Installment 6 Back in Auckland

After two really wonderful days and a house concert provided by Kevin and Melissa Wallace in Wellsford, we returned to Auckland to do a couple of promo things for our concert tonight. We busked in the local mall and handed out flyers and then did a short show for the local country music club in Drury...finally, a name I can pronounce. Tonight we will be doing a concert at a theater in Titarangi (Auckland suberb) We are hoping it will be well attended of course. I did not understand before I came to New Zealand what a country music club really is here. They are clubs that form around the common interest in the music. They have a band that is made up of members plus nearly everyone in the club either sings or plays something. They meet once a month as a social get together with the familys...usually in a local RSA club (equivilant to our local VFW halls) or some community building. Everyone either sings something that the band knows by heart or they have charts for the band. They also pay an admission to cover the food expenses and guest artist they pay periodically to come and perform. It is really a great idea and I don't understand why we have nothing like it in the US. It is a built in audience that is very receptive to our songwriter material. Most have been doing the same "oldies" for years. It is quite refreshing for most of them to hear some new songs. They still like a few old standards thrown in and will gladly sing along with us. Tonight's show is one that we have promoted on our own, so we don't know if it will sell out or if we will be entertaining a handful of people....more on that tomorrow.

4 comments