For your listening and viewing pleasure, we have the first video of Kieran Bursell and the school rock band “Black Ice” playing “Steady as She Goes” at practice

Flight of the Conchords Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards acceptance speech. Flight of the Conchords took out the Album of the Year with the duos debut self-titled album. The record also netted the duo the Best Group, the Breakthrough Artist of the Year and the International Achievement Award.

Duration : 0:5:44

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Here is another photo of John Campbell from Christchurch New Zealand. This was taken on his 50th birthday. When he was playing instead of celebrating his special day. That needs investigated but listen to the mp3 below and hear how great he sounds! By the way, John does not know or use easy guitar tabs. He is a natural.

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Music legend Bill Sevesi has produced his sweet Hawaiian Steel Guitar sound for over six decades and has no plans to stop. Well-known for his musical sound, Bill has played all over New Zealand, America and around the Pacific. Now in his early eighties, Bill Sevesi (born Wilfred Jeffs, in Tonga 1923) started playing the Hawaiian Steel Guitar in 1936.

“I was living on a farm in Manukau, Auckland where the town centre is now located and was listening to the radio station, IZM when I heard the steel guitar sound for the first time. I fell in love with it.”

He says it’s the closest sound to the human voice and is so smooth and beautiful. Bill was 14 at the time but it wasn’t long after that he learnt how to play the steel guitar, formed his own band and started playing gigs.

Peter Posa was big in the mid to late sixties. He had a unique gutar sound and my favourite was “The White Rabbit” Radio Hauraki (then an illegal Pirate Radio Station at sea) gave Peter tons of air time. Peter had many hits and I believe he now lives somewhere in West Auckland.

Peter Cox played Bass Guitar for Red Hewitt and the bucaneers in New Zealand. He was an electrician and lived a few houses down from me in Browns Bay. Peter was the father of Auckland’s half millionth citizen back in the mid sixties. One thing about Peter that was very unique was at reunion concerts that were held in recent years Peter would turn up and just start where he left off with NO rehersal. He also featured as bass guitarist for Peter Posa and the pedal steel guitarist Billy Wolfgram.

Al Hunter was a year or two behind me at the Pukemiro Primary School. He came from a very musical family and his brother Jack was in my class. I remember Al used to be always whistling and singing. His passion was country music and he has made a great name for himself throught New Zealand. He rightly deserves a mention on this website even though he is more of a song writer than guitarist he still knows more chords than me.

John Richard Campbell was born at St Georges Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand on March 26th, 1947. His first day at school was at St Albans Primary, from which he moved quite soon to the newly opened Mairehau Primary School which was much closer to his home. He remained at Mairehau School until he was awarded a scholarship to Cathedral Grammar School as a newly inducted chorister in the famous Christchurch Cathedral Choir in 1955. He completed his primary education, and his third form year (first year of high school) at Cathedral Grammar before moving on to the blossoming Shirley Boys’ High School which was at that time in it’s first year as a complete school with an upper sixth form (now seventh form) in 1961 (the year The Shadows bit), and John soon became very keen to learn the guitar, having tried to hone his skills on a ukelele! At the time he was learning modern piano from local bandmaster Bob Bradford, and this provided him with a very good understanding of chord formations, soon to be a valuable part of his musical career in the yet-to-be formed band he would front. The picture shows John playing at the Shirley Boys’ High School leavers dance in 1964. A band had been formed during 1962 which featured a female vocalist Judith Turtill – who’s boyfriend Garry Mullholland was the rhythm guitarist – and included Garry’s brother Peter on piano, as well as Bob Barrett on drums, and Michael Robinson on bass, two members who went on to be part of the the soon-to-be “Detours”. Sunday nights would see “The Torments” playing at a local coffee club called “Friendship House”.

HE’S been there, done that, in New Zealand showbiz and on stages overseas. He’s succeeded in business and even found time to serve as a community leader, being elected and serving on the Auckland City Council until he voluntarily decided it was time to move on in 2001. Then, even after three decades in music, he got another break by guiding the fortunes of immense rising talents, Hayley Westenra and Ben Morrison. He’s handy on guitar, too, and that skill’s being presented in its usual professional style, down the country road with the touring Highway of Legends. I first met Gray in London 1968 when he was touring with Rolf Harris. I was working for a company associatted with Rolf at the time. We saw a few concerts at TALK OF THE TOWN through a hole behind the stage.

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