The Veils - Issue 2

Written by Stevie McGarrity-Alderdice

Charismatic singer-songwriter and talented frontman Finn Andrews began his early musical career in Devonport before forming acclaimed band The Veils in London.All this before turning 20.

Finn Andrews, son of XTC and Shriekback keyboardist Barry Andrews was a Takapuna Grammar schoolboy when he first arrived at Devonport fixture, The Depot Artspace in 2002, for guitar lessons with local musician James Davy. James knew he had a remarkable talent in his studio and told Finn that he, James, was superfluous to requirements, sending him to The Bus Recording Studio to talk to manager and iconic Kiwi musician Rikki Morris.

Rikki produced a demo CD with Finn and sent if off to the UK. A $600,000 record deal was then signed and Finn was on his way, making a phenomenal leap from his Devonport bedroom to recording in the Olympic Recording Studio in London alongside his idols, the band Oasis. Fast forward four years or so to Amsterdam and my trip across the channel to meet up with Finn and see the Veils perform.

Like a lot of people, I was always told I had to visit Amsterdam, but it never really happened until I found out that The Veils were going to be playing at the Paradiso, a legendary music venue in the very heart of the city. Paradiso has been associated with almost every  counter-culture you can think of since the sixties and has hosted music industry legends like the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was also an opportunity to introduce my friend Dan to lead singer Finn Andrews and indulge my nostalgia for New Zealand, which I had visited two years earlier as a travelling artist.

We met back stage at Paradiso where the band was in its final preparations for the performance; Sophia (bass), Henning (drums), Dan (lead guitar) and Liam (keyboards) filled the room with flowing conversation while Finn moved among them like a wraith, wearing a white shirt and his trademark wide-brimmed black hat, snapping his fingers to some rhythm or maybe a thought going through his head. Two other Kiwis, both old friends from Auckland, arrived and the dressing room started to buzz with excited anticipation.

With only ten minutes to go, I headed off into the main hall, and realised, through the emerging glow of the dim lights and hazy cigarette smoke, that the place was crammed full with hundreds of Veils fans. Though I’ve seen The Veils play many times before, I felt the excitement and the anticipation of the crowd. Once the stage was set and lights in the theatre extinguished, the noise level began to rise, and as the band walked on stage, the cheer was deafening. Immediately Finn began strumming his guitar and the audience was transfixed. As Finn screamed, yelled, wailed, twisted and curled up on stage, the crowd went wild and wanted more. Here was a piece of history in the making, a gig that people would talk about, songs that would remain etched in memory and continue to be sung by fans long after the hype had died. Seeing them in Amsterdam really brought home to me how The Veils have become a popular mainstream band, with their new album, Nux Vomica, cementing their future internationally. It seemed a far journey from Finn’s Devonport home, where, in 2004 three friends gathered to give form to a dream that is the present lineup of the Veils.

As the band came off stage, I handed all of the band members a towel, and got caught up in the exhilaration of knowing they played an amazing gig. There was no question that the experience was well worth the trip to Amsterdam and I travelled back on the Euro Train to London still hearing Finn singing his songs in my head. I will never forget seeing a slice of musical history that the good folks of New Zealand should feel proud to be a large part of.

Make sure you keep an eye on tour dates via www.theveils.com.