KNIGHTSHADE WHERE ARE THEY NOW
FINAL BANG: Hamilton band Knightshade have re-united for one last show at Altitude Bar.
Don't call it a last hurrah.
Veteran Hamilton band Knightshade are getting ready for a special reunion show next month. But the three musicians at the centre of the revered rock outfit say they have no intention of it being the final chapter in their long-running career.
The show on June 6 is the band's first since singer Wayne Elliott was diagnosed with asbestos cancer eight months ago.
It was a devastating blow for the band, who at the time were ready to hit the stage for a series of gigs around the country.
But, reflecting his group's hard-rocking attitude and sound, Elliott opted for an equally hardcore remedy - the contentious and infrequently-applied "hot chemo" technique to literally burn the cancer out of his body.
Chatting to the Waikato Times in The Good George bar in Hamilton and flanked by bandmates and buddies Craig Pollock and Rik Bernards, Elliott said it was an experience he was happy to put behind him.
Although he was reluctant to focus too greatly on his hot chemo experience, he said it was a "desperate times means desperate solutions situation".
"It was a real between a rock and a hard place time. I discussed the alternatives with the doctors and decided to go with it."
The surgery was carried out in December by a 17-strong team at Hamilton's Braemar Hospital, led by surgeons Simi Lolohea and Richard Reid. At the time Elliot was one of a few people to undergo the technique in New Zealand.
"Dr Lucas Sikiotis was the anaesthetist and he was excellent as well. It was a great team of people there that day who I can't give enough credit to."
It was pretty tough time for his friends and family as well, Pollock said.
"That was the longest day. It was touch and go all day and it wasn't until about 11pm that we got the word that he was was going to pull through.
Throughout his illness, operation and a long, slow recovery Elliot's weight dropped by 22 kilograms. However he is now cancer-free and considers himself "gig fit" and ready to rock and roll.
"It's going to be our ‘welcome back' show for our supporters and it will also be a pretty good introduction to some new fans," Elliott said. "We have got several new songs we have been working on over the last couple of years, and we will play about three of those at the gig."
The group has no shortage of older songs to choose from. Knightshade was New Zealand's best-known heavy metal band for the best part of a decade. In a career spanning from 1985 to 1996, the group put five singles in the charts and performed with a list of rock legends including ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Jimmy Barnes.
Formed in Te Puke in the early 1980s, the band based itself in Hamilton and produced five albums between 1986 and 1995.
By the mid-1990s the rock scene both at home and abroad had become unpredictable and while Knightshade had built up a cult following in New Zealand, the band decided to take a break.
That was until 2009, when Bernards wrote their comeback single Rough at the Top, inspired by the glory-moment anthems played at try-scoring time at major rugby games.
"We never actually split up," he said. "Yeah," interjected Elliot. "We just got jobs."
The pair have now worked for many years at Wintec, and with the other band members have been writing songs, performing occasional shows and jamming together when the occasion allows.
The group, which also includes drummer Scott Williams and bassist Neil McDonald, are looking forward to the June 6 show, at which they will be playing with fellow Hamilton band 8Forty8 on an "equal billing".
"It will be a rock and roll party," Pollock said. "It will be great. We wouldn't do it without Wayne. It wouldn't be Knightshade without him. None of us are replaceable. There's a certain chemistry among the boys that can only happen in this band."
Adds Elliott: "It's going to be a good, fun night out. I'm still blown away that people will pay good money to come and listen to us, just doing something that we love doing."
FINAL BANG: Hamilton band Knightshade have re-united for one last show at Altitude Bar.
Don't call it a last hurrah.
Veteran Hamilton band Knightshade are getting ready for a special reunion show next month. But the three musicians at the centre of the revered rock outfit say they have no intention of it being the final chapter in their long-running career.
The show on June 6 is the band's first since singer Wayne Elliott was diagnosed with asbestos cancer eight months ago.
It was a devastating blow for the band, who at the time were ready to hit the stage for a series of gigs around the country.
But, reflecting his group's hard-rocking attitude and sound, Elliott opted for an equally hardcore remedy - the contentious and infrequently-applied "hot chemo" technique to literally burn the cancer out of his body.
Chatting to the Waikato Times in The Good George bar in Hamilton and flanked by bandmates and buddies Craig Pollock and Rik Bernards, Elliott said it was an experience he was happy to put behind him.
Although he was reluctant to focus too greatly on his hot chemo experience, he said it was a "desperate times means desperate solutions situation".
"It was a real between a rock and a hard place time. I discussed the alternatives with the doctors and decided to go with it."
The surgery was carried out in December by a 17-strong team at Hamilton's Braemar Hospital, led by surgeons Simi Lolohea and Richard Reid. At the time Elliot was one of a few people to undergo the technique in New Zealand.
"Dr Lucas Sikiotis was the anaesthetist and he was excellent as well. It was a great team of people there that day who I can't give enough credit to."
It was pretty tough time for his friends and family as well, Pollock said.
"That was the longest day. It was touch and go all day and it wasn't until about 11pm that we got the word that he was was going to pull through.
Throughout his illness, operation and a long, slow recovery Elliot's weight dropped by 22 kilograms. However he is now cancer-free and considers himself "gig fit" and ready to rock and roll.
"It's going to be our ‘welcome back' show for our supporters and it will also be a pretty good introduction to some new fans," Elliott said. "We have got several new songs we have been working on over the last couple of years, and we will play about three of those at the gig."
The group has no shortage of older songs to choose from. Knightshade was New Zealand's best-known heavy metal band for the best part of a decade. In a career spanning from 1985 to 1996, the group put five singles in the charts and performed with a list of rock legends including ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Jimmy Barnes.
Formed in Te Puke in the early 1980s, the band based itself in Hamilton and produced five albums between 1986 and 1995.
By the mid-1990s the rock scene both at home and abroad had become unpredictable and while Knightshade had built up a cult following in New Zealand, the band decided to take a break.
That was until 2009, when Bernards wrote their comeback single Rough at the Top, inspired by the glory-moment anthems played at try-scoring time at major rugby games.
"We never actually split up," he said. "Yeah," interjected Elliot. "We just got jobs."
The pair have now worked for many years at Wintec, and with the other band members have been writing songs, performing occasional shows and jamming together when the occasion allows.
The group, which also includes drummer Scott Williams and bassist Neil McDonald, are looking forward to the June 6 show, at which they will be playing with fellow Hamilton band 8Forty8 on an "equal billing".
"It will be a rock and roll party," Pollock said. "It will be great. We wouldn't do it without Wayne. It wouldn't be Knightshade without him. None of us are replaceable. There's a certain chemistry among the boys that can only happen in this band."
Adds Elliott: "It's going to be a good, fun night out. I'm still blown away that people will pay good money to come and listen to us, just doing something that we love doing."
Knightshade Live at Altitude - Hamilton - New Zealand
REUNION GIG 6TH JUNE 2014
YOU DON'T NEED ME THE PHYSICAL YOU
KNIGHTSHADE PLAY REUNION GIG LIVE FOOTAGE 31st May 2015
31ST MAY 2015 AT GEMINI HAMILTON