Won't you let us take you on a Sea Cruise?

Shane-Shadz 'Surfin' Safari' rocks'n'rolls on...

This Sat. 'Hitz at the Citz' - Tauranga

"Rockin' the Planet!"

The Shadz helped Shane get his upcoming music TV show ready to roll with a 60-minute set at the Auckland Commerce Club on Friday 21 March.

Also on the bill for the first show in the series were Karen Davy and Ken Strong fronting "Dreams - the Fleetwood Mac Experience" with our own Alistair Taylor and Garry Betti on bass and drums.

Here are a couple of pics from the event...

Shane/Shadz show shoot

The Shadz will be helping Shane get his new TV music show rollin', this Friday night.

Also featuring - in front of an invited live audience - our good buddy Karen Davy fronting "Dreams - the Fleetwood Mac Experience", complete with costumes, set, lighting effects and a brilliant tribute band led by guitar man Ken Strong. 

Edited excerpts from these two 1-hour live performances will appear in the first programme of the series. For anyone who'd like to join the audience (dancing encouraged), here's how to get there... 

 

Back in the Bay!

Good day, Ruby Sunday!

Congratulations to The Shadz founder/leader/drummer Garry Betti and wonderful partner/soulmate Laurelle on your 40th (Ruby) Wedding Anniversary.

 

Everyone enjoyed being part of your celebration at yesterday's sun-blessed party and star-studded jam session.

 

Here's to many more happy anniversaries!

"Let me tell you, baby, it's called Rock'n'Bowl!"

SSShhh...

"The Lion" sleeps tonight, but come next Saturday...

 

"Sha-BOOM!"

Doin' the 'Hoki-Koki' (this's what it's all about)

Another weekend, another road trip - looking forward to spending a couple of days beside beautiful, friendly Hokianga Harbour. Think it's safe to say that we won't be putting our "left and right arms and legs in" sports coats and black trou on this occasion.
 

  

More gigs of memories

With two highly enjoyable and successful 2014 events - Matakohe Music & Arts Festival and Whangamata Club - already behind us, Shane & The Shadz sure are starting the year with a 'SH'BANG!' Here's the currently confirmed upcoming gig list, as at Jan. 14:

Sat. Jan. 25:        Private function (outa town)

Sat. Feb. 8:         'Soundgarden', Kohukohu, Hokianga Harbour

Sat. Feb. 15:       'The Lion Rocks', Piha Bowling Club, Piha Beach

Sat. Feb. 22:        Matakana Hall, Matakana

Sun. Feb. 23:       'WoofStock' SPCA Musos' Bash, Silverdale RSA

Sun. March 2:       Orewa (tba)  2.00 - 2:30 pm

Sat. April 12:         Entertainers Club show, Citz Club, Tauranga

Over the hill...

Bye-Bye, Phil...

R.I.P. Phil Everly (1939-2014)

On Friday, January 3, 2014, another tall tree toppled in the steadily thinning forest of true rock'n'pop trailblazers with the death of the younger of the legendary Everly Brothers. Phil was just a couple of weeks short of his 75th birthday.

Like The Shadows, The Beatles. The Hollies, Simon & Garfunkel, NZ's own Bill & Boyd and many more artists and groups, we members of The Shadz were strongly influenced, and instructed, by the songs, the harmonies and the guitar stylings of Phil and Don Everly. Our current repertoire features several of their greatest hits, hopefully rendered with the respect and integrity that they so richly deserve.

Already, you can find hundreds of tributes, biographies, retrospectives, YouTubes, you-name-it, on the Web. So, we'd just like to say: "Thanks for the music and the memories, Phil Everly. Rest in peace."

In 1972, Albert Hammond recorded, as an album track, a powerful, heartfelt ballad that he had co-composed with Mike Hazlewood. The following year, 1973, Phil Everly was the first artist to cover that song and release it as a single. Then, in 1974, his version inspired the cover by The Hollies, which would go on to become a major and enduring hit. Here, with arrangement by Warren Zevon and production by twangy guitar hero Duane Eddy, is Phil's sensitive rendition of "The Air That I Breathe"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_QB9iAzvsY   

Spotlight on The Shadz...

  Play 'Apache Match'. Pick your moment to start the music below, and see
how closely you can line up the music beat with the spotlight sequence.

(Or, click on the pic above to go to Shadz member bios.)

  

Hoppin' to the beach!

 

No sooner do we get home from the Matakohe Music & Arts Festival (Sun, 5 Jan.) than we're back on the road again - this time, south-east and over the Coromandel Range to surfside Whangamata, home of the legendary annual "Beach Hop" events.

We're really looking forward to this gig because the town should be still packed with summer holidaymakers and the Whangamata Club is also home to one of NZ's most active and enthusiastic rock'n'roll dance clubs, the Coastal Rockers.

The New Year begins here...

Matakohe 2013: Tom Sharplin backed by Shadz members plus Karen Davy (vocals), Ray Eade (bass), Peter Wood (piano), Keri Betti (harp)

How to get there: After Kaiwaka, heading north on SH1, turn left before Brynderwyn Hill onto SH12 to Dargaville. Proceed through Maungatoroto and Paparoa Village. After crossing two single-lane bridges, watch for Matakohe Kauri Museum sign. At entrance to Matakohe East Rd, turn hard left into Barlow Lane. [Click maps to enlarge]

 

Westward Ho-Ho-Ho!

And, that's it for the year. Shane & The Shadz rounded out 2013 with a "Christmas Party" gig at New Lynn RSA, in West Auckland, last Saturday night. Great turnout at an excellent venue.

Time now to change some strings, slip into some shorts, eat, drink and be Merry with family and friends, see in the New Year and get relaxed and ready to hit the road north for our first 2014 outing - a return to the Matakohe Music & Arts Festival - on Sunday, 5 Jan.
 
The Shadz (Garry, Peter, Alistair & Graham) and Shane wish you a very Merry Christmas, a pleasant break and a Happy New Year!

 

BoP-along capacity!

Sellout success

 

Last Sunday's Entertainers Club 'Christmas Showcase Concert' in Tauranga was a blast - for Shane & The Shadz and, going by patrons' reactions and feedback, for all who were lucky (early) enough to score a ticket. 

For, we've just learned that a lengthy queue of hopefuls had to be turned away at the door to the Citz Club because the upstairs venue was packed to legal capacity before our three-hour show kicked off at 5pm.

 

Hopefully, we'll be back in the BoP (Bay of Plenty), soon, and those who missed out on a wonderful event will get another chance to bop-along to our renditions of classic Cliff Richard & The Shadows favourites.

JRO (jiving room only)

They even ran short of chairs! Fortunately, a goodly proportion of the capacity crowd were up on the dance floor throughout the show, so it's likely that some chair-share activity occurred.

Thanks to the Entertainers Club for inviting us, the organizing crew for the sound, and everyone who so enthusiastically sang, clapped and danced along. We can't wait to do it again.

Hokianga Garden Party!

A mecca for local Hokianga musos and visiting entertainers: Bruce Walker's idyllic 'Soundgarden' at Kohukohu

"For Auld Slang Rhyme, my dear"

(Apologies to Robbie Burns. Note: No "Burns Marvin" guitars were used in the making of this commercial.)

 

This British TV commercial cleverly played on the popular adoption of "I'm 'ank Marvin" as Cockney rhyming slang for "I'm starvin'". Enjoy!

  

"We're going where the sun shines brightly, going where the sea is blue..."

One down, two to go. Hope you can join us at one of these pre-Christmas events. First up - beside the sea in sunny Tauranga:

• Sun. Dec. 15 - from 5.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Show
  
  Entertainers Club, Tauranga
  (Venue: Citizens Club, 170 13th Ave)
  facebook.com/taurangaentertainersclub

• Sat. Dec. 21 -  from 8.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Party
  
  New Lynn RSA, Auckland
  Email Shane: muzikman@xtra.co.nz
  
  

Wow!

"Strat-a-Claus" dropped in (Photo Credit: Marian Burns)

What a brilliant day at Lloyd Davis' Te Kowhai "rock'n'roll ranch", today! Tom Sharplin, Larry Morris & Band, Brendon Ham & Band, Che Orton, Jodi Vaughan, Marian Burns, Tim Armstrong & Band, Shane & The Shadz, classic American cars (and a few Brit classics, too) galore.

Lotsa fun, happy people and all-round good spirits, with weather and music to match. Thanks to Lloyd, family and friends for organising and hosting it. Thanks to Shane Hales for getting us involved. And thanks to all who attended, especially those who made the trip from Auckland and other distant points. Let's hope that this is a harbinger of the spirit of Christmas 2013.

Here comes "Strat-a-Claus" (Christmas countdown)

"Strat-a-Claus" or "Santacaster"?

"You're gonna find us...out in the country", this afternoon, helping Tom Sharplin, Larry Morris, Brendon Ham, Che Orton, Tim Armstrong and others rock the Waikato. Then, we're off to bop the BoP before wrapping up our first year as Shane & The Shadz with a big festive blowout back in the 'hood. Hope you can join us at one of these events.  

• Sun. Dec. 1 - from 1.00 pm
  

  Lloyd's Xmas Bash
  703a Te Kowhai Rd, Te Kowhai
  Lloyd Davis Panelbeaters (07) 847 9575
  

• Sun. Dec. 15 - from 5.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Show
  Entertainers Club, Tauranga (Venue: Citizens Club, 170 13th Ave)
  facebook.com/taurangaentertainersclub

• Sat. Dec. 21 -  from 8.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Party
  New Lynn RSA, Auckland
  Email Shane: muzikman@xtra.co.nz

Shadz member bio - Graham Gibson

See all 4 Shadz member bios on a new page

Graham Gibson

"Bruce" Gibson

(2nd Guitar/Vocals)

"My dad was a swing band pianist so, at age 10,  I was "encouraged" to learn piano and theory. Then, at 14, I discovered 5-Minute Books and taught myself to play basic ukulele and guitar. Next step - a couple of local, acoustic "skiffle" groups formed with neighbourhood kids in St Heliers Bay, Auckland. The second group, fronted by Roger Skinner, went electric and morphed into a 2-guitar/bass/drums outfit called 'The Versatones', which became very popular and always had work.
 
"We were resident showband/danceband for three consecutive major Christmas-New Year beach carnivals (Red Beach, Orewa, Ohope Beach) and, in 1963, enjoyed a 6-month residency at Auckland’s popular Shiralee nightclub. We also served as the 'Pepsi Showband', playing events to promote the newly launched Pepsi-Cola brand.

"After five successful, enjoyable years, this group amicably disbanded in 1964 when Roger took up a proposal to form a full-time Mersey-style group ('The Pleasers') and the rest of us focused on our somewhat neglected university studies. A short-lived reunion in 1964-65, with a new lead guitarist, saw me taking on lead vocals. I did some session work for Viscount and briefly played rhythm guitar with the 'Graeme (Gray) Bartlett Combo' at the Monaco before lapsing into playing for party singalongs. Moving from journalism/PR into advertising in 1975, I would spend the next quarter-century as a copywriter/creative director and prolific writer, producer and commissioner of TV/radio jingles. I also created, scripted and produced a host of music-driven, choreographed, themed shows for dealer conventions and new product releases, featuring celebrity performers. After managing an international ad agency branch in Singapore, I returned to Auckland in 1986 and later set up my own corporate event production business.

"In 1993, following an advertising stint in Jakarta, Indonesia, I drifted back into band work when the original 'Versatones' reunited (as the 'ReVersatones') for a mate's 50th Birthday party. This led to gigs for similar functions, performing as 'The Young Once', and to playing in the house bands for Roger Skinner’s annual '60s Musos Bash events. Early in 2009, I was invited to join the newly forming 'North Harbour Rockers Band' on lead guitar/vocals. Over the next five years, we were busy performing danceable covers at RSAs, Rock’n’Roll clubs, private functions, country-rock festivals and charity events around Auckland, Northland and the Bay of Plenty.

"In late 2012, Garry Betti called to say he was holding auditions for a "Bruce Welch" to complete a Shadows tribute band lineup. How could I resist this chance to come full-circle to my rhythm guitar roots and play the music I've loved since first seeing Cliff Richard & The Shadows perform live at the Auckland Town Hall in 1961."

Click to see all 4 Shadz member bios

Shadz member bio - Alistair Taylor

 See all 4 Shadz member bios on a new page

Alistair Taylor

"Jet" Taylor

(Bass Guitar/Vocals)

"I had piano lessons at about age 10, then taught myself the guitar from about age 12. Played rhythm/lead guitar in the North Shore Youth Orchestra for about two years at age 15-17 and worked in school bands during my high school years. After leaving school, I formed a band with four others and we stayed together for about 15 years, playing “middle of the road rock”, mainly for weddings and sports club functions.

"It was during that time that I started playing bass guitar as we had a female bass player who couldn’t sing and play bass at the same time but she could also play rhythm/lead. The band didn’t have a name because none of us could agree on one, but there was no shortage of work. This band eventually folded with the advent of “disco” and a sharp decline in demand for our kind of music. Members were getting married and work commitments took precedence.

"After that, I didn’t play professionally for about 20 years until I met Garry Betti, our drummer, about 10 years ago. That led to me playing bass with 'Indigo Blue' for about five years. I also played rock and jazz with a couple of other bands. About a year ago, Garry asked if I would like to play bass for a Shadows tribute band that he was forming, and here we are - The Shadz!

'I really enjoy playing Shadows tunes as a lot of the bass lines are very different from anything else around and a lot of the early Shadows bass lines are jazz-oriented. thanks to the formative experiences of Jet Harris, their original bassman."

Click to see all 4 Shadz member bios

Shadz member bio - Peter Wallace

See all 4 Shadz member bios on a new page

Peter Wallace

"Hank" Wallace

(Lead Guitar/Vocals)

"What really started me on a musical path at age 14 was the sound of a guitar playing. American westerns were very popular at the movies, along with steel guitar and country-and-western music. My family couldn't afford to buy a guitar, but my music-loving Dad found a broken guitar in a bin. Good with his hands, he eventually got it working again. He had a friend who was a danceband guitarist (ex-pro) and this chap gave me a chord book (which I still have). Every night after school I would sit in my room and learn those chords.

"At age 15, I was one of a few guys in Liverpool who could play guitar and sing the "hits" of the day and was often invited to parties, just to entertain or play for singalongs. When I turned 16, I began working as an apprentice toolmaker and a guy in the toolroom was lead guitarist for a band called 'The Zodiacs'. Their rhythm guitarist had died in a motorbike accident so I was offered the slot. I started out on rhythm guitar, later moved to bass.

"In the early 1960s, 'Ian & The Zodiacs' went pro and, after playing one-night stands and a season at a holiday camp, we decided to head for Hamburg, Germany in the wake of fellow Liverpudlians 'The Beatles' and many other Merseyside groups. The Star Club in Hamburg was our base and we became regulars, working three-month stints then heading back to the UK for short breaks. The Star Club was a franchise so we began travelling inter-city to play one-month contracts in other venues on the circuit  We started recording and appearing on German TV, which brought lots of good exposure. But, eventually, the lifestyle started to wear thin. I returned home and embarked on a career in engineering, moonlighting as resident guitarist in a hotel band in Blackpool. We sometimes did club gigs on the side and once played second billing to crooner Matt Monroe. Our Beatles medley usually brought the house down.

"Married Yvonne in November 1968 and became the proud father of twins in July 1969.  In 1974, I brought my family to NZ and immediately immersed myself in the Auckand music scene. Started working as guitarist with the resident band at Pinesong Restaurant, where we used to do "theme nights" and entertain patrons' kids during band breaks. Next was a five-year residency at Mt Wellington Trust Hotel with a band named 'Dateline'. Then, I replaced Steve Tulloch in the resident Wednesday-night band at Texas Rose, in Birkenhead. The same lineup played RSAs at weekends under the name 'StageTalk' for many years. Concurrently, female vocalist Helen Brown and I formed 'Moonlighting', to play "strict tempo" dance music at the Mandalay Ballroom, Newmarket.

"In 1999, I returned to the UK for family reasons, then moved across the Channel to work in the Netherlands and eventually got back into music after joining an English-speaking church in Eindhoven. I returned to Auckland in late 2012 and re-formed 'StageTalk' with Helen Brown. Later in 2012, Garry Betti contacted me about forming a Shadows tribute band, to be named The Shadz. That music is timeless, and I'm really enjoying helping to keep it alive."

Click to see all 4 Shadz member bios

Shadz member bio - Garry Betti

 See all 4 Shadz member bios on a new page

Garry Betti

"Tony" Betti

(Drums/Vocals)

"When I was 12 years old, a friend had a pair of drumsticks given to him, and he tried to make them work. Watching him try, I thought: "I can do that!" And, so the journey began. My first band was with some schoolmates in the third form, one of whom had a drum set...so off I went. Talk about cheeky! We played at the Skyline Cabaret and Majestic Ballroom in Wellington, store windows on Friday nights in Lower Hutt, all just 13-14 year-old kids.

"Second band was with some older guys, playing The Shadows, Ventures and Cliff Richard numbers. The next band,'The Travelons', had even better musos, and we played all the youth clubs around Wellington and Hutt Valley, Downtown Club, Empress Ballroom, Ngati Poneke Club, Caltex Lounge, etc. Got married, so joined a little trio with workmates for a while. After returning home from Australia, we moved to Auckland and I drummed with 'Allenborough Park' for a few years, then gave it away in 1973.

"I was motivated to start playing again in 2005, when my son Keri Betti developed into a very good harmonica player and couldn't find a decent drummer. Keri and I formed the original 'Indigo Blue' in 2006 and I've been busy ever since. Last year, 2012, I made contact with Alistair Taylor, a former bass guitarist for Indigo Blue, and asked if he was interested in helping to set up a Shadows tribute band. And, The Shadz was born. After a few false starts and experiments, we finally settled into the ideal lineup - four seasoned musos who had lived and played through 'The Shadows era' and really love perfecting and performing those timeless tunes and capturing "that sound" (very important). We're all big fans of the original Shadows lineup (Marvin, Welch, Harris, Meehan) because of their originality, musical prowess, and their readiness to 'think outside the square' in musical terms. They were very special.

"The icing on the cake for The Shadz has been to score the interest and involvement of iconic NZ singer, Shane, as our 'Sir Cliff'. As a longtime Cliff/Shads aficionado (he even has their autographs and photos taken with them in Sydney, 1961), he's the perfect frontman for us, and with his newly dry-cleaned pink jacket, really looks and sounds the part. Like The Shadows, The Shadz is a stand-alone band with a broad and eclectic showband/danceband repertoire to suit any entertainment situation, event, function, dance or club night with a mix of instrumental and vocal classic hits from the 1950s through to the '80s. We can be contacted at jazzmusic@xtra.co.nz. Or Ph 09 627 1327."

Click to see all 4 Shadz member bios

Panelbeater's 'bash' will be a Fender-bender smash!

Prominent Hamilton-area panelbeater Lloyd Davis loves him some rootin' tootin' rockabilly, rock'n'roll and country-rock. So, every year, he invites a bunch of well-known singers and musos to take part in Lloyd's Xmas Bash on his rural property at Te Kowhai (just off State Highway 39 between Ngaruawahia and Otorohanga). Shane is a regular. This year, The Shadz are joining him, alongside Tom Sharplin, Larry Morris, Brendon Ham, Tim Armstrong, Che Orton and more...

"Mistletoe and wine..."

Just a quick reminder about what's happening in the run up to Christmas. Hope you can join us for some festive fun, music and dancing.  

• Sun. Dec. 1 - from 1.00 pm
  

  Lloyd's Xmas Bash
  703a Te Kowhai Rd, Te Kowhai
  Lloyd Davis Panelbeaters (07) 847 9575
  

• Sun. Dec. 15 - from 5.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Show
  Entertainers Club, Tauranga
  facebook.com/taurangaentertainersclub

• Sat. Dec. 21 -  from 8.00 pm

  Shane & The Shadz Christmas Party
  New Lynn RSA, Auckland
  Email Shane: muzikman@xtra.co.nz
  
   

Live and picking!

 

After a long but enjoyable Friday night working with Shane at Silverdale RSA and a Sunday afternoon cameo performance at Dairy Flat Hall, time to kick back and backtrack to that great Variety Artists Club fundraiser show with three more Shadz covers of Shadows heyday hits, captured live at Pt Chevalier RSA: "Dance On", "The Rise & Fall of Flingel Bunt", "FBI" 

Saturday's our day of R'n'R (rest and recharge)

 

Takin' it easy, today, after a big Friday night (Shane & The Shadz) at Silverdale RSA, and with another gig coming up Sunday afternoon, as participants in the Dairy Flat Hall 80th Birthday long weekend of live music. We'll be hitting the "deck" around 1.45-2.00pm. Meanwhile, here's some "take it easy" listening...