Bays of Our Lives

Whether it's Damon Harvey local Councillor or Damon Harvey from Attn! Marketing PR or Damon Harvey from your normal friend list, there's no denying he's one of Hawke’s Bay’s most visible and energetic champions of local business, local politics and local sport. An ultra-busy dad, a man who thrives on connecting people, a superfit sport-billy, a surfdog and an all-round infectiously excellent Hawke’s Bay person of influence – Harvey is someone we really should have had on the Bays Of Our Lives Podcast WAY earlier. Sozz babes.https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tYSPbXIwDPC49h0ywpvqp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If aliens suddenly descended to earth, romped into your kitchen, held lasers to your face and said “Tell us who your live music leader is in five seconds or you will die in a puddle of ooze”. Then all anyone in Hawke’s Bay would need to say is “Calm down, it’s Roy Brown”. An incredibly talented pianist, vocalist and songwriter in his own right, Roy has single-handedly championed live performances for hundreds of local and international acts of almost every genre imaginable through his ownership of The Cabana in Napier. Hawke’s Bay wouldn’t have a live music scene if Roy weren’t opening those doors on Shakespeare Road every night of the week. And a 1, a 2, a 1, 2, 3, 4!Additional audio editing was done by Kayla Tepania.Video was shot for this podcast.Kayla Tepania (editing)Regan Bailey (camera operator)Harry Lawson (camera operator) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there’s anyone more Hawkesbaylien than Andrew Frame we’re yet to see it. Famous for his blog ‘NapierInFrame’, Andrew (who played a mean recorder in the Tamatea Primary School orchestra of 1988) is on a mission to tell Hawke’s Bay’s stories. And through the power of Twitter (it will always be Twitter Elon!) he also keeps corporate media and political baddies on their toes and highlights the quirky things about our region. Two Countdown-Woolworths supermarkets directly across the road from one another. Why? We HAD to find out!Andrew also isn’t afraid to be brutally honest about his struggles, broken dreams and ambitions to make major life changes. We hear ya Andrew! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some podcast eppy’s are real pinch-yourselfers. Like how on earth did Dan and I manage to snaffle some time with one of New Zealand’s most talented authors? And how on earth did we not know that she lives on our back doorstep? Ugandan-born, England-raised Charity Norman is an ex-barrister who now divides her time between Wellington and Central Hawke’s Bay. According to Google she’s written eight novels. 8!!! But by the time you read this it’s probably more like a dozen. Her talent has netted a raft of prestigious literary awards including the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel in 2023 for Remember Me. Our chat with Charity was seriously choice! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a hotshot LA lawyer meets a homegrown Kiwi boy on a boat in Nicaragua? Of course, they have a whirlwind affair, fall in love, and within months, the criminal prosecutor has moved her life across the world to be with her new beau, Tom, in rural Hawke's Bay. Culture shock? Hell yes. Danielle says she and Tom connected over their mutual love of the outdoors, animals and travel, eloping to Africa to tie the knot . Back home in Havelock North, she developed a Pilates and gyro studio called MOOVE and more recently founded Alma, which is more than an exercise studio. It’s a community. We talk veges, herbal tea, travel, dogs, Hollywood and all things health with this hurricane of a human! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don’t get much more ‘baptism of fire-ish’ than just getting your head around becoming the youngest ever editor of the main newspaper in a region and then suddenly that place is hit with a massive cyclone. And you can’t tell people about it. When power and comms were wiped out for days on end during the biggest natural disaster Hawke’s Bay had seen in nearly a century, that’s what Chris and his staff faced. He talks us through that chaotic time and how they finally got the stories out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie MacPhailIf one person has revolutionised how urban and rural folk experience live music in recent years, it’s Mr MacPhail. And if you gaze at those lone, little community halls out in the far flung countryside and think “I wonder what they look like inside?” Then chances are Jamie will be able to answer your question because not only has he opened up these quirky, small, characterful buildings to the masses, he’s even put some of New Zealand’s greatest musicians and singers on their stages during his ‘Small Hall Sessions’. So of course Dan and Yvonne are gargantuan fans of his. From a past-life in record company land, to a new direction as a tour promotor, Jamie unveils the high notes, the almost-disasters and everything inbetween, Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Holy heck, did this actually happen?? Yvonne is still wrapping her head around the fact that one of the world’s greatest wine celebrities was. In. Her. House! Oz Clarke OBE, globally revered wine expert, author, actor, singer, cyclist, steam train fan, TV presenter and NZ Wine Hall of Fame inductee for his four decade long advocacy for kiwi wines (Marlborough sauvignon blanc in particular) popped in to Chez Lorkin after a whirlwind day of wine tasting to sit at the kitchen table and wax fizzicle with us before we all hit the Taste Hastings Wine Festival. Such fun! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merry Christmas, Hari Kirihimete, Happy Hanukkah, and let's have a great 2024. Yvonne and Daniel have a long, random chat, some of which has holiday themes, year roundups and well, it's been a while since the two had a one on one catch up. So here goes... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At just 22 years old Alena Kamper became the youngest ever winner of the Tonnelier Mercurey New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year competition. And she’s gorgeous, she’s super-sharp, she’s funny AND she’s darn nice person. So we hate her. Hawke’s Bay born and raised, Alena was a science nut at school who discovered that winemaking could actually be a fantastic way of channelling her talent after attending a high school careers expo. Just a few months after graduating (with top marks) in Wine Science from EIT she entered the competition and lo! Her star indeed shone bright. She’s now working at Sacred Hill Wines and we’ll be watching her career progression like the proud celebrity stalkers we are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Darryl (DLT) ThomsonNo apologies for why this is one of our longer episodes because when you snaffle time with one of New Zealand’s most influential musical identities and one of New Zealand’s downright excellent humans, you milk it right? Born in Maraenui, Napier, DJ, music producer, composer and artist DLT, was a founding member of Upper Hutt Posse (remember “E Tu?”) and Dam Native. He kicked off the True School Hip Hop show on 95bFM, now one of the longest-running radio shows in New Zealand AND he wrote the barnstorming banger “Chains” with Che Fu, a song now listed at number 22 on the greatest New Zealand songs ever written. A couple of years ago he gave Auckland’s music scene the bums rush, moving to Hastings to care for his ill mother and to begin channelling his creativity into painting and parenting. And of course, podcast guesting… Follow him on Facebook at @darryl.thomson Instagram @thomsondarryl and read up on his musical journey at https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/dltMusic groups: Upper Hutt Posse (1985 – 1993), Dam Native, Joint ForceAlbums: The True School, Altruism, Hi-Score: The Best of Che-Fu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does an ex-advertising man from Auckland’s inner-city suburbs go from creating loads of iconic campaigns and having loads of iconic Ponsonby lunches to carving out a very arty, in fact, a very successfully arty life in Hawke’s Bay? Josh Lancaster spills the turps on his transformation and mops it all up with more juicy stories than you can flick a Filbert brush at. Follow his incredible paintings on Instagram and Facebook at @joshlancasterpaintings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artist Andy Heyward rose to coastal notoriety as the King Andy of Haumoana in the early 2000’s by winning a local election. He was the young, bewhiskered, wacky cartoonist and writer of the Hawke's Bay Today kids' page, who developed a cult-following for his grotty and gross pictures and poems about innards and fluids. King Andy abdicated in 2011 to develop bacon balm, combat cushions and pirate gear under his Fat Spatula brand.  We talk dugongs, fork crowns, sock capes, knitting, lemons, goat appreciation, insecurity and everything in between. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you’re the son of New Zealand acting royalty, the odds are stacked in favour of you following in those film industry footsteps. But for Gilly, his shoes stayed firmly behind the camera in a career as a lighting tech for some of our best-loved films, both local and Hollywood blockbusters alike. We talk growing up on a commune at Waimarama Beach, teenage years of roaring around Hastings, Taika Waititi, being a young teacher, accidentally almost critically injuring someone hugely famous, and his new gig operating cameras for Hawke’s Bay screen projects through his company Hero Shot and his role as Chair of the Eastern Screen Alliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine the crazy paces, ratings races and glamour faces of women’s magazines then you’d be picturing our guest Fiona Fraser. Now comfortably ensconced in the sleepy hamlet of Havelock North, running a successful PR and communications company called contentment.co.nz We talk upsticking from the hipster Auckland suburbs, nerdy parenting, kiwi celebrity scandals, superstar scoops and what it’s been like saying “I’m with the band” when that band is Fat Freddy’s Drop. She’s got a bunch of juicy stories and this ep is where you’ll hear ‘em.Sponsored by Decibel Wines and WineFriend Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode, Yvonne and Daniel start in a cozy spot, an on-air beanbag if you will, speaking with their friend and photographer to the stars, the mighty Richard Brimer. They discuss how Richard became a photographer, his close ties to the wine industry in Hawke's Bay and some of his upcoming projects. Richard has a plethora of his photography in publications around New Zealand. He can be found @rich.brim on Instagram and for prints and more information please visit www.brimer.co.nzSponsored by WineFriend and Decibel Wines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yvonne and Dan launch into the who, the what, the where and the why of Bays Of Our Lives. Presenting a menu of magical folk who call Hawke's Bay home (and a few visitors for good measure)Email us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.