Billy TK senior brings his message of peace to a Whanganui Musicians' Club concert on May 11.
Billy TK senior brings his message of peace to a Whanganui Musicians' Club concert on May 11.
Once compared to Jimi Hendrix, New Zealand musician Billy TK senior now uses his music to express peace - his primary focus.
On May 11 he'll talk about his peace work and play in a Concert for Peace at the Whanganui Musicians' Club. It starts at 7.30pm and will costmembers $15 and non-members $20.
The Conrays will play their final gig that night, club chairman John Keating said. Temo and Rihi Ponga have been asked to play, and there will be other special guests.
The concert is a follow-up to the March shootings in Christchurch.
"It's such a powerful time, because the world is asking 'What's this thing called peace?' and every time you turn the TV on it's the opposite," Billy TK said.
Wiremu Te Kahika was raised in Palmerston North in a Ratana family, and was inspired by the Ratana musicians of the time. He learned the guitar from his brothers and played heavy rock with Human Instinct in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He tried taking acid twice and had an "out of body" experience that convinced him he was "not totally the body".
Billy TK senior plays at the Whanganui Musicians' Club on May 11.
"I tried it a couple of times and that was it. I had no desire to pursue it any more."
He learned meditation from Prem Rawat, and has been meditating since 1974. He found his own inner peace, and says there will never be world peace unless people have that peace within.
"I have come to the conclusion that peace is a pathway to our higher self. It's a beautiful feeling. It's above everything else."
In peace he can feel his spirit side, see himself from a distance, and make decisions from "a clear place".
He went on playing music - soft music, psychedelic music, rock, blues, the whole genre -and has been billed alongside Joe Satriani, UB40 and Elvis Costello. In a concert he'll judge what people want, and play accordingly.
"If everybody is open to what's coming then it can be something new or something old."
He and other musicians formed the One World Peace Foundation. It has been a means for them to raise funds, play concerts and tours and press and distribute CDs.
They have allied with a parallel European group, The Peace Tree Foundation, and Billy TK is to join others in a series of peace concerts in Europe - his third time there.
"Hopefully I can inspire someone to take a look at peace in their life."
