Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Lyttelton Legend Al Park Releases 'Pony' - First Album In Over 20 Years
'Pony', Al Park’s
long-awaited follow-up to 1999’s 'Human Thing' is finally
here. And boy has he been some places in the meantime.
Mostly inside his own head, exploring past loves and
excitedly lurching towards future
endeavours. You’ve heard
California, the sunny centre of the musical umbrella
that Pony is spread across, you’ve heard Running Away
From A Broken Heart - the country ballad that reaches
across to the far side of the umbrella, While the first
track, Friend of Mine, takes you on a soaring journey
on a warm ''It has a retro
sound that covers my history in music-Tom Petty, Rolling
Stones,Steve Earle, Bob Dylan-they're all lurking in the
grooves of this album. If you grew up in the late 20th
century then this is for you. If you're a 21st-century
citizen then let me take you back in
time'' It has been said that Al Park was
the first guy to bring punk music to Otautahi….. man, if
that all wasn’t enough, some tunes on PONY sound more like
an indie-rock stomper from Dunedin circa -’84. 27th May - The Loons, Lyttelton - Album
Release Party 3rd June - Donovans Store,
Okarito - with Unknown Legends (free show)
bed of guitar feedback to the other
side.
You’ll find everything else in between
across the album's other 7 tracks,
and it all manages to
cruise Al’s long, rich history of songwriting while at the
same time, cohesively
Waves of
warm guitar feedback,
rich Beach Boys-eque walls of
harmonies,
country fiddle and lead guitar twang
intertwining and
intersecting at the
crossroads,
Rolling Stones boogies and Howlin' Wolf
stomps,
Dylanesque whispers through the backroads and the
swamp,
put that all together, and what more could you
want? Produced by Adam
Hattaway & Elmore Jones, Pony is now available on all
streaming platforms and compact
disc. Al Park - Upcoming
Live Shows
with special guests; Adam Mcgrath, Jess
Shanks, Adam Hattaway, Tess Liautaud & Frankie
Daly.
Tickets
at Undertheradar.co.nz
4th
June - Barrytown Settlers Hall, Barrytown - with Unknown
Legends
5th June - Reefton Club, Reefton - with Unknown
Legends
With special guest Tash
Goodwin
(Tickets available on the
door)
Al Park
In Christchurch, if you’ve been around music,
as a fan, as a player,
or as a business then you know Al
Park. If you spend 10 minutes in public with him, you’ll
have ten different hellos coming his way, from head nods to
hour-long debates, everyone knows him to say hi
to.
Those close to him know his influence as well.
There’s probably (and thankfully) an Al in most towns and
cities but for those of us in chch we know him from
everywhere:
From his early punk days in Vapour and the
Trails and the founder of seminal (first and initially only)
Punk venue ‘Mollet St.’,
- To playing the pimp in The
Exponents video for ‘Victoria’
- To packing every
venue in town with the Latino Rock’n’Soul of Louie and
the Hotsticks,
- Standing behind the counter and
dispensing (sometimes unwelcome!) opinions on everyone’s
buying habits at Chch’s greatest record store Echo,
-
To being one of the meanest bar band leaders in The Latter
Day Sinners,
- To running one of the most popular touring
circuit venues in Al’s Bar,
- To being a father figure
to the disparate friends who made up the ‘Lyttelton
Sound’ (Marlon Williams, Aldous Harding, Delaney Davidson,
The Eastern, Lindon Puffin),
- And finally but not at all
the end of things, as an integral part of the city’s
post-quake musical recovery.
Al has simply been there for everything and everyone.
ENDS
Al Park
Online
Facebook
/
Youtube
/ Audio
Culture
Bandcamp
/ Spotify
For more
information please contact Bad Gin
Sanctuary
Gina Johns | gina@badginsanctuary.com
|
+64277688668
Whanganui Regional Museum: Historic Wedding Dress Unveiled, A Piece Of Marton’s Heritage
Donovan Ryan: Local Runner Takes Out Frontrunner Christchurch Marathon
University of Auckland: Tributes Flow For Much Loved Pacific Leader Melegalenu’u Ah Sam
NZEI: Ministry Of Education Cuts Will Disproportionately Affect Pasifika
Day One Hapai te Haeata: Call To Action For Young Filmmakers Against The Backdrop Of Funding Cuts
Toyota New Zealand: Three Races For Top Three To Decide TR86 Title