Rock around the clock for musical fund-raiser

By REBECCA BARRY

This weekend Minuit will perform a free, televised gig at the rather unrock'n'roll time of Sunday morning. "We'll probably be playing to a different crowd of people than usual," laughs band member Paul Dodge. "Maybe that's a good thing."

The Nelson-bred band is one of about 40 performing around the country from Saturday night, as part of TV2's 24-hour fundraising event, National Anthem.

Tony Holden, TVNZ's general manager of commissioning, nutted out the idea last year as a way of showcasing the strength of the music industry, and to move from clip-based formats to shows that incorporate live music, such as Top of the Pops, a combination of both.

And while it's an area fraught with difficulty — remember Big Night In? — Holden believes live music on TV is the best way to encourage the next generation of musicians.

"I think a lot of the testimonies we'll be getting from the musicians over the 24 hours will be, 'Hey, if someone hadn't paid for me to have piano lessons or guitar lessons or something I wouldn't be in Zed'.

"All the performers are desperate to say, 'Let's put something back into our kids because they are testament to what happens when you invest in creative talent'," he says.

We can expect further initiatives on our screens in the near future, too, with TV One music show Hum looking to broadcast live, and more live concerts.

It's an expensive form of television. TVNZ will not disclose how much is poured into National Anthem, but NZ On Air has announced they are contributing $500,000, the same budget that was spread over six months of NZ Idol.

Not only that, with 80 cameras preparing to film the event, Holden is expecting "a logistical nightmare" as the gigs beam live from venues in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

"I'm sure there's going to be a few tears, there's going to be the odd cock-up and none of us knows what it's going to look like.

"But we do know we're going to have some fantastic acts and it's going to be jolly good television.

"I'm sure it will have moments of high drama as well, where we can't hear what the lead singer is singing. But what's exciting is, Dunedin's got its own unique acts, Christchurch has its own identity and Wellington is strong as well. It's not just an Auckland party, it's for the nation."

Attending the party in Auckland will be Mike Chunn, former head of Apra (the Australasian Performing Rights Association), ex-Split Enz bass player and now chief executive of charitable trust, Play It Strange.

Throughout the 24 hours, Chunn will be on stand-by as the public is encouraged to pledge money to the trust.

"If a band doesn't turn up, we'll just have to go into the crowd and get someone to jump up and do something."

He first came up with his idea while at Apra. Each week he would receive a handful of demos from frustrated young musicians who had no idea how to get their music heard.

"They were always after advice on their songwriting," he says. "What do you do? They were sending their songs off to record companies, but that's not really the way to do it, in terms of objective feedback."

Holden said yes to Chunn last year. There were a number of other charities floating around, he says, but he had known Chunn since the 70s, when he had made videos for his old band Citizen Band, and later produced Radio with Pictures.

Holden agreed more focus needed to be on encouraging young people into music.

"New Zealand musicians have got to be regenerated. If you're not doing that at the young end, this will not continue.

"That was the key driver in the selection of Play it Strange and the strength of the charity and the people who were running it: Sean Fitzpatrick, Dave Dobbyn, Mike Chunn."

Meanwhile, Play It Strange plans to set up programmes outside the school curriculum so students can get the feedback they need, whether it be in a song-writing competition or mentoring activities.

The money generated from National Anthem will be allocated via an independent panel, who will be open to suggestions from schools about how to use it. "I think the study of music is fine — it's like studying physical education," says Chunn.

"But then, like rugby or netball, it's completely outside your academic life at school.

"There should be activities where the imagination is the primary force. Contemporary music is certainly what the kids are into."

At Mt Roskill Intermediate, for instance, music veteran Bill Sevesi takes students once a week at lunchtime in a ukelele orchestra. Chunn says while it is a similar concept to learning the recorder, it allows students to sing along, and because of its percussive nature, it is easier and more fun to play.

He acknowledges some schools already have such programmes in place and that the Rockquest is a significant platform for many aspiring song-writers, many now professional.

"But you find that students rely on parenting to get them there. Not everyone has that support."

Paul Dodge agrees. "I remember when I was at high school, they wouldn't even help us get to Rockquest because contemporary music wasn't a priority in education. And so we ended up doing a lot of stuff on our own." Which points to the romantic notion that rock'n'roll is all about living off two-minute noodles in the pursuit of a dream.

Dodge doesn't buy it. "[National Anthem] does have connotations of Telethon and stuff. But in the end, it's got to be a good thing for bands. You're able to play and people are able to watch it from the comfort of their own home."

National Anthem playing schedule

7pm-8pm: The Checks (Ak), Zed (Chch), Autozamm (Wgtn), The Verlaines (Dun), Nesian Mystik (Ak)

8pm-9pm: Che Fu (Ak), Falter (Chch), Cornerstone Roots (Wgtn), Simon Comber (Dun), Te Vaka (Ak)

9pm-10pm: 4 Man Bob (Chch), Stylus 77 (Wgtn), Evolver (Dun), Verse 2 (Ak)

10pm-11pm: Footsouljahs (Wgtn), Hello Sailor (Ak), Paul Ubana Jones (Chch), Onanon (Dun), King Kapisi (Ak)

11pm-midnight: Phoenix Foundation (Wgtn), Flip Grater (Chch), Voom (Ak), Ritalin (Dun)

midnight-1am: Stylus (Ak), Ghostplane(Wgtn), Hooster (Chch), Augustino (Ak), The DDTs (Dun)

1am-2am: Crumb (Wgtn), 48may (Ak), Lindon Puffin (Chch), International Telepaths (Dun), Sommerset (Ak)

2am-3am: The Offbeats (Wgtn), The Have (Ak), U.S.S. Hit Machine (Chch), Nagas (Dun)

3am-4am: The WBC (Ak), Odessa (Wgtn), Human (Chch), Open Souls (Ak), El Schlong (Dun)

4am-5am: Upbeats (Wgtn), The Managers (Ak), Magnetic Funk (Chch), Blistering Tongues (Dun), Subtract (Ak)

5am-6am: Tommy (Wgtn), Unity Pacific (Ak), Dubwize Soundsystem (Chch), The Irie Eyes (Dun)

6am-7am: Wale Vocals (Ak), Steve Abel (Wgtn), Ahi-Kaa (Chch), Colliding Traits (Ak), Version (Dun)

7am-8am: Theo (Ak), Ben Morrison (Chch), Polly Prior (Wgtn), Ukelele W/B.S. (Ak), Plagiarhythm (Dun)

8am-9am: Charlotte Yates (Wgtn), D1 Ent. Ment (Ak), Pandemonium (Chch), Hannah Curwood (Dun)

9am-10am: Apollo (Wgtn), Tribalincs (Chch), Sara Jane (Ak), Koile (Dun), Ben Lummis & Michael Murphy (Chch), Avondale Jazz (Ak)

10am-11am: Minuit (Wgtn), One Million Dollars (Ak), The Dukes (Chch), Vibrasics (Dun)

11am-midday: Max Stowers & Friends (Ak), Twinset (Wgtn), Jahmen (Chch), Peter Urlich & Band (Ak), Sujeto A Cambio (Dun)

midday-1pm: Wayne Mason (Wgtn), SJD (Ak), Pine (Chch), The George Street Patsys (Dun), Heavy Jones Trio (Ak)

1pm-2pm: Goodnight Nurse (Wgtn), Lucid 3 (Ak), Solaa (Chch), The Puddle (Dun)

2pm-3pm: The Artistry (Ak), The Nomad (Wgtn), Minisnap (Chch), OMC (Ak), Gestalt Switch (Dun)

3pm-4pm: Rhian Sheehan (Wgtn), Eight (Ak), Slipstream (Chch), Sifty Chris And The Gladeyes (Dun), Gramsci (Ak)

4pm-5pm: Paselode (Wgtn), Brooke Fraser (Ak), Mea (Chch), Alpha Cast (Dun)

5pm-6pm: Mareko with Deceptikonz/ Ill Semantics (Ak), Rhombus (Wgtn), The Bats (Chch), Adeaze (Ak), Chris Knox (Dun)

6pm-7pm: Fur Patrol (Wgtn), Jordan Luck (Ak), Goldenhorse (Chch), The Chills (Dun), Dave Dobbyn (Ak)