November 2010 Acoustic Cafe
Harry Nicklin
Recently returned from Oz to share his songs with Manuel Kahura on Drums and Greg Minter on Bass.
...Baz St John
Born in Auckland New Zealand and named Barry St John Russell Locke, Baz was surrounded by music from birth. His Mother Judith McNeil and Father Terry Locke were both Practicing Folk musicians, poets and literaries. With an upbringing of Folk festivals and many sing alongs it wasnt long before Baz was thrust into his first Musical instrument.He learnt the piano from age 6 till 11 before taking up the Mandolin when he was 10 and then at secondary school he took up the guitar. In his last year at school he played in the Smoke free rock quest as a funk guitarist in a 7 piece band. It wasnt till a few years later that he found he actually had a voice. Often compared to Eddie Vedder and the singer from the Crash Test Dummies Baz started writing his own songs and when he meet up with Rob Barrington and Bass player Stu Hellier they formed the band epylime.
Epylime did alot of gigging and recorded a few demos but never actually released anything. At the point where there was actually being quite a lot of public interest in the band Baz decided to take off overseas.
Baz whilst overseas did a few gigs around different pubs and open mic nights. Also doing a number of demos. The Highlight being getting through to the semi finals of the Edinburgh Battle of the Bands as a solo artist.
On his return to NZ he Met up with the Stu and Rob and reformed under the Banner Troubadour. Being a four piece with the addition of Logan foote the band expanded onto a more Rock sound. Baz still performs with Troubadour and they are planning their debut album for the end of 2010. Baz also continues to work on his more personal solo work. His song Gold is on a Kidney Society Fundraising album which can be often heard in Robert Harris cafes throughout NZ. It has had a small amount of air play on Kiwi FM also.
Gold will be on His debut album when he finally manages to get it recorded. All donations are welcome!
AN ACCURATE AND OVERWROUGHT BIOGRAPHY OF WILL SAUNDERS
Formerly of London 3-piece Siren ( 3 E.Ps) and Auckland psych 3 piece band The Quick and the Dead, (2 E.Ps) Will is now performing solo as Will Saunders & The Lowest Fidelity.
When not recording and writing, designing various band posters and artwork, painting and dreaming takes up most of the spare time.
With latest releases including:
The Lowest Fidelity - a CD collection of 28 songs from 2008 recorded as they were written on 4-track cassette tape - 2009
Martian Water EP - a free download available online - 2010
Six songs You May never Hear a limited edition E.P including an original individual painting with each copy released October 2010
All are available now on Cosmic Federation music. www.myspace.com/willsaundersmusic
Influences include: Robert Johnson, Nirvana, Syd Floyd, Pixies, Van Gough, Hendrix, Bowie, G.G Allin, Beatles, Sex Pistols, Hank Williams, and any music with Energy and Melody.
Has opened for international acts including Kitty Daisy and Lewis and local heroes such as Ray Columbus, Shaft, Doug Jerebine and Billy TK
Will believes in breaking musical borders, boundaries and rules, all the while being confronted with the small-minded nature and limited thinking that suffocates the self-exterminating music industry in N.Z and globally in general.
Never attempting to run with the pack, or join the latest and safest cool clique, Will is not interested in bland acceptance - rather in making limitless music that sounds like nothing ever heard before, thus meaning there is a guaranteed certainty of never receiving the funding or grants so often heaped upon local commercial hacks, hipsters, fraudsters and scenesters.
(Thats o.k though, these sounds exist in a strange and turbulent space well beyond the vision of many anyway)
Unlike so much of todays music, this isnt a rehash of songs and sounds already proven successful, this is wild and risky stuff - music that is truly D.I.Y in the best sense of Punk, Blues, Psychedelia and freedom. Songs writing themselves beamed from deep within the craft floating in dark matter voids, the unheard whispering of surrounding ghosts, these are the songs that gather together in a bloodthirsty schoolyard circle and chant Fight!...Fight!...Fight!
Let us all make any shape and all sounds - regardless of who may hear or see... Let us live here and let us live now, as all life should be lived...
Read more and download music free at: http://www.myspace.com/willsaundersmusic
plus guest artist
