Meet the magnetic man behind the music

Dylan Herkes has been the mystery man behind the underground music scene in Wanganui for the past three years, where he has been running Stink Magnetic, an independent New Zealand record label hidden like a precious gem. The self-made music producer and horror-film maker has cemented many bands' status in the annals of independent music history in the labels' short but prolific history. At his base in the old Chronicle building he has hosted countless gigs and brought droves of exciting musicians from across the nation and the world to local music lovers. Now Dylan is shutting up shop and moving his music machines, and creative zeal to Christchurch, with his wife Erin, to film-making studies.
Chronicle reporter and unashamed fan, Patrick Drabczynski went along to say farewell to this bastion of creativity and get the lowdown on the grooves Dylan has carved in Wanganui.
"Working seriously hard to have a seriously awesome time and not be too serious" was why Dylan set up the Stink Magnetic label back in 1998 ... "for a bit of fun." What he didn't realise then was what an important part of his life it would become.
"I needed something in my life to keep me on the straight and narrow. Something that I cared about, something I loved."
That was music, and without it he believes he would be nowhere.
"It was a no-brainer. I could either goof-off and lose brain cells, or I could goof-off and be creative,"
For the past three years he has done everything but goof off.
In between studying for a degree, working, and being an attentive husband he has been juggling his passion for live music. Stink Magnetic has been the venue for more than 20 live shows showcasing many acts.
Additionally he hosted the epic Stinkfest BC in 2008, a four-day frenzy of wild and experimental music to celebrate the label's 10th birthday for less than the cost of a KFC Family Feast.
A logistical nightmare, with as many bands as the Big Day Out crammed into a space the size of a large bedroom, the event was a rabid success; a feat indicative of Dylan's energy and passion.
As well as producing for more than 50 bands he has, played with almost as many and during Stink Fest he played each night with various acts in an array of wild costumes and on a plethora of instruments.
But that is a common sight in Wanganui in an evening at Stink Magnetic.
Simultaneously individualistic and collaborative he says: "I believe that creativity isn't bound by technical ability, real creation comes from resourcefulness and innovation through experimentation. Anyone can be a musician, if they believe in what they are doing and put the time and passion into it."
He has a keen ear for innovation as well as quality and Stink Magnetic has been a springboard platform for exciting music acts from New Zealand and abroad, many of whom he has met and dragged back from his tours.
The recording studio is a throwback to a more innocent era in Wanganui history and the perfect setting for Stink Magnetic's vintage aesthetic, reworked with the love and compassion of the penniless artist into an celebration of rock'n'roll.
Though the cluster of tape reels, gig posters, vinyl records and vintage eight-track recording equipment give it away, "The Office" as Dylan calls it, is more like the working space of a frantic news editor than that of a musician.
In this tiny space Herkes concocts experimental recordings.
It is also where much of his poster design takes place "a process," he says that "is just as important to the cultural atmosphere as the music itself."
The posters, collage and screen print affairs with a strong 50s Americana flavour are infamous on the scene and, like his music, display his interest in "recontextualising" obsolete technologies and cultural forms.
They utilise 50s-style graphics and often follow themes of early sci-fi and pulp fiction.
They have become collector's items following a 10-year anniversary exhibition in 2008, when an Auckland art gallery displayed the complete catalogue of posters, right from the label's humble beginnings.
"They are really an art form in themselves and I take great pride in them. That includes the record sleeves," he said.
"All of it adds up to a unique aesthetic that people instantly recognise as part of the Stink Magnetic branding."
Dylan himself is a born performer and many artists on the label perform under aliases, as characters or alter egos that reference a particular cultural aesthetic.
Performers such as Boss Christ, the tractor-driving, whisky-brewing country and western punk farmer, or perhaps Full F***ing Moon, satirical heavy metal glam rockers, have brought musical theatricality and humour to Wanganui audiences.
Most notably though is the label's poster boy, the Mysterious Tape Man, with the label since 2005.
Recognisable only by his complete head mask, flowing cape, white shirt and black tie, no person has ever heard him speak let alone glimpsed the face behind the mask.
Except perhaps Dylan himself, though it is a subject he will not speak of.
The legend behind their relationship is hazy, and has never been confirmed, but suggests that the Tape Man may in fact not be human.
"The Tape Man is a living relic of a tragic accident back in the 1950s involving some nuclear waste, a rock'n roll star and a reel of magnetic audio tape. How we came to be involved I cannot reveal."
A pioneer of sorts, Dylan works against the mainstream current, fervently pursuing what he believes in.
Dylan's wife, Erin, is an integral part of Stink Magnetic's engines as an organiser and a musician in their most recent project, House on Haunted Hill.
He has his fingers in an alarming number of pies, playing for a number of bands, in a variety of roles from frontman and songwriter, to accompanying guitarist to background percussionist.
A natural leader and creative instigator, he is equally comfortable taking the back seat.
"The creative process thrives on collaboration. And that's what so wonderful about the scene here. People are really keen to contribute, help out and be a part of things, but not with any ulterior motive, just for the sake of the music itself."
And there is a small but inspired culture of this in New Zealand and particularly Wanganui, a place he says is for the way people have embraced and encouraged his creativity.
"I came to Wanganui because of the great scene here, which is renowned. I loved playing here on tour and I was real keen to work with Al Cameron who used to run the "Eye of Night" ... another iconic venue in Wanganui's music history that many of us remember fondly and have missed since Alan's tragic death last year.
"He was the real backbone of the scene here.
"He brought so many acts in, and helped so many people produce, without him what I have done would have been impossible."
"The same goes for Ross Mitchell-Anyon, he is a true philanthropist.
"He gave me the working space, the first one I could ever afford. Without his generosity and passion for the arts Stink Magnetic would not be what it is. And I don't know whether it ever will be again"
He and Erin, his wife of two years, travel south in a month's time.
"I plan to carry on the label, to keep gigging and touring. There's a fantastic scene down in Christchurch so it will be business as usual, but probably on a smaller scale.
"You know, recording out of mate's kitchens, practicing in garages ... none of the luxuries of my own studio."
Wanganui fans, myself included, can't help but feel embittered about this great loss to Wanganui, however Dylan assures me his loss will equal our own.
"Wanganui has given me an opportunity I may never have again, and for that I am eternally grateful. This place holds a special place in my heart, and Tape Man is howling with regret."
And as we know, someone will soon take up the torch that Dylan carried so long .
"It's in Wanganui's nature. You sow a seed in the music scene and it blossoms like crazy"