It could be the start of an old-fashioned Kiwi comeback.
Decades after spending 14 years in the band which held perhaps New Zealand’s longest pub residency, and chalking up his spot in the Southland Music Hall of Fame, it’s high time Tony Ross returns for a bit of rock n’ roll.
What better place to do it than Arrowtown’s The Fork and Tap?
Ross’ journey as a muso has no definitive start date, except perhaps the day he was born.
But if you were to put a date on it, he says it started at nine years old, at school, and practically didn’t stop.
His biggest and longest stage presence was in Invercargill in the 1970s and ’80s, as lead singer of the Vision.
It’s widely regarded as one of the most polished resident cover bands in the country, taking up residency at the Whitehouse Hotel on the city outskirts for about 16 years.
Well known for its quality live reproduction of hit songs, the Vision saw almost 50 band members join its ranks over the years, and even Ross admits it took a bit of convincing to get him to enlist in ’75.
“I was playing in another band and the Vision saw me singing and rung me up and asked me if I wanted to come and join when one of the guys left, and, after a bit of to-and-fro-ing, I finally agreed to it,” he laughs.
“It was a fantastic opportunity as it turns out.”
It was a busy lifestyle, though, as all the members worked during the day as well, and Ross says while it wasn’t exactly hard-going, you had to be pretty committed.
“We would do four or five nights a week, you were getting a lot of miles on the clock at the time …
“[The band] was playing so much you couldn’t not get good.”
Then, in ’89, he moved up to Queenstown to eventually start an audio production business – Remarkable Audio – and reckons he hasn’t been playing up until the last 18 months, though the company’s kept him in tune with the music.
He’s also got his son, Sam, who’s also a top musician.
Ross says it was over Covid when he decided to pick up the guitar again, just for something to do, “and one thing led to another – it’s The Castle Rock Band” – which was initially just organised to be a one-time thing.
But Ross says he’s “real lucky” to be a part of it and able to get back into performing years later.
This time around, though, he’s mainly sticking to guitar and just a little bit of vocals, as all the group’s singers.
Joined by two other Vision members, Dave Gillies and Ned Wepiha (formerly Webster), drummer Patrick Brooks and Sam, Ross will take to The Fork and Tap stage this Sunday, somewhere he’s never performed before, pumping out a setlist full of classic rock.
The Castle Rock Band, The Fork and Tap, Arrowtown, 4pm till 7pm. Free Entry
