Days of Hogsnort Rupert
start of Hogsnort Rupert being a well-recognised Wellington band.
The band was formed 45 years ago, and has only one other original member left, Alec Wishart. How do you get on these days?
Alec is 75 now, five years older than me. I’ve always regarded him as a bigger brother-type figure. He has a face that can make people laugh. He needs only to casually go up to a microphone and say something like ‘‘Good evening’’ to bring the house down.
What gigs stand out from your time in the band?
The time we played a Mission Concert in the Hawke’s Bay before the Beach Boys was very special. It was at night, the lights were on, we were playing to 30,000 cheering people. The band was cooking and my son Graeme was playing piano. It was really emotional for me.
How did your Northern Music Store in Porirua come about in 1979?
I played professionally at the old Burma Motor Lodge for five years. One of the Burma band members, Kevin Findlater, suggested we do something in case our music careers ended, so we opened the store, which we named after the fact that Porirua is one of Wellington’s northern suburbs. A lot of the Porirua shops liked that idea and also decided to begin their store name with Northern.
What are your thoughts on modern New Zealand music?
We have some great original writing and talent coming through. Lorde is great and although I did buy her first album, Pure Heroine, I tend to still go for nostalgic stuff. Your latest album,
came out in 2010. Ever been tempted to put a duet album out with contemporary musicians?
There is a song on it called Just a Face in the Crowd ... for a while I was tempted to bring in a wellknown New Zealand rapper until I discovered it just wouldn’t work.
You have written many songs. Aside from those that became hits, are there any other special ones?
One I really like is one of my more recent songs, Hypnotic, which we have recorded twice under different singers. Another good lesser known Hogsnort Rupert song I also still enjoy is Monday. Are you a grandfather yet? No, but I live in hope! I have a grown- up son and daughter. Unlike me, music is only secondary in their lives.