Want to know the best carparks in town to get you to soundcheck on time?

Wondering why it always rains at Big Day Out?

Auckland Libraries High Frequency panel discussion has the answers.

Join us for an entertaining evening of sound thoughts, old arguments and true stories about the highs and lows of making music in Auckland.

Our esteemed panelists include writer/musician Gareth Shute, venue manager Rohan Evans, producer/engineer Dave Parker, record label boss/DJ Andrew Maitai and the infamous Street Chant.

Following talk and refreshments, Lisa Crawley will be at the grand piano to perform an intimate set of songs from her upcoming album.

Where: Level 2, Central City Library
When: Friday 20 May, 6.00pm

Cost: Free

•  Georgian dreamgazers Deerhunter
•  dance punksters !!! (pronounced chick chick chick)
•  the LA art pop of Warpaint
•  the lo-fi psychedelia of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
• electro instrumentalists Holy F***

NZ Music Month is over for 2010, so I thought it was time to have a look back at some of our events. If you're anything like me you didn't have time to make it along to everything we had going on. Lucky for us Matthew was on hand throughout the month with a camera. Click the image to enlarge.

   

A massive thanks to everyone who played, and to everyone who came along to listen.

~Ashley

New Zealand Music Month isn't just an opportunity for the library to show off its sweet collections, and brag about all our influential friends. It's also an opportunity for us to do something that a lot of people don't instantly think of when they think about libraries: teach.

At community libraries around Auckland City we run Akozone homework centres, where school children can come and work on their homework and have a librarian on hand to help them out. On Wednesday 19 May local musician Tony Paki is stopping by the Glen Innes library to teach some of his songs, including a song he's written for Glen Innes.

Tony's a local, a father of three, and a member of the Tu Wharetoa, Te Arawa and Tuhoe tribes. He's been involved in music since he was young, getting started in a a Kapa Haka Group called Nga Tapuwae Junior Maori Club. We were lucky enough to get Tony along to share his love of music and Glen Innes with the Akozone kids. The workshop starts at 3pm on Wednesday 19 May, and is for under-13s.

If you've got the learning itch and can't be part of Tony's workshop, don't forget we've still got beginner's ukulele lessons at Central, and soon I'll be posting some information on our class on how to use the Naxos Music database.

~ Ashley

"Before the days of digital downloads, there was the record store: a place where music lovers could go to indulge their passion, where friendships and romances began, where bands formed, and where information was shared. It was a place that nourished the heart and soul of every music lover – a haven for creative people of all stripes…"
Introduction to Record Store Days, by Gary Calamar & Phil Gallo. 

So many songs we hear are connected to memories, and for us collectors, so many memories we have are connected to songs. Not just a tune, but album artwork, names in the credits, the weight in our hands, the smell of new vinyl or the dusty fingers from hours in the Second-Hand bin. 

The havens that were record stores may have dwindled in the face of iTunes, but the record clubs and vinyl appreciators have lived on. And today, black is back. Real Groovy is selling more vinyl than ever before, and more record players. JB Hifi is growing a healthy stock of new LPs, and independents like The High Seas have started to regain some territory. 

And all the while, hidden in the Central Library’s basement & Heritage shelves, our own extensive collection of rare and interesting records have been waiting for a chance to spin again. 

So come along to Auckland’s Central Library at 6pm on Wednesday 12 May to see the jewels of our vinyl collection, listen to some classic tunes, and share some sound opinions, memories and stories of our audible history. 

~Matthew

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ xslim/ / CC BY 2.0