Some of the finest musos to come out of Southland and Queenstown are tuning up to help golf fans get their groove on at Millbrook today.
The Kollective, fronted by father and son, Tony and Sam Ross, with Ned Wepiha on bass, Patrick Brooks on drums and Lindsay Thomas — Tony’s brother-in-law — on keys, are setting up at Smithy’s bar, overlooking the 18th green, from 4pm.
Formerly known as Castle Rock, they changed the band’s name after a line-up tweak.
Tony was a musical force in Invercargill in the ’70s and ’80s as lead singer with The Vision, widely regarded as one of the most polished outfits in the country — he earned a spot in Southland’s Music Hall of Fame.
He’s not surprised Sam got into music, noting when he was a toddler he used to hang around Invercargill’s The Whitehouse, for The Vision gigs.
Sam’s resounding memory of those early years is the red, paisley carpet.
Tony says the experience in the band is astounding, which brings with it a high level of professionalism.
‘‘The band is incredibly disciplined.
‘‘What you practise is what you’ll play — we aim to get the songs as close to the originals, but with our own bent.
‘‘We really break down the songs, we are all so fussy, we have high standards.’’
He says another huge strength of The Kollective is the vocals — Sam, Ned, Patrick and Tony all sing lead at times.
‘‘Not only does it lighten the load, it means audiences are not seeing the same guy singing song after song after song,’’ Tony says.
‘‘The blend we get is quite amazing — the harmonies are wonderful.’’
Sam says he gets ‘‘chills’’ hearing the harmonies.
‘‘The best thing is I don’t have to worry about the others stuffing up; there’s a lot of satisfaction playing with guys who are perfectionists.’’
Tony says The Kollective’s really just getting started but it’s gratifying to see audiences really listen and respond to their sets.
They have a varied repertoire — not so much a rock band as rhythm and blues — with different instruments being pulled out every now and then, for example, the mandolin, which features in REM’S Losing My Religion.
They also cover Seal, Steeley Dan, Prince, Tears for Fears, Hall and Oates, and Peter Gabriel and even dip into some Kiwiana and some Kiwi reggae.
While Tony describes Wepiha — a monster bass player with the groove from hell — as the musical director, Sam calls him ‘‘camp mother’’.
‘‘He calls the shots,’’ Tony says.
‘‘We work hard in rehearsals to find a way to make each song sound good.
‘‘We swap voices around, depending on the song.’’
Tony appears to be having the time of his life gigging with his mates and his son, who also has a rich musical pedigree, having played with the likes of The Feelers and country muso Jody Direen, while latterly he’s been doing sound for artists including Hollie Smith through Remarkable Audio, the family’s company.
Sam describes The Kollective as ‘‘a band without egos’’ and the experience is like soul food.
‘‘When you look forward to rehearsal every week you know you’re onto a good thing.’’
The Kollective, Smithy’s at Millbrook Resort, today, 4pm till 7pm, free
