Ash Grunwald was the first musician I interviewed for Will Not Fade. Local author John McCrystal helped me edit the interview and I was so proud of the finished result. It gave me a big confidence boost as a writer. Ash was great to talk to and put me onto a bunch of artists and ideas that were new to me.
I saw him play that year, at Meow. I wouldn’t have even classed Meow as a proper venue back then – more a cafe that sometimes hosted folk acts and singer/songwriters. Ash pulled a modest crowd and I remember having a fantastic time. The standout moment for me was when Ash left the stage, walked into the middle of the room, and gave a powerful rendition of “John the Revelator”, just stomping, clapping and hollering. I was so inspired by this that I started a band a few years later that I modelled on this sound of stompy, chanty blues and rock.
So it was very cool to see Ash play again tonight, a decade on. Meow is now more known as a venue than a cafe, and the owners now have an even bigger venue – one of the best in Wellington… Possibly even the country – called Meownui. Ash’s popularity has increased so much over the past ten years that his current NZ tour has resulted in many sold out shows, with demand being great enough for him to play second shows in many towns. And he’s managed to make Meownui feel full on a Sunday night. He joked at one point that being a full time musician is basically living a life of poverty, so this is a pretty awesome achievement to see him have such success.
First of all, it sounded great. Meownui is an old Salvation Army church, so the acoustics have probably always been good in this building. Ash kept giving shout outs to Drew on the mixing desk, and mentioning how much fun he was having, hearing himself on such a good sound system in front of a good sized audience.
And he was was a class performer. Most of his songs have a big stompy feel, so he had us clapping along to many. And many have repeated singing parts, so he got us singing too. It was interactive and immersive.
His set up was a bit different to last time, but the essence was still the same. Last time he had a crazy foot operated thing that housed all these drum and percussion bits. This time he had a few e-drum pedals instead, as well as a cajon box drum he sat on with two pedals attached. He has three guitars too – one being a resonator and another being a hollow body – all of which gave that classic bluesy rock sound, especially when played with a slide.
Ash’s daughter Sunny had been tagging along on tour. She’s currently being homeschooled so that she can come on the road with him. Ash got her up onstage for a Bill Withers song and her voice was a show stopper. Seriously good, even outshining her dad. No doubt Ash is super proud of her.
Ash has a large repertoire to draw from, and wasn’t afraid to drop a handful of covers in as well. He gave a nod to Chain – the only Australian blues act to hit No. 1 on the charts. As I’d mentioned already, his daughter Sunny came onstage for Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands”. He’s just as happy to draw from the blues greats like Robert Johnson or Howlin’ Wolf, as pop acts like Gnarls Barkley with his cover of “Crazy”. A good song is a good song, and we don’t need to gatekeep with genre.
He was such a pleasure to watch, clearly at home onstage after a lifetime of touring. Whether he was eeking out dolphin sounds, getting lost in the love of the riffs, or letting his dreadlocks fly about as he headbanged, he brought fun, effusive energy to his work.
I thought it was interesting that there weren’t any merch offerings available, because Ash is proving so popular that I have no doubt he would have sold plenty. I’m pleased to see his clear increase in popularity since he last came to Wellington, and seeing him again tonight made it clear why he has begun to sell out big venues.
Tickets for the rest of the dates on Ash’s NZ tour can be found at https://ashgrunwald.com/
Joseph James