Sweetman Podcast

An in-depth chat with James Robinson. He's been a freelance writer, student of politics and a good friend. He's also my brother-in-law. We sat down and talked about his life and times blogging and writing, some of the famous people he interviewed, the book he crowdfunded from the blog he slaved away at. And then we talked Trump. And the last days of Obama. And the fog. And the sadness. And the broken aspect of America. Oh yeah, we talked a lot about America. James lives in America.

An in-depth conversation with Debbie Harwood about her time with When The Cat's Away and as the organiser not only of that band but of recent concerts featuring some of the cast and crew from the Melting Pot days along with Sharon O'Neill, Hammond Gamble and Shona Laing. We talk too of her time working with Jimmy Barnes, of the early years carving out a space in a male-dominated industry and of her time spent growing up in Hawke's Bay and now, having returned to the region we reflect on Havelock and Napier and her various roles in and around the music industry.

An in-depth chat with film-composer, arranger and musician Victoria Kelly. We talk about her musical upbringing, the twin loves of classical music and Prince, her education - including studying film scoring in America; to work on local horror films and to composing, arranging and performing work with a range of bands and artists including writing and arranging the strings on Neil Finn's Dizzy Heights album, as well as touring the world with him; work too with SJD, with Strawpeople, Humphreys & Keen. We talk, too, about the death of Prince, about his influence and of the notion, several months down the track, of grieving his loss.

An in-depth chat with Wellington-based film and theatre director Dean Hewison. We talk about his experiences and influences working up through local theatre and on to producing NZ versions of international scripts as well as writing his own short and feature films. We discuss the making of his debut full-length feature, How To Meet Girls From A Distance (2012) and his various pursuits in and around that including directing the play Lungs at Circa Theatre in late 2016.

An in-depth conversation with Wellington photographer/promoter/author/DJ/lecturer Blink (b. Ian Jorgensen). We talk about his time shooting fashion to pay for his hobby (shooting great rock'n'roll photos) and how from there he moved to creating a magazine and promoting shows and then festivals (mostly under the 'A Low Hum' banner) and to running overseas tours and a venue and now to lecturing and tutoring a university course about the music industry.

A brief sum up of the year and some highlights - a Christmas wish, a few thanks, that sort of thing...

An in-depth chat with music journalist/author and musician Nick Bollinger. We talk about his brand new memoir, "Goneville" and the process behind writing it - including his time completing a Masters in Creative Writing. We talk too about the characters in the book (Rough Justice, Rick Bryant, Bill Lake, Blerta, Red Mole and co) and we talk about his life and career as a writer of music reviews, occasional musician and the host of RNZ's The Sampler. We talk about the New Zealand that's not there anymore, about grieving and nostalgia; about the way we treat our artists here.

An in-depth chat with singer/songwriter Nadia Reid. We talk about her battling away doing gigs and low-key recordings and then getting launched onto the international stage and touring behind a record already two years old. We talk about next year's follow-up record which is in the can, waiting. We talk about the pressures of the industry and some of the bullshit around "red carpet" events and awards. And we talk about influences and what's next...

An in-depth conversation with Auckland-based musician Sean James Donnelly (SJD). We talk through all of his albums and his recent work composing soundtracks. We talk about some of the frustrations around being critically acclaimed but not seeing commercial success. We talk about his collaborations with Don McGlashan and Neil Finn, his time spent crafting his various sounds as a determined "non-musician" in the Brian Eno mold.

An in-depth chat with actor/writer/director/musician Aidee Walker. She's just finished the Wellington season of the play "Lungs" so we talk about that, and trace her career back through Step-Dave and Outrageous Fortune, the films The Locals and How To Meet Girls From A Distance and we talk also about her charity work, numerous short films and music videos and the days when she played drums in the bands Duchess and Handsome Geoffrey. She's working on scripts for short and feature films and developing TV shows also.

An in-depth chat with Wellington filmmaker, critic and teacher Costa Botes. We talk through his association with Peter Jackson, his time as a film critic for Wellington's newspaper, his extensive work in documentary and as a tutor and we talk about film piracy and the frustrations around working as a creative; that hideous term "content provider" which neither makes us content nor provides...We talk about life in general and his life through the lens.

A windy wee conversation with Robert Forster, caught on tape in the garden bar out the back at The Southern Cross. It's not the best sound-quality, there's a bit of wind but we had a nice chat and talked about the band and his solo recordings and the book ("Grant And I") just ahead of his two great Wellington performances (a book launch and separate concert). It would have been nice to have a bit longer, we were just getting going - but I wanted to present this to you still, consider it a "bonus episode" rather than a full podcast.

An in-depth chat with Wellington singer/songwriter and artistic director Charlotte Yates. Through her earliest experiences with music we get to a started solo career, the breakaway success of the band When The Cat's Been Spayed, a return to solo albums, teaching, writing and then the creation of theatre shows and albums celebrating the works of some of New Zealand's greatest poets. We talk too about her time working with the great Mahinarangi Tocker and to the future with another album to plan and the 10th Anniversary Tuwhare show in Wellington this December.

An in-depth chat with Kiwi-born, Australian-based pianist and composer Mike Nock. We talk about his years in America, opening for Miles Davis, playing in Dionne Warwick's band and working with Yusef Lateef. We talk about growing up in New Zealand in the 40s and 50s - and finding jazz. We talk also of his life now in Australia (for the last 30 or so years) where he is in a teaching role but continues to tour and record and his regular visits back to New Zealand.

An in-depth chat with Delaney Davidson - singer/songwriter, producer and touring musician. We talk about growing up with a great record collection, we talk too about his new band Manos del Chango and his solo work too. His collaborations with Marlon Williams and Tami Neilson, his time away from New Zealand with Reverend Beat-Man, The Dead Brothers and The Voodoo Rhythm Records crew. We talk about a life on the road and dividing time between New Zealand and America. And we talk about the special skills of a record producer as well as previewing the upcoming NZ Tour of The Band's Last Waltz featuring Garth Hudson with a cast of Kiwi musicians including The Bads and Delaney.

And in-depth chat with Wellington writer, artist and musician Jon McLeary. We talk about the 35 year history of his band, the Spines. We talk about songwriting and his other writing pursuits including the novel "Manslaughter" and his weekly guest-post series at Off The Tracks, "The Ghost of Electricity. We talk influences and inspiration, playing music live and rehearsing. We talk about the artist's life and the need to create.

An in-depth chat with musician Jan Hellriegel. We talk about her bands - Working With Walt and Cassandra's Ears - and her solo career. We talk about the long gap between records, the need to get "real jobs" and the growing up that was done before he re-entry to the world of releasing albums (a record called "All Grown Up"). We talk about Jan's role in music publishing and there's some advice for entry-level musicians and songwriters, a few tips for getting the business side of the house in order. We talk too about her plans to record another new record and how she is a songwriter first and foremost - above and beyond being a recording artist or performing artist.

An in-depth conversation with Wellington-based comedian, actor and podcaster Jonny Potts. He hosts regular stand-up nights, performs sets as often as he can (the aim is once a week this year, minimum) and he's also hosted and created podcasts including last year's "The Year of Reading Massively" and been a guest-blogger, writer, actor and all-around pop-culture enthusiast. We continue a conversation we never officially started and will likely never finish...buckle up for three hours somewhere in the middle of some 10 years of talking about almost EVERYTHING.

An in-depth chat with Matt Vickers, author of "Lecretia's Choice: A Story of Love, Death and The Law". We talk about the writing of the book and his furthering of the campaigning started by his wife Lecretia. We talk about her life, her illness and death and we talk about Matt - who he is, where he's going next in life, what he's been through, what his hopes are - for Lecretia's story, for the future.

An in-depth chat with Sylvie Simmons, legendary music writer - biographer of Serge Gainsbourg and Leonard Cohen, staff writer for MOJO, former queen of Heavy Metal, Americana columnist, ukulele enthusiast and transplanted Brit. We talk, in her home in San Francisco, about her career and life and also the burgeoning political situation in America. We reminisce over Sylvie's visit to New Zealand and our first meeting four years ago when she was busy writing her Cohen tome. We talk about her album and second career as a touring musician, her plans for a follow-up album, a new music biography (still a secret currently) and a second volume of short stories. We talk about a life dedicated to music and writing.