Talking Head Injuries

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 16

Talking Head Injuries

By

NEVIN TOPP

Ken Ackroyd, the lead guitarist for the Christchurch band, Head Injuries, is not related to Dan Aykroyd, of the Blues Brothers. As (Ken) Ackroyd said, the spelling is different for a start (“I no.ticed it on a billboard outside a picture theatre”). However, (Dan) Aykroyd, the Blues Brother, was the strong, silent type of the film of the same name, but (Ken) Ackroyd certainly isn’t quiet. When he said that Head Injuries were ' not out to destroy the world or go to Australia as their list of ambitions, a serious doubt remained. For example, a simple question like “How long has the band been going,” is met with the reply: “What time is it” (followed by gales of laughter), and only the presence of Head Injuries’ bass guitarist, Dennis Abbott, assured me that it was safe to stay for the interview. Head Injuries have been together for about eight months, keeping a low profile and putting together heavy metal rock music. The low profile has been partly intentional, and they believe that they are starting to make ground only now. The band had found it hard to find steady work, but they had refused to play for what they called the “rock wholesalers” in Christchurch, who, they said, had offered little money to perform. But that has changed, and Head Injuries have secured a residency at the Valley Inn, Heathcote, and it is a venue that they are happy about. According to (Ken) Ackroyd the area in which they play is called “The Barn, where all the equestrians

hang out. The Lone Ranger was meant to turn up last week.” All of these statements (except the Barn) are later denied, although mentioning love, fear, and Roy Rogers was a puzzle. The five-man group have put together mainly original material, and the response to it has been excellent. The members come from pedigrees such as Freshwater, Trigger, Sneak Preview, the Gutter Band, and the Piranha Brothers, and their music is drawn from reggae,

blues, and straight rock into raunchy rock and roll. The choice for the name was Head Injuries and the Acme Rock Band, and Dennis Abbott drew the band’s name out of a hat. Although a name was. not important it often turned out that it was, (Ken) Ackroyd said, using the example where a hotel manager thought that the band was a punk one with a name like Head Injuries. Dennis Abbott’s experience in the Piranha Brothers was another example. Originally,

the band had been called the Pirana Brothers but the “h” and a fish logo were added because many people thought that the band were a group of Maori brothers with the surname Pirana, and were disappointed when they turned up to find that was not the case. “Many people thought that we had taken Head Injuries from the title of the Midnight Oil album, but we had not made that connection,” Dennis Abbott said. Head Injuries play at the Valley Inn, Thursday. Friday, and Saturday evenings.