Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs

Written by Molly McCarthy

Behind Devonport’s sleepy façade beats a thriving pulse of the rock n’ roll kind. Often heralded by the media as a “phenomenon”, the Devonport music scene is stronger than ever, with scores of young musicians clamouring to follow the legacy of bands such as the White Birds and Lemons, The Veils and 2005 AIMES award winners The Checks. The musical thread of the Devonport community and its past, present and future is traced in Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs, Bands of Devonport; the latest work from documentary maker Julian McCarthy. From relaxed jam sessions to heady live performances, the film captures every aspect of life in a Devonport band.

At just over one hour long, Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs follows several of Devonport’s finest young bands from their humble beginnings as witnessed and recorded by Rikki Morris, to their live concerts and growing success as they get release albums and score record deals. Julian first chanced upon the project through Devonport’s Depot Artspace - “It came out of a discussion with Linda Blincko from the Depot, who’d seen a documentary that I’d made about an anti-war artist. She talked to me about what was going on in the studio around the back with the young bands and Rikki (Morris).” Begun two years ago, the documentary blends interviews with the bands and Rikki with footage from recording sessions and live shows to tell the story of the bands, in fly-on-the-wall style.

The result is a slice of history, or perhaps of history in the making. Wherever these bands end up, Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs is somewhat archival in that it has captured the bands and their development over an 18-month period. “It was almost like there was a nursery or a hothouse of these young bands that were getting encouraged and they had talent. It interested me to see bands at that point where they were beginning to become successful and beginning to improve, visibly and audibly improve.” The idea of following young bands on their way to the top appealed to Julian as an interesting concept for a documentary, “That’s not something that you see very often - or capture on film or video. Normally you see bands that are much further down the track than that.”

The main bands featured are The Checks, the Electric Confectionaires and White Birds and Lemons, as well as a live performance from The Earlybirds at a concert in Windsor Reserve in 2006. From the relaxed jam sessions to the Checks’ heady farewell gig at the Masonic, the documentary features every aspect of band life. “I guess through the story we get a sense of the personality – if there is such a thing – of each individual band..” The progress of each of the bands over the course of the documentary is phenomenal. “I didn’t have an idea that there would be, in fact, so much progress within the space of about 18 months.” During the film-making process, The Checks, 2005 winners of the Aimes award for Excellence in Music, moved to London to record their debut album, Hunting Whales. Following its release, The Checks toured throughout the UK, US and Australia and New Zealand, returning from Japan just in time for the first screening of Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs. The Electric Confectionaires also released a debut album, Sweet Tooth, after signing with Sony BMG. White Birds and Lemons released a debut mini-album, Who Says You’re Free? and played at 2007 NZ Fashion Week and 2008 Big Day Out.

Following the initial screening of Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs at the Depot Artspace in April, Julian now hopes the documentary will be screened in film festivals around the world. He also plans to present it to the wider Devonport community, “People know of these bands - the place has a pretty strong sense of community - and I think a lot of people there would like to know more about those bands.” And as Ed Knowles of the Checks points out -“In some towns kids play soccer, in this town the kids play rock n’ roll”

Local artist Rob Tucker, who won an AIMES Emerging Talent award in 2007, created the title artwork for the Guitars from the Leafy Suburbs. Julian approached Rob after seeing his work. “I just came up with the idea of asking Rob to do it because he does know a lot of those guys who are in the bands and went to school with some of them. What he is doing is fresh and has a youthful energy about it.” Molly McCarthy met with Rob Tucker to discuss his award and what he’s been up to since MORPH last spoke with him.