HUMANS OF ŌTAUTAHI: MATT AND ROBBIE
Matt “I’m an electrician – and then I just enjoy doing the band; it’s my creative outlet, aye. We’ve all got day jobs, so we don’t play that many gigs, so we look forward to each one.
“I certainly don’t deny that I have cancer or talk about it much, but it’s certainly something that’s been a huge change – I never had the need for doctor’s visits my whole life!
“The first round of chemo was really hard because obviously, you’ve got all that cancer in your system, so you’re already feeling low and knocked about.
“We talked about pulling the pin on this gig, but it was actually about having something to look forward to. For all the crap feelings and stuff in your head, it’s a cool, positive thing to have in your life.
“You felt like you’ve been really distanced from it, but then, you know, the first couple of jams back, it was like ‘man, this feels good’. I don’t know, like, I got more of a buzz out of it.”
Robbie “To see Matt get up on stage and play a big gig, I just felt so good for you.
“It’s really hit home how important playing music is for us; just the great thing that we have, and how really lucky we are. We are super important to one another.
“We started our band probably about 10 years ago. Teina and Hemi – we went to school together. We played softball, and it was always really cool to have a jam with the guys afterwards. And that’s what I get the buzz from; it’s like that whole family, whānau vibe.
“New Zealand’s great for reggae and Kiwi dub; we started out loving all that stuff. The songs that we write about are quite environmental and local. Rosco is a real beautiful Te Reo speaker and really knowledgeable. Yeah, so we’ve incorporated some interesting elements, like, sometimes we use mōteatea into the more dubber songs.
“I’ve always been really proud to be one of the few reggae bands in Christchurch. That’s us, holding it down.”