Posts by Simon Grigg
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Don't you be dissing the staff at Unity
heh, my comment was more about my own insecurities. I kinda like the mega bookstores of Asia as I can wander, look at the marginal books that might take my fancy and splurge on the odd bit of populist drivel every now and them without anyone raising an eye.
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NickD
I can't claim credit for Nick, he was suggested to us by Geoff Wright and he was, as you say, rather perfect as a sales person. I used to love sitting with him on a Saturday and watching him take such joy from recommending music to people. I'm on the receiving end of those pointers these days, and I get regular IMs and emails telling me to check out this and that, or uploaded ssshhhhh promos.
He's a wonder, that lad. One of my favourite people.
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A woman doesn't have to walk into a record shop and hope she says 'the right thing' to get good, informed service.
I don't think that is a particularly female thing. Arrogant sales staff who look down their nose at the customer have always been a record shop disincentive to enter, let alone purchase.
I was in a shop in Sydney, a rather hip little place in Pitt St called Phantom that I loved big time in the early 80s, when a woman came in and asked for a Barbra Streisand album. 'Fuck of and get some taste' sneered the 20 something behind the counter, and the other two and a few of the customers laughed. She left, likely never to enter a record shop again. I left and decided I could buy my obscure indie 7"s elsewhere and never returned.
Real Groovy in Auckland had a similar reputation but even in the malls, the Sounds stores were always full of snotty nosed kids who would look me up and down as I bought the $10 Byrds remaster from the table outside.
Then again, I'm always worried that the volume I have in my hand at Unity is not quite literati enough.
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I miss John Russell
Same. A great writer with a wicked sense of humour when the moment merited it (and irreverently, often when it didn't).
where are the women writers
Yes Donna, as mentioned, and from a couple of years before that, Louise Chunn who's gone on to some fairly stellar stuff in the UK.
Missing from the bloke list is Colin Hogg, who was a mighty, and mighty lucid, champion of the left field when at The Ak Star.
I kinda agree with Mark's sentiment on Sweetman..yes he can write, at least as well as many of the people who've put key to ribbon over the years at the likes of the NME (for every Charles Shaar Murray or Nick Kent there were 20 guys or gals we've largely forgotten) and I like the fact that regardless of the correctness of it all, he swings whichever his opinion leads. There were whoops of agreement nationwide when he swiped at Welly reggae-lite (I quite like FFD but find The Black Seeds indescribably slight), and NZ hip hop. Even if you don't agree with his opinions (he likes Jethro Tull?!?), at least he has them and they're strong.
Rock crit lit: such a boy thang.
Having worked in and owned music retail quite extensively over the years, buying music is about 75% a boy thang....sorry Danielle (exception / rule etc), it's always frustrated me but its depressingly true (and industry research repeatedly supports this). When I was retailing vinyl to DJs we had about 7 females who were buying rekid seriously vs. about 80 males.
Not that it's relevant to anything, but most people rarely play the second CD in a double CD set, or take the book out of the CD case..also true...
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And those mullets he and Linda had through the seventies didn't help either...
My problem was more with the his and hers matching dungarees. I've always thought the Stella was some sort of odd freak event..she didn't get it from Mom and Pa
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'in that Wellington...urgh....
Sophie, you might mean Diamond Dogs but that probably pre-dated Proud Scum. That was the old Mojo trannie club, owned by Hugh Lynn which he opened up as Auckland's first dedicated punk club..predated Zwines. It didn't last long but he re-opened it again a bit later and then it became the Green Door, a late night, very sleazy but quite fun, cafe run by Tommy Adderley (very sadly RIP) and Radio Hauraki founder David Gapes. You could see generations to NZ music royalty there on any given night.
Or you might mean XS, which was what the Island of Real mutated from after Charlie Gray sold it to Bryan Staff, Sheryl Morris and Gary Summerville?
...the flatfooting continues....
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"in that Wellington"...urgh....must preview....
Sophie, you might mean Diamond Dogs but that probably pre-dated Proud Scum. That was the old Mojo trannie club, owned by Hugh Lynn which he opened up as Auckland's first dedicated punk club..predated Zwines. It didn't last long but he re-opened it again a bit later and then it became the Green Door, a late night, very sleazy but quite fun, cafe run by Tommy Adderley (very sadly RIP) and Radio Hauraki founder David Gapes. You could see generations to NZ music royalty there on any given night.
Or you might mean XS, which was what the Island of Real mutated from after Charlie Gray sold it to Bryan Staff, Sheryl Morris and Gary Summerville?
...the flatfooting continues....
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no intellectualism to it at all which is a quite nice change for NZ music. We take our musicians far too seriously.
There is some irony in all that, in the Wellington was the nerve centre of the movement to over intellectualise pop music for many a decade. It always used to drive us nuts. I've kept a few reviews from Welly mags from the 80s just to remind me just how negative they were towards both Auckland and South Island bands for just wanting to have fun.
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Grigg esquire, punk detective.
and I quote....
a faint memory
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One person I do remember was Rob from the MeeMees had a sister who I am sure was called Jo (then again I could be wrong).
Maybe Rob Schrieber, whose sister was Sue. He wasn't a Meemee but around. Or maybe Tony from The Screaming Meemees. His elder sister married Adolf Soeteman who was the singer with Rebel Truce. They were both Zwines regulars.
I can't remember where exactly Toy Love first played as TL, but their first gig in AK as The Enemy was the one I think where your friend was thrown off the railing. The AK skinheads were on a mission to get The Enemy that night, for some puerile reason and it all went very pear shaped. It happened all too often.
I have a faint memory that the State gig may well have been the first TL gig. This is the poster, but there are no dates on it, although Friday 9 means it must've been March 9, 1979 which fits.