On the 9th of March friends, family and Te Vaka members flew to the Gold Coast to watch Nase fight. The fight went 3 rounds and Manase won by a unanimous judges decision. What a night - lots of screaming, hugging and celebrating!!!!
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Opetaia has 2 songs named in the list of finalist for the ISC songwriting comp. They are "Tutuki" from the Tutuki album and "Tamaiti Uma" from the latest album Havili.
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You have probably noticed there is nothing on the Te Vaka tour schedule this year. Well for the first time in 17 years Te Vaka has taken a break from touring. Not that the last 17 years haven't been filled with heaps of fun and adventures but there comes a time when you need to refuel the engines. Some of the band members have taken a break while others such as Livy have been very inspired and productive. Not only has she been working on her singer/songwriting career but she has created something incredibly exciting - her brand new, all female Polynesian dance group The Hula Dolls. "With a fierce fusion of pacific and contemporary styles is born a whole new genre of fast paced, sassy, graceful dance. "
You can see Livy and the Hula dolls on the 22nd of December at Schorcherfest in Sydney. Livy will be performing her own songs and introducing "The Hula Dolls" for the very first time. Proceeds from the tickets sold will go to recording Livys first solo album so if you can't come and would like to support go to https://www.tevaka.com/NZ_SP_order.html and buy a ticket. Please enter in the comments that you can't make it to the concert and you will be rewarded when she releases her first single with something special.
DATE: 22.12.2012
TIME: 8.30pm
VENUE: Valve Bar and Venue
900 Princess Highway
Tempe, Sydney
Event starts at 12.00pm and features approx 40 bands for $25.00
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Just announced -"Lovely World", the 9th track on the latest Te Vaka album "Havili", has won second place in the World Music Category of the ISC, International Songwriting Competition. ISC has the most prestigious panel of judges of all the songwriting and music contests in the world and it is certainly great to be part of it. This is the 3rd time a song written by Opetaia has won a place in the ISC. In 2005 "Samula" from the "Tutuki" album took second place and in 2008 "Tamahana" from the "Tutuki" album took first place. There was some great prizes including a beautiful tatooed "Luna" guitar.
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Wow we are nearly a quarter of the way through the year and I have just discovered that this blog is badly out of date so I will endeavor to remedy that right now. The "Havili" album was released on August the 24th, just weeks before the band hit the road for a fully booked 2 month tour of the USA. First stop New Mexico and the Globalquerque festival was a great way to start the tour and the 2 of days off after the festival to get over the jetlag was much appreciated. With sold out concerts in Chicago and New York, the band was having fun. Site seeing in New York was a definite highlight. Utah and the special people we met there was something else.Hope to get back there one day. After several shows in California and we were off to Alaska. What an amazing place! We had a great time in Alaska even got to go snowboarding not to mention the boys taking off their shoes, shirts and pants and doing a haka almost naked in the snow. There were lots of shows - Kodiak, Juneau, Fairbanks, Valdez, Anchorage. Lots of flights infact in 2 months we did over 30 flights with all the logs drums and it was a costly exercise but well worth it. The people we met in Alaska we will not forget - the hospitality and the love they showed us was too much. We flew straight from Alaska to Hawaii which was a huge temperature and culture shock - particularly as we first landed in Honolulu. Things felt better when we got to the big Island and our first time on Kauai was a treat - what an extremely beautiful place. After a few shows in various Islands in Hawaii it was back to Arizona for the last show of the tour. I have to say our 2 favourite venues of the tour were the Scottsdale Centre for the performing arts and the Attwood Concert Hall in Anchorage. Scottsdale had the most state of the art equipment and the sound and lighting techs were so onto it, it was an absolute joy to be there and the Attwood Concert Hall in Anchorage had a spectacular design and great sound and lighting too. Very nice. As you might have guessed on a long tour you do come across more difficult situations to perform in and really appreciate people who know what they are doing and equipment that does what it is supposed to. Last show done and we were all on our way back to Australia. There was a couple of flights to get to LA and one of them was held up with the end result that we almost missed the connecting flight to Australia and would have had to stay one more night. This would have been a disaster and luckily didn't happen.
On the 13th of November we arrived home but only for 3 weeks, just long enough to wash and air all the costumes, do a few running repairs and have a few decent meals before leaving again on the 7th of December for American Samoa. That was another adventure. From Australia there is no direct flight to American Samoa, you have to go via New Zealand to Western Samoa and from there to American Samoa. We have done a lot of flying over the last 15 years and have definitely had our fair share of challenges but getting to and from American Samoa comes pretty high on the list. Anyway, finally after a few delays and other unexpected happenings we did arrive complete with all band members and equipment.Our time in American Samoa was memorable, the appreciation the people had for the music and what we were doing made all the obstacles we had to overcome to get there 100% worthwhile. It felt like we had come full circle arriving in American Samoa - an inspiring and fulling way to end a big year.
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We are all just recovering from an exhausting, but exciting and satisfying recording experience in Studios 301 in Sydney. Studios 301 boasts an impressive list of celebrities who have recorded there and recently it includes names such as Lady Gaga, who recorded the first part of her latest album there, the Black eyed peas, Chris Brown, Kanye West and more, nice to bring some Pacific sounds into the place.
The log drums sounded superb, probably the best logdrum sound ever. Everything on this album has been recorded live, no midi stuff or loops. We had to hire several drum kits before Matatia was happy with his sound and we got in extra log drums to give different tone choices. Manase is producing this album and he wanted some strings so we had two beautiful young ladies in to play celo and violin on one track and a didgeridoo player from Perth flew in on the last day to record didgeridoo on another track. We all just want this to be the best album ever so have gone to whatever lengths to make this happen.
The days were very long starting at 10.am and ending at 10.pm, 12 hours of recording but there was still work to be done in the evening to be ready for recording the next day, so we are all feeling a little exhausted at the moment and preparing for the next part which is mixing the album. Our engineer Neil Baldock was amazing, just totally on the job the whole time and assisting us greatly with his 30 years of experience in the recording business. He will be the mixing engineer also when we arrive at Roundhead Studios (Neil Finn of Crowed house's studio) to mix the album in just over a weeks time. It is definitely all go.
Reply
Many things have happened over the last few weeks to send the past into the past and make the future very bright. The goals are rekindled, the fires are burning bright and the music is flowing! The songs I hear as I walk past the studio are enspired and I know Te Vaka fans are going to love them. The big challenge is getting the whole album finished, recorded, mixed, mastered, choreographed and rehearsed before the 2nd of July. We have a bit more money to raise to make the absolutely best album possible and I am in the process of putting together some exciting packages which I hope our fans will be excited enough to buy to help us make this happen. More info on that soon. In the meantime Opetaia is pretty much living in the studio - the songs are flowing, Olivia is choreographing some new dances, Matatia is challenging himself to be the fastest drummer on the planet, Manase is helping to produce the album, Talaga is working on the Tokelauan harmonies, Vasa is working up the basslines, while Tremayne and Neil, who are based in New Zealand, are practicing everything remotely until we all meet for the recording. It's not the easy way to do things but when did Te Vaka ever do things the easy way. I have started writing about how this whole Te Vaka thing got started and will share some crazy stories with all our fans some time soon.
Until next time
Te Vaka Management
Reply
SETLIST FOR TE VAKA CONCERT IN SYDNEY TODAY - Vakaaitu, te kaiga, mataliki, Samulai, Mata o tane (logs), Pate mo tou agaga (logs & dance), Talanoa (logs), Alamagoto, Ki mua, Pate Pate, Tauasa, Manu Samoa & Tamahana - see you there!
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Things are very hectic here in Sydney at Te Vaka headquarters. Songs are being written, workshoped and rehearsed - there are some great sounds coming out of the studio. We are all very excited about the new album and cant wait to get into a big studio to record it. At this stage I think we will go with Studio 301 in Sydney as they have recorded some great bands and it is a pretty cool place. We checked it out and the boys were happy as there was plenty of space for the log drums plus they had table tennis. The North American tour is shaping up well and the good news is that we end the tour in Hawaii. The band is very happy about that especially Matatia who will celebrate his 21st there! Should be wild. It's been a fairly high randomity week so far with the G5 Mac computer from the Te Vaka studio literally blowing up - smoke, a bang, the whole bit. Currently it is in the repair shop so we are all hopeful it will come back to life. Neil arrives early next week and there is a show on Sunday. No rest for the wicked so they say.
Till next time.
Te Vaka Management
Reply
Already the first two months of the year gone! Just like that. Pressure is on now, the album has to be ready for release by the end of May. The boys took a short break to refurbish and soundproof the rehearsal room. A necessary action to allow music to occur at any hour of the day or night. Matatia now has his own booth so he can play the drums as hard as he wants to and not get dirty looks from the rest of the band. He gets the band sound through inear monitors and we had a slight mishap on the first practice and almost blew his hearing as someone had pressed the wrong button. Over the next week all glitches will be ironed out and everything streamlined for production
Reply
Te Vaka / Blog
Nase wins super heavy weight fight!
On the 9th of March friends, family and Te Vaka members flew to the Gold Coast to watch Nase fight. The fight went 3 rounds and Manase won by a unanimous judges decision. What a night - lots of screaming, hugging and celebrating!!!!
Reply
Two songs in the finals
Opetaia has 2 songs named in the list of finalist for the ISC songwriting comp. They are "Tutuki" from the Tutuki album and "Tamaiti Uma" from the latest album Havili.
Reply
What we have all been up to
You have probably noticed there is nothing on the Te Vaka tour schedule this year. Well for the first time in 17 years Te Vaka has taken a break from touring. Not that the last 17 years haven't been filled with heaps of fun and adventures but there comes a time when you need to refuel the engines. Some of the band members have taken a break while others such as Livy have been very inspired and productive. Not only has she been working on her singer/songwriting career but she has created something incredibly exciting - her brand new, all female Polynesian dance group The Hula Dolls. "With a fierce fusion of pacific and contemporary styles is born a whole new genre of fast paced, sassy, graceful dance. " You can see Livy and the Hula dolls on the 22nd of December at Schorcherfest in Sydney. Livy will be performing her own songs and introducing "The Hula Dolls" for the very first time. Proceeds from the tickets sold will go to recording Livys first solo album so if you can't come and would like to support go to https://www.tevaka.com/NZ_SP_order.html and buy a ticket. Please enter in the comments that you can't make it to the concert and you will be rewarded when she releases her first single with something special. DATE: 22.12.2012 TIME: 8.30pm VENUE: Valve Bar and Venue 900 Princess Highway Tempe, Sydney Event starts at 12.00pm and features approx 40 bands for $25.00
Reply
Opetaia wins 2nd Place with "Lovely World"
Just announced -"Lovely World", the 9th track on the latest Te Vaka album "Havili", has won second place in the World Music Category of the ISC, International Songwriting Competition. ISC has the most prestigious panel of judges of all the songwriting and music contests in the world and it is certainly great to be part of it. This is the 3rd time a song written by Opetaia has won a place in the ISC. In 2005 "Samula" from the "Tutuki" album took second place and in 2008 "Tamahana" from the "Tutuki" album took first place. There was some great prizes including a beautiful tatooed "Luna" guitar.
Reply
Blog Update
Wow we are nearly a quarter of the way through the year and I have just discovered that this blog is badly out of date so I will endeavor to remedy that right now. The "Havili" album was released on August the 24th, just weeks before the band hit the road for a fully booked 2 month tour of the USA. First stop New Mexico and the Globalquerque festival was a great way to start the tour and the 2 of days off after the festival to get over the jetlag was much appreciated. With sold out concerts in Chicago and New York, the band was having fun. Site seeing in New York was a definite highlight. Utah and the special people we met there was something else.Hope to get back there one day. After several shows in California and we were off to Alaska. What an amazing place! We had a great time in Alaska even got to go snowboarding not to mention the boys taking off their shoes, shirts and pants and doing a haka almost naked in the snow. There were lots of shows - Kodiak, Juneau, Fairbanks, Valdez, Anchorage. Lots of flights infact in 2 months we did over 30 flights with all the logs drums and it was a costly exercise but well worth it. The people we met in Alaska we will not forget - the hospitality and the love they showed us was too much. We flew straight from Alaska to Hawaii which was a huge temperature and culture shock - particularly as we first landed in Honolulu. Things felt better when we got to the big Island and our first time on Kauai was a treat - what an extremely beautiful place. After a few shows in various Islands in Hawaii it was back to Arizona for the last show of the tour. I have to say our 2 favourite venues of the tour were the Scottsdale Centre for the performing arts and the Attwood Concert Hall in Anchorage. Scottsdale had the most state of the art equipment and the sound and lighting techs were so onto it, it was an absolute joy to be there and the Attwood Concert Hall in Anchorage had a spectacular design and great sound and lighting too. Very nice. As you might have guessed on a long tour you do come across more difficult situations to perform in and really appreciate people who know what they are doing and equipment that does what it is supposed to. Last show done and we were all on our way back to Australia. There was a couple of flights to get to LA and one of them was held up with the end result that we almost missed the connecting flight to Australia and would have had to stay one more night. This would have been a disaster and luckily didn't happen. On the 13th of November we arrived home but only for 3 weeks, just long enough to wash and air all the costumes, do a few running repairs and have a few decent meals before leaving again on the 7th of December for American Samoa. That was another adventure. From Australia there is no direct flight to American Samoa, you have to go via New Zealand to Western Samoa and from there to American Samoa. We have done a lot of flying over the last 15 years and have definitely had our fair share of challenges but getting to and from American Samoa comes pretty high on the list. Anyway, finally after a few delays and other unexpected happenings we did arrive complete with all band members and equipment.Our time in American Samoa was memorable, the appreciation the people had for the music and what we were doing made all the obstacles we had to overcome to get there 100% worthwhile. It felt like we had come full circle arriving in American Samoa - an inspiring and fulling way to end a big year.
Reply
Recording at Studios 301
We are all just recovering from an exhausting, but exciting and satisfying recording experience in Studios 301 in Sydney. Studios 301 boasts an impressive list of celebrities who have recorded there and recently it includes names such as Lady Gaga, who recorded the first part of her latest album there, the Black eyed peas, Chris Brown, Kanye West and more, nice to bring some Pacific sounds into the place.
The log drums sounded superb, probably the best logdrum sound ever. Everything on this album has been recorded live, no midi stuff or loops. We had to hire several drum kits before Matatia was happy with his sound and we got in extra log drums to give different tone choices. Manase is producing this album and he wanted some strings so we had two beautiful young ladies in to play celo and violin on one track and a didgeridoo player from Perth flew in on the last day to record didgeridoo on another track. We all just want this to be the best album ever so have gone to whatever lengths to make this happen.
The days were very long starting at 10.am and ending at 10.pm, 12 hours of recording but there was still work to be done in the evening to be ready for recording the next day, so we are all feeling a little exhausted at the moment and preparing for the next part which is mixing the album. Our engineer Neil Baldock was amazing, just totally on the job the whole time and assisting us greatly with his 30 years of experience in the recording business. He will be the mixing engineer also when we arrive at Roundhead Studios (Neil Finn of Crowed house's studio) to mix the album in just over a weeks time. It is definitely all go.
Reply
Saturday 7th May
Many things have happened over the last few weeks to send the past into the past and make the future very bright. The goals are rekindled, the fires are burning bright and the music is flowing! The songs I hear as I walk past the studio are enspired and I know Te Vaka fans are going to love them. The big challenge is getting the whole album finished, recorded, mixed, mastered, choreographed and rehearsed before the 2nd of July. We have a bit more money to raise to make the absolutely best album possible and I am in the process of putting together some exciting packages which I hope our fans will be excited enough to buy to help us make this happen. More info on that soon. In the meantime Opetaia is pretty much living in the studio - the songs are flowing, Olivia is choreographing some new dances, Matatia is challenging himself to be the fastest drummer on the planet, Manase is helping to produce the album, Talaga is working on the Tokelauan harmonies, Vasa is working up the basslines, while Tremayne and Neil, who are based in New Zealand, are practicing everything remotely until we all meet for the recording. It's not the easy way to do things but when did Te Vaka ever do things the easy way. I have started writing about how this whole Te Vaka thing got started and will share some crazy stories with all our fans some time soon.
Until next time
Te Vaka Management
Reply
Setlist for Annandale Hotel
SETLIST FOR TE VAKA CONCERT IN SYDNEY TODAY - Vakaaitu, te kaiga, mataliki, Samulai, Mata o tane (logs), Pate mo tou agaga (logs & dance), Talanoa (logs), Alamagoto, Ki mua, Pate Pate, Tauasa, Manu Samoa & Tamahana - see you there!
Reply
News Update
Things are very hectic here in Sydney at Te Vaka headquarters. Songs are being written, workshoped and rehearsed - there are some great sounds coming out of the studio. We are all very excited about the new album and cant wait to get into a big studio to record it. At this stage I think we will go with Studio 301 in Sydney as they have recorded some great bands and it is a pretty cool place. We checked it out and the boys were happy as there was plenty of space for the log drums plus they had table tennis. The North American tour is shaping up well and the good news is that we end the tour in Hawaii. The band is very happy about that especially Matatia who will celebrate his 21st there! Should be wild. It's been a fairly high randomity week so far with the G5 Mac computer from the Te Vaka studio literally blowing up - smoke, a bang, the whole bit. Currently it is in the repair shop so we are all hopeful it will come back to life. Neil arrives early next week and there is a show on Sunday. No rest for the wicked so they say.
Till next time.
Te Vaka Management
Reply
It's March already!
Already the first two months of the year gone! Just like that. Pressure is on now, the album has to be ready for release by the end of May. The boys took a short break to refurbish and soundproof the rehearsal room. A necessary action to allow music to occur at any hour of the day or night. Matatia now has his own booth so he can play the drums as hard as he wants to and not get dirty looks from the rest of the band. He gets the band sound through inear monitors and we had a slight mishap on the first practice and almost blew his hearing as someone had pressed the wrong button. Over the next week all glitches will be ironed out and everything streamlined for production
Reply