Bill Morris (Port Chalmers) Bill Morris is a songwriter based in Port Chalmers, Otago. He grew up in the high country of the South Island of New Zealand and has travelled widely as a musician, filmmaker and writer. His music is drawn from the stories of the land and sea. Bill’s songs are folk songs with a distinct New Zealand voice. His music is influenced by everything from punk to reggae. Some of his songs are rock and roll stompers, others are haunting country ballads. His debut album is called “Mud,” and was released in 2012. It features the playing of Robert Scott (The Bats, The Clean) Rob Falconer (Operation Rolling Thunder) and many other prominent musicians from the city.act.
The East (Invercargill) Alternative folk, Singer/Songwriters Graeme Woller & Liv McBride are fast becoming iconic, or at least their “stage” is anyway - we’re unsure if people come for the music or just to take photos of a vintage living room perched on the Steamer Wharf in Queenstown. The music is timeless. It’s like being wrapped in Nanna’s crocheted blankets in front of a fire on a frosty evening (how’s that for a line?). Sets are laced with dulcet vocals, Simon & Garfunkel styled harmonies, lightly dusted with quirky percussion and set against a hand painted backdrop of enchanting guitars. Debut album ‘Fight From The Inside’ is entirely self-produced and recorded in unique locations from late nights in a local radio station, afternoons in a city park and even early mornings in Liv’s wardrobe. It certainly makes for great work stories (just don’t mention crop spraying...). As a result The East’s sound is full of rich tones, warmth and comfort that can only come from doing things backwards whilst moving forwards.
Jimmy Higgs (Dunedin) Jimmy first encountered the guitar when his dad would bash out three chord rock n' roll tunes at parties. "I couldn't believe how many songs he could squeeze into A, D and E" However his first love was the drums, most notably rattling the skins for mid-late 90s Dunedin band Fold. After that he was King Leo's drummer with The Growling Dogs and also spent some time trying to keep up with Mike and Anna in CatGut and Steel. Living in South Korea during the 'mid-noughties' Jimmy began gigging live with just his guitar and from there the song writing began. Hi first album project was recorded with his brother-in-law Courtney - hence the name 'Brothers From Another Mother' - and from there it was a stint in London fronting rock band Kavallo (where they supported the likes of Alabama 3 and held weekend acoustic residencies in Greenwich) before returning back to Dunedin. Along with his regular local solo gigs and duo tomfoolery with Craig Hall on bass in 'The Five Eigths', he is also songwriting/singing & playing bass for local originals band Rusty Pilot. Jimmy has an eclectic background of influences from early rock n roll and delta/chicago blues to mainstream folk and a smattering of grunge/punk.
A brief history of Steampunk The term ‘steampunk’ was first coined in 1987 by K. W. Jeter, the author of the novel Morlock Night. He used the term to describe a genre of speculative fiction in which steam, not electricity, drove technological advancements. Since then it has been used to describe an artistic and cultural movement. Authors such as Tim Powers, James Blaylock, William Gibson, and Bruce Sterling have created worlds inspired by the Victorian era, giving rise to the modern conception of ‘steampunk’. These authors were heavily influenced by nineteenth century writers H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, who are often considered the forefathers of steampunk.