The Cook Strait Social Club, Julia Deans, Samuel Flynn Scott and Barry Saunders.
The Cook Strait Social Club, Julia Deans, Samuel Flynn Scott and Barry Saunders.
KEY POINTS:
Out on their own but sticking together - that's the thinking behind the Cook Strait Social Club (CSSC).
The trio of touring songwriters is together for a one-off 21-date tour, which mixes solo sets and joint performances.
CSSC is made up of Julia Deans, from Wellington-formed but Melbourne-basedFur Patrol, Samuel Flynn Scott, from the Phoenix Foundation, and Barry Saunders, from the Warratahs.
The three's 21-date tour - which mixes solo sets and joint performances - is winding up in the northern region.
Deans says Fur Patrol have had plenty of downtime over the past couple of years and she was pleased to get an opportunity to perform.
Wellington indie six-piece the Phoenix Foundation have just signed with Young American Records and have been touring the United States. They are putting together their third album, due to be released next month.
Flynn Scott also released an acclaimed solo album last year.
Saunders formed leading country band the Warratahs in 1986 and the band went on to record eight albums.
He did three solo albums and has a string of music awards under his belt.
Meanwhile, Fur Patrol are finishing their third album following the release of The Long Distance Runner EP, and will join together after the CSSC tour to play five shows around New Zealand.
Deans admits the band, who became a three-piece after the departure of guitarist Steve Wells, have been off the radar for a while. She says she is looking forward to a few busy weeks on the road.
"It has been a bit daunting because we haven't done anything in New Zealand for so long," she says.
"We've just been trying to work out how to be a three-piece and writing a whole lot of new songs." She was pleased to be asked to join Saunders and Flynn Scott, whom she had briefly met, and has energy to burn.
Deans says preparations for the CSSC tour have been a bit last-minute but says all are pretty good at "winging it".
