Riddell Productions and AMPP

One of our great successes was that it was essentially a part-time army. For example, both Phillip and Hannah were working full-time jobs while we shot the film. Both Barbara and Lauren were working full-time jobs when we rehearsed the songs. Phillip was teaching ESOL, Hannah's worked a variety of interesting office jobs, and Barbara was working as an editor as well as a part-time opera singer. Lauren was teaching piano, but she's actually a lawyer. Andre was laying plumbing down. Julia is a yoga instructor, and Scott was working at a call centre. - So, as a result, I'm actually quite ok with not being a full-time musician. The social contract in NZ is very different: most of the bright people leave, so those that remain are all essentially polymaths to fill the skills shortages. I don't mind having a career in music and a career in journalism, except for the fact that it's an obvious conflict to review music for RNZ. My passion for the news has always been a facet of my life, and part of what I love about it is that the news is real, while all my creative endeavours as a musician are fiction. Keeps me grounded.