Many Hands

Many Hands

A multimedia, multicultural world music arts, dance and performance ensemble.

Dates: June 1993 - October 1996

My roles included:

  • Drummer and percussionist
  • Dancer
  • Singer
  • Producer
  • Publicist

Many Hands was a group of 50 creative artists and performers, with six drummers - myself included, at the core.

The six of us met at an African drum class in 1993, and soon began performing shows with our teacher. After a while we decided to form our own band and Many Hands was born. We accomplished a great deal in the three years we were together.

From the very beginning, we realised that the drumming rhythms of the world could be combined in new and original ways, and we created polyrhythmic pattens incorporating influences from as far afield as Africa, South America, South East Asia and Japan. Our fundamental belief was that music, dance, rhythm and the creative arts are a common language shared by people the world over.

We started meeting musicians of every kind, from all over the world, who had made Wellington their home. Mixing melodies, rhythms and instruments from across the globe was a natural development for us, as we explored the possibilities of combining entire musical styles into completely new compositions, in a way that was unique to the band.

From a starting point of drumming together simply because we loved to drum, we found a niche in the music scene which was filled by no-one else. The energy, spirit and performance standards of the band were rated very highly by those who saw us perform, and we were very much aware of the fact that something special happened to us all when we played together. It was a Meant-To-Be kind of a thing.....

Many Hands still exists, now based in Auckland. Two of the core members are still part of the group, which now concentrates on Asian-influenced music.

Many Hands' Wellington performances included:

  • Wellington Summer City, Oriental Parade - February 1994

    Our first public performance. I remember being pretty nervous, especially as our show was watched by a bunch of gang members on huge Harley Davidsons....

  • Pericles - Victoria University Summer Shakespeare - February 1994

    Many Hands were invited to compose and play the accompanying music for the Summer Shakespeare 3-week season of Pericles, rehearsing daily with the cast for 6 weeks prior to opening night. It was an exhausting shedule - I learned to play Taiko drums and wore myself out every night accompanying the storm scene - feeling what can only be described as "magnificent" after playing the huge drums together with my Japanese teacher.

  • Creatures of the Imagination - July 1994

    Many Hands perfomed at this event in Wellington's Civic Square.

  • Artslink Expo - July 1995

    Many Hands were the first New Zealand band to have an Internet web presence and the first New Zealand band to perform live on the Internet - which we did during our three shows at the Artslink Expo in Wellington's Town Hall. For some reason I got terrible stage-fright - the first and only time - I remember feeling absolutely sick to my stomach in between shows, but this feeling disappeared as soon as I walked on stage - and I ended up chatting away to the audience between songs.

  • World Without Strangers - October 1995

    See World Without Strangers page for details.

  • Opening of Queen's Wharf - December 1995

    Following the success of World Without Strangers, Many Hands were invited to headline the celebrations at the opening of Queen's Wharf in Wellington - to a crowd of well over 1,000. There were about 35 of us on stage in total - it wasn't the biggest stage in the world, so we ended up all squished together trying not to fall off the sides.

  • Santa Parade - December 1995

    Members of Many Hands took part in the Santa Parade through central Wellington. It was absolutely exhausting.

  • Lotto ad, filmed at Queen Elizabeth Park, Paekakariki - March 1996

    I receved a phone call one day from a casting agent wanting my help to find a large group of energetic and brightly-dressed percussionists and drummers. Many Hands and all our friends took part in two days' filming for the Lotto ad - you know, the carnival-themed one. We had a blast!

  • ONE - March 1996

    See ONE page for details.

  • Wellington Fringe Festival - March 1996

    We decided to busk one sunny day in Civic Square - and drew a huge crowd who stayed all afternoon as we drummed and danced for them.

  • Wrap party for The Frighteners - July 1996

    One of the founder members of Many Hands, Bruce McNaught, was a minatures builder on Peter Jackson's movie The Frighteners. Many Hands were invited to perform at the official wrap party in Wellington - complete with giant inflatable gorilla - as at that time Peter was planning that King Kong would be his next movie.

  • Bledisloe Cup - July 1996

    With a group of drummers and circus performers, I produced a show which was performed before the Bledisloe Cup, at Wellington's Athletic Park.

  • Dalai Lama Benefit Concert - August 1996

    Many Hands produced and performed a 30-minute piece for the Dalai Lama Benefit Concert at Circa Theatre in Wellington.

  • Dalai Lama visit to Wellington - October 1996

    Our Dalai Lama Benfit Concert peformance was so successful that we were invited to play for the 2,000 people at the Dalai Lama's visit to Wellington in October of that year - playing rhythms for the audience as they tooke their seats in the Queen's Wharf Events Centre, prior to the Dalai Lama's speech. It was a great honour for us all, and a fitting conclusion to the band's Wellington incarnation.

By the time we did ONE, which was one of our last performances as a large group, we were a 50-piece ensemble, incorporating everything from bagpipes to Rarotongan log drums, Chinese harp to Native American drums. It was an amazing time....