July 2007

Recent Stuff From Derek...

I'll write a fuller report soon but, here's a quick run-down on recent activity (or at least the bits I can remember right now):

1. Nigel and I have been working at Nige's Boatshed Studio for the past few months on Shona Laing's new album Pass The Whisper, Nigel as producer (and occasional bass player) and me helping with the mix.
On Saturday (July 21) we launched it at a theatre in Tauranga. The other musicians on the album, James Wilkinson, Jimmy Groves and Denny Stanway (members of Christchurch band Rua), and singer Mahinarangi Tocker, came to town for the show. The Self-Righteous Brothers and Kokomo opened the night and later we all played some of Shona's tunes with her (see picture above).
It was a spectacular occasion and it has been the greatest honour (and a huge amount of fun) working with someone as remarkable as Shona. We hope to do more shows with her in the future. The album, something of a return to her singer/songwriter roots and with a distinctly comtemporary folk feel, is - need I say - brilliant.

2. Things are proceeding well with the recording of the next Kokomo album, In The Well, a collection of the songs of Bob Dylan.
Last week (17th July), the amazing Nigel Gavin (Nairobi Trio/Bluebottom Stompers/Jews Brothers Band) came down from Auckland and - during a marathon one-day session - played various electric guitars on 11 songs. He also played banjo ( a first for Kokomo) and a 1918 Gibson mandolin! It had to be done in a hurry as Nigel has an incredibly busy schedule was off to play at a guitar festival in Napa Valley.
We deliberately want to stretch our boundaries on this new album, and Nigel has added a whole new dimension to the regular Kokomo "sound".
We have been planning to get Nigel down to play on this album since he sat in with us at the Whangarei Jazz & Blues Fesitval at the end of 2005. At that festival Matt Hennessey was playing drums with us, and Matt came down and recorded initial rhythm tracks for a number of songs in early 2006 (see the February 2006 Newsletter).
It has, as you can tell, been a long project, but sometimes labours of love require a little time!
The album is aimed for a limited release - fans and friends only - in late October, with a full nationwide release in early 2008. Watch out for news in mid-August of a very exciting October release concert (currently under wraps, for reasons that will become obvious at that time).
In The Well includes a few more common Dylan songs - Highway 61, Tangled Up In Blue - as well as a clutch of relative obscurities, all merrily rearranged Kokomo-style.

3. Nigel (Masters, Kokomo bassman, not the honourable Mr Gavin) and I are off to New Caledonia on Monday (July 31) to play for a week with Rotorua bluesman Mike Garner at the Noumea Jazz Festival! This should be a blast, and is most welcome in the middle of a rainy Kiwi winter. We look forward to hitting the Bay Of Islands Festival with fresh tans...

OK. Enough for now. I'll post in more detail, when I get a minute. Thanks for reading - hopefully, normal service here has been resumed, or at least will be when we get back from the tropics!

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