The first Friday of the month is coming around again, and the Musicians Club opens its doors to celebrate with local acts having the opportunity to take to the stage.
Last month we featured Whanganui student musicians who left town to study and further their careers in Wellington. This month we feature local musicians who returned home, having made that journey. Juice Birds are three lads who met at High School in the early 2000s, now young men having returned to Whanganui to enrich the city with their individual talents.
Singer/guitarist Dan Boobyer spent many years in Wellington recording and performing with many of the city's greats. He has six solo albums under his belt.
Hamish Jellyman (bass and keys) completed a Bachelor of Music in Wellington and has toured Australia, Asia and New Zealand with the National Youth Orchestra, National Youth Brass Band, Superhero Secondline, Chatchy and Roseneath Centennial Ragtime Band.
Drummer Mike Tweed spent the best part of 10 years in Berlin touring with Sun and the Wolf, after winning the national final of rock quest in 2002.
In the summer of 2019, after many years away, they stumbled upon each other in a dusty old rehearsal room. The spirit of Captain Beefheart soon took hold, and they were lost in a river of space blues and howling grooves. Dan's booming wail is nailed to the floor by the rhythm section of Hamish and Mike, and together they produce a cacophony of primal rhythms and ferocious R'n'B.
Two other bands are featuring in the themed Triple Trinity Trio. Club stalwarts Johnny Keating (guitar), Dave Griffiths (bass) and Nigel Bateman (drums) team up as the Kiwi version of the Mugwumps. And there will be a return visit of the Groundsmen, Taranaki's blazing rock and punk trio with Scott Paddock on bass, Rowan Carlyle on drums and Shane Martin on guitar, playing and singing original songs.
