Frazer Jones in his repair workshop in central Whanganui. Photo / Mike Tweed
Frazer Jones in his repair workshop in central Whanganui. Photo / Mike Tweed
For the past decade Whanganui musician Frazer Jones has played bass in one of New Zealand's most in-demand covers bands, The Noodles, with three or four events pencilled in on his calendar every week.
The onset of Covid-19 changed things dramatically, however, and for the past six months the bandhas been forced to cancel all bookings and wait for the virus to be contained.
Luckily for Jones, a knack for fixing instruments, guitars in particular, has meant he has managed to remain relatively busy.
"The shock began to sink in for me when a venue in Martinborough that we play quite regularly called and said that the wedding we were playing might have to be cancelled," Jones said.
"The following Wednesday we went into level 4, and that's when the seriousness of the situation sank in.
"Poor old Nick (Fawdray - lead vocals/guitar) had to sort out a lot of cancellations and refunds, and there were a few 'bridezillas' to deal with too.
"Even in March the band had lost around $100,000 in business, and that second lockdown didn't help at all either."
In his downtime Jones was able to fall back on instrument repair in his home workshop, ordering in specialised equipment to deal with a wide range of jobs and using two decades worth of experience in music retail.
The Noodles were playing up to four events a week before Covid-19 hit. Photo / Supplied
"There's a particular brand of equipment I use and their instructional videos are quite like that Home Improvement TV show," Jones said.
"They make you think 'well, if i get that jig for a zillion dollars, I should be able to do this, but the videos must be pretty well edited because they make it look piss-easy when it isn't at all."
Jones said he was able to tackle a lot of different guitar issues, and even reached out to Whanganui Collision Centre on Wilson St to help with instrument resprays.
"There's an old finish called nitrocellulose that came out in the 1920s which is really heavy stuff, it's 50 per cent thinner and 50 per cent product.
"I asked them (Collision Centre) if they'd be interested in doing the sprays and they've been fantastic to work with ever since.
I strip the instrument down and get it all ready, and then oversee it as they apply the finish."
Up until the Covid-19 lockdown, Jones said he'd only had two weeks off in the past 10 years, when his wife Anna suddenly passed away in April, 2018.
"The first six months after that were pretty intense, and we all go through different kinds of grief.
"My son is very black and white and he let it all go at the start, I was still in shock, and it really sunk in for my daughter a bit further on down the track.
"All I can say is thank God for music, and thank God for the repairs as well, because it really helped take my mind off things."
For further information on Frazer Jones's repair work, send him an email at frazernoodle@gmail.com
