Media Release
Friday, 18 July 2014
Mi-Sex and Eddie Rayner Project play three-date New Zealand tour
There are few figures in New Zealand music history that can be described as genuinely influential but two such figures
are award-winning new-wave act Mi-Sex and seminal Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. They’re joining forces for a winter three-date ‘mini-tour’ of the country, playing their (many) accumulated hits from
the 70s, 80s and beyond.
After decades of smash pop hits and sell-out shows, and following the untimely death of original vocalist Steve Gilpin, Mi-Sex are returning for a very special three-tour show where it all began so long ago: New Zealand. They’re joining forces
with the Eddie Rayner Project who defined the sound of Split Enz by way of his brilliant and eccentric keyboards and arrangements.
The tour features a compelling production of sound, light and song that will transport sell-out crowds back to when pub
venues were king and bands stopped at nothing to provide a sensory spectacle.
ERP (the Eddie Rayner Project) brings you the music of Split Enz, plus music definitive of the Split Enz era.
Eddie Rayner was the “sound” of Split Enz. His keyboards were the framework around the Finn brothers iconic songs and his arrangement and production skills
helped transform the band from local heroes to international stars. His subsequent huge body of work has ranged from
Crowded House and Paul McCartney through to NZ Idol.
Eddie’s band, ERP, features some of NZ’s top musicians:
APRA Silver Scroll winner and 80s pop smash Rikki Morris on guitar and vocals;
X-factor NZ’s musical director and multi-award-winning composer and session musician Jim Hall on guitar and vocals;
Top session drummer and percussionist Pat Kuhtze on drums, spoons and vocals
Auckland's very talented and multi-instrumentalist Eddie Gaiger on bass and vocals.
Mi-Sex
Mi-Sex were New Zealand’s quintessential ‘new wave’ band, topping charts and filling theatres across NZ, Australia, the US and
Canada. Mi-Sex were internationally renown for their chart-topping singles Computer Games, Blue Day, People and But You Don’t Care, and played sell-out shows in Australasia and the US.
Mi-Sex are true icons of New Zealand music, with a huge legacy in their wake.
They’ve seen dark times -- singer Steve Gilpin who eventually died following a car accident that left him in a coma, but
now with singer Steve Balbi, who has been with them for their acclaimed recent Australian shows, the band are back in
the light to pay tribute to their incredible pop career in full force, at the place where it all began, and where it
means the most - New Zealand.
Mi-Sex Biography
Formed in New Zealand in 1977, cabaret singer Steve Gilpin met art-rock Bass player Don Martin, drummer Richard
Hodgkinson, guitarist/song-writer Kevin Stanton and funk/dance keyboardist Murray Burns. Burns and Stanton soon forged a
strong writing partnership. Drawing influence from the new wave/electronic style of British bands Ultravox and The
Stranglers (the name ‘Mi-Sex’ originated from an Ultravox track), Mi-Sex established a pop-manic, energised sound of their own under the guidance of one of Australasia's most esteemed record
producers, the late Peter Dawkins.
From chart-topping singles Blue Day, Graffiti Crimes and Computer Games to international sell-out shows in Australasia
and the US, Mi-Sex are true heroes of New Zealand music, with a huge legacy in their wake.
Mi-Sex have appeared alongside such acts as Talking Heads, Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop and The Ramones, and have done their own
groundbreaking tours of Australasia, the USA & Canada and have headlined at LA’s famous Whisky.
In 1984 Mi-Sex took an extended break to pursue solo careers but at the end of the 80s, the guys began writing and demoing fresh
material before tragically losing Steve Gilpin in a car crash.
In 2013, Mi-Sex re-formed and were back in action, playing shows in Australia to rave reviews. After a successful Australian tour and a
return to the studio we can’t wait to see them back home.
Tickets are on sale through Eventfinda.
Thursday, 28 August
The Studio, Auckland
Friday, 29 August
Bar Bodega, Wellington
Friday, 30 August
Sammys, Dunedin