of their debut long player 'Chasing Sunsets', easily their proudest recorded moment and an accumulation of all their live experience, songwriting prowess from four of the five lead singers and most importantly a good third-eye glance at the shape of things to come.

2013 is looking equally impressive with The Floating Bridges' heading across international waters to New Zealand for the first time as well more writing for the next release.

Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records. Frontman Kurt Cobain sought to make music outside the restrictive confines of the Seattle grunge scene, drawing influence from groups such as the Pixies and their use of song volume dynamics.

Despite low commercial expectations by the band and its record label, Nevermind became a surprise success in late 1991, largely due to the popularity of its first single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's album Dangerous at number one on the Billboard charts. The album also produced three other singles: "Come as You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album Diamond (over 10 million copies shipped), and the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Nevermind was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience.

The We3 are trio made up of 2 soul and reggae vocalists, percussion and a rhythm guitarist who holds down a groove like never seen before. The group was form 2 years ago and has been gigging full time ever since.

The trio members are Tumanako Tinirau (Soulsystem NZ frontman and MC), Henare Kaa (Soulsystem NZ and Merchants of Flow) and Jonny Cartwright (Tussle and the Co-op duo)

The We3 play covers of many genres but mostly cover the NZ roots/reggae vibe!

The We3 are knowing for their harmonies and the powerful sound that produced by only a small group.

Park is well known on the Christchurch music scene having been in the hugely popular 80s band Louie and the Hotsticks, and as owner of Al's bar.

Join him for an evening of introspection as he explores your soul with music.

This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock and roll musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal music band Spinal Tap. The movie satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal musical bands, as well as the hagiographic tendencies of rock documentaries of the time.

Reiner and the three main actors are credited as the writers of the movie, based on the fact that much of the dialogue was ad libbed by them. Several dozen hours of footage were filmed before Reiner edited it to the released movie. A 4½ hour bootleg version of the movie exists and has been traded among fans and collectors for years.

The three main members of Spinal Tap—David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel—are played by the American actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, and English-American actor Christopher Guest, respectively. The three actors play their musical instruments and speak with mock English accents throughout the movie. Reiner appears as Marty DiBergi, the maker of the documentary. Other actors of the movie are Tony Hendra as group manager Ian Faith and June Chadwick as St. Hubbins' interfering girlfriend Jeanine. Actors Paul Shaffer, Fred Willard, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley, Jr., Patrick Macnee, Anjelica Huston, Vicki Blue, Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal all play supporting roles or make cameo appearances in the movie. Actresses Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley appear in cameos as groupies of the band.

In 2002, This Is Spinal Tap was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry.

NOTE: The time for this will probably change, as we will be playing highlights from Lyttelton Urban Downhill beforehand.

This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock and roll musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal music band Spinal Tap. The movie satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal musical bands, as well as the hagiographic tendencies of rock documentaries of the time.

Reiner and the three main actors are credited as the writers of the movie, based on the fact that much of the dialogue was ad libbed by them. Several dozen hours of footage were filmed before Reiner edited it to the released movie. A 4½ hour bootleg version of the movie exists and has been traded among fans and collectors for years.

The three main members of Spinal Tap—David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel—are played by the American actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, and English-American actor Christopher Guest, respectively. The three actors play their musical instruments and speak with mock English accents throughout the movie. Reiner appears as Marty DiBergi, the maker of the documentary. Other actors of the movie are Tony Hendra as group manager Ian Faith and June Chadwick as St. Hubbins' interfering girlfriend Jeanine. Actors Paul Shaffer, Fred Willard, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley, Jr., Patrick Macnee, Anjelica Huston, Vicki Blue, Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal all play supporting roles or make cameo appearances in the movie. Actresses Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley appear in cameos as groupies of the band.

In 2002, This Is Spinal Tap was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry.

The Easy Hearts are based in the heart of the "shaky isles" Christchurch to be precise and have been writing songs together for a little over 2 years now. The band deliver their own brand of blues infused rock 'n roll coupled with some subtle melody. They are diverse in sound and performance and can play unplugged and acoustic or at full noise on a big stage.

The band have previously self released an independent E.P to rave reviews and a new studio recording is planned for later in the year.The group have a strong collection of original material in their live show as well as a swag of flavoursome covers by artists from whom they draw their inspiration from.

The Easy Hearts have performed at a venues of all shapes and sizes in Christchurch and around the country and have a real passion for playing live , they are at home on any stage so long as there is a crowd and cold beer.

Consisting of Sam Hill (vocals, guitar) and Simon Tester (guitar, mandolin) 'Assembly Required' are a high energy highly entertaining duo who never fail to deliver crowd cheering, toe tapping, foot stomping performances. With a blend of everything from Folk/Blues to Rock/Reggae combined with plenty of on stage antics its no wonder many people describe 'Assembly Required' as one of the most entertaining acts around.

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is a 2007 documentary film directed by Julien Temple about Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash, that went on to win the British Independent Film Awards as Best British Documentary 2007.