Three for the road

Dunedin musician John Egenes gets into the New Zealand Music Month spirit with a CD release this week.

"This is my third. This one's number three - Up For Air - although I've produced and played on dozens and dozens of albums for others," he said.

Like many of his Dunedin contemporaries, he recorded the album at the former Radio New Zealand or NZBC studio, in Albany St, which is now attached to the University of Otago.

"[It was] recorded at the university's Albany St studios and at my home studio: Red Planet Land and Cattle Company, in Port Chalmers," the musician and producer, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, said.

Two days were spent laying the basic tracks, before engineer Dale Cotton stepped in to help with various overdubs, performed when people could be enticed into the studio.

"It flew a good many thousand miles away to be mastered," Egenes, a University of Otago music lecturer, said.

"It's mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, Colorado."

Egenes said he had a bit of help with the album.

"There are some great players. Basically, I kept it pretty much acoustic, with the exception of electric bass.

"I was lucky enough to get the Sami Sisters, Haunted Love and Anthony Lander (The Tweeks) to sing on it with me.

"I flew in some tracks from my old pal, Jane Clark, who is a wonderful fiddle player from England.

"Greg Waite, who heads the English department here at Otago, played Irish pipes."

Egenes said his influences came from his homeland and people he had played with.

"Take your pick. My influences are all over the map, from Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, to Bill Monroe and the Louvin Brothers.

"Being a multi-instrumentalist, I've had different musical heroes all my life - songwriters, guitar players, pedal steel players, you name it.

"I've been fortunate enough to play with great musicians throughout my life and it's really a blessing."

After the album-release gig in Dunedin, Egenes is going to ply his trade on the road for a short while.

"I'm doing a short North Island tour right after my CD release party at Chicks, which will take me to Wellington and Auckland.

I haven't toured very much for the past five years, since I've been in New Zealand, though I did do a two-week run around both islands in support of my Crucifixion CD.

"I do get to play with a lot of people here, as a sideman.

I played with Hannah Howes last week, after playing pedal steel, Weissenborn lap guitar and mandolin on her new CD.

Did some tracks on the new Verlaines album coming out shortly and I often record tracks long-distance for artists in the US and in Europe.

I'm looking at doing some festivals in Australia and Europe next year, as a solo artist."

Although reasonably firmly in the folk camp, Egenes is not afraid of taking on new-school technology.

"We're creating an addition to my website [www.johnegenes.com] where people will be able to download my original tracks and remix them to their heart's content.

"They'll have access to the individual tracks off each song, not just the finished song.

"So I'm expecting some interesting results.

"You'll be able to upload your remixes, link them to places like Facebook and MySpace, and have your friends stop by to listen to them.

"There will even be a user-driven forum and rating system.

"Though this isn't new, it will help to bring the folk process into the 21st century.

 

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