Graeme Downes and Darren Stedman. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
When The Verlaines began playing, New Zealand music was
pretty much a dirty word, especially as far as commercial radio
was concerned.
Verlaines front man Graeme Downes says he could not imagine
the future way back then.
"I enjoyed it and wanted to keep doing it. But when you are
18, 30 years is impossible to comprehend really.
"I decided with the last two (and next) albums to record
under the Verlaines in part to keep the older work alive as
best I can.
" The Verlaines is more of a club than a typical fixed
four-member band these days though. It's the only way it can
operate.
"Darren Stedman and I form one of the longest partnerships in
the band's history and are the continuous core at the moment,
but we use many different players depending on who is
available."
Downes says the band lasting 30 years is no mean feat, all
things considered.
"[It's] A bit of a miracle when six months ahead was as far
as we ever looked ahead in the '80s. It represents a lot of
hard work by a lot of people over the years. It represents a
cosmic fluke; we (the last stable line-up) scattered to the
four corners in 1996 but somehow made it back to roughly the
same place."
Back in the early 1980s, The Verlaines were part of the
rabble-rousing Flying Nun stable of bands, but these days Dr
Graeme Downes teaches contemporary music at the University of
Otago. So does he consider himself to be part of the
Establishment?
"I'm not sure what this means, really. It is all relative,
yes and no."
He was equally noncommittal when asked which bands, or
musicians, we should look out for who have gone through the
university's contemporary music degree.
"I'm not prepared to single out anyone in particular, but yes
they will appear."
Downes says the Verlaines have a very long list of songs from
which to choose for tonight's show.
"It is probably impossible to expect anything. When drawing a
set list up from the number of albums we collectively have
made, it is always going to be difficult.
"The earliest song we're playing was written in January 1981,
the newest in January 2010. A whole bunch from in the middle
somewhere.
"We're promoting Corporate Moronic so there are certainly a
few tracks from that."
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