Gareth Shute
Gareth Shute is a writer and musician. He has published a number of non-fiction books about the arts in New Zealand, particularly local music. He has toured the UK, Europe, US, and Australia as a member of bands such as the Brunettes and the Ruby Suns, hands-on experience which shapes the scope of his writing. Shute’s books have focused on a wide range of subject matter including hip hop music, making music in New Zealand, the history of New Zealand Rock music, and interviews with New Zealand artists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shute, Gareth (1973-) was born in Canada and now lives in Auckland.
A writer and a musician, Shute has written four nonfiction books about the arts in New Zealand: Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa (2004), published by Reed Publishing, and Making Music in New Zealand (2005), Insights: New Zealand Artists Talk About Creativity (2006), and NZ Rock: 1987-2007 (2008) published by Random House.
Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa describes the journey of hip hop music from the fringe into the mainstream of popular culture. Gareth Shute was introduced to hip hop culture as an adolescent living in Singapore and when he returned to Auckland, he was surprised to find that rap music hadn't yet had the same impact on the North Shore as it had elsewhere in the world. The book follows the development of hip hop music in New Zealand from the old to the new, featuring in-depth interviews and photographs throughout. The book received the Montana Award for Lifestyle and Contemporary Culture at the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
Making Music In New Zealand uses quotes from a wide range of local musicians to show what it is like making music in this country and what it takes to tour overseas. It is an informative work both for musicians and those who are interested in the local scene.
Insights is a more wide-ranging book that has one-pages interviews and photographs of 52 different artists who work in varying disciplines - from fine art painters to graffiti artists; from those dancers who choreograph contemporary art to breakdancers; from classical composers to rock musicians.
NZ Rock: 1987-2007 covers the last twenty years of rock music in New Zealand – showing its progression from being hardly played on local commercial radio to becoming a major force, both locally and on the international stage.
Shute was also a contributor to the book, InForm: New Zealand Graffiti Artists Discuss Their Work, which was nominated in the Lifestyle and Contemporary Culture category at the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
He has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Mathematics, and a BA(Hons) in Philosophy and English from the University of Auckland. He works part-time as a librarian and is involved with the label Lil' Chief Records. He is also a musician and has toured the UK, Europe, US, and Australia as a member of the Brunettes and the Ruby Suns. He is currently a member of three groups: the Conjurors, the Cosbys, and the Investigations.
WRITERS IN SCHOOLS INFORMATION
KAPAI: Kids' Authors' Pictures and Information
Where do you live?
Kingsland, Auckland (in a big rundown old villa with car parts nailed to the ceiling of the hallway and a lounge that is wallpapered with pictures from National Geographic).
What books do you read?
I read a lot of novels, especially books that show a lot of imagination and which are fresh in their approach. I also read some books about music – in particular, the history of music or the sociological aspect of how music exists in society. If I am writing a book on a particular topic then I will usually read a lot around this subject. For example, lately I have interviewed a number of painters (John Pule, Dick Frizzell, etc) for a new book I have just completed, so I spent some time reading about the history of art in NZ.
Aside from books, I also listen to a lot of music – especially local music – which has been very important for the kind of work I do. I also play in two bands.
Who is your favourite writer?
I don’t think I could pick out one particular writer. The last book that I read that I really enjoyed was David Foster Wallace’s book Infinite Jest though I probably wouldn’t recommend that book to someone who I didn’t know because it would take a certain type of person to enjoy a book like that (i.e., someone who doesn’t mind an ending without closure and various indulgent elements like endless footnotes). I also enjoyed Nicholson Baker’s book Mezzanine which takes place entirely during a guy’s journey from the bottom of an escalator to the top. As far as music books, two of my favourites would be Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad and England’s Dreaming by Jon Savage. Though I find Stranded In Paradise by John Dix a valuable resource – it’s a book on the history of NZ popular music – though it is factually incorrect in many places!
How do you think up your ideas?
Given that I primarily write non-fiction, my work usually begins from desire to document some aspect of New Zealand culture that I think is important and which hasn’t been covered before. For my first book, I saw that local hip hop music was about to explode in popularity. Fortunately I was correct and by the time the book came out, Scribe and others had climbed to the top of the New Zealand charts. My next two books were more focused on the creative process itself – Making Music in NZ collected advice from various musicians and music industry people, while Insights looked at how artists of different type came up with their work. I hoped that both these books would be both informative and inspiring for people who were interesting in creating their own work. My recent book was driven by the fact that no book had satisfactorily mapped the history of NZ rock music over the last two decades.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
The best thing about being a writer is being able to set your own schedule. Basically it’s a form of being self-employed, so you have that flexibility. Also, as a book lover, it’s great to think you are contributing another book to the world. I work at the public library in town and it’s satisfying to see a couple of my books there on the shelf.
Primary School Students
What sort of pets do you have?
I have a cat called “Winnie” that always tries to nestle on my lap while I’m writing, and then she gets in my way while I’m trying to type by trying to rub against my arms! She’s grey and a bit round. She loves sitting on people’s laps, whenever they sit down in our lounge. Sadly there are lots of other cats in all the houses next to ours so she is always growling with the neighbour’s cat. When I see another cat in our yard, I always hiss and try to scare it off, so that my cat will be not so scared!
What is your favourite colour?
I like the blue of the sky on a very sunny day. And also the green of the grass, when it’s a nice day and I’m lying on it reading a book.
What is your favourite food?
I don’t know what the answer to this is. I’m pretty impressed by carrots though – they just grow in the ground, then you clean them, and then you’re able to eat them. It’s amazing. I suppose you could say the same about fruit, though it’s not quite as filling. I do love nice green granny smith apples and easy-to-peel mandarins. Fruit is always better if you get it fresh and it’s great eating the fruit that they sell on the roadside out of Auckland.
What is your favourite movie?
This is a very tricky question. There are so many great movies in the world! The last good movie I saw was about a man trying to decide whether to be a piano player or a gangster. It was a French film, so I had to read all the words at the bottom of the screen. I always wish I had tried harder in high school so I could actually understand French rather than have to read the translation. I also saw King Kong and I liked the bit where he tore up the Civic theatre in town. My favourite movies are always the unusual ones, because I get bored if I know what is going to happen in the end.
What is your favourite game?
As far as sports, my favourite game would be soccer, because all you need is a ball and some markers for where the goal would be. Anyone can play and it doesn’t matter what size you are. I used to play rugby when I was younger, but I was very very bad at it. I think you’ll find that lots of writers in New Zealand are bad at rugby. Fortunately lots of rugby players are bad at writing books and when they are asked to write down the history of their lives, they have to get a writer to help them, which means there is more work for writers. Unfortunately, there is no way a rugby player could help me play rugby! More likely, I will spend my time playing scrabble.
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Well, I usually write books about true events so they most fun thing is talking to the people that made those events happened. So when I wrote my hip hop book, I ended up talking to lots of rappers and DJs, like Scribe, Savage, and Mareko. Hip hop is all about making music with whatever you have on hand, so it’s very inspiring to talk to people who have that attitude. I also like finding out new things, so I don’t mind spending lots of time in the library reading about things that have happened. It might seem a bit geeky but I really enjoy it! Occasionally I write fiction and that’s fun as well, because there’s nothing better than just making stuff up. Especially if you can make a story out of it.
How do you make books?
Initially, you need the imagination to come up with a strong idea. If you are writing a non-fiction book then you need to read all about the subject in the library and takes notes. Then you can interview relevant people. If you’ve already researched the subject, then you’ll be able to ask them sensible questions. Often I tape-record what those important people say to me, which means I later have to do the hard job of typing up everything that they have said. Books take a lot of time to write, so you also need to be quite persistent to see a project through to its end.
Where do you go for your holidays?
I try to go to places where they have nice beaches for swimming. Then I find somewhere nice and sit down and read a book or throw a frisbie around. I spend all my time indoors when I am writing so I like to be outside, sitting under some shade. Even just looking at clouds. Then having a swim when I get too hot.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I wasn’t very naughty at school and the main problem that teachers had with me was that I was always day-dreaming! When you are a writer, you need to have a good imagination, like a little kid. But when you are meant to be concentrating in school, it is very hard if you are thinking of stories and ideas in your head! However, having a good imagination means that you never get bored. Though usually it is better to listen to the teacher and save your great imagined ideas for lunch-break or after school, then you can play games based on those ideas or write them down or draw about them.
Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
When I first started, I wrote fiction so I studied creative writing at Auckland University. I learnt to structure my writing through working on essays for my courses and through writing stories for my creative writing class. I also started writing articles for the university magazine and this led on to other writing work in various magazines. I’d always wanted to write a book, but started out with the idea of writing a novel. However, when I attended the hip hop summit in 2003, I was struck by the fact that it would be great to write a book about local hip hop - the scene at that time seemed so alive and I’d followed its history for a long time, so I knew there was a strong story behind it. It was also obvious to me that the local scene was about to break into the mainstream, though it was a lot harder to convince a publisher that this was the case!
To prove myself, I started by writing a sample chapter. I didn’t get an advance or any other funding so it was very hard going financially. I worked three days a week at a library and spent the rest of my time researching and writing the book. I often ended up going out late to take photos on Friday nights and then having to get up early the next day to get to work. I had no experience at taking photographs but I couldn’t afford to get someone else to do it, so I borrowed my ex-girlfriend’s camera (as well as her Dictaphone) and just did the best I could! I suppose I was inspired by the hip hop idea of just making art with whatever lay to hand.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
The interviews that I did with some of the earlier pioneers in local hip hop were probably what inspired me most – especially my interview with DLT, because he is such a friendly and helpful person. And also my interview with Phil Fuemana, because he had such an amazing story to tell – he helped start his brother’s band OMC (Otara Millionaire’s Club) who had the most successful single to ever come out of New Zealand (“How Bizarre”) and he also started the careers of Dei Hamo, Ermehn, and Brotha D. Phil has passed away now, so I am supremely grateful that I got the chance to tell his story.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
You have to be brave and take opportunities. It’s all very well to hide away in your room and write, but if you get the chance to submit some work somewhere or write for some project then you should do it. You have to be tough and survive some bumps along the way, because people won’t always like your work. Personally I’ve had lots of rejection letters and I don’t let them faze me anymore. One of my friends, Carl Shuker, had his novel published in the US and the way he managed it was by having the attitude that for each rejection letter he got, he would send out twice as many more submissions. So you also need to be persistent and try not to let criticism get you down.
It’s quite hard, because people often show me their work and sometimes they just want to be encouraged, whereas other times they want real criticism and you have to know which is which. So when I’m reading other people’s work I always try to praise the strong parts, before I make any suggestions about what could be improved.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
I have only ever managed to make a living with my writing for short periods of time and mostly rely on other income to survive. There isn’t a big enough population in New Zealand for many people in the Arts in general to be able to support themselves off what they do. This results in a lot of artists relying on funding to do their work or just surviving on the dole. However, I have never had any funding and I just try to find other work that is vaguely interesting to me, in order to pay the bills. Once you can write, you do have a lot of options open to you. There are always new magazines, newspapers, etc, that need people to work for them.
What were you like as a teenager?
I was pretty unsure of myself, when I was a teenager. It would’ve been good if I had been a bit more confident and taken a few more of the opportunities that were presented to me. Being a teenager is a great time to learn foreign languages, play music, and try different types of art. If you start these things early, then you’ll find you’re a lot better at them. Being at school, gives you a lot of opportunities as well. When I was young I didn’t really pay attention in my French classes, but now I meet French people and I’m really disappointed that I can hardly say hello.
In the end, you get out what you put in. So if you are going to play guitar, for example, then you should take every opportunity to play in a band. Personally, I hardly ever played music with other people when I was teenager even though I was surrounded by other musicians. It was a bit of shame really – I just wasn’t confident enough to give it a try, even though they weren’t much better at playing their instruments than I was. Later on, I learnt that you don’t actually have to be confident, you just have to learn how to pretend to be confident for short periods of time – after you’ve done that long enough, you actually find that you have become confident after all!
Is there anything else you could tell students about yourself?
I have talked at dozens of schools during the last few years and usually I focus on how I wrote my first book. However, when I get the chance to talk to music students, I’m also able to talk about my experience as a musician - I have toured overseas with a number of different groups, which has taken me right across Europe, the UK, US, and Australia. I also help run a record label, Lil' Chief Records, so I have a good understanding of the industry and how it works.
MEDIA LINKS AND CLIPS
- Gareth Shute on the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre site
- Gareth Shute on Public Address site
- Gareth Shute’s live journal
- Lil’ Chief Records