Dave Murphy

About Dave Murphy from Wellington

Dave Murphy is a finger-style, blues picking guitar legend and one of New Zealand’s best interpreters of the blues. According to music critic Nick Bollinger “Dave is an icon in the New Zealand music scene”.

In conjunction with ‘Press Go Productions’ Dave has recently recorded a CD entitled “Yes that’s me”. Whilst Dave was in the studio Film maker Costa Botes captured the whole thing with three cameras. Later, he shot an interview at the Botanical Gardens where Dave works as a gardener. In brief vignettes between songs, Dave shares his insights on music and the ups and downs in his life. The end result is a CD/DVD that showcases a vivid and unforgettable performance from a man who has blues music deep down in his bones.

The title song “Yes that’s me by the cigarette machine” is a Dave Murphy original and was first released in 2004 on a Red Rocks sampler called "Big Water - the best of Wellington blues
"....Dave Murphy.... has to be NZ's finest acoustic blues guitarist, with an earthy voice and a real feel for pre-war styles. The last cut on the album is his autobiographical tale about playing solo in a bar, 'Cigarette Machine' which has become well known and is a gem. Mike Garner, Blues News http://www.blues.co.nz/features/article.phpid=179
The DVD “YES THAT'S ME - DAVE MURPHY PLAYS THE BLUES” has been officially selected for this year's Wellington Film Festival in July where the DVD/CD will be launched.
There's a warmth of personality there with Dave that jumps out, and also, most of all - his performances are musically and visually entrancing. Buckets of Sweat, Gobs of Saliva, and lots of Grimacing (Costa Botes).

In the 1980s Dave travelled through the Unites States meeting musicians and learning blues tunes from the originals like Eugene Powell better known as Sonny Boy Nelson. This experience gave Dave an insight into music that has kept him in touch with the heart and soul of the blues ever since.

During the 1980’s and early ‘90s in Dave performed with his bands the Juke Jivers and the Hot Leftovers. He’s currently well known as a key member of the Red Dog Saloon Band, one of the hottest live performance bands around, Dave feels most at home on stage.
The CD/DVD will be distributed nationwide through
• Red Rocks Records http://www.redrocksrecords.com/ww
Press Go Productions www.carolbean.com