The Chronicle Q&A: Whanganui multi-instrumentalist Hamish Jellyman

Hamish Jellyman says performances are about preparation.

Hamish Jellyman is a Whanganui multi-instrumentalist and composer and also manages a spray-painting business. He answers 12 questions from Annabel Reid.

How did you get into music?

My family has always been into music and the brass band, especially when I was young. My dad, Bruce, used to run the polytech music course and owned the music shop in town. We’ve just always had a lot of music around, a lot of instruments, a lot of musician friends.

Watching how much fun my dad was having was certainly part of it. My brother and I kind of got carried into the brass band world, starting lessons with that and piano. We just had all the instruments lying around, so pretty soon, as soon as we could, we started making bands with our friends.

We were just playing music all the time. Skipping class to go to music. Everything was music the whole time.

Out of all the instruments lying around, what is your favourite to play?

That’s pretty tricky. I have two answers.

One is the guitar, and that is because it sounds really cool and it’s really fun exploring some alternate ways of playing it instead of just the same old way.

The other one is the trombone, which is also really fun. It’s playing in orchestras, essentially, but because it is such a versatile instrument, you can go play jazz or in a rock band - anything, really.

Have you ever had a particularly thrilling or moving experience when performing?

Absolutely. That’s the whole point. That’s the point of playing music, to try to achieve that for someone, for yourself, or for anyone.

The best example of that at the moment would be playing in the band, The Flow Collective.

It is all beautifully written poems set to music. All the poems are about Whanganui and the river, stories about Whanganui. It is written so well and every time the band plays, you are just kind of like in a bubble. Nothing else matters.

You’re just carried away on your own little journey through this set of songs, every single time. That’s quite a buzzy thing, because we have played it maybe 15 times and it is still just as interesting and intriguing the way the band works together and intertwines and plays around each other.

Do you have a pre-performance ritual of sorts?

Not specifically. To me, performances are about preparation. If I am really comfortable playing everything I have to play and I can do it, then I can go into a performance in a good head-space. I can just play and be listening and responding to the people around me.

You’ve got to be at that sort of place for the music to really come alive. If you’re thinking too technically, you’re just too busy trying to play the right notes and not play the wrong notes.

Otherwise, just a cup of tea.

What do you like about composing your own music?

I like composing because I get to play the music I want to play.

I have been writing music for the brass band for the last three or four years, which has been a lot of fun and has brought a different style to the music. A lot of music written for a brass band is in quite a traditional style, but I quite like to bring different genres into it.

You might call it jazz fusion. It is purposefully written for our band, which is the coolest band in the country. Playing on everyone’s strengths, it’s really cool to see it all come to life.

It is quite a different buzz to playing music. Every time we have done it, I have been playing as well, but seeing something that you spent six months on, six months writing, then it’s alive all of a sudden -it is so much cooler than what you can imagine.

Do you prefer composing over performing?

I wouldn’t say that at all. I absolutely love playing and performing. So much fun. The most fun I’ve ever had, I would say.

Who do you look up to in music?

Heaps of people.

My dad Bruce, for starters. He is the conductor of the brass band, so he is pretty generous with time and advice. He is a great musician - he used to be in the national band.

In a similar sense, my brother.

Dale is a jazz pianist in Wellington. Every time I’ve played music with him, it’s just so fun and interesting. There’s a few people you come across when playing music. You play in a band and another band and another band, then you play with a person, and everything just clicks. It feels so easy, so natural and fun to play with them.

Happens once every 10 years or so. Dale is definitely one of those people for me.

You are also in the spray-painting business. How does this fit into your busy life?

It’s my job job. For paying bills and all that sort of stuff. I’m the production manager. We spray-paint furniture, mostly kitchens, joinery, things like that. We do a lot of work around the lower North Island, a lot of working out of Wellington. It’s pretty busy and full-on.

I’m trying to separate music into more of a hobby. I used to be a music teacher for a day job, but I found that in some ways, it’s nicer separating it from work so you’re not doing your hobby all day and then trying to do it at night too.

So when I do my day job, which is something completely different from my hobby, then I can get back to doing my music and it is more fun and interesting.

What is your current musical anthem or an artist that you will always put on?

One of my favourite songs at the moment is a song called Back to Thee by Joey Landreth. He is like a blues-rock singer and guitar player. It is in between a sort of hymn and love song, a bluesy song. There is something real pure about the melody, the shapes he makes.

I have only really got into the guitar in the last couple of years, but it is interesting when you come across people like that.

I have only really got into the guitar in the last c,ouple of years, but it is interesting when you come across people like that. in. He’s got an absolute magic touch, being a great singer.

He just makes magic, and I have always leaned towards putting on his music.

How do you think the music scene in Whanganui compares to other places in New Zealand?

Overall, it’s really good. There are heaps of great musicians here, heaps of great bands and writers. There is an opportunity to find people and to start playing together.

There are also a lot of cool venues, especially if you look slightly out of the way.

We have played a few gigs, duo and trio gigs, up at Te Rangi Peace House. As I’m on Durie Hill, looking over the river, it is like magic.

One night, the sun was setting, and we were watching the sunset on the river, playing music. It was the best thing ever. We are very lucky to have all these nice venues, like the Opera House too.

We recorded our album in the Opera House. Where else in the country can you spend three days, on a bit of a budget, recording on stage of a 100-and-something-year-old building?

I guess in bigger cities, you get maybe more opportunities with there being more bands and gigs, but I think music is really strong in Whanganui.

What is your favourite thing to do in Whanganui?

Besides music? Anything to do with the waterways. Walking, skateboarding, biking along the footpath by the river. Anything by the river.

What advice would you give to those wanting to get into music?

Do it - it is never too late.

Find something that inspires you. If there is a song or an artist or an instrument that inspires you, then try to find out more about them or go learn the instrument, go get lessons. It’s never too late and there’s lots of cool people around town doing really special stuff, helping people to learn instruments or play in a band or write songs.

If it’s something you are interested in, just go full steam ahead.