Happy Palace has been around since 2004.
Current line up:
Al Beere- lead vocalist, guitarist, lyrics, graphics & video
Ruth Beere- keyboardist and backing Vocals, song- writer
Locky Samson, Bass player , PR man, cool guy
Matthew Mullholland- Drummer, lyrics, sound guy and fix it man!
Based in Christchurch
All up with the play on NZ music and local band support…high school everything from Huska Du, Bailter Space, The Who, The Police, Pixes, Totto, Ice House, Jimmy of course…
Currently: The National, Thievery Corporation, Dinosaur Junior, The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Gasoline Cowboy, Motorcade, Pitch Black,
The state of NZ music is in need of a huge cash injection from the government especially at school level to keep the live Kiwi sound alive and prominent
The Wunder Bar, Lyttelton, Blue Pub Methvan
Probably the MTV comp in Auckland
Recording is pretty much self managed with a little help from a friend at Juice Studios- We kinda crash record, that is record as many in a day or two as we can, we then mix and master either in a friends studio or at home on our own set up. It’s a lot of fun and hard work which we like both of
Recording at Juice with Ian who has worked with bands like Salmonella and trying to get as much practiced and honed before we hit studio time, as we are aware of hourly rates and it keeps us sharp and focused in a sense when you have a deadline to meet and a budget.
Our worst session was recording lead vocals late into the night with tired voice and croaky sounds that added to the already fading energy levels- yes it was noticeable, but with modern technology fixable also- thank God
Our favourite Radio Show would have to be Wammy at RDU and now Kiwi FM also BFM. We like Kiwi cause they have given us the most support, the most airplay and the most feedback on our stuff than anywhere else! They are really professional and have organized a couple of radio interviews with Karen Hay and Andrew Fagan- Love those guys- great insight and vision for NZ music!
Future hold for us: A South Island Tour, a North Island Tour and possible an island hop to the Land Downunder- Auz… a few videos for C4 and MTV, and local albam release party start of 2009!!!! International tours to Europe, Asia, the UK and States- Our 5- 10 year plan!
