May 12, 2026 • 11 mins
Its Music Time with James Irwin!
It's another week of NZ music month, James and Nick chat a new record label based in Wellington - check it out at strawberryjampromotions.com.
Then they talk Tom Scott of Homebrew fame who blew Wellington away last Friday and the opening of musical & Juliet on Saturday.
Plus, what are the most recognisable Kiwi songs? James shares his office survey results.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said b Higgs new releases and keeping
tabs on local artists his music time on Wellington Mornings.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Okay, time to talk music with our music man, James Irwin.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
James E.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's the second week of New Zealand Music Month. What
do you got for us?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Well, it's it's all on. There's so many gigs happening
around the Capitol, which I'm loving and funny enough, I
actually spied Grace at a gig that we were both
at across a pack Mewnwie Friday night, Tom Scott just played.
He's from Avondale Bowling Club. We've talked about him before.
He does. He was in the band called Homebrew. He's
a rapper. He's done some really interesting stuff and he's
(00:54):
got a new album out called an Anida. And it
was a wet, wet Friday night, just gone. But I
was going to say, what did you think, Grace?
Speaker 5 (01:04):
Yeah, it was poor trying to get in, but I
mean overall it was just made all his back up,
his saxophonist, just insane vibes. Crowd was all ages, just
everyone dancing and when he got in like the flow
of things and just did freestyle like at the end,
his whole band disperse. Yeah yeah, he just had everyone
in the palm of his hand.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah, he meant to one thing that Nickole loved. Louis
Baker turned up at the concert, I mean the other night. Yeah, yeah,
so he he showed up. He played the last one
of the last songs and they played a Gil Scott
Heron song, which was awesome. Just a terrific night, wasn't
it great?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I mean, just great vibes, electric, amazing, actually totally.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
And then I've been to a few things lately. I
also caught and juliet the musical member of Yeah, Yeah,
well I see it. I hate musicals and yeah, yeah,
look no, no, it's a yes. I really liked the music.
It's pumping music. Again. I saw Grace right across. She
was in the expensive seats. I was in the cheeks
in the back. Yeah, the bees down the back exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
She took Oh, I'm going to find out about that.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
And Juliette, you know, like, I'm not a lover of musicals,
but if you want to go along to a fun,
fun old night, you know, it's at the Saint James
for the twenty fourth of May. It's great. You guys
had them and I didn't realize that, so I don't
need to really promote it. They've probably promoted themselves. I
just thought it was it was a good fun night.
And for a guy who doesn't like musicals, I had
a good time this song you were. They're doing like
(02:33):
Britney Spears songs, they're doing Katie Pierry songs. It's it's
just fun. It's you know, like it's why I don't
get back to the yea. Let's get on, let's get
onto music. So hey, I want to talk about these
guys who are doing something pretty cool and Wellington and
they're from a company called Strawberry Jam Promotions. They're playing
thirty one bands and thirty one thirty one local bands
(02:54):
and thirty one unusual locations across the city for the
next thirty one months. So they're putting them up on video.
You can check there. We'll put the links on on
the website afterwards. You can check them out of Strawberry
Jam Promotions dot com. And like they've had stuff at
they've had live video. So I think they're also that
they had to do it within ninety minutes or within
(03:16):
an hour. So the band sets up, they record them,
they make a video, the guys go back Edison and
then they put it up online. So there's been some
cool ones. There's one up at Treetops Skatepark in Newtown
where kind of punky emo band played. Been down at
the Waterfront. There's been a few obviously, you know, sort
of Newtown or Mount Cook Flats where bands are playing
(03:36):
in someone's bedroom. But the two cool ones that I
really dig at the moment, we'll have a listen. One
was recorded the fit. Let's have a listen now. So
this is called Sterling Hearn And this was recorded at
Cuba Barbers in Cuba Street, and it's all types of music.
(03:58):
These are some older fellas in the next band, this
is Bog. This is recorded all I'm pretty sure they're
Willington or Wellington adjacent bands. This is an ile too
of Fresh Choice Tuba Street. You know the old It
was originally real groovy record. Yeah, yeah, that's what I
remember it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
I remember as real Gvy records as well.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Hey, so good on you guys. I think the guy
who runs at Ryan Kenton. It all came out of
covid and he said he wanted to connect music with community,
and he didn't you know, Yes, it's videos. So if
you go and check out Strawberry Jam Promotions dot com.
They're also on all the sort of socials so if
you search that, you'll find them on Instagram, TikTok and YadA,
YadA YadA. It's just really cool. I mean, that'd be
(04:42):
interesting guys to get in and have a Checkcuse I
think they're doing something interesting for New Zealand music that's really,
you know, just really cool. And it's it's uplifted. It's
not it's not the she Hads, it's not the it's
not the split Ends. They're uplifting young bands and old
bands who you know, just give them a bit of publicity.
So I was totally I've been totally digging that. What
else did I want to talk about? Two new record
(05:05):
shops have opened and Wellington in the last couple of weeks,
and one is called Octoherbs. It's an R Valley. It's
next to Vuilda's Jewelers. It's kind of diagoning across from
the original super Et in R Valley, which everyone.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Knows, and it's a bar as well.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
That's a bar and kind of cafe bar and and
uh and it's got a record shop out the back,
and they've done it really. The one thing I love
about the record shop is that all the records are
in these crates and I imagine they the crates shut
at night and lock up and they're almost like high
leaner bars, so you can kind of then I imagine
people will gravitate out of the back.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And they wouldn't have people drinking on top of the record.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Well, no, it's completely enclosed in wood, so I would
imagine that's how it's working. I'm not one hundred scent
sure it's it's it's a pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
It's been a lot of publicity about the time it
took them to get their license.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah, yeah, I think they've taken a long time to
get there. And the other one is a record shop
in called Over the Hill Records. It's in Left Bank,
which is, you know, halfway up Cuba Street, and that's
kind of it's there. They're blurbers that it's you know,
like a record nerd shop, so they're into kind of
(06:15):
they're specializing in a lot of metal music, doom kind
of probably the heaviest stuff, but also cult.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Christ to ask come about our listeners to probably thinking,
is it do you reckon that music shops might come back?
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah, well I think they're back. We've got five record
shops and Wellington now and then we've got Low Costs
Records and but Tony and we've got Wonderland Records and
why Matter. So that's seven record shops for a small region,
you know, considering when I went to Honolulu, they only
had one record shop in the whole city.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Do you remember Chelsea Records?
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yeah, Chelsea Records, Yeah, yeah, I remember there were some
great we had great and Silvio's. Silvio's when I first
came to town. That was that floated around a couple
of locations around Cuba and Garsney Streets. So I just
think that's really cool that there's so you know, pop
into those record shops and have a nosy. It might
they might have something that you love. Also, the other
one on record shops, creeps, we talked about a couple
(07:02):
of weeks ago in Newtown they got pretty badly flooded.
They're back open. I've been in and sat Uppera in
the weekend. You know, like he's just looking for customers
to come in. He's got a whole lot of new
stuff and a whole lot of sickond hand stuff that
he's put out, and he's you know, trying to make
up I suppose for a couple of he was shut
for nearly two and a half weeks, so looking to
you know, cover his rent and all those things. So
(07:23):
if you like records and you like music, go and
support your local records shop. This is you know, Yeah,
so totally. Hey, Now, I did a poll of polls,
not like The Herald's political one, but it's a musical one.
And I went round the office and asked everyone what
is the quintus? You know, if I said to you,
what's the quintessential New Zealand song? Have you got anything
(07:43):
that springs into your head?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Share them Moana Marie. Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
And that's two people out in the office of that.
And I had that in my top two as well.
I reckon that's a quintessential.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Because it was when we were all growing up. Yeah,
it was John Rowles.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It's even before my era. But but I remember being
being played so much at you know, when you go
to other people's periods straight.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Off the cup. Yeah, I didn't know that you were
going to ask.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Me no, no, exactly. So so I wonder if all
listeners think about what that quintessential song was, maybe texting
if you've got a quintessential New Zealand song, here is
a sampler. I haven't got all the all of them
in there. The list was huge, I've got you know,
but here's a sampler of what our office en zed
me think is the quintessential New Zealand song.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I'll tell you I'll say this to.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Slightly Heaven.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Yeah, this is this has to be out ye but Gringer,
there we go, black scenes, April Son, they're all right
(08:51):
away exponents stadium song.
Speaker 7 (08:58):
Described I can't begre when many oh yeah? And this
next and I reckon you hear this?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Oh you could be that I reckon. You could be
anywhere in the world at a concert. And if someone
yelled out across the hall too dead to mine e
we someone someone who's keyw didn't matter if they were five,
you know, stories up in the venue, They'll be like,
oh what, yeah, I reckon. So there's no there's no
right or wrong. Hopefully one of what we think is
(09:33):
that you know, in our music polar polls. Our song
is for you. But if you've you know.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Can you do me a favorite?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Can you find out for the next time we're on
or one of the times before we end up May
Of the five biggest selling.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
The biggest selling songs, I'll tell you one that's a huge.
One is a Prince tewey Teka. He sold over fifty
thousand copies of the names escapes me. It's not he
the call, but it was the other It was a
Maldi song and I know that sold fifty thousand copies
and that was in seventy four seventy five when we
didn't really have I don't think artists now sell you know,
(10:08):
if you sat a thousand, now that's huge.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, so I suppose that doesn't.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
But yeah, but I'll try and find out our biggest songs. Yeah, okay,
So do you want to gigs? Solarosa sixth, the June
San fran Marlon Williams two nights, twenty third and twenty
ninth to May Beast Wars if you like the old
Chuck a Chucker Chucker. They're supporting American band but called
chat Pile. But you know Wellingtonian's Light Beast Wars so
(10:32):
go along and support Beast Wars the Vales fourth of
July at Meil NUIs shape Shift to twenty third of
July and this Friday. If you want something local, local
ten Bucks the Newtown Community Hall. We've got Ideira Tragedies
and Dip Low Poder and they are gonna be playing
post punk, trip hop, solo, indie grunge and Arn't Noise.
That will be a treat in Newtown.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Oh gosh, take a break.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I'm gonna I'm gonna give a couple of texts now
definitely Bliss, sol Poiers is Alex Shiramana, John wrote Little Spout,
John rolls his little sister.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yes, there's plenty of texts coming through.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said b Higgs new releases and keeping
tabs on local artists his music time on Wellington Mornings.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Okay, time to talk music with our music man, James Irwin.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
James E.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's the second week of New Zealand Music Month. What
do you got for us?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Well, it's it's all on. There's so many gigs happening
around the Capitol, which I'm loving and funny enough, I
actually spied Grace at a gig that we were both
at across a pack Mewnwie Friday night, Tom Scott just played.
He's from Avondale Bowling Club. We've talked about him before.
He does. He was in the band called Homebrew. He's
a rapper. He's done some really interesting stuff and he's
(00:54):
got a new album out called an Anida. And it
was a wet, wet Friday night, just gone. But I
was going to say, what did you think, Grace?
Speaker 5 (01:04):
Yeah, it was poor trying to get in, but I
mean overall it was just made all his back up,
his saxophonist, just insane vibes. Crowd was all ages, just
everyone dancing and when he got in like the flow
of things and just did freestyle like at the end,
his whole band disperse. Yeah yeah, he just had everyone
in the palm of his hand.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah, he meant to one thing that Nickole loved. Louis
Baker turned up at the concert, I mean the other night. Yeah, yeah,
so he he showed up. He played the last one
of the last songs and they played a Gil Scott
Heron song, which was awesome. Just a terrific night, wasn't
it great?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I mean, just great vibes, electric, amazing, actually totally.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
And then I've been to a few things lately. I
also caught and juliet the musical member of Yeah, Yeah,
well I see it. I hate musicals and yeah, yeah,
look no, no, it's a yes. I really liked the music.
It's pumping music. Again. I saw Grace right across. She
was in the expensive seats. I was in the cheeks
in the back. Yeah, the bees down the back exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
She took Oh, I'm going to find out about that.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
And Juliette, you know, like, I'm not a lover of musicals,
but if you want to go along to a fun,
fun old night, you know, it's at the Saint James
for the twenty fourth of May. It's great. You guys
had them and I didn't realize that, so I don't
need to really promote it. They've probably promoted themselves. I
just thought it was it was a good fun night.
And for a guy who doesn't like musicals, I had
a good time this song you were. They're doing like
(02:33):
Britney Spears songs, they're doing Katie Pierry songs. It's it's
just fun. It's you know, like it's why I don't
get back to the yea. Let's get on, let's get
onto music. So hey, I want to talk about these
guys who are doing something pretty cool and Wellington and
they're from a company called Strawberry Jam Promotions. They're playing
thirty one bands and thirty one thirty one local bands
(02:54):
and thirty one unusual locations across the city for the
next thirty one months. So they're putting them up on video.
You can check there. We'll put the links on on
the website afterwards. You can check them out of Strawberry
Jam Promotions dot com. And like they've had stuff at
they've had live video. So I think they're also that
they had to do it within ninety minutes or within
(03:16):
an hour. So the band sets up, they record them,
they make a video, the guys go back Edison and
then they put it up online. So there's been some
cool ones. There's one up at Treetops Skatepark in Newtown
where kind of punky emo band played. Been down at
the Waterfront. There's been a few obviously, you know, sort
of Newtown or Mount Cook Flats where bands are playing
(03:36):
in someone's bedroom. But the two cool ones that I
really dig at the moment, we'll have a listen. One
was recorded the fit. Let's have a listen now. So
this is called Sterling Hearn And this was recorded at
Cuba Barbers in Cuba Street, and it's all types of music.
(03:58):
These are some older fellas in the next band, this
is Bog. This is recorded all I'm pretty sure they're
Willington or Wellington adjacent bands. This is an ile too
of Fresh Choice Tuba Street. You know the old It
was originally real groovy record. Yeah, yeah, that's what I
remember it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
I remember as real Gvy records as well.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Hey, so good on you guys. I think the guy
who runs at Ryan Kenton. It all came out of
covid and he said he wanted to connect music with community,
and he didn't you know, Yes, it's videos. So if
you go and check out Strawberry Jam Promotions dot com.
They're also on all the sort of socials so if
you search that, you'll find them on Instagram, TikTok and YadA,
YadA YadA. It's just really cool. I mean, that'd be
(04:42):
interesting guys to get in and have a Checkcuse I
think they're doing something interesting for New Zealand music that's really,
you know, just really cool. And it's it's uplifted. It's
not it's not the she Hads, it's not the it's
not the split Ends. They're uplifting young bands and old
bands who you know, just give them a bit of publicity.
So I was totally I've been totally digging that. What
else did I want to talk about? Two new record
(05:05):
shops have opened and Wellington in the last couple of weeks,
and one is called Octoherbs. It's an R Valley. It's
next to Vuilda's Jewelers. It's kind of diagoning across from
the original super Et in R Valley, which everyone.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Knows, and it's a bar as well.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
That's a bar and kind of cafe bar and and
uh and it's got a record shop out the back,
and they've done it really. The one thing I love
about the record shop is that all the records are
in these crates and I imagine they the crates shut
at night and lock up and they're almost like high
leaner bars, so you can kind of then I imagine
people will gravitate out of the back.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And they wouldn't have people drinking on top of the record.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Well, no, it's completely enclosed in wood, so I would
imagine that's how it's working. I'm not one hundred scent
sure it's it's it's a pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
It's been a lot of publicity about the time it
took them to get their license.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah, yeah, I think they've taken a long time to
get there. And the other one is a record shop
in called Over the Hill Records. It's in Left Bank,
which is, you know, halfway up Cuba Street, and that's
kind of it's there. They're blurbers that it's you know,
like a record nerd shop, so they're into kind of
(06:15):
they're specializing in a lot of metal music, doom kind
of probably the heaviest stuff, but also cult.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Christ to ask come about our listeners to probably thinking,
is it do you reckon that music shops might come back?
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah, well I think they're back. We've got five record
shops and Wellington now and then we've got Low Costs
Records and but Tony and we've got Wonderland Records and
why Matter. So that's seven record shops for a small region,
you know, considering when I went to Honolulu, they only
had one record shop in the whole city.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Do you remember Chelsea Records?
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yeah, Chelsea Records, Yeah, yeah, I remember there were some
great we had great and Silvio's. Silvio's when I first
came to town. That was that floated around a couple
of locations around Cuba and Garsney Streets. So I just
think that's really cool that there's so you know, pop
into those record shops and have a nosy. It might
they might have something that you love. Also, the other
one on record shops, creeps, we talked about a couple
(07:02):
of weeks ago in Newtown they got pretty badly flooded.
They're back open. I've been in and sat Uppera in
the weekend. You know, like he's just looking for customers
to come in. He's got a whole lot of new
stuff and a whole lot of sickond hand stuff that
he's put out, and he's you know, trying to make
up I suppose for a couple of he was shut
for nearly two and a half weeks, so looking to
you know, cover his rent and all those things. So
(07:23):
if you like records and you like music, go and
support your local records shop. This is you know, Yeah,
so totally. Hey, Now, I did a poll of polls,
not like The Herald's political one, but it's a musical one.
And I went round the office and asked everyone what
is the quintus? You know, if I said to you,
what's the quintessential New Zealand song? Have you got anything
(07:43):
that springs into your head?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Share them Moana Marie. Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
And that's two people out in the office of that.
And I had that in my top two as well.
I reckon that's a quintessential.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Because it was when we were all growing up. Yeah,
it was John Rowles.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It's even before my era. But but I remember being
being played so much at you know, when you go
to other people's periods straight.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Off the cup. Yeah, I didn't know that you were
going to ask.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Me no, no, exactly. So so I wonder if all
listeners think about what that quintessential song was, maybe texting
if you've got a quintessential New Zealand song, here is
a sampler. I haven't got all the all of them
in there. The list was huge, I've got you know,
but here's a sampler of what our office en zed
me think is the quintessential New Zealand song.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I'll tell you I'll say this to.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Slightly Heaven.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Yeah, this is this has to be out ye but Gringer,
there we go, black scenes, April Son, they're all right
(08:51):
away exponents stadium song.
Speaker 7 (08:58):
Described I can't begre when many oh yeah? And this
next and I reckon you hear this?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Oh you could be that I reckon. You could be
anywhere in the world at a concert. And if someone
yelled out across the hall too dead to mine e
we someone someone who's keyw didn't matter if they were five,
you know, stories up in the venue, They'll be like,
oh what, yeah, I reckon. So there's no there's no
right or wrong. Hopefully one of what we think is
(09:33):
that you know, in our music polar polls. Our song
is for you. But if you've you know.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Can you do me a favorite?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Can you find out for the next time we're on
or one of the times before we end up May
Of the five biggest selling.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
The biggest selling songs, I'll tell you one that's a huge.
One is a Prince tewey Teka. He sold over fifty
thousand copies of the names escapes me. It's not he
the call, but it was the other It was a
Maldi song and I know that sold fifty thousand copies
and that was in seventy four seventy five when we
didn't really have I don't think artists now sell you know,
(10:08):
if you sat a thousand, now that's huge.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, so I suppose that doesn't.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
But yeah, but I'll try and find out our biggest songs. Yeah, okay,
So do you want to gigs? Solarosa sixth, the June
San fran Marlon Williams two nights, twenty third and twenty
ninth to May Beast Wars if you like the old
Chuck a Chucker Chucker. They're supporting American band but called
chat Pile. But you know Wellingtonian's Light Beast Wars so
(10:32):
go along and support Beast Wars the Vales fourth of
July at Meil NUIs shape Shift to twenty third of
July and this Friday. If you want something local, local
ten Bucks the Newtown Community Hall. We've got Ideira Tragedies
and Dip Low Poder and they are gonna be playing
post punk, trip hop, solo, indie grunge and Arn't Noise.
That will be a treat in Newtown.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Oh gosh, take a break.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I'm gonna I'm gonna give a couple of texts now
definitely Bliss, sol Poiers is Alex Shiramana, John wrote Little Spout,
John rolls his little sister.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yes, there's plenty of texts coming through.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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