Band perform before US trip

Michael Barker (pictured) and Grant Haua from Swamp Thing will perform at Okere Falls Store on January 9 before heading to Louisiana in April. Photo / Ben Fraser

They're about to head to Louisiana to become "artists in residence" in Baton Rouge, but Rotorua people have one last chance to catch talented local musicians Michael Barker and Grant Haua before they jet off.

Their band Swamp Thing are set to perform at the Okere Falls Store on January 9 in a special concert to mark the launch of their DVD and CDs Let's Get Live.

Mr Barker said the concert would be the last opportunity for Rotorua people to catch them before they head to the United States in April after being invited by the city of Baton Rouge to spend a month as artists in residence.

He said a "fortuitous" string of events led them to getting the invite, which came after Mr Barker met the chief executive of Baton Rouge council at a music festival in Australia several years ago.

He'd been following Swamp Thing ever since - and "randomly wrote an email inviting us".

"It was like a bolt out of the blue."

Mr Barker said he'd been looking at taking the band to America, but the email had opened the way and sped the process along. He admitted when he first got the email, he wondered whether it had been a prank.

"It was a really fortuitous hook up."

During their month there they'll play a range of gigs and blues clubs and festivals as well as being a feature artist for the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, and spending time as VIP guests at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

They'll also be working with the Tipitina's Foundation, which is aimed at protecting and preserving Louisiana's rich musical culture.

Mr Barker said it was pretty cool that they were considered talented and different enough to be invited over.

"It's a little bit like a kapa haka group from New Orleans being invited over here.

"The way we play blues is different and it's obviously different enough for them to be interested in what we're all about.

"The main thing for us is to learn as much as possible from the wonderful artists there."

They also planned to record a couple of songs at a studio there with the New Orleans Brass Band.

As part of their work with the Tipitina's Foundation they would be going into schools and running workshops.

Mr Barker said he hoped to build a network of contacts that would allow them to tour the Southern states of the US each April.

• Tickets for the Swamp Thing concert at Okere Falls Store are $20 and are available from the store, the Library Cafe, or online at www.eventfinder.co.nz. If it doesn't sell out, there will be door sales on the night for $25. The gig starts at 7pm.