A trio of top Wellington musicians will stage a St Patrick's Day performance at Masterton Irish bar Joxer Daley's today.
Jedi Nights pianist and vocalist Chris Jones said that a decade ago he and Matt Parlane (bass) and drummer Evan Williams had taken the stage together for the first time as support act for Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes.
"The setting was a 5000-strong crowd at Wanganui's Cooks Gardens and, as members of Wellington band Pearl, we were touring regularly and supporting the likes of Elton John, Th'Dudes, The Feelers and Eric Clapton."
But with the disbandment of Pearl in 2008, he said, an opportunity arose for the threesome "to throw our combined efforts into a smaller, more compact group".
"In Pearl, we would spent three or four years playing originals, marketing an album and being extremely focused on every minute detail of our performance, which is what you have to do when you're performing at that level," Jones said. "But coming out the other side, it gives you an appreciation for the basics - that people just want to have a laugh, a dance and a singalong."
