So them's the Breaks

Auckland band Tahuna Breaks. Photo / Supplied by Lauren Clough

Tahuna Breaks are a perfect example of how hard it is to make a living out of music in New Zealand. But do you think the eight-piece band of funk soul brothers, and one saxophone-playing sister, care? Not likely.

Because the band is so big, they know the money from door takings at gigs and album sales can only go so far, which is why they do it for the love.

As well as playing in the band, these guys work day jobs during the week, but singer and songwriter Marty Greentree says they crave the weekends.

"There's something good about having to work hard and then hanging out for the gig," he says.

"We're weekend warriors, doing it for the love," adds bass player James Winkle. "I guess, if we ever make any money, it pretty much goes back into the band, or an album. We all just do it for free and keep building it up," he says.

They just want to take their music to as many people in New Zealand as possible, which is why Tahuna Breaks are on yet another tour of the country over the coming weeks in support of their second album, Black, Brown & White.

They play in Tokomaru Bay, on the East Cape, tonight, before a string of shows leads them back to Auckland for a gig at the Powerstation on October 10.

"We're laid-back, but we've got dreams. We're also realistic," smiles Greentree.

The band started nearly five years ago with Greentree, Winkle, drummer Tim Gemmell, and saxophone player Kelsey Serjeant, getting together to jam, and it has grown into an eight-piece band with a booming brass section, keyboards, and two guitarists.

"When we first started," says Greentree, "every gig was one more gig than we thought we'd play. So Black, Brown & White is one more album than we thought we'd make, so it's just a case of putting stuff out there, emptying the tank, and if people like five songs out of 13 then that's five more songs that people didn't have before.

"The main thing for us is playing live but we'll see how we dominate the charts in the weeks to come," jokes Greentree.

He needn't have joked because Black, Brown & White debuted at No12 this week, which is not bad considering first album, Reflections, didn't register.

And the new album is more accomplished and cohesive than their debut.

"How we usually write songs has always been, 'Oh, check out this jam', or, 'What about this?', and it's the same method but we had a bit more time this time," says Winkle.

The album is a mix of skanking party tunes, like Giddy Up and We Funk the Party, a little righteousness on Empower Me. It gets somewhat sentimental on the beautiful Sophie's Lullaby (a song for Greentree's daughter), and then there's longer more trippy reggae-inspired tracks like Listen and I Can't Stand It.

"Having eight people with different tastes," says Greentree, "means some of us like that indulgent 15-minute stuff, and the others are saying, 'Come on, let's get out of this place'."

While their sound is rooted in funk, soul, and reggae, their influences are spread far wider. Growing up, Winkle was hooked on the Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magic, so it's no surprise he's the bass player in the band.

Meanwhile, Greentree's parents had records by everyone from Chuck Berry and Elvis through to Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles.

"I remember when I heard Johnny B. Goode I wanted to play that riff," he laughs. "I loved old blues music too. But the Beatles and Chuck Berry, that's how I learned to play guitar."

And on the album it's the moochy, to the point of cheesy, title track that stands out most with its mix of Fleetwood Mac groove, Christopher Cross, soft rock-style vocal, and its deep and spacy Funkadelic vibe.

And, lyrically, it's inspired by the Phoenix Foundation song Bright Grey. "I was just thinking of colours and I had a few scribbles in my journal, and black, brown and white came out. And what it's about is just ... I don't know, we probably haven't had enough beers to get into it really," laughs Greentree.

"You've got all these checkpoints along the way in life. There's always a twist and turn whatever milestone you reach and it's never exactly how you think it should be. It's somewhere in between."

Which is a place Tahuna Breaks is not, and you can leave it to Greentree for a feelgood sum-up of where the band is at these days. "We're in a happy place," he grins. "I feel like we're making progress."

LOWDOWN

Who: Tahuna Breaks
New album: Black, Brown & White, out now
Debut album: Reflections (2007)
Where & when: Powerstation, Auckland, October 10