THE SOUND OF DUNEDIN OPENING EXHIBITION

Rip It Up, Issue 224, 1 April 1996, Page 13

THE SOUND OF DUNEDIN OPENING EXHIBITION

Otago Early Settlers Museum, March 22. Otago Early Settlers Museum curator Michael Findlay first dreamed of a Sound of Dunedin exhibition about two years ago. It became a reality at 5.30 PM, March 22 1996, the finishing touches being applied only 15 minutes before the opening. Forty-six-year-old ex-teen heart throb Craig Scott officially opened the display amongst a gathering of past and present Dunedin musos and partners, Flying Nun dignitaries and the media. The exhibition is a fascinating trip down the rock ’n’ roll memory lanes of the city's music from 1956 to 1996. Old jukeboxes rub shoulders with the current technology of videos and CD listening posts, amidst photo and information displays like On Being a Woman Musician in Dunedin and, the old hippie event of the year, The Heads' Ball. Personal favourites — a ticket from the Throb’s fan club (what’s happened to names like that?) and a picture of Craig Scott in white flares. Wicked. Three acts spanning the 40 years played short sets. The Tumbleweeds, Colin and Nola McCrorie, who, with the late Cole Wilson, were the first Dunedin band to make a record, ‘Maple on the Hili’. Their quaint Hawaiian country and western was indeed a sound from the past. Next up and three original members of Mother Goose, Steve Young, Dennis Gibbons and Marcel Rodeka, romped through a good natured set and managed to resist calls for ‘Baked Beans’. Finally Demarnia Lloyd and Cloudboy were the humble but worthy representatives of contemporary Dunedin. Accordion, violins and a drum machine reflect the eclectic nature of the platform the band supplies for Demarnia’s charming, ambient vocals. Nice. Michael Findlay deservedly took a bow, and official proceedings closed with Roy Colbert, guru and patron of much of Dunedin’s music over the last 25 years, launching the 70-track triple CD But I Can Write Songs Okay.

GEORGE KAY