HW: NZ Herald Online Story - Grandfather rock ticks on

[Neil Ward]

----- Original Message -----
From: <NZ Herald Online>
To: <Neil at fawe.demon.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2000 4:15 PM
Subject: NZ Herald Online Story - Grandfather rock ticks on


> The following story has been sent to you by Neil Price who feels it may be
of interest.
>
> Senders email: elric60 at hotmail.com
>
> Message: Thought you might find this interesting, Cheers, Neil.
>
> ---------------------------
>
> 03/02/00 - Grandfather rock ticks on By GRAHAM REID
>
> Rock 'n' roll can take you a long way, and in the case of Hawkwind, their
three decade-long career has taken them to ... Massey, in West Auckland.
>
> After a nightmare trip from London, during which their plane was diverted
to Honolulu and violinist Simon House was held under armed guard for a 1969
cannabis charge, they are relaxing in a suburban garden, laughing about the
experience and vaguely philosophical about their past and future.
>
> Dave Brock, the sole original member of the band, reflects on 30 years of
rock 'n' roll and admits with a laugh that after a while there was nothing
else he could do. Today Hawkwind "lurches on."
>
> "Sometimes it looks like the end, then something will happen and off we go
again - like being here. A month ago we never thought we'd be here. I don't
know how it happens, people get in touch ..."
>
> He shrugs, and expresses some surprise that they should have become
fashionable with DJs and samplers.
>
> Their brand of sky-scaling space-rock, initially fired by
consciousness-shifting drugs in the late 60s and early 70s, has been cited
by numerous electronica acts, and their swirling keyboard and guitars have
been sampled often. It's fitting that DJ Stinky Jim is on the same bill for
Hawkwind's Powerstation show on Saturday.
>
> "Yeah, we became in vogue - and we're like grandfathers to these people,"
laughs Brock, who turns 59 this year.
>
> Hawkwind's career began in 1969 and their hard-driving, free-form rock
made them regulars on the festival circuit. Sci-fi author Michael Moorcock
was a regular collaborator and at times they sounded like Status Quo on an
astral plane.
>
> Their idiosyncratic blend of styles has seen them hailed as founding
fathers of heavy metal, but one encyclopaedia of rock ruled out easy
pigeonholing by describing them as making "genre-shattering British
psychedelic hard rock, heavy metal, contemporary art rock, sci-fi, post
apocalypse concept music."
>
> Over about 100 albums they have endured numerous line-up changes (notably
losing bassist Lemmy who went off to form Motorhead, and the death of singer
Bob Calvert in 1988) and the occasional throwing-in of the towel.
>
> These days they are still regulars on the festival circuit and later this
year they expect a full reunion of their many members at the Glastonbury
Festival.
>
> Their audience hasn't changed much - "always young men," says House.
>
> "And diehard original fans," adds Brock.
>
> Ahead lie tours of the States and Britain and ... oh, just other things.
>
> When Brock and House talk about Hawkwind, their enjoyment at arriving in a
place like New Zealand ("like Torquay on acid," says House) and taking life
at a leisurely place, you feel they don't take themselves especially
seriously. But they are serious about the music.
>
> Brock has written some music for a recent Oliver Stone movie, they are
involved in writing music for a project involving the MIR satellite to get
kids interested in space, they all have their own home studios, enjoy
touring because you can get out and see places ...
>
> And so, in the Massey backyard, the conversation drifts through a
discussion about the constellation of Orion and Brock's recent reading.
>
> The band gather for a photo and all the while things are filmed for a
documentary on Hawkwind Down Under it is hoped British television will pick
up.
>
> Unpretentious, good-humoured and self-deprecating, Hawkwind look more like
a lifestyle than just a band.
>
> "Music keeps you young," says House with a lop-sided smile.
>
> <b>Who:</b> Hawkwind, with Dooblong Tongdra, Inangafunga <br>
> <b>Where:</b> Waihi Beach Hotel tomorrow; Powerstation (with Stinky Jim)
Saturday.
>
>
>
> ---------------------------
>
> To view more stories please visit the NZ Herald Online at
http://www.nzherald.co.nz
>
>
>
>