Sit back, relax, and go with the flow
It wouldn’t be summer without a concert in a vineyard. Gwyneth Hyndman talks to Mutton Birds frontman Don Mcglashan ahead of their concert in a vineyard near Cromwell next week.
Asummer winery tour for the Mutton Birds is as cruisy as it sounds, says lead singer Don Mcglashan. ‘‘It’s great because we don’t have anything to prove anymore. The younger bands, they get off stage and they have to deal with the next tour in Germany, record sales on the last album, going back the studio to make the next album; having to be the new best thing . . . we don’t have that pressure on us now. . .
‘‘We get off stage now and it’s more ‘maybe we’ll try the pinot noir . . . or maybe the gewu¨ rztraminer. . .’’
The band, which formed in 1991 and toured actively until 2002, still reunite on occasion, Mcglashan says, but it’s laid back and has more of a reunion feel then a band trying to relive their glory days.
‘‘We’ve all grown up a bit, I think. We sound better. We’ve continued to play music and work on our own music projects; it’s different from other bands who’ve gone off and done other things, don’t play any more, and might harbour a secret desire to go back to the band. It’s not like that for us – we’ve never really stopped.’’
In the 1980s, Mcglashan played with The Front Lawn and Blam Blam Blam before teaming up with guitarist David Long, Ross Burge and and Alan Gregg to become The Mutton Birds in 1991.
Their first, self-titled album went platinum in 1992, as did their next one Salty. Their third album Envy of Angels was recorded in Wales and released worldwide in 1996.
It was their 1997 hit Anchor Me that cemented the band’s fan following, along with their cover of the Wayne Mason’s hit Nature that circulated on radio when their first album was released.
The band lived in Britain and toured extensively throughout the 1990s. They lost David Long and Alan Gregg, who both left the band by 1999. Tony Fisher and Chris Sheehan came on board by the time they released Rain, Steam and Speed and from then the Mutton Birds went on to a tour of Britain.
Now based in Auckland, Mcglashan says the band will play together on occasion – they most famously reunited for the Wellington Lord of the Rings premiere in 2002 – but each enjoy their independence.
‘‘For the band it’s a fantastic place to be. Every musician in Auckland has three or four bands on the go. It’s a generous atmosphere – a lot of musicians wanting to keep playing, not necessarily pinning all their hopes on one band.’’
Twenty years after releasing their first album together, Mcglashan feels the band have earned their touring stripes.
On their second annual winery tour together, they are happy to let the youngsters have their moment as they take a bow and open a bottle of wine to share with the friends and family that frequently tour with them.
Mcglashan says it’s been fun to have his son, Louie, who is also a guitarist and drummer, along on the tour, work- ing as a roadie. Other band members have also had their families travelling certain legs of the tour with them.
The world of New Zealand music is broader with more opportunities for their tour mates Gin Wigmore and Avalanche City, who, he says, all bring a new, fresh and original power to the tour – ‘‘it’s good fun right now; nice being around all the good energy’’. And the best part is that this tour is 100 per cent homegrown.
‘‘It’s all New Zealand bands and that is one of the reasons this is one of the most popular winery tours yet. People are confident that when they go to this gig
‘‘People are confident that when they go to this gig they aren’t going to see something that’s second-rate.’’ Don Mcglashan
they aren’t going to see something that’s second-rate.’’
There is a broader audience for New Zealand musicians that the band didn’t have 15 or 20 years ago, he says. While there was more pressure to work hard to tour and record endlessly, there was also more opportunity, with a rising quota paving the way in the past decade.
‘‘It’s made a big difference – more managers and agents working in the industry.’’
Mcglashan has always done the songwriting for the Mutton Birds, and writes scores for films such as Sione’s Wedding 2. He also wrote Hollie Smith’s breakthrough single Bathe in the River from New Zealand film No 2.
And surprisingly, as far as songwriting goes, there is actually less collaboration involved when he has written for the Mutton Birds.
‘‘With the band, I have always written the songs on my own and then I bring it to the band and everyone talks about how to form the story. When I sit down to write a song I only have my own history and the history of the songs I like.
‘‘When I write scores it is different; you work with more people . . . but it’s still satisfying. I’m still dredging up tunes from the subconscious – just without words.’’
Whatever the song, the goal is to take people on a journey, he says.
‘‘At the end of the day it’s still storytelling.’’