Hopefully I can help to inspire others in their endeavours in some way - as many people have done so with me over the years.
Why the term The Mongrel Breed ? well thats a bit of a kiwi (New Zealander) saying for someone of mixed blood, or otherwise known as a "bitsa" (bits a this, bits a that).
I'm into my genealogy research in a big way (there are loads of personal reasons for this), and also being that I am a songwriter/recording artist, it's a moniker I had set aside for my first solo endeavour - whenever I'll get around to putting it together is beyond me, because quite frankly I am not really in any rush to go down the road to solo album status just yet - I am having far too much fun working with other people.
I have previously encorporated the genealogy theme into my musical endeavours (its nice when one's passions can collide like that) having co-written a song with a distant cousin of mine, which wound up on his and his 2 son's album (which reminds me - where's my copy ??? LOL) - additionally I am currently working with my niece on some material as she is quite the talent and has taken to singing like a duck to water, which makes me proud as it means should I decide to hang my boots up at least I still have someone close to whom I can impart some knowledge and hopefully help out in the longterm.
So what have I been up to???
The last few years I have spent working with a remarkable songwriter, musician and producer named Rob Smith (
www.myspace.com/robsmithmuso/ ), I've learnt a lot about myself through working with Rob, he's always been professional, patient and open to ideas from someone who admittedly is less of a musician than he is (and never could I hope to be as accomplished as he is!) but I am also as passionate about his work as what he is. We make a good team and thats precisely what it's all about - being part of a team, no drama queen antics required thanks :-)
It was at Rob and his lovely wife's suggestion that I get off my own ass and put some of my own material together and do something with it - gee I hadn't thought of that! LOL, I had been so busy concentrating on writing for and with other people that I hadn't any thoughts of stepping behind the mic - actually I didn't really think I would have the confidence - but again a good friend can help you to achieve anything I reckon.
It was quite a blessing to then have had the time and inclination to work with Rob in our band GONE WILD (
www.myspace.com/gonewildnz ) thus releasing our debut album "GONE WILD" in 2007, and then the follow-up (a double album nonetheless) "GONE WILD II" in 2009.
One thing I have learnt through working with Rob is that it is okay to put real and just thoughts and feelings into one's own music weither you think it is something people will relate to or not - if you have something you feel is valid to put out there that you know you can live with in 20 years time - then go for it!!! - at the end of the day it is rather surprising as to what people will be able to relate to - usually it is the things that you're most unsure of that people seem to be attracted to, which is kind of weird really. But all in all the biggest thing I have learnt is to enjoy the experiences of writing and recording and all the other stuff that goes along with running one's own label (we have our own independent label, Polar Music New Zealand - which keeps us rather busy).
Whilst Rob is a solo artist, he has also worked with not only myself but with several other writers and recording artists on collaborative projects in the last few years (and indeed has more in the pipeline as I type this) - which again has offered up allsorts of learning curves, mostly ones without pain ! LOL. I think we can justifiably look back on what we have achieved so far from an artistic perspective and know we have done some cool things, both as co-horts, bandmates and individuals as well.
Another chap that I have had an equal amount of pleasure of working with for a number of years is Chris Szkup (
www.myspace.com/eatpopslop ) or (
http://www.cs-songs.com/ )- Chris is an amazing guitarist, but not only that a superb arranger - and he's become not too shabby in the vocal department either. Chris we would have had as a fulltime member of GONE WILD from the start, but he had a solo album that he was working on, which was his dream - so far be it for us to step on the creation of that masterpiece. But ever the gent, Chris made cameo appearances on both GONE WILD albums - adding something really special to every song that he played on too I might add. Recently his debut album "Pieces Of Eternity" was released and it is everything that Chris (and me too!) had hoped it would be - he's been getting great feedback from people and thankfully it's selling too.
Chris and I are currently hard at work (he's working on his 2nd solo album, which it seems Rob and I may be helping out with on a song or two, sorry Chris, the cats out of the bag LOL) writing and recording with some our friends the world over for our collaborative project The Feckers, essentially how this project came about was that we had previously written and recorded a number of tunes - and testament to Chris' belief in our friendship and our songs, he suggested we get these into ship-shape and record an album. So with that we have got some of our friends and family aboard to help out with some cameo's in both the music and vocal department (although we're pegged to sing some stuff ourselves, we wanted to make this a true team affair and not an ego-driven exercise as for us it is all about the music). Once again working on something like this has brought us some real pleasure - and also into some contact with some amazingly talented individuals - some known, most seemingly unknown - for now, trust me there's some amazing performances already in the can!
I look forward to the continued work with both Rob and Chris in the future - I am sure whatever the future holds our paths will continue to cross (we are as yet undecided as to weither there will be a 3rd GONE WILD album or not - if the timings right and the muse is kind then it shall happen), my ears are always open for their work, weither it's something I have had a hand in or not matters not one iota to me really. It is just an absolute pleasure to know that people blessed with their talents are sharing their gifts with others, hopefully all these proverbial kicks in the right direction all these years have been fully worth it :-)
Aside from these projects, I am also branching out and working with various other artists on solo projects that are in the works, some of them completely different to what people might think I would align myself to - but then again Polar Music New Zealand has never been about pigeon-holing ourselves into one set vibe - hopefully 2010 will be a good year and some of these other people's dreams will become their realities too!
I shall use this blog as a means to keep people posted as to what is going on with the different people that I work with, and also to make some shout outs to some friends - hopefully getting them some people interested in their activities as well. Of course it shall also be a place where I may vent - afterall some good stuff comes out of unleashing ones thoughts and not bottling them up (that is how I came into the realm of writing in the first place...)
Anyway thanks for reading and I hope this has been an okay kick-off !
cheers
Richard
