About
The Ashes
The lineup ...
Darryl Monteith - vocals and guitar
Jason Grout - keyboards and vocals
Dion Whaanga - drums and vocals
Api Whaanga - guitar
Langley Gerrard - bass
Moses Hiakita (RIP)
The Ashes
The story so far ....
Formed out of the ashes of a long line of great bands - including Whisperscream, Skankamelia, Joe 90, San Reo, Sweet Vitriol, Starfish and Bioluvals to name a few, The Ashes have lived a double life in Gisborne since 2008 as one of the most popular cover bands on the East Coast - while moonlighting under the name Kings of Kaiaua to develop an original set of their own material that has garnered fans of its own. The decision to drop the Kings of Kaiaua title in 2021 and to merge the two shows into a mega-set as The Ashes is timed to coincide with work on recording an album.
The Ashes
What are they about ?
The Ashes are about the joy of playing a great live show - weaving an eclectic bunch of catchy original songs into a set of timeless bangers - with a level of mastery that can only be gained from years of experience. Refusing to be pinned down to a specific genre, The Ashes fuse Rock, Pop, Reggae, Country, Funk, Soul, Dub and Jazz into a unique sound of their own. It doesn't matter what the musical backdrop is - The Ashes stay true to their musical roots. Always.
Our Story
Darryl Monteith
Vocals/guitars
Growing up in Matamata in the 1970’s, Darryl was inspired by a number of key adults/teachers - and his mate Kev - to sing and play guitar from the age of 9. Lead roles in school productions of Oliver and South Pacific added fuel to the fire - and he and Kev and a couple of other mates formed high school band Second Thoughts in 1980.
Second Thoughts played the Aerial Railway stage at Sweetwaters in 1982 and were rated as a highlight by an Aussie music journo. Leaving Matamata for Hamilton in 1983, Darryl picked up singing duties in Zero Hour and Stainless Steal, before forming nerd icons Joe 90 in 1985 (with Kev). Joe 90 soon captured industry attention and were signed to EMI in 1986 for their single Walls Surrounding Me.
A brief stint in Sydney in 1987 was followed by solo gigs and guest spots with Waikato rockers Fury and a heap of unrememberable gigs with The Pink Love Torpedos. Then from 1989 to 1993, Whisperscream toured the North Island incessantly, cleaning up Band Contests in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Auckland. Their 1992 album Vampire Cafe was recorded and produced by AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd at his Mountain Studio - and they even got to play a gig in LA (thanks to one of those band contests).
A move to Tauranga in 1993 found Darryl playing more solo shows before teaming up with Man Bites Dog. Making the move to Gisborne in 1998, he found himself fronting wedding favourites Starfish, followed by The Charles Ash Orchestra and Kings of Kaiaua.
Moses Hiakita
Bass/vocals
Moses’ bass playing career began in Hamilton in 1986 when Bioluvals exploded onto the Waikato University scene. In 1989, he and fellow Bioluval Chris Moses showed up to one of Darryl’s solo gigs and sat side-stage singing 3 part harmony all night. From these beginnings Whisperscream was born. Moses moved to Gisborne in 2001 and quickly settled into the local scene with stints in Howard, Kingfishers, The Huntaways , The Charles Ash Orchestra, Kings of Kaiaua and with Gizzy muso legend Muru Kirikiri - along with a whole lot of percussion work on Gladstone Road. In 2018, Moses and Darryl celebrated 30 years of making beautiful music together. Sadly, Moses Hiakita passed away on September 15th 2021. We love him and miss him.
Jason Grout
Keys/vocals
Dion Whaanga
Drums/vocals
Langley Gerrard
Bass/vocals
Api Whaanga
Guitar
Images from our shows
- thanks to John Flatt at Lightseeker Photography -
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0274 844580
