Fazioli Piano

A Home Studio to die for:

My great friend Nunzio Mondia from Perth Western Australia has created a masterpiece.

Normally a masterpiece for Nunzio is a composition carefully structured on his Fazioli piano. However he has gone one step further and built a state of the art recording studio behind his home.

Nunzio was able to obtain council permission to build something in my humble opinion which could rival most commercial recording studios anywhere in the world. The attention to detail is beyond belief, the materials used are astounding and above all I can honestly say I have never experienced sound anywhere as I have in that environment.

The main live room has a presence to it like nothing I have ever personally witnessed, despite spending my life in the audio business, the attention to lighting as well as the great smell of gorgeous Australian timbers really adds to the excitement. I was fortunate enough to experience the control room before any commercial sound gear had been installed only a stereo unit, comprising of a pair of Spendor powered loudspeakers fed by a basic Pioneer CD player with a recording of Elvis Presley completely blew my mind. Sitting in what hifi enthusiasts would call “The Sweet Spot” created a feeling and sensation that Elvis had definitely not left the building. He was there in person, and anyone with their eyes closed would have truly imagined the same. A few well known artists have already been privy to a visit and none have left without being overwhelmed at the effort, thought, creativity, workmanship and genius dedicated to this project. The design itself was created by Nunzio as was a great deal of the construction and hard labour. Many good people providing their skills, assistance and generosity can feel very honored to be involved in such a project.

This is not only a credit to Nunzio but a statement to the audio industry that music production is absolutely alive and well. The ideas being created for the way this masterpiece will be used is surely going to open some eyes all over the world. Great artists will certainly perform here, (some already have). The picture was taken of me through a window looking into the main live room. The Fazioli piano sits there in all of it’s glory and will no doubt provide enormous pleasure to many people for years to come.

Nunzio Mondia

 

Cliff Richard

Logan Campbell Centre

 

Here is one of the best photos I took in the days of film. This was the Cliff Richard concert at Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland 1991.

During this tour I took some great photos and also took the guys from the band out into the Auckland harbour, out to Waiheke and around the gulf with Greg Fenwick from Yamaha Motors.
More info coming soon

Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Midge Marsden
Midge Marsden

Midge Marsden

Auckland Jazz and Blues club excelled themselves on Tuesday June 13th 2017. Their venue at the RSA in Pt Chevalier Auckland hosted a true New Zealand Icon Midge Marsden and his blues band. Unfortunately I had never seen Midge live on stage in the early days and last night realized just what I had missed over the years. His ability to sing and play blues is second to none, his enthusiasm for the genre is inspiring and he has put together the most professional stage presentation.

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steve mitchell

The Human Kindness Band reside in Nelson New Zealand.
One sensational group comprising of:
Bruce McGregor, Drums; Glynn Olsen, Lead Guitar; Steve Mitchell, Vocals, Slide Guitar, Guitar; Danny Sugar, Bass.

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Maidment Theatre

It is with deep sadness I have to announce this very bad news. It appears as our wonderful Maidment Theatre in Auckland has been closed.

This is nothing short of a disaster and all I can say it I am so glad we were able to have the Hank Marvin Gypsy Jazz group play there on November 20th 2015. It appears the theatre is an earthquake risk and at this stage we are not certain if it will reopen. There is no doubt this was one of the very best artistic theaters in this country and we are devastated about this news.

Below is a letter send out by Lester MaCrath general Manager.

 

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2013 was the very first tour of New Zealand by the Hank Marvin Gypsy Jazz Ensemble. Before the tour took place Neil Collins from Radio Dunedin had the opportunity to interview Hank on the telephone before the tour.

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  • Click on the audio file above to listen.
  • Hear Hank with his typical dry sense of humour.
  • Once again a piece of history we are privileged to listen to;
  • The tour was presented and organized by Gray Bartlett

If it was not for Gray Bartlett and his generosity I would have never met hank Marvin and I would have not had the opportinty to take great photos and video of the concerts. The day Gray phoned me at the beginning of 2013 and informed me of his intention to promote the tour just floored me. What has gone on since has been a dream come true.

  • I met Hank Marvin for the first time in 2013.
  • My involvement during that tour was another dream that came true.
  • 2015 was a fantastic year as I got personally involved with touring both Australia and New Zealand with hank and the boys;
  • It continues to happen. We make our own luck do we not?

 

inspiration

YES YOU CAN DO IT

Most people believe “It can’t be done” How many times do you hear someone say that? Almost daily if you listen. No wonder many people are doomed to fail. Many of us give up and settle for a lot less in life than we could have, on the other side of the coin many of us just work too hard believing we need a lot more than we really do. After a very rough start in life; living in a small coal mining village in New Zealand, receiving a very poor education, I was able to carve out a spectacular career. Despite failing all the exams at Huntly College, New Zealand, despite the wasted three miserable years there I was able to retire at 50 years old. Yes I had the help of many good people along the way plus self determination and I escaped working in a coal mine and made some interesting experiences happen.

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