Telly's new music presenter

It's a plum job, fronting the only all-New Zealand music show. Jane Yee talks to CATHRIN SCHAER.

So, Jane Yee, new frontwoman for the New Zealand music programme Squeeze, can you tell us who originally wrote the song Squeeze?

"What?" she asks.

Clearly an explanation is required and so is an answer. Actually it was Toy Love, the seminal art-punk group formed by Chris Knox in the 70s.

"Oh, no," Yee says, somewhat sarcastically upon hearing this. "I better go and quit my new job." But then, she muses more pleasantly, "I am probably going to get a bit of that - like, what makes her so special, what makes her an expert?"

And c'mon, besides the fact that the question was somewhat obscure in the first place, let's also consider Yee's age. She's 22 and fresh from a three-year Bachelor of Communications degree at the Auckland University of Technology. Toy Love were a little before her time.

"And I'm not even going to pretend that I know every single New Zealand band because it's not true. "But," she says with conviction, "I love New Zealand music and I really support it. And all of this is really part of a big learning curve for me."

Yee admits that she's been surprised at landing what is basically a plum job in music television. She's been working in television only a few months and got this job only a couple of weeks ago.

Squeeze's previous frontperson, Francesca Rudkin, had racked up four seasons with the successful show, but is now concentrating on producing M2, the music show on TV2. "And this has become a full-time job for her," says a spokesperson from Satellite Pictures, the company that produces both shows.

The format of Squeeze has also changed a little - rather than looking at several different aspects of New Zealand music in each half-hour show, the new, more in-depth Squeeze will focus on only one subject each week.

So Yee believes she might have been chosen to replace Rudkin for several reasons. First, she was already working as a presenter on M2.

"Even when I was younger I always wanted to do music television. But I always thought it was a bit of a pipe dream. When I went to the M2 audition I expected it to be the first of many auditions - I never expected to get it."

But she did, and since September, when M2 started, the born-and-bred Aucklander has been visible on that late-night show. Which is where Rudkin, who's still involved with Squeeze, and producer David Rose, picked her out.

Previously Yee has demonstrated her love of New Zealand music and her research abilities on the radio. She was doing part-time shifts at Channel Z and also producing Rampage Radio, a New Zealand music show that airs on Channel Z and 26 other regional stations, and The Voice showcasing music.

And before that you would have seen her in front of the stage at the Kings Arms, the grungy Auckland pub where local bands have been making their debuts for years.

"I've always gone to the Kings Arms," she says. "Not necessarily even to see a specific band. Sometimes we just used to turn up and see what was on - which was a great way to expose yourself to bands you'd never heard of before. That's how I discovered goodshirt - I knew all the words to their songs before they ever played on the radio."

That Auckland retro-rock-pop guitar band is still one of her favourites, as are other mainly-guitar-led local groups such as Pluto, Rubicon, Goldenhorse and the Brunettes.

"But I also think artists like Aaria and K'Lee are doing wonderful things for New Zealand pop music. It's one of the things we've never really gone into before, but now it's one of the fastest growing areas in New Zealand music."

As for electronica, she's not into the genre as much, but says she can appreciate it. "If I like something, I like it. I'm not into something just because it's cool."

So is she worried that her days as an anonymous punter are over, that she won't be able to go to the Kings Arms without people noticing a television personality is in the house?

"Admittedly that thought is a little daunting but I'm prepared to deal with that. And that's certainly not why I am doing it. It's definitely about the music, promoting the music. I love to see the artists succeed. And it's about offering viewers something they haven't seen before and giving people opportunity to learn more about local bands."

* Squeeze screens on TV2, every Sunday from tomorrow at 3 pm with a repeat at 11 pm every Wednesday.