Thames-Coromandel mayor Len Salt will leave the mayoral chains at home when he picks up the guitar and joins a stellar line up of Kiwi musicians.
Salt will join internationally renowned composer, writer, arranger and teacher of harp music Anna Dunwoodie and well-known Kiwi troubadours
Salt and Dunwoodie have recently been in the recording studio and are set to perform a series of guitar, harp and vocal arrangements.
The duo, known as Len and Anna grouped in an unusual set of circumstances.
“Well, there was a degree of calling one’s bluff; I contacted Len about a completely unrelated fundraiser I was organising, and he must have done his homework and knew a little about me, then suggested that I should create a fundraising concert,” Dunwoodie said.
“In my head I said ‘yeah, nah, concerts are really hard work for raising funds’, but I jokingly replied, ‘yes sure, only if you play a couple of tunes with me’ and it was all on… I was so surprised when he said ‘yes’, knowing how busy he is with his job.”
Salt said it was a bit of a gamble for both of them in hindsight.
“She’s a career musician, and I’m strictly amateur, but I had a song I’d written for piano and guitar which I thought would sound good on harp; and it sounded fabulous from the very first time that Anna played it.
“She wrote a couple of new pieces to go with it and the response from audiences was really positive.”
Salt sstarted playing guitar aged 13.
“I have always just played for fun and relaxation; I’m a very average guitarist, but I enjoy the creative and recording side as well.
“I owned musical instrument shops in Auckland until 2010 when I came to Whitianga; I’m an audio engineer, live sound for small groups, and started the Whitianga Music Club which ran for a couple of years before Covid-19.”
Salt said he spent a couple of years on guitar in the Mercury Bay Big Band and playing banjo with the Whitianga Dixieland Band.
“Great bunch of talented local musicians and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Dunwoodie was born and raised in Thames.
“I was passionate about music from a young age, voice, piano, guitar and later harp, enriched by the wealth of music happening in Thames; Thames Music Group concerts, Thames Children’s Choir, Thames Operatic Society, St George’s Church Choir, Country Women’s Institute Annual Competitions.
“And I had dedicated parents and private music teachers who opened many doors for me before I headed off to Auckland to pursue further music studies at university,” she said.
On recording together, Dunwoodie said the pair worked with Whitianga-based sound engineer Dave Rhodes.
“He made the process so relaxed and easy, Len and I had only been playing music for a few months when we decided to record a medley of original tunes we had been working on, so we were probably a little nervous about it.
“Music is a really important aspect of my life, and it takes confidence to tell someone how and what you like about what they are playing, particularly when they are playing something you have composed.
“Len had his tune arranged for piano, so it was really easy to adapt to harp and mesh it together, but my two tunes which were written to follow his tune, were completely new to both of us, and Len did an incredible job of adding his touch to compliment what I had written, but also give me space and keep the unique character of both instruments intact.
“Dave guided us and supported us through the whole process and when the nerves kicked in, got us through it; it can be really frustrating to get 95% of the way through a piece and have it crumble, but Dave stitched it together for us beautifully.”
Salt said the pair decided on Perfect Day (a Lou Reed composition) because he knew it reasonably well.
“It’s got a distinctive piano part which Anna could do on harp; it’s a simple song about a happy day.
“We multi-tracked it, layering up the parts and instruments, that’s the part I really enjoy.
“Dave is an incredible musician, he added drums and bass, I played acoustic guitars and added a heavy electric guitar part in the chorus to give it some grunt.
“Anna used two different harps and sang a beautiful harmony on the choruses, it’s come out a whole lot better than we could have hoped, thanks to Dave’s magic in the studio.”
Dunwoodie said Thames could expect to hear something original, and a cover of a song from Len’s favourite artist, Mark Knopfler.
“It gets a bit of Len’s electric guitar treatment, which I think compliments the harp really well.
“We’re going to compose more, Len’s into writing songs, and I’m into writing tunes, and there are more of both on the rehearsal schedule, and more recording of our original tunes.”
Salt said time was always an issue for the pair.
“My job can get pretty intense, and I need to travel quite a bit both in the Coromandel, the Waikato region and Wellington.
“But we’ve got some ideas for more recordings, original songs and for growing the repertoire.
“We’ll take it slowly and look at possibly releasing some music online later this year, all going well; Thames will get to hear a brand-new Anna original tune as well as an acoustic arrangement of I Dug up a Diamond, which Knopfler did as a duet with Emmylou Harris.”
Unsung Heroes leader, vocalist and guitarist Chris Priestley has a long and respected career in music with a strong focus on New Zealand history.
He will be joined by vocalist and veteran journalist Cameron Bennett, narrator and thespian Peter Elliott, and multi award winning musician Nigel Gavin on stage at the squash club.
Priestley has recorded eight albums, three of which were Tui award finalists and was a co-founder of legendary music venues Java Jive, Kerouacs, Atomic and Café One2One in Auckland.
Priestley said there would be a slideshow of historic Thames images playing as people arrived and took their seats to set the scene on Friday evening.
“We also have some songs and poems with local connections.”
The group had previously performed in the Kauaeranga Hall near Thames as well as museums and festivals all around New Zealand and were performing a series of concerts at the Ferrymead Historic Park in Christchurch next month as part of their heritage festival, he said.
“If we get a chance, we may ask Anna to join us on a couple of numbers on the harp.”
It would be the second concert hosted by the Thames Squash Club, Dunwoodie said.
“It’s a nice big space, it has a bar, and it’s awesome to get people into other venues that they may not have been into before.
“We found out after the first concert, performed by Italian harpist Adriano Sangineto, that there were a number of the squash club committee who were really surprised to have enjoyed the concert so much, and learned a thing or two about harps.
“Likewise, maybe some of our audience might take up an interest in squash.”
Dunwoodie was the connection between the concerts and the squash club, her late father, Morrie, was integral in the planning and building of the Thames Squash Club, and the Dunwoodie children spent hours on and off the courts as youngsters.
“We also know that audiences like to come to a nice venue where they can enjoy a great concert with a drink in their hand.”
What: Unsung Heroes supported by Len and Anna
Where: Thames Squash Club
When: Friday, August 16 from 7.30pm
Tickets at Carson’s Bookshop
If you need a break from the slopes or don’t fancy a ski, there’s still a lot to do this.