Billy TK
Encyclopedia
Billy TK is a Māori guitarist, born in Palmerston North
, New Zealand
. He has often been touted as the Māori Jimi Hendrix
, and is one of the most respected and technically proficient guitarists in New Zealand today.
, who helped fulfill his lust for improving his skills on his instrument. He played gigs for friends and family during his high school years, and once he had finished school, he set to build his own band. The result of this was The Sinners with Ted Cash on drums, Sonny Ratana on bass, Harold Hine on rhythm guitar and lead vocalist Theo Swanson. The band played at 21st birthday parties and the like until being invited to play at Rickies nightclub in Palmerston North and other venues around the Manawatu. The Sinners were one of the first New Zealand bands to utilise distortion
and similar guitar effects, and these effects would become a staple of Billy's guitar sound.
It was around this time, in the mid-60s, that Billy TK's friend, Ara Mete, gave Billy a gift — his first fuzz box and treble booster. Billy quickly took it to an electrical shop in Palmerston North, where he had copies of both made. Billy was hooked on the sound, and his obsession for guitar effects only received more grounding once the Jimi Hendrix album Are You Experienced? hit the airwaves in New Zealand, and Billy quickly made The Sinners learn all the tracks on the album.
to set up a unit there called Compulsion with Paddy Beach and Reno Tehei.
On Billy's return to New Zealand in May 1968, Billy TK auditioned for The Human Instinct
, with Maurice Greer on vocals and bass player Frank Hay, and after playing for them once, he was allowed into the band. After a tour of the South Island
and two changes of bass players, the band was ready to play the Auckland
circuit, where they mesmerised their audiences with their edgy, heavily Hendrix influenced hard rock
sound. The trio recorded three albums, Burning Up Years
, Stoned Guitar
and Pins In It
, which made the band legendary in New Zealand.
1970. The Human Instinct played 3 nights a week residency at the Bo Peep club, (Durham Lane) on one occasion with guest band The Game (1970 Battle of the Bands Auckland Winners). Human Instinct also played 2 nights at Hatchets,(24 Cook St) also on one night supported by the Game.
In 1972 during a short tour of Australia, the band split after a series of disagreements on musical direction.
with former Blackfeather
drummer Steve Webb from Australia, guitarist John Bilderbeck from Wanganui
and Gav Collinge on bass. When Webb and Bilderbeck left, Powerhouse shifted base to Palmerston North, recruiting Ara Mete on rhythm guitar, Jamie Tait-Jamieson on keyboards, Bud Hooper on drums, Arnold Tihema on congas and lead vocals and Mahia Blackmore on vocals and percussion. The band later also featured Neal Storey (ex-Dragon
) and Peter Kellington.
The band recorded an album, Life Beyond The Material Sky, in 1975 and also supported Black Sabbath
, Split Enz
, John Mayall
, Sonny Terry
and Brownie McGhee
, UB40
, Joe Satriani
and the Neville Brothers
in concert, although keyboardist Jamie Tait-Jamieson (founder of Biofarm Products Ltd.) left the group during this period, having given up full-time musicianship to run his family farm and marry his fiance Catherine Rowland.
at an Auckland concert. He has worked with several bands including Dunedin
Flying Nun Records
band King Loser, with whom he recorded an album. He also recorded with hip hop band DLT. He continues to perform and has played at several Human Instinct reunion gigs. In November 2008 TK unexpectedly joined former Powerhouse keyboardist Jamie Tait-Jamieson (now part of the 4-piece Manawatu family group The T-Bar Jays) onstage at the inaugural Mai Farm Festival in the Pahongina Valley.
, James Davenport, and others.
January 2009 saw Billy playing again at Parihaka International Peace Festival, this time as part of a reunited Powerhouse.
June 2010 saw the release of Gordonia, a feature film with a soundtrack by Billy. The film featured two tracks with the Human Instinct and a new recording, Gordonia Electric Suite.
Billy currently plans to increase peace work both within New Zealand and across international boundaries with StarPeace project http://www.starpeace.org/
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He has often been touted as the Māori Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, and is one of the most respected and technically proficient guitarists in New Zealand today.
Early work
Billy TK's began playing guitar at an early age, and was surrounded by talented young musicians during his family's frequent visits to Ratana PāRatana pa
Rātana pā is a town in the North Island of New Zealand, near Wanganui and Marton in the Manawatu-Wanganui region, which developed around the Ratana church there. It is a site of pilgrimage for the Maori followers of the Ratana faith...
, who helped fulfill his lust for improving his skills on his instrument. He played gigs for friends and family during his high school years, and once he had finished school, he set to build his own band. The result of this was The Sinners with Ted Cash on drums, Sonny Ratana on bass, Harold Hine on rhythm guitar and lead vocalist Theo Swanson. The band played at 21st birthday parties and the like until being invited to play at Rickies nightclub in Palmerston North and other venues around the Manawatu. The Sinners were one of the first New Zealand bands to utilise distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
and similar guitar effects, and these effects would become a staple of Billy's guitar sound.
It was around this time, in the mid-60s, that Billy TK's friend, Ara Mete, gave Billy a gift — his first fuzz box and treble booster. Billy quickly took it to an electrical shop in Palmerston North, where he had copies of both made. Billy was hooked on the sound, and his obsession for guitar effects only received more grounding once the Jimi Hendrix album Are You Experienced? hit the airwaves in New Zealand, and Billy quickly made The Sinners learn all the tracks on the album.
Human Instinct
After 4 years of playing together, The Sinners were reduced to a three piece band when Theo Swanson and Harold Hine both left, after which Billy TK also parted ways with the band to travel to MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to set up a unit there called Compulsion with Paddy Beach and Reno Tehei.
On Billy's return to New Zealand in May 1968, Billy TK auditioned for The Human Instinct
The Human Instinct
The Human Instinct are a New Zealand blues rock band that has been active since the late 1960s. The band currently consists of Maurice Greer , Phil Pritchard , Joel Haines and Tony Baird...
, with Maurice Greer on vocals and bass player Frank Hay, and after playing for them once, he was allowed into the band. After a tour of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
and two changes of bass players, the band was ready to play the Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
circuit, where they mesmerised their audiences with their edgy, heavily Hendrix influenced hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
sound. The trio recorded three albums, Burning Up Years
Burning Up Years
Burning Up Years is the debut album by New Zealand blues-rock band The Human Instinct. It was released in 1969 and reissued on CD by Ascension Records in 2001....
, Stoned Guitar
Stoned Guitar
Stoned Guitar is the second album by New Zealand blues-rock band The Human Instinct. It was released in 1970.The cover features an adaptation of a painting by New Plymouth artist Michael Smither, "Two Rock Pools"....
and Pins In It
Pins in It
Pins in It is the third album by New Zealand blues-rock band The Human Instinct. It was released in 1971 and was both the first album to feature bassist Neil Edwards and the last to feature Billy TK on guitar...
, which made the band legendary in New Zealand.
1970. The Human Instinct played 3 nights a week residency at the Bo Peep club, (Durham Lane) on one occasion with guest band The Game (1970 Battle of the Bands Auckland Winners). Human Instinct also played 2 nights at Hatchets,(24 Cook St) also on one night supported by the Game.
In 1972 during a short tour of Australia, the band split after a series of disagreements on musical direction.
Billy TK's Powerhouse
In 1972 he formed a new band, Billy TK's Powerhouse, playing in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
with former Blackfeather
Blackfeather
Blackfeather was an Australian rock group in the 1970s. The group had many members and went through two major incarnations - the earlier heavy rock version of the group, which recorded the album At The Mountains of Madness and the hit single "Seasons of Change", and the later piano-based lineup...
drummer Steve Webb from Australia, guitarist John Bilderbeck from Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
and Gav Collinge on bass. When Webb and Bilderbeck left, Powerhouse shifted base to Palmerston North, recruiting Ara Mete on rhythm guitar, Jamie Tait-Jamieson on keyboards, Bud Hooper on drums, Arnold Tihema on congas and lead vocals and Mahia Blackmore on vocals and percussion. The band later also featured Neal Storey (ex-Dragon
Dragon (band)
Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
) and Peter Kellington.
The band recorded an album, Life Beyond The Material Sky, in 1975 and also supported Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
, John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
, Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
and Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
, UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
and the Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...
in concert, although keyboardist Jamie Tait-Jamieson (founder of Biofarm Products Ltd.) left the group during this period, having given up full-time musicianship to run his family farm and marry his fiance Catherine Rowland.
Later work
In April 1996, TK performed a song with Carlos SantanaCarlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
at an Auckland concert. He has worked with several bands including Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s...
band King Loser, with whom he recorded an album. He also recorded with hip hop band DLT. He continues to perform and has played at several Human Instinct reunion gigs. In November 2008 TK unexpectedly joined former Powerhouse keyboardist Jamie Tait-Jamieson (now part of the 4-piece Manawatu family group The T-Bar Jays) onstage at the inaugural Mai Farm Festival in the Pahongina Valley.
Recent work
January 2008 saw Billy play with the Emma Paki Band opening the Parihaka International Peace Festival with Emma Paki, Mara TK, Jonathan CrayfordJonathan Crayford
Jonathan Crayford is a composer/multi instrumentalist.Jonathan studied classical piano and learned jazz by ear...
, James Davenport, and others.
January 2009 saw Billy playing again at Parihaka International Peace Festival, this time as part of a reunited Powerhouse.
June 2010 saw the release of Gordonia, a feature film with a soundtrack by Billy. The film featured two tracks with the Human Instinct and a new recording, Gordonia Electric Suite.
Billy currently plans to increase peace work both within New Zealand and across international boundaries with StarPeace project http://www.starpeace.org/