Graeme Humphreys and Peter Keen met because, in 1981, Brett Mason lived in the same flat in Grey Lynn as Peter Keen. One morning while looking for socks in the living room a pair of bleary eyes peered above a blanket amid a pile of cushions and regarded Peter Keen. "Hello, I'm Graeme" they said "I hope you don't mind, Brett said it would be OK....." or words to that effect.
Sometime later they shared song writing duties for the Able Tasmans, a band of no good dirty lay-abouts, who eventually couldn't be arsed practicing and decided drinking whisky and simply spending time in each others company was a much less hectic, though faintly unfulfilling, way to maintain their friendship. Perhaps it could be said the Tasmans looked up one day from their navels, looked out, and discovered the world. Alternatively they just grew fat and lazy.
Not so Messers Humphreys and Keen, or any of them for that matter, really, in all seriousness. But in terms of musical output it was the three Tasman boys who couldn't quite put down the sticks, or their keyboard or stop writing hopelessly romantic lyrics. Craig Mason majestically mounting the riser for the Lure of Shoes, and Peter and Graeme eventually recording some long cherished dreams culminating in their release on Sweet Pea records of "The Overflow". So perhaps all is not lost.
The Overflow encompasses some of the tunes and ideas that sprang up in the interval between the retirement of the Able Tasmans and it's release. It even includes the last song the Tasmans ever wrote.
But this is NOT an Able Tasmans record.
These songs have not been forged in Tasman fire.
They come to you direct from the design office and the vision is clear.
Recorded in 2003 with Andre Upston at Radio New Zealand's Helen Young studios, Peter and Graeme collaborated with a wide variety of musicians and this is an album that focuses on the potential of the studio to refine and shape ideas.
Well known bassist Peter Scott provided double bass on the majority of the tracks, while other selected musicians completed the picture. Victoria Kelly realized the string components and mobilised real musicians to play her lush arrangements while Kingsley Melhuish provided a similar service for the brass. Former Tasmans Jane Dodd and Craig Mason feature on this record, Ron Young assisting with synthesiser set-up and Leslie Jonkers pitched up with the cover artwork. So the whisky drinking, still smoking, remnants of the Tasmans proved they had a trick or two left in them. Perhaps, even, a few more.
The album takes it's name from the A B Paterson character Clancy of the Overflow. Paterson's work being long admired by both Graeme and Peter, but the ideas are drawn from many sources; Australian outback poetry; magic realism; a train between Bologna and Firenze; and our dark little rainy island...
Dear Peter, thank YOU for your letter! Uplifting, as the autumn mornings grow darker and everyone I know seems to be getting more and more depressed with ageing parents, creeping fascism and less and less wholegrain in the local bread for the same price. I'm one of the lucky ones who can follow the summers, but in fact I've been following winters for the past few years... so communication like that can be like the sun. Yours in music, Bill
It was through this page that we first laid eyes upon the lovely Labretta Suede. One thing leads to another, and she brings her show to our wee town in the middle of the desert. We promptly get our socks rocked off, and things will never be the same.
The interwebs can be used for good, not evil. Love.
Hi, great to hear from you. We're playing in Madrid on 27th May and Barcelona on 28th at Primavera Festival. Staying an extra night before heading to Hamburg. Are you gigging?
Well, it appears we'll be featuring on Tom Robinson's "Introducing... Fresh on the net" show in just a matter of hours, 12am GMT, to be precise. If you're in the UK, tune in to BBC Radio 6Music, or on the interweb at:
To pass the time in anticipation of this momentous occasion, why not visit our Bandcamp site and brush up on the lyrics. We'll even make the song available for you for nowt!
...and no, it's not grilled KFC courtesy of Oprah, but something much more nutritious. A free song, which can be downloaded in the audiophile-quality format of your preference from our brand-spanking new BandCamp site:
Stay a while, and stream The Overflow or any of the songs contained within. Browse the lyrics, sing along, hum a bar... Food for the soul if you will, for if music be the spice of life, then play on. Oh, and Calshot Spit?
Hi Everyone, Finally got around to posting a set of photos from the Kings Arms gig back in late February, now that I'm back from Oceanographing, so if you're interested in having a look check out the picture album, see what a New Zealand venue looks like if your not from there, relive the moments if you were there, or simply soak up the atmosphere mostly brought to you by the colour red, a warm and winning favourite of said establishment. Check comments down the page by our own wonderful Owens Valley Tomatohead for a brief review of the event. That's all. Carry on. P
Thanks for the add. All is well here, just trying to make music and love. Let me know when you play in the states, it would be great to see you two play live. Cheers.
Another good reason to tour "the overflow" is to make good contacts in the US-you never know who might be in the audience, falling in love with you guys and wanting passionately to help with another recording! Besides, you could make some money, meet great fans and see some beautiful parts of the USA-sounds worth it to me.
Seems to me there's still mileage on the Overflow.
How about a grant from that big NZ Music teat Outward Sound either for overseas promotion and/or an overseas tour of it? I've been told that grants can be hard to come by, but what the hell? You two fellas seem to be able to mash words together nicely.
Hello hello hello. I've got to say that it was damned humbling to see so many people enjoy what we had to offer, both Ables and H&K. For me, well, it was OK. I wasn't feeling very happy, in fact quite the opposite, but that's neither here nor there as long as we delivered something worthwhile. Jane's leaving Auckland to live in Dunedin so it was great to do something before that. Soooo many thanks to Craig and Jane and Don for helping make the Humph & Keen set happen, and Mark Petersen for technical assistance and Owen for the kinetic energy. BUT... may I quote Brian Eno "Playing live... hmmm. 23 hours of the day getting ready for the other one". Most of it is like site management crossed with furniture removal. Now... what did you think of The Puddle? Get their new albums. No Love No Hate and Shakespeare Monkey. Peter is oceanographing between Uruguay and Namibia right now and hasn't got the net-power aboard ship to comment but can read posts. He'll be back on-board here in about 3 weeks. Our goal is to save up enough money, make enough money or find a willing record compoany or sponsor to another record. Any and all suggestions welcomed.
And... Chris Matthews Robot Monkey Orchestra. I reckon it's what most true fans of Chris who appreciate the the length and breadth of his works would wish for. Really. No kidding. Thanks all.
A few weeks have passed since the magical show at the Kings Arms. I was part of the American contingent who lied, begged, borrowed, and stole to get to Auckland to see Humphreys and Keen. It was a dream come true, really, to hear the songs live. Yes, yes, the night was opened by the Able Tasmans- and what a fucking cracker of a set they put on- but the real revelation might have been Humphreys and Keen.
It has been said that H&K were not meant to be a live proposition, but I beg to differ.
A tune like "Calshot Spit," which had maybe gotten overplayed here at home, became resurrected in Auckland. It was a thrill to see guest Don McGlashan on euphonium, Graeme Humphreys on keys, and Peter Keen at the mic. The way we punters hung onto the lines, "Just stay as you are/Everyone stay as you are," was just magic.
"Clancy" and "The Free Life" benefited from the stripped back intimacy of just GH on keys and PK, with glass of whisky (Bowmore?) in hand, on vocals. Clancy was always a meditative song, but with the samples gone, the imagery just tumbled out, and the ghosts of long dead outback stockmen came back to life. GH's backing vocals on The Free Life were so pitch perfect and pure that I had to pinch the arm of the person standing next to me. Sorry, Dude.
Peter Keen and Graeme Humphreys rendered the songs as if singing to a room of old mates, sometimes starting a tune over- in their quest to do right by them. Bless. I involuntarily let out a guttural "uhh!" when their set ended with the last line from their last song on "The Overflow". It goes, "You'll know just enough to break my heart in every single way," and break my heart they did.
Hello everybody. I am being shown at this moment how to work the automatic internet by Peter. If the lesson is successful I promise to be more active here in the future because previously I didn't know how it worked and had little inclination either, but hell... there's more to life than the bush.
I was looking over the liner notes/bios/lyrics that Graeme H. sent out a few years back and just noticed Greg Johnson's great quote about you.
Greg Johnson was at the Don McGlashan/Crowded House show in Los Angeles last May and joined the H&K/Able Tasmans conversation that seemed to be ongoing that weekend, too. Bibi (a Facebook friend of H&K) thanked him for his cornet solo on "Michael Fay." The acknowledgment, years and a continent later, seemed to throw him. He was a nice fellow and hadn't gone too "Hollywood."
Lovely that you've met the Love Experts. Maybe they represent H&K's stronghold in the Middle Midwest?
I can think of three librarians who are followers of H&K...I promise they are the progessive kind, not the fascist bun wearing kind.
