Wellingtonian Profile: Mad About Music camp for everyone; they all wanted to go into social work or become policy advisers. When did you become involved professionally with the music industry? When I was at Transport, a job came up for an advisory officer at the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council (now Creative New Zealand). I applied for it and got it.
Z on Air music manager Brendan Smyth (19541968) talks about missing out on seeing The Beatles, working in the public service and his affection for Shihad.
Wasn't the council mostly involved in funding and promoting the fine arts? There was a small group working on music and I was running that section. I got to know a lot of people through the job, so when I came across to NZ On Air it was an easy transition.
Were you always interested in music? Ever since The Beatles. The first record I bought was The Beatles. I was born in 1950 and was 13 when The Beatles came here. I was a teenager and just discovering music.
What was your first job with NZ On Air? NZ On Air was just being set up in 1989 and I came on board as the radio manager. It was all about getting more New Zealand music played on commercial radio stations.
Did you see them play in Wellington? I was boarding at Wellington College – it was a boarding school then – and we were not allowed out. So we climbed the top of Mt Vic to watch their motorcade come in from the airport. Meanwhile, our housemaster, who we thought was quite square, went to see them perform. That was one of the greatest injustices of the world.
How much New Zealand music were commercial stations playing back then? Back in the 90s a survey was done to find out how much New Zealand music was played on air. It was just under 2 per cent. Now it's about 20 per cent.
Old Boys in the News
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You never studied music. What did you do at university? I started a law degree at Victoria. That did not work out happily at all, so I ended up studying philosophy. Our philosophy lecturer said there would never be "situations vacant" ads for philosophers, but it still served me well. I was able to get a job straight out of university. Wasn't your first job with the Ministry of Transport? When I finished university the public service was employing just about every graduate going. They didn't care if you had a philosophy degree. A degree of any sort was fine. So I started out with the Ministry of Transport. What was that like? It wasn't that inspiring. It was basically a transit
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n June, this year, retired Deputy Principal, Mike Pallin - now our International Students’ Director, hosted a function for our Thai Old Boys, in Bangkok. Joining him [far right photo] included Den Wasiksiri (1967-72) [left] and his brother Dow Wasiksiri (1969-73). Just last month, Nikhom Tantemsapya (19571959) visited the College. Nikhom moved to New Zealand when his father set up the Thai Embassy. In the early 1980s, Nikhom himself became the Thai Ambassador, based here in Wellington. Now retired and living in Bangkok, he returned to New Zealand for the opening of the new Thai Embassy in Thorndon. 54 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011
You were involved with establishing New Zealand Music Week. A group of us had formed the Kiwi Music Action Group and music week was one of our ideas. Everyone involved was very nervous about that week, because we were not sure if it was a naff idea or a cool idea. But a programmer from one of the big commercial stations said he had been really humbled by it. Now it has morphed into NZ Music Month. A week just was not long enough. And now so many organisations have become involved, from Hallensteins and their music month T-shirts to local libraries staging events. What was it like to be made a Member of the Order of New Zealand for services to music? The investiture was at Government House and was an amazing experience. I was in the company of
people who had done great things, from brain surgeons to those who had contributed to their local community. It was very humbling. What up-and-coming band should we look out for? Family Cactus. They're from Wellington, play altfolk-rock and deserve our support, because they are really good. Shihad is one of your favourite bands. Why? Shihad and NZ On Air have grown up together. We were involved with their first video and we've been involved ever since. I love those boys and see them as friends. I love that we have been behind them since the beginning. I'm looking forward to Jon Toogood's new record. You love music. Were you ever in a band? No, not really. I've been in a music video, Bliss, by The Dudes. It was shot at the Cricketers' Arms. I'm the hippy with bushy hair at the front of the video. I didn't actually know it was being filmed at the time. I had just gone along to see The Dudes, who were the hot new band in town. Describe Wellington's music scene. There's a really cool scene happening here, much of it centred round Mighty Mighty bar. There's an alt-country-folk thing going on at the moment. Before that, it was dub – Fat Freddy's and The Black Seeds, which are both still very much alive and going strong. Wellington is a very integrated [music] scene. People turn up in each other's bands all the time. Other than music, what keeps you in Wellington? I went to Lyall Bay School, Wellington College and Vic Uni. My life is Wellington. I live in Wellywood, literally, in Strathmore. I go to Miramar New World and I'll see some Hobbits. I wouldn't live anywhere else. The Wellingtonian NB: Brendan’s brother Roger is Class of 1969 and his son Harry is currently in Y12.
Sawatdee Khrab