WOMAD

Pajama Club

From New Zealand

The surprise musical twist has been a recurring motif in Neil Finn's long career. But not even his wife suspected this latest one was going to start ramping up after he got his pajamas on. Nor that she would share equal responsibility for its irresistibly strange and propulsive grooves.

The Pajama Club began as a private after-dinner racket to fill an empty nest. With their two sons, musicians in their own right, off and away into the big old world, Neil and Sharon found themselves home alone with time, a sensible supply of red wine, copious musical instruments and a 16-track tape recorder on their hands.

“"I'd always had a hankering to play the drums, Sharon's had a similar attraction to the bass," says Neil. "We were having a great old time making noise but we didn't think too much about it until we started playing some of it back and found ourselves dancing."”

In between unfamiliar tools and naive enthusiasm, a fresh and potent musical chemistry had erupted. It travelled the world on hard drive as Neil toured with Crowded House through 2009. In far-flung hotel rooms he added guitar, keyboard and other melodic lines to take home to Auckland.

Enter Sean Donnelly, a local friend with a shared taste for sonic intrigue - as heard on numerous indie albums under the SJD banner. Neil and Sharon's lounge room funk grooves began to expand into new realms as the jams rolled out into fully formed tunes. Vocal contributions evolved in a similar natural fashion.

Asked how the world-conquering rock'n'roll star has modified his taskmaster role in rehearsals, Sharon is quick to reply: "I answer back."

"We know there's a long litany of couples in bands that ended very badly," Neil jokes. "We've had a few pre-emptive conversations and we think it's gonna be OK. But it's an experiment in progress. We'll get back to you in six months' time."

Biography supplied by WOMAD New Zealand 2012)
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