No-name band strikes a chord: Musicians raise $55,000 for Hear4U

They are a band with no name but have made themselves well and truly known to charitable trust Hear4U after raising $55,000 for the men’s mental health organisation. Back row (from left) are Grant Walsh (drummer), Nik House (vocals), Craig Brownlie (guitar) and Andy Evans (guitar). Front: Dana Kirkpatrick (manager), Nigel Henstock (guitar), Krissy Mackintosh (Hear4u) and Chris Fraser (Hear4u). Picture by Liam Clayton

A group of Gisborne musicians have raised $55,000 to aid the efforts of charitable trust and men’s mental health organisation Hear4U.

The band with no name’s manager Dana Kirkpatrick said since Cyclone Gabrielle, they wanted to put on a party that would help people recover from feeling the blues.

“So they thought why not have a gig, and that’s how it all started.”

The five-piece band was initially scheduled to perform at a woolshed only for the venue to be covered in mud and silt.

They decided to shift to the Dome in Gisborne.

“We raised $20,000 through donations (at the Dome concert) and got the rest performing in Hamilton, courtesy of Rabobank, last month.

“Back then we were undecided on the charity we were going to donate to, but after looking at our options, the boys unanimously decided the proceeds should go to Hear4U,” Kirkpatrick said.

Vocalist and guitarist Nik House said they were happy to support such a cause.

“There are a lot of men in our region who need the help, especially when it comes to mental health. We feel a real privilege to be able to provide a bit of help to the wonderful work that the trust carries out.”

Mr House described his group as a rock band, inspired by the Kiwi classic legends from the 90s.

The band was formed by guitarist and singer, Craig Brownlie in November of last year.

Hear4U co-founder Krissy Mackintosh said the trust was extremely grateful for the generous donation.

“We were really anxious when the cyclone happened because we knew how much our service was in demand.

“So when Gabrielle happened, we were thinking of how we were going to meet the increasing demands as we were already so overwhelmed.

“We never shared our funding struggles until Gabrielle and we sort of felt like troopers who were just managing to push through our services.”

The funding would help them secure the services of a long-term therapist for onsite counselling as well as expanding their team for new headquarters.

“It’s about putting in place as many healing pathways as possible.”