Having driven down from the North Island, he arrived in Wānaka the day before St Patrick’s Day and decided to celebrate leading into the Irish celebration.
At about 2am, a helpful New Zealander offered him a job and the rest is history.
"I was in the smoking area in Lalaland, someone offered me a job and sponsorship making aluminum doors.
"He said ‘are you Irish? Do you want a job? I have worked with Irish people before, you are really good’.
"He then asked ‘can you do aluminum architecture and joinery?’ and I was like ‘no’, he then says ‘can you use a power tool?’ and I am like ‘yes’, and he says, ‘you will be fine’."
Tinker, who is now a fulltime musician between Wānaka and Queenstown, had planned on staying about six months, but the job in joinery kept him here and gave him stability.
"I didn’t really get much better at it, but he kept me on."
The 33-year-old is a familiar face around Wānaka’s nightlife, playing live gigs at Cork Bar or Water Bar and dabbling in comedy too.
Having been brought up in Wicklow, Ireland, he said Wānaka reminded him a little of home.
"It is a nice seaside town, a lot like Wānaka. With a lot of wealthy people having holiday homes there. We weren’t on the rich side of it."
Having never dreamed of being a fulltime musician, his musical journey started humbly back home. His father brought him a drum set when he was 12, which he became pretty good at, but it was short lived.
"I was in a band at school doing Blink 182 covers and my neighbours had a baby so I couldn’t play the drums any more. I think my mum was silently happy about that."
She gave him an old Spanish guitar and he became a little addicted.
"Like anyone, your music taste is very narrow as a kid. You just like what you hear on the radio and then I branched out. I like Bob Dylan, I like Bruce Springsteen. When I was going out, the bars were always playing electronics so that has had its influence as well."
Tinker said his older fans likened him to Ronan Keating.
"There was this older Scottish lady who was trying to set me up and in doing so said ‘don’t you think he looks like Ronan Keating?’ The woman didn’t see the likeness."
As all struggling musicians and artists do, he has worked in some colourful industries — a gym instructor, an English teacher in China, aluminum, and last year he was testing out old PlayStation games.
"I met a guy who is selling retro video games through Trade Me. I would look at it and make sure it worked. I would be playing Mario Kart and yeah, for a year."
Tinker’s sound is upbeat and usually rock, but he does throw in some of his own songs when the mood suits.
"If it is a relaxed Sunday afternoon gig I will. But if they are jumping up and down I won’t slow down the mood.
"I never thought it was anything I could make money from. Sometimes I would play at a bar and they would give me free beers and I thought that’s amazing. I never thought I could get actual money out of it.
"Playing music wasn’t even an idea in my head. I thought that’s something other people do, I can’t do that."
Working between music gigs and trades, he became burnt out. He said something had to give.
When he picked up four gigs a week, Tinker took the plunge and began fulltime playing between Queenstown and Wānaka late last year.
"Sometimes I would get home at 2-3am from Queenstown and then I’d have to be up at 6am the next day. I just couldn’t do it."
He said the culture for live music in New Zealand was a lot safer for musicians than back home, because it was not as saturated.
"Bars can afford to shortchange people back home because if you don’t want to do it, there are 50 guys who will."
He plans on getting his citizenship and eventually buying a home somewhere in Central Otago.
"It has always kind of felt a little bit like home.
"I went to see the Lord Of The Rings with my grandma and so there is all that nostalgia for me. It has always felt a little bit like home."
