Watch Julia Deans Discuss Lady Sings The Blues
Kiwi songstress Julia Deans stopped by The 13th Floor to talk to Marty Duda about her involvement in the upcoming cabaret show, Lady Sings The Blues. Deans will appear along with Ladi 6, Hollie Smith, Annie Crummer, Whirimako Black, Ria Hall and Camille O’Sullivan as they celebrate Billie Holiday and the songs she sang. Additionally, […]
Lindi Ortega: Wasting Away In Faded Gloryville (Interview)
Canadian Americana artist Lindi Ortega has just released her new album, Faded Gloryville. For her latest musical offering, Lindi spent some time at the legendary Muscle Shoals recording studio in Alabama, soaking up some of the vibes left there by Southern soul greats such as Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Etta James. Lindi’s music consists […]
Watch Chris Knox Perform With Rackets at The Experiment
The Experiment, a five-day multi-media show happening at Auckland’s Basement Theatre kicked off last night. Auckland trio Rackets were scheduled to perform and the incredible Chris Knox was there to exhibit his art. They surprised and delighted patrons by performing together, resulting in one of the most visceral performances you’re likely to see or hear. […]
A Place To Bury Stranger’s Dion Lunadon: Living The Dream (Interview)
Brooklyn-based psych band A Place To Bury Strangers make a welcome return to Auckland this September after their triumphant performance at the 2013 Laneway Festival. Since then the band has released their latest album, Transfixiation and shared the bill with a reunited 13th Floor Elevators. The band is lead by guitarist/vocalist Oliver Ackermann and features […]
Watch Kevin Field’s 13th Floor Video Session
Jazz keyboard player Kevin Field has just released his third album, The A List. Recorded in Brooklyn, New York, The A List finds Kevin working with guitarist Nir Felder and ex-pat bassist Matt Penman. For this video session, The 13th Floor traveled to the Kenneth Myers Centre in Auckland where Kevin and his band were […]
Interview with Russ Rankin of Good Riddance!
Tove sat down with front man of Good Riddance. They played Wednesday night at Galatos with Vs The World and Auckland legends (and reformed for this show only) Prowler!
Lydia Lunch & Jon Spencer Talk To The 13th Floor
It looks like Auckland will be rockin’ tonight as The Powerstation hosts the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion for a show rescheduled from last week and The Kings Arms presents a set from No-Wave Goddess Lydia Lunch and her band Retrovirus. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to both artists recently and it seems only right […]
Watch Holly Arrowsmith’s 13th Floor Video Session
Having just moved north from Queenstown to Auckland, singer-songwriter Holly Arrowsmith has just released her debut album, For The Weary Traveller. Inspired by classic songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, Holly infuses her experiences of living in the deep South along with her roots in the US. Here she is talking […]
Listen To Wrecking Crew Bassist Carol Kaye (Interview)
For music fans, one of the most intriguing documentaries on offer at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival is The Wrecking Crew. The film shines a light on the group of session musicians who worked in Los Angeles in the 1960s in Los Angeles and played on just about every hit record to come […]
Peace Officer or Killing Machine? (Interview)
Documentary film makers Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber are in New Zealand to attend the screening of their film Peace Officer at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Peace Officer explores the militarization of the police department in the United States, particularly the SWAT teams. Their chief character in the film is Dub Lawrence, a […]
The Last Western? (Interview)
For their latest documentary, Western, co-directing brothers Bill and Turner Ross set their sights on the West Texas town of Eagle Pass to explore the current state of great American West. The Ross Brothers focus on Eagle Pass’s mayor, Chad Foster, a dynamic character who comes complete with a ten gallon hat along with local […]
Back To The Future With The Turbo Kid (Interview)
The Turbo Kid is a Canadian/New Zealand co-production which finds Kiwi producer Ant Timpson teaming up with Canadian directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell. A “retro-sci-fi” based in 1997, The Turbo Kid is a sweet-natured tribute to the 1980s with stylistic nods to Mad Max and BMX Bandits and an over-abundance of blood and […]
Margot Nash’s Family Secrets (Interview)
Margot Nash has been a filmmaker since the 1970s. The Kiwi-born, Sydney-based director and academic turns the camera on her own family with her latest documentary, The Silences, which screens at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival. Narrated by Nash herself, The Silences explores the secrets she discovered about her own family growing up […]
Jon Spencer: Back To The Apple (Interview)
Jon Spencer brings his Blues Explosion back to Auckland for a raucous show at The Powerstation on Friday, July 31st plus 3 more NZ dates. The band has just released their latest album, Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015. The album finds the trio in top form, with the songwriting centred around their adopted […]
Watch New Gum Sarn’s 13th Floor Video Session
With a debut album just released on Spunk Record, Auckland quartet New Gum Sarn are the hottest band on the local scene right now. Just before they set out on the road to conquer the rest of the country, they stopped by The 13th Floor to record a video session. In addition to playing two […]
Shining A Light On The Sherpa (Interview)
Film director Jennifer Peedom traveled to Nepal last year to make a documentary focusing on the often under-reported role Sherpas play in the huge business that has been built around Mt Everest climbing expeditions. Specifically, she planned to shine a light on Phurba Tashi Sherpa, who held the record with another Sherpa for most ascents […]
From Scotland To New Zealand With Love (Interview)
Originally produced to coincide with the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, From Scotland With Love has taken on a life of its own. The film was directed by ex-pat Kiwi Virginia Heath who combed through hundreds of hours of archival Scottish film footage, dating back a hundred years to come up with a mesmerizingly […]
From Bounty Hunter to Producer (Interview)
He’s been a bounty hunter, a private investigator and an author. Now Sam Brower is the producer of a feature-length documentary. Brower spent seven years investigating and tracking down Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). Brower finally got his man and Jeffs is now serving a […]
Robert Gordon Mixes Politics & Music (Interview)
A couple of weeks ago The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke with Morgan Neville, one of two directors of Best Of Enemies, the documentary screening at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival based around the 1968 televised debates between William F Buckley and Gore Vidal. Now, as the Film Festival gets underway, Marty speaks […]
Phoenix Rising (Interview)
Award-winning German film director Christian Petzold offers up his latest drama at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival. Phoenix has all the ingredients of a classic film noir/Hitchcock-ian thriller. Set in immediate post-WWII Germany, Phoenix tells the story of a disfigured holocaust survivor, Nelly, played by Nina Hoss, who, after reconstructive surgery that leaves […]