Posts Tagged Negative Theatre
Archive
April 23, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 204 The Set List
It was where we got our name from in the first place The Spines very first gig We’d been unable to decide from a long list of terrible attempts It was a packed University hall at lunchtime orientation Malcom McSporran was going to introduce us and he asked me what we were called I looked […]Archive
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. […]Archive
May 1, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 160 The Rodent Guys
There was a big group of them and I think they all went to Onslow College together. This was 1980 and, as half of Negative Theatre, I was working at the art centre as a songwriter/performer. Jonathan Zwartz was there as well as a bass player and we became friends. He was part of the […]Archive
April 23, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 159 The Braille Guys
Neill Duncan was the first musician I hooked up with when I came to Wellington. He was at the Art Centre when Louise and I started there and played some flute and sax with us. He was part of what seemed to be a large group of interconnected alternate jazz players that were just starting […]Archive
November 13, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 136 Weathered Lines
I feel the sun on a gentle breeze I watch it come I watch it leave But I never thought that I could ever get old Now the things my youth could buy me have already been sold I was working at Mystery Creek, just signwriting and doing some farm work. It was a fairly […]Archive
September 27, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 33 – Jon McLeary
Welcome to episode 33 of Sweetman Podcast brought to you by Phantom Billstickers. This is a conversation with Jon McLeary, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band Spines. Regular readers of this site – and/or Jon’s Facebook pages will know him for his weekly contributions here as the writer of The Ghost of Electricity: […]Archive
August 21, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 125 The Musical Drama
Fair Warning – there may be some dodgy seventies lyrics in this story. The Musical Drama It never had a proper name and it was pretty bleak I got the idea in my head to write it when Negative Theatre passed through Wellington in 1979 There was a song I had written called Bloodnotes about […]Archive
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 […]Archive
May 1, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 109 Bricks Theatre
1979: Our last year in Hamilton, Louise and I flatted in Wellington Street with my cousin Mark, his girlfriend Pam and soulless Eric. Mark was involved with the University drama club and wound up writing and producing the student revue. He had all these clever, talented performers working with him – David Peglar, Ron Kjestrup, […]Archive
April 10, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 106 The Lions
Take me to Venus I’m fed up with Earth There’s a tightrope between us but anything’s worth trying I was living in a flat on Hawker Street in 1980, Louise and I had split Negative Theatre and I was looking at writing new kinds of songs – more based on reality than fantasy dramas. My […]Archive
March 27, 2016 by Simon Sweetman