Kiwi keyboard legend Eddie Rayner discusses sonic tinkering, tunes and his track record with Shane Gilchrist.
Reinforcing the perception that keyboardists are often the multi-taskers of a band, Eddie Rayner shows he has skills beyond the ivories.
His wife has forgotten to tell him a group of non-English-speaking Chinese were arriving at their Auckland bed & breakfast, so he's rushing around attempting to accommodate them. Still, as a former musical director for New Zealand Idol, he's probably used to utilising hand signals to get across his message.
The reason for the chat is his new band, the Eddie Rayner Project, and its forthcoming gigs with Mi-Sex, a national mini-tour that includes a concert at Sammy's, Dunedin, next Saturday. Rayner almost grimaces at the name of the group.
He would have preferred The Wonderful Eddie Rayner Project. Given that could have been ''abbreviated to Twerp'', the alternative moniker indicates that although the Split Enz keyboard player, composer and producer takes his music seriously, he's more than happy to take the mickey out of himself and his mates.
In the case of the Eddie Rayner Project, those mates comprise Rikki Morris, Pat Kuhtze, Jim Hall and Ed Gaiger, who will be playing songs they have had a role in creating ''plus a few choice covers''.
The call to support a re-formed Mi-Sex, a Kiwi new wave outfit that had a string of hits in 1980s, including Computer Games and Space Race, came out of the blue, Rayner says.
''This is a brand-new band. We want to get some new songs together but at the moment our repertoire includes some Split Enz stuff, which I reckon we play better than they did.''
Ouch.
''Yeah, that'll get back,'' Rayner concedes with a laugh, adding there will probably be a sprinkling of material from his solo career, too.
His excellent and lasting work with Split Enz notwithstanding, Rayner has an enviable CV that includes Space Waltz, Paul McCartney, The Orb, Crowded House and the Exponents; he has also released various solo albums, produced numerous other albums as well as composed orchestral arrangements of Enz songs that resulted in concerts and two albums with the NZSO; late last year, he organised a series of concerts titled ''ENZO: Stranger Than Fiction'', leading a 15-piece group through a range of Spilt Enz material.
''That was the last big live thing I did,'' he says, referring to the Stranger Than Fiction concerts in Ponsonby.
''It worked remarkably well. I would have loved to have taken it around the country, but it was difficult to do financially.''
Ah, hence the B&B?
''I don't make a lot of money from music, really. I get a bit from royalties but that withers away over the years. Music is the only thing I've ever done. I've never had a proper job as such.
''But I guess I have a broad skill set, so I can produce, engineer and mix. I do a lot of mixing these days. I spend a lot of time in my studio at home. It's the thing I probably enjoy the most.''
The image of Rayner tinkering away in some dim room brings to mind a line from a Tom Waits song: ''What's he building in there?''
''It is really neat when I can take rough tracks someone might have sent me and polish them up.
''However, I do love playing live with other people. I think Neil Finn is documented as having said one of the things about playing live is that it brings out the best in people because they are often trying to impress the other musicians. It can also bring out different flavours in your musicianship.
''Collaboration, for me, is very important. Sitting around by yourself can be ... hmm, what's the word ... stultifying, really.''
This offers a logical exploration of a couple of quotes. One is from Neil Finn, who once said a song only really comes to life when audience members seize it as their own; the other is from Neil's older brother, Tim, who claimed the mere process of sitting down at an instrument was an artistically valid exercise in and of itself.
''I know exactly where Neil is coming from and I agree with him on one level. But I also agree with Tim in that you can sit at home and come up with something; it's like you are given a little gift out of the ether. But when you go out and perform it, that does give it another life, too.''
A foot in both camps, then?
''Yeah. Well, the audience just might take something completely different from what you think you are giving them.''
Some would argue the essence of Rayner's ability lies in his sonic exploration. Take Split Enz classic I Got You. Sure, the chugging guitar and drums drive the song, but it is the thin, reedy and melancholic keyboard line that really lifts the verses. Or I See Red: frenetic guitars and rhythm section aside, Rayner's in-your-face organ phrases are only bettered by his crazy piano break.
That attention to detail earned him a nickname among his Split Enz band-mates: the Prof.
''I was the guy who'd sit in the corner and just muck around.''
In an article on his Elsewhere website late last year, respected music commentator Graham Reid mentioned he felt uneasy about appending Split Enz to Rayner's name (as in Eddie Rayner, of Split Enz). It's an interesting point: has Rayner felt limited by his long-time connection to New Zealand's groundbreaking pop act? Or, in fact, has it opened doors to a wider musical world?
''Well, you could say it has been quite helpful to have that connection. I was never much into self-promotion, pushing Eddie Rayner on the world, so to speak. I'm really proud of my work in Split Enz and of the band's achievements.
''It was a huge part of my life. I was in the band for 13 years, but was away from New Zealand for about 20 years overall when you include Crowded House.
''But they don't continue to define me, at least not in my mind. If I talk to someone from Telecom, sorry Spark, they'll say, `Is that Eddie Rayner from Split Enz?' I understand that, but I continue to do other things.''
Such as (the wonderful?) Eddie Rayner Project, featuring that guy who used to play keyboards in Split Enz.
- The Eddie Rayner Project supports Mi-Sex at Sammy's, Dunedin, on Saturday, August 30.
