Which All Black do you look like?

Courtesy of our pal Razork I have taken the Weetbix Challenge and found out that I am Byron Kelleher. Now ladies, please form an orderly queue ;-)

Take the challenge as linked above and let us know who you are!

Lyttelton Homecoming

Went to the Festival of the Lights in Lyttelton last night, it was a fantastic night- after having given 5 years of my life to the local council its just so bloody wonderful to see the place continuing to take shape as it is.

Lindon Puffin was MC for the night and played a stonking wee gig himself, as pictured below.

At this point, for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to catch the journey that is Lindon Puffin yet, its time for an introduction:

Lindon is one of Aotearoa's most engaging personalities and a highly talented musician that deserves more media spotlight than he's achieved so far. Mr Smoothfluid and myself have enjoyed many a fine gig and the doco Figure 8000 is simply the best roadtrip music movie ever released in NZ.

And his new album "Show Pony" is out now, go and buy it! I'll leave the man himself to do the rest of his promotion via his My Space website, Click here...

Its great to be home. Crisp clear sunny days, snow on the alps, and the mountain bike is coming out of the shed tomorrow!

Touchdown

Home now folks.

I just love roadtrips.

1400km's this time via Papamoa, Gisborne, Wellington, Kaikoura and finally ChCh.

The car survived. The drought is over in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. Thanks so much for coffees and beds from the family, Rattus, Vanessa and Bill. A special mention to Mrs Rattus for enduring an impromptu Razor / Rattus recording session. The album will be out soon....we just need to locate Mike Watt to lay down the bass tracks and Keith Moon for the drums.

Time to catch the breath.

Who's the King of the Jungle Now?

Sometimes its good to be reminded just how kick ass it is to be a Taurus.....here puss puss puss!

In all seriousness, this is one of the coolest YouTube videos you'll see....Lions taking on Bulls and we ain't talking rugby....and the surprise third party is just a gamebreaker!!!!

A Long Battle Won

After a 6 month wrangle at the Tenancy Tribunal I've finally won my $1,000 that I've been after since the start of the year. Seems crazy to fight so long over it but they picked the wrong person to try on.

Vini, Vidi, Vici!

Bowie is The Starman

Found this article ( link here) online from a magazine thread which bought back memories of one of the Top 5 gigs I've seen. Man did it rain that night, but we didn't care, the Man Who Sold The World was with us.

I know this is likely to make Mr Rattus a bit upset though.

One Week To Go

Well I'm into the last week before the Drift South begins. Bit sad to be leaving DOC but all my projects are in good shape and I know they will carry on just fine without me. Its all come round pretty fast in the end. I could have left six months ago when the crap hit the fan, but I'm glad I stuck it out- DOC has been good to me and going to places like Great Barrier, Kawau, Rangitoto, Tiritiri, etc for work is pretty sweet really.

Theres no doubt the wider experience of living in the Jaffabowl is pretty vibrant. Of course I'm not going to miss the traffic jams...but overall Auckland ain't that bad, its a shame the political masters around the Council tables are still suffering from decision making paralysis though, the Queen City I believe is on the cusp of really great things, provided they find the right leadership. Personally I think the biggest issue is that 5 Councils running one city is a bloody disaster waiting to happen- and sadly in some cases it already is, as evidenced by Stadium debates, Roading disasters, and most recently the shameful decision to continue to allow wasterwater to be pumped into the harbours in order to continue meeting a profit target. But overall there are many worse places one could live- you don't have to look far overseas to see where!

So next Friday is the last day, theres actually three of us finishing on the same day -forming an orderly queue at the exit door! No doubt thats going to be a bit of a rowdy night on North Head. From there the plan is to catch up with Rattus in Tauranga, and then carry on down to Wellington for a couple of days before jumping on the ferry and being in ChCh very soon after that.

The good news is my faithful car Ubi is now in full working order. The bad news is its taken a grand total $1826.24 to get it there....but at least its now a machine I can sell for an overall profit rather than push off the cliff out Piha way! So if you hear anyone wanting a wagon that'll get them through a couple of years at a Razor Sharp price come and see me!

So anyway, overall I have learnt to appreciate Auckland a lot better this time round, it will be a wonderful place to visit in the years to come! One day I'll get round to giving the place a full review....

A Joke

Since it seems to be the year of Weddings...

Fred and Mary got married but can't afford a honeymoon, so they go back to Fred's Mum and Dad's for their first night together.

In the morning, Johnny , Fred's little brother, gets up and has his breakfast. As he is going out of the door to go to school, he asks his mum if Fred and Mary are up yet. She replies, "No". Johnny asks, "Do you know what I think?" His mum replies , "I don't want to hear what you think! Just go to school."

Johnny comes home for lunch and asks his mom, "Are Fred and Mary up yet?" She replies, "No." Johnny says, "Do you know what I think?" His mum replies, "Never mind what you think! Eat your lunch and go back to school."

After school, Johnny comes home and asks again, "Are Fred and Mary up yet?" His mum says, "No." He asks, "Do you know what I think?" His mum replies, "OK, now tell me what you think?"

He says: "Last night Fred came to my room for the Vaseline and I think I gave him my airplane glue."

Another Reason We Are Lucky To Live In Aotearoa

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of cruising Milford Sound again for a couple of hours under a clearing sky. Is there a better sight in NZ? We had it all, from keas hijacking the car on the road to a pod of bottlenose dolphins surfing the wake of the boat for 20 minutes as we headed out down the fiord.


Its another do-it-before-you-die necessity, and I was lucky enough to be there the same week I was on Great Barrier Island. Now theres a challenge to beat....

You Know Where You Are?

You're in the Jungle baby........you're gonna diiiiieeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Three weeks left till Guns n Roses hit NZ. Gn'R was the first concert I ever saw, way back in 1987 as a 15 year old. That gig still sits in my top 5 of all time, they quite literally changed the face of popular music that year with the timeless Appetite for Destruction album. I saw them again in 1993, wasn't as good a show as they were drugged out overblown rockstars in decline at that point, but from all accounts the current Chinese Democracy is one of the highest rated (and attended) shows on the planet at the present time, so come on Axl, put the bloody album out!

I have a ticket for the Auckland show, but now theres a ChCh gig announced it'll make more sense to try and go there. Funnily enough the last show I saw at the Westpac Arena in ChCH was Velvet Revolver, where most of the original members of Gn'R now reside- and the day Axl and the boys play there is the same day Velvet Revolver release their new album. I wonder if Axl will notice....

Here's a couple of clips that completely sum up what makes Guns N Roses so interesting. They are such a split personality, one minute balls to the wall punk driven rock, the next minute grandiose epic power rock.

First clip is a real treat- lotsa fun- Lost in the Garden of Eden from Use Your Illusion. Click the pic to play this hidden gem...thank you You Tube!



Second clip is my favourate G N R track of all time, Estranged. It's loosely described as the sequel to November Rain, charting Axl Roses personal drug riddled demons and the path to redemption. So here you go, enjoy one of the most expensive music videos ever made.... no doubt coz the dolphins charged ridiculous appearance fees!

A Very Special Morning

This morning I got to be involved in the release of two Kokako (Eunice and Wairoa, previously from Tiritiri Matangi Island) into the Hunua Ranges. A very very special morning- up with the birds for it, quite literally, but its yet another highlight of the perks of my time with DOC. These two young ladies are part of a wider release program and will hopefully be busy meeting some nice young men right now as I type.

These birds are amazingly regal, and their song is just the most haunting thing I've ever heard. Heres Warren lugging the birds and a couple of pics of them being released to their new home.

And by the way its most likely the last bit of banana that Eunice will ever eat! Hope she enjoyed it.

Razor Review- Liam Finn at the Kings Arms

Pic lifted promo poster http://www.myspace.com/theliamfinn

What better way to round out NZ Music Month by going to a gig by one of the Finn Dynasty? Especially given the broadside that Neil Finn fired at PM Clark to start the month...

Young Liam is flying solo now and very much standing on his own two feet. Its scary to think he's still only in his early 20's but already has played on 4 albums over a decade Starting on guitars with his old mans first solo effort, growing into the ever intriguing and alternative Betchadupa and now culminating in what sounds like its going to be a brave and fascinating solo album of his own, to be released shortly.

Tonight's show consisted entirely of new material, apart from one Betchadupa number in the encores. It was adventurous, energetic, often impromptu stuff and never for a moment dull. Hard to pin down the multitude of influences here, but Mr Finn's one man band performance with the aid of loop tracks and a gorgeous backing vocalist was truly outstanding and innovative. At times it was like being at a Radiohead-meets-The Who gig, if the CD release is half as good as tonight's show then it'll be a must by. There's even a twist of (dare I say this) Lindon Puffin style stuff in this lot. And now hes old enough to drink, when he sings "let the alcohol drown your dreams" you think he might actually know how it feels!

One minute he's crooning away like old man Neil, next minute shredding up the guitar, next minute bashing out stunning drum solo's- the drums in particular really got the crowd response going. At times it was like watching some mad professor inventing a new element for the periodic table, with him attempting to play every instrument he could lay his hands on, often all at once. And for the encore he was joined on stage by younger brother Elroy- who would put Dave Grohl to shame with the drumming sticksmanship. Illuminating stuff- Finn Brothers Mark II anyone?

The Razor review gives this gig an 8 out of 10, highly entertaining and a must see when the tour comes to your town. Talent is in the genes it seems. Expect the unexpected here.

Article here on New CD and tour and Liam's Myspace page is here, complete with videos, singles and stuff. Have a look!

And check out the Osama Bin Laden look he's cultivating!

Not a Blue Moon....but nearly

We missed out on having a Blue Moon tonight by a matter of hours- other parts of the world have it tonight due to timezones, but we have to wait til July for ours.

In case you're wondering, a blue moon is a second full moon in a calendar month

See here for full briefing