NEW PLYMOUTH /TARANAKI POP/ROCK CULTURE, notes and musings

 Sunday it is and I'm thinking about New Plymouth/Taranaki and the un/underdocumented side of local Pop/Rock culture..a few reference points in no particular order

REX AND THE ROADRUNNERS:  All I recall is the name Rex Hagerty and seeing these guys playing in the Senior Citizens Hall once (Now called Age Concern and just up from the current Senior Citizens Hall). Memory is a wonderful things but I recall Rolling Stones, Animals,Pretty Things and Spencer Davis Group songs sounding powerful in a rather empty room. One of the first times I recall reading a gig poster was one advertising one of their gigs there. They appeared to play there alot. I'm guessing this was around 1968/69/70 which would have meant I was 13/14/15 years old and my mates and I having no money to get in. This might have been earlier as it well could have been pre 10pm pub closing which started in 1967.

We looked and listened through the partially open door. Who were the other people in the band, did the play out of town? Did they record????

JOHN AVERY WAREHOUSE,CURRIE STREET : again Schoolboy time for me. I know that Le Frame played there. Saw the ad in the paper. They were the Auckland band with a local guy Doug Thomas on vocals plus people from Music Convention and The Underdogs. They had a single out on Zodiac Records called Knock on Wood (yes ,that song) and it was a brilliant version. Their appearance on C'Mon ( a pop culture TV show at the time) upset a few people.  Again my mates and I made an attempt to go to this gig. People were having a flour bomb fight on the stairs, we ran away from the craziness happening further up the stairs. Have always wondered but never asked about who were the visionaries behind this and the other events that must have happened there. It was where Centre City is now

CRYSTAL GALLEON: A great band,.Jewel Eyed Judy, Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac and Wishbone Ash songs sounding magic upstairs in The Tasman Hotel to full houses. Marine Lounge ??? Ross Haliday on Guitar, also other ex Julius West members... Chick, Grant Houston?. Am I right?. They also played upstairs above the Ski Shop on Currie Street..A venue run by Murray Horne/Horn whose Dad owned the Ski Shop. I was there the night it got shut down (A Friday)

THE VALLEN BROTHERS BAND:  Saw these guys playing to about 4 people , myself included in the Red Room of the White Hart Hotel once. Two Brothers , Barry and ???. and two more people. Barry had plans and was talking about Australia etc that night.saying that that was the way to go. No-one here understands or appreciates us, Management company was sorting it etc. 

Nick Cotterell (spelling) might had been the drummer at this point. They self released a 7 inch single in 1985 titles being Gathering Clouds/Forget It.   Eye Contact Records was their label name. Nick gave me his cassette tape of their Rock Opera about 10 years ago which was to have been a double LP but their management company Procul Management went down the tubes in 1986 so it never happened. https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429039695314

TODD: Christian Punk Rockers who played a bunch of gigs in town. White Hart, Basement Bar amongst others. Always ready to play/help out. Good people. Mid 1990's? They released a tape I'm sure . Nick Stoneman and I thought we saw the singer/main man in the band the other day and that bought this idea of writing these things down back into my head so I'm doing it.

THE BLUES ROOM: This was a coffee lounge and to be confused with The Blue Room of the White Hart Hotel. It was where The Mill Bottle Store is now. Started by Murray Horne/Horn yet again (Family owned the building?)

Brilliant, trippy ,psychedlic walls and a lot of Blues /Rock stuff coming from the stereo. Boney Draws Blues Band were regulars/resident band. Murray was the drummer. Again I'm thinking 69/70/71. I recall Murray showing me a copy of the first Stooges album and telling me it would blow my mind. I finally heard it in 1976 and it did.

JULIUS WEST: These locals made a big impression on 15 year old me. Saw them at a Spotswood College Gala Day playing by East Block. Keep on Running(Spencer Davis Group) and Walking in The Park (Colosseum) were the two songs that stood out. They played a bunch of Y.M.C.A. sock hops. Heard that they cut four tracks at 2XP as it was called then and got an acetate copy each. I'm still hoping to see/get one.

NAKED THUNDER: Inglewood Band, Chris Rata Y.M.C.A. Sock Hop regulars I think

FOOTSTEPS: Wayne Cavaney (Ex Julius West) .St Joseph's Hall is the only place I saw these guys play. I enjoyed them, did they record anything? 

BATH: Norrie Keenan and ????. Years late 70s/early 80's or later ???  They won a Battle Of The Bands type thing.

ST JOSEPH'S HALL: Heaps of pre punk type gigs happened there. Most I believe were organised by someone with the surname Masters. Worked at Atlas Engineering maybe. I recall a court report in the local paper (Taranaki Herald) about flogging wheelbarrows to pay for gig bills. Union Movement from Hamilton played 21st Century Schzoid Man there once on a Friday night. 

WAR MEMORIAL HALL:Top Floor, Upstairs where the New Plymouth Library is now. Simple Image, The Challenge, The Fourmyula and a bunch of others played there.

WAITARA BAND: Big Afros and and about 4 Marshall Amps...??

RENAISSANCE FAIR: Opunake Band, seemingly Vanilla Fudge inspired. 2 brothers , Rhamans might have been their surname according to John McLeod. Played at St Joseph's Hall and the Y.M.C.A. sock hops.

Other things to take note of: 

The Palladuim at Ngamotu Beach.

 John Fahey's bands.

 Who was the Ex New Plymouth person now resident in Australia who in earlier facebook days compiled a lot of pics/recollections etc for a book that has never been published.

Waitara Rock Festival. What year?, I was there, caught the bus from New Plymouth. 3rd band in was Quincy Conserve I think.. I can picture Malcolm Hayward and recall hearing Brass

Promoter stopped them in first song. Festival was off, canned, kaput. I guess the 10 or so attendees was not enough to pay it's way. Who else played, who else was going to play that day?.

I have not yet bothered yet to chase up/track down the people who can answer or expand on any of these notes. Have not gone to TNL, The Library to get blurry eyes and tired in a hot room while researching these things.

It might happen, it might not