Bill Direen
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INFLUENCES I started with a US/UK folk ("They'd better hang me till I die", "The Ballad of Hollis Brown") and depression-years blues (Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie) and a few of my own songs at the Christchurch Folk Club. Then I picked up an electric guitar and joined two others in 1975 to play original songs influenced by 60s garage and East Coast US sounds. The band was later called Vacuum. The Punk revolution occurred while I was in Wellington discovering cabaret and electronic music. Douglas Lilburn opened my ears to 1950s magnetic tape pioneers and to everyday sounds, like cicada-song. Punk and New Wave were great, but Vacuum was not one of those bands. We reformed and continued our own counter-offensive. Peter (Stapleton) and I put a lot of work into the words of our separate songs, and the group was known for its own kind of controlled anarchy when we split once and for all in 1979-80. I then formed band after band: hard-folk, electronic music, freak-form and independent- or garage-pop, story-songs of despair and endurance. We played in New Zealand bars or theatres and in underground venues overseas. I often played with people spontaneously (in London, Cambridge, Bordeaux & Berlin), but once I stayed in a place long enough for a true band to take shape. I wrote a bunch of songs on guitar in a New York hotel during a tough two months, then hired a studio in Manhattan to record with the band with no name - three kiwis and three New Yorkers. Hamish Kilgour, Allen Meek, Tony O'Blaney(NY), Lisa Siegel(NY), Liz Silver(NY), and guest Steve Cournane. Graeme Downes and his soundman Victor Grbic dropped in to lend a hand with the sound and a complete album was finished before I returned to NZ. So here they are, together at last -- Twelve Songs: The New York Sack.
News The first Builders album in over twenty years is called Chrysanthemum Storm and is set to be released on October 1. Link to the press release and tour poster Recently returned to New Zealand after ten years in Europe, Power Tours is proposing an evening of theatre songs made up from the many theatre-music shows Bill Direen, has been involved with over the years. He has worked with alternative theatre groups both in New Zealand and overseas since the 1980s–(in fact he completed a thesis on the theatre in 1982 at Canterbury University before becoming player-manager of Soluble Fish and Blue Ladder Groups). Some Palmerstonians may remember two shows in the 80s at Centrepoint Theatre of such songs. Powertool Records has recently released two CDs of these songs. The first were co-written with Alan Brunton of Red Mole Theatre Group. Alan died in 2002 in Amsterdam, but he and Bill collaborated on a musical based on the life of Michael Joseph Savage. Songs for Mickey Joe is the record of that show. Another rock opera staged by Bill and seven actors at BATS Theatre was Dial a Claw, and Powertool has released the stunning and catchy tunes from that show. What a great film it would have made… and might still make! An entertaining evening by a professional touring unit is guaranteed. The group asks only that a night’s accommodation be arranged, and that the door take goes largely to the group. Performers: Bill Direen acts and sings. Andrew McCulley, music graduate Auckland University, keyboards. Bill accompanies himself on acoustic guitar for some songs. Occasional music and tech: Brett Cross The tour is managed by Andrew Maitai. Scott Hamilton's interview with Bill Direen regarding 'Songs For Mickey Joe'.http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/ New stick video with new music from 'Songs For Mickey Joe' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR7DXxbaDqQ Here is a link to the Builders performing Russian Rug at Al's Bar in Christchurch on their recent national tour. Check out the old guy getting down on the dance floor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHasmVS1stg Radio New Zealand broadcast an interview that Trever Reekie did with Bill Direen, Otis Mace and Andrew Maitai on Saturday 17th November. If you missed it, here's a link to the podcast. www.radionz.co.nz/national/music/talk Check out Bill Direen's Website http://william.direen.online.fr/music Video by Max Quitz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6O6Jv8g8UE%0D%0D Bill Direen played a fabulous unadvertised 'secret gig' on the1st September at Auckland's PR Bar. Here is a review and pics from Scott Hamilton. http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/ A link to a recent interview Russell Brown (Radio Live) http://publicaddress.net/system/topic,594,pa_radio_bill_direen_words_and_music.sm |
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PT101: Bilders - Parisian Friday (CD Album) 2010 1.Citizens Of Nowhere 2.La Nuit Du Couvre Feu 3.No God But Orgasm 4.Dans La Rue - On The Street 5.Parisian Friday 6.Epitaph Of A Tyrant 7.Das Deutsche Miserere 8.Le Fossoyeur 9.The Spell 10.Father William 11.Le Cendrier 12.Holidays 13.La Meme Situation (Ou Je T'Aime) |
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PT085: Bill Direen And The Bilders - Chrysanthemum Storm (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records 1.Nobody's Fault 2.Criminal Minds 3.Rosko 4.Lee Anne 5.Chrysanthemum Storm 6.Luza Sweepaz 7.Marie 8.The Photographer & The Oceanographer 9.Resons 10.Rose In Rain 11.Try Again 12.Baden |
US: $13.95 NZ: 20.00 |
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PT083: Bill Direen - Dial a Claw (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records 1.Slow Claw 2.Operator Song 3.Be My Gull 4.Slow Birdie 5.Big One 6.So Long Bob 7.Clock Radio 8.Only One Foot 9.Operator Reprise 10.Fast Birdie 11.Fast Claw 12.Only Be Certain |
US: $13.95 NZ: 20.00 |
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PT078: Various Artists - Bulletholes 3: The Best Is Yet To Come (Compilation Album) 2008 Powertool Records 9.Bill Direen - Song Of The Bloodsucker |
US: $13.95 NZ: 20.00 |
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PT074: Bill Direen - Songs For Mickey Joe (Mini Album) 2008 Powertool Records 1.Build The Ideal 2.Put a Li'l Sugar In Yr Pocket, Friend 3.Comrade Joe 4.Song Of The Unemployed 5.Kindly Stranger (Walk With Him) 6.Soilder In The War 7. Unemployed (alt. version) 8.From The Cradle To The GRave |
US: $10.95 NZ: $15.00 |
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PT070: Bill Direen - Human Kindness (Album) 2007 Powertool Records 1.Out on the town 2.Out of something shattered, something new 3.Romeo's song 4.Little time before 5.The way that I feel 6.Weapons bank 7.Same situation 8.Oiseau (south into winter) 9.Pop whistle 10.It's 19:10 when do we meet again 11.Pavlova flambe 12.It was good while it lasted 13.Go where the spirit takes you 14.When the birds sing (mix 1) 15.I pour myself a warm incarnadine drink of you 16.In the beauty house 17.My speech parched voice would fill with spittle 18.Little time before (live-instr) |
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PT063: Bill
Direen - Yes Today, No Tomorrow
(Album) 2006 Powertool Records.
1.High are the mighty 2.Discette on the road 3.Approaching south island 4.South Island 5.Bedrock in Hamburg 6.No name 7.Ferry 'cross the estey 8.When the birds sing remix 9.'Mighty' as a pop organ line 10.The door is swinging 11.The kids (carried away) 12.Scaribus 13.That night many things 14.Birds on the ground |
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PT050: Bill Direen & Friends - New York Sack (Album) 2006 Powertool Records. 1.Always be round 2.Trees 3.Serious 4.Nil nil 5.Dark hands 6.Nolita 7.How the south was won 8.Nutshell of love 9.Pearl 10.Kamikaze hearts 11.Ozone angels 12.Tribeca |
Articles and Reviews
| PORKY'S PRIME CUTS: Bilders (no honorific, and no U) IS Bill Direen, a Christchurch artist who has made countless albums over the years and has released this at the same time as another album, Mindful. From 1980 Bilders were a proto-punk band and although, like The Fall, many have come and gone, Direen remains it’s driver. The Lowdown: This is a kind of music that is both minimalist and satisfying. I’ve never viewed those words as compatible in an album, but, like John Cale when he relaunched his career in the early and mid-zeroes, this works. Direen has a beautifully languid voice which easily draws you in, like a grandfather telling a tale of ghosts and ghoulies. I Think We’ll Be All Right is essentially Direen talking, attempting to tell a story, even taking a second bite at the opening sentence. There isn’t a great deal to it but it nevertheless, leaves you wanting another chorus or two. And, like Cale, Direen has a knack of formulating atmospheric and intelligent songs, notably so on Byron & Eve, six minutes of beauty, steeped in classical history,”The severed head of Orpheus/ floating down from Thrace/ The rest of his belongings/ on a sexless ass.” I may have overdone the Cale comparisons, but it’s an obvious one, with strains of the Velvet Underground, in such songs as Four Long Years, although Bilders are very much a distinct outfit with Direen’s vocals and ideas bleeding heavily into the make. Anything else? Direen says Mean Time is a tribute to the characters and personalities of the emerging independent scene in Christchurch in the late 70s/ early. Craig Haggis: http://craighaggis.wordpress.com/ |
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Bill Direen And The Bilders Tour First a big thank you to Bill Direen and the Bilders (Brett Cross, Andrew McCulley and Andrew Maitai). To Richard Anderton for tagging along and providing us with an extra vehicle and support and to Vorn for being an excellent support act throughout the South Island. Also Campbell Walker who accompanied the touring party shooting live footage for his upcoming documentary. To all the venues and to everyone that helped us out with places to sleep and most of all to everyone that came to the shows, brought the cds and cheered us on. We love you all!! Here is an excert of the review Kiran Dass did for Texture from the recent Wellington show. "It's nice to be back in Wellington. Despite everything it's done to me," he joked before breaking into a winning smile. I was reminded what a charming and charismatic performer he is. He offered lots of funny banter and anecdotes between songs. Direen's backing band The Bilders were great, particularly the keyboardist (who nailed that psychedelic and swishy Velvet Underground style). And they turned out a pitch perfect rendition of Flying Nun classic 'Do the Alligator' complete with great backing vocals. His set was an excellent demonstration of his varied back catalogue which spans at least 30 years. Direen and The Bilders effortlessly veered from 60s psychedelic garage, folk, and drunken sounding sea shanties. For the full review |
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| http://detailedtwang.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html article of Monday, April 09, 2007 BILL DIREEN & THE BILDERS : "ALIEN" 45 I once knew a woman in the early 90s named Sharon McKenzie who had just come off a college stint as a "disc jockey", as had I (she at KDVS in Davis, CA; me at KCSB in Santa Barbara, CA and KFJC in Los Altos Hills, CA). She went to every show I did - and at that time we were averaging 2-3 per week - and when she told me she was starting a record label, I thought that was pretty cool. She stumped me with her first artist, though, telling me it was something by BILL DIREEN & THE BILDERS, and then getting a little annoyed when I didn't know who that was. She was all, "You don't know who that is?", and I was all, "No". So she goes, "He's a New Zealand outsider pop legend", and then I go,"Oh, well I haven't heard of him". So she's all, "later". Of course I bought Direen's "Alien/Skulls" 45 that came out a few months later on Sharon's HECUBA RECORDS, and became a BILL DIREEN convert shortly thereafter. His story is arguably the most unsung of the great New Zealand 1980s outsiders (I say arguably because there's also THE KIWI ANIMAL and SHOES THIS HIGH, not to mention THE GORDONS), and you'd be well advised to pick up the FLYING NUN series of CDs that came out in the mid-90s that collected his early works. Direen still records music to this day and is a published poet of much renown; Hecuba folded up shop very quickly after this single; and I haven't seen Sharon in a coon's age (you can still say "coon's age", can't ya?). I'm posting "Alien" because it's my favorite of Direen's many eerie, organ-heavy loner pop records, which always seem to be uplifting in their way but are full of strange stumbles down dark musical alleys. This particular version is a later (1990?) run-through one of his earliest songs, originally from 1981. It's a good one, and you will like it. Play or Download BILL DIREEN & THE BILDERS - "Alien" (from 1991 45) posted by Jay @ 8:02 AM 4 comments |
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Bill Direen: Yes Today, No Tomorrow CD (PT 063) Powertool Records've sent me Bill Direen's latest release "Yes Today No tomorrow- Bits and pieces 1995-2006" & its alright. It's a collection drawn from a vast number of performances, locales and recording situations, involving a large number of collaborators & enablers. What it delivers that American Idol doesn't and can't is emotional and aural complexity, and thus a degree of verisimilitude to life that glossy, shallow pop just glides over. The first track, High Are The Mighty, is the most self conscious attempt at being a STATEMENT instead of the kind of fun, wordplay & or silliness that is evident elsewhere. (See the desk-video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxjKBL6LhpQ) What it's not (& praise be to the Great pumpkin, or the Spaghetti monster or any other deity you care to invoke) is pretentious. Bill here as often before, displays signs of a life & thought process shaped by erudition, wide travel & an almost Zen wisdom & forgiveness about human frailty, along with always inventive music using a fairly consistent and simple musical palette of keyboards, guitar and various rhythm instruments with occasional samples and one piano accordion. Grant McDonagh, 3 April 2007 |
| The New York Sack, Bill Direen and Friends (PT 050). While everyone else always used to say Vacuum sounded heaps like the Velvet Underground (which they did) I often used to think of Bill as a Chch version of Tom Verlaine, if Tom had remained as cool & focussed as he was on Marquee Moon (& what went before it), cos apart from the literate lyrics & humanity, Bill was always one hell of a flash guitarist especially in the NZ punk/post punk & alternative milieux where most musos were hardly virtuosos & weren't expected to be. When I first came across him in Vacuum in '79 there were still strains of the 70's folky, singer-songwriter à la Dylan/Cohen there, though with (much) better (& more appropriate for the punk era & generally American punk & 60's) influences (13th Floor Elevators, Velvets, Feelies, Voidoids, Pebbles/Nuggets etc. etc.) as well. I like the first and last songs most I think, the first one for the very Vacuum like keyboards from Alan Meek, who plays piano throughout (except the last one by Bill). All of it including all the rest is on a par with practically anything Bill's done in the past. So? So… yeah!!!! -- Grant McDonagh, 14 December 2006 |
