Old Man Pine back with a new album
For two years, live music has practically ground to a halt due to Covid-19 with only sporadic shows allowed to go ahead.
During that time, all a working musician could do was write, record and practice at home.
Now that live music is coming back, those recordings can finally be accompanied by new shows and bands like Palmerston North’s Old Man Pine are raring to go.
‘‘It’s like now we can complete the cycle of what it is to be in a band,’’ said drummer Matt Sanko.
‘‘We’ve been writing and rehearsing all this time. We haven’t been able to play a gig for about six months.
‘‘We had a couple recently we tried to do but they slipped away because of the pandemic.’’
The band released a new selftitled album in January and played their first show alongside Wellington anarcho-punk outfit Unsanitary Napkin at Snails on Friday.
Speaking to them before the show, their excitement was palpable.
‘‘I’m probably more amped for a show than I’ve been in a long time,’’ said guitarist and frontman Willie McKay.
‘‘I’ve kind of spent the last week in the bed just going ‘it’s gonna actually happen’ and trying not to get my hopes up too much because we’ve had so much disappointment over the last six months.’’
He said it was like reconnecting with parts of himself he hadn’t been able to put out there.
‘‘I haven’t been able to go out and dance or stand in front of the PA and get into it, and I’ve really missed it. It’s amassive part of who I amas a person.’’
Old Man Pine is not looking to top the charts.
Instead, they spoke to the raw essence of what it was to be a musician.
The band’s members have day jobs and family commitments so, for them, being a musician is about the music. ‘‘It’s a hobby for us at the end of the day,’’ said Sanko. ‘‘But honestly, I havemore fun now with music than I ever did when I was in my 20s and 30s.
‘‘Back in our youth, we would be gigging every week or every couple of weeks but now, it’s just for the love of it,’’ said McKay.
‘‘Going forward, it’s just about playing gigs and seeing what new songs come to us really. That’s all there is to it.’’
Old Man Pine’s self-titled album is available on Bandcamp.