The very talented trio of Justin, Jane, and Maurice bring you some of the best live entertainment you're ever likely to see. Blending traditional Irish instrumentation with contemporary songs, this talented quartet brings something quite unique and very special to the New Zealand music scene.

You may have watched them on TV ONE's Good Morning show!

As well as reconstructing traditional Irish / Celtic tunes that have been around for generations, Shenanigans also enjoys taking well- known contemporary classics and 'irishing' them up. This combination makes for a very entertaining experience. Audiences are encouraged to get involved in the performance with plenty of crowd participation.

These four fine musicians blend the haunting sounds of fiddles Celtic whistles and mandolins with lush bass guitar backing, soaring vocals, and solid drumming to drag your guests onto the dance floor.

Their musical careers span many moons and many countries. This amalgamation results in a feisty collection of songs to keep you entertained for hours on end.

Don't wait until St. Patrick's Day to book this band. You can contact them directly HERE. They're great fun at any time of year.








 

BRIEF INDIVIDUAL BIO's:

Justin Reed: Grew up in Palmerston North. Schooled in Tawa.

Playing music (guitar and singing) since about 10 years of age. Always loved and played all kinds of music. Has been entertaining Wellingtonians with a huge musical repertoire for nearly 20 years. Well versed in not just Irish music, but most other genres too.

His enthusiasm for his music and entertaining in general is infectious and combined with his natural buoyancy, sense of humour and get-on-with-it (all-of-it and all at once) attitude, it's not possible to spend time with Justin and not feel that life is good!

Is never a day of his life when he hasn't loaded up his music-making gadgets to play music all day. (This usually includes having the T.V., radio, laptop, car stereo, home entertainment system, computer, cell phone/i-phone/smart phone, constantly on, and all at once.

Somehow he manages to be the business head of the band, take care of Jane and his two girls Ally-May and Charlotte and keep Maurice and Clint happy, whilst booking gigs, arranging accommodation up to 18 months in advance, recording new CD's & DVD's, finalizing deals whilst holding down a full time job, performing 3-4 nights a week and remaining sane himself. Just call him superman.

Sings like a cross between Elvis and a lark (Elvis on a high, rather, Elvis on high), plays acoustic guitar, mandolin, whistles, harmonica, electric guitar, probably plays bass given half the chance, plays great jokes and his entertainment button regularly goes off and all by itself... Most of them are spontaneous and original... so all-in-all he's an all-arounder, rather, an all-rounder! :)



Jane Boyers: If Justin is the hare, Jane is the tortoise!

Opposite in approach, but sharing in the same love of mostly the same kind of music, though because perhaps Jane had classical training, she tends to have an extended tolerance for it, that doesn't usually result in too many in-house squabbles. Ha.

She prefers to have less on (appointment-wise) and more space and time between events to breathe, practice, analyze and perfect, and also to try to downsize the size of her black bohemoth handbag. Neither of these things seem to ever happen!

Today there is only lunch, dinner snack (nuts and fruit), one change of clothes, hair straighteners, hair curlers, make-up, flat comfy shoes (for pack-downs), spare set of fiddle strings, hairbrush, vitamin C tablets, diary, jewelery, pain-killers (just in-case), children’s flashcards, deodorant, sunglasses, hair-ties and hairspray, sheet music, tin whistle pocket book, and somewhere, my wallet (I hope) as well as some unidentified squashed object down the bottom!!

Has been playing mainly fiddle for 28 years, though she got told off for excess rosin, too much gypsy, practicing the wrong kind of music, not wanting to be a soloist, distracting herself by forming too many illegal chamber groups at varsity, and generally got herself right perplexed that certain kinds of music were okay in some academic circles, but other genres weren't...

She believes such boundaries have been perhaps softened or even broken down today with a wide acceptance, cultural integration and celebration of world music and culture in general. Pleasing to see.

She enjoys playing mandolin and tenor banjo, (cheating really since they're all strung the same), but isn't allowed to play the Mandolin when Justin is, just incase he loses one of his 6 instruments, and doesn't look as cool.

Has a Design Degree.

Eked out an incredible existence in the USA in New York, Pennsylvania as a full-time costume designer for large stage-shows for two years as her "big O.E" (the best years of her life artistically - theatre is the place where music and art come together and USA the place for huge musical inspiration where great country, bluegrass, and jazz music abounds on every corner) and now is happily settled in Lowerhutt with her wonderful musical partner, her two cats, Maserati and Fibonacci and two children Ally & Charlotte, two cars, four violins, one cello, and lots of German ceramics, original art, early NZ pottery, crystal, silver, oak furniture, books on art, fashion, architecture and integrally and visually beautiful knickknack of no obvious value to her partner at all. If opposites attract, music is what brings people together as the only universal language (other than art I suppose, or love or something like that)

Is the one (out of four) in the band that can claim Irish heritage, great Grandmothers on both sides of her family, which makes her ¼ Irish?

We joke among ourselves that if we are all “1/4 Irish”, between the 4 of us we are the Real McCoy – the complete Celtic Extravaganza. (We’re asked every single interview and nearly every gig, “So, are you all Irish?”)



Maurice Phillips:

Hit Record – Maurice’s claim to fame is that he “played drums on “Life Begins at Forty” as part of the band “Dave and the Dynamos”, Porirua.

He is well pleased that from that stint he pocketed $50.

Featured on the “Jazz CD of the Year, 2000” awarded at “The Tui’s” – (NZ music scene equivalent of “The Oscars” he tells us).

Maurice’s catch phrase - played with “The Coasters”, “The Platters” and the “The Drifters.” Has also played with Jimmy Rogers (“Charlie Brown” Song)

Has been hitting drums since the age of 13 years. Parents bought first drum kit for me – was in Auckland at the time. Cost $30.00.

Starsign: Pisces.

Fav musical genre: World.

Fav thing to do: “Long walks”. Fav thing to eat: Food.

Last thing I do at night: “Go unconscious”.

Fav book: Watership Down.

Fav piece of music: “South Australia”… Any particular version? “My version – on a good day!”

Any life-long aspirations? “Wanted to take up printing at one stage – not an aspiration, just something to do, but then I found out I was colour blind… so that was that. I play drums now.”

Motto in life? “Enjoy it”.

Anything else worth mentioning? “Oh, I wrote a song once – “Don’t Grow Up, Whatever You Do. It was recorded…”

When would you retire? “Never – I want to die playing drums – I want to die on the throne.”

Maurice has been the inspirational force behind the Chilton St James “Drum Corp” (girls aged between 8 and 17 years), performing each year for “Art Splash” (accompanied and arranged by Maurice) at the M.F.C., to great national fame and acclaim.






I think that’s us pretty much summed up, both individually and collectively.

All that comes to mind for now.

Heaps to work with – lot’s’a tit-bits!



Probably too much, too late – but useful gems for us to have in general about our beloved friends and fellow musicians with whom we spend so much time professionally, and still know so little about personally!





Ciao for Now