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February 3, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

That time I was Co-Pilot on Sydney’s 2Ser “Dirt Music” (Saturday, January 27, 2018)

We were in Sydney just recently, a wee family holiday before the start of school again. The aim was to catch up with family and friends – Katy was there for work too. That was the catalyst. And then I ended up doing a few work-related things. I saw the Foo Fighters and Weezer. I […]

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May 29, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 164 Me and the Don

The first time I saw Don McGlashan, well it might have been in the Plague or the Whizz Kids. I saw the Plague several times in the late 70s as they played some of the same gigs as Negative Theatre – Nambassa, Christchurch students’ art fest and I saw them in Hamilton and Wellington too. […]

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May 5, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Carving It Out: Backstory and Economy in Songwriting

A couple of years ago I had a chat with Anthonie Tonnon –it was in the lead up to his then-new album, his first solo record and we got to talking about economy in songwriting, the ideas around narrative, songs that seem to be stuffed with back-story, but done in a subtle, stirring way. There are certain […]

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May 8, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 110 New Zealand Music Month

It’s always slightly depressing to me somehow – why we need one at all and who it’s for exactly. Growing up as a kid in the sixties most of the ‘homegrown’ music we heard was local cover versions of overseas artists songs – almost like a karaoke country or lamb dressed as mutton. There were […]