The legendary band, The Bats, and its bass player, Paul Kean could only have come from New Zealand.
Paul Kean grew up in a seemingly out of the way place, and was raised by truly extraordinary parents. Paul’s father was a born performer, and he could often be found at the piano leading the family and guests in song after dinner had finished. He was also an adept ventriloquist, often showing off a different side of his personality through the veil of the dummy. Paul’s grandmother had been an emigre from England who bravely came to New Zealand to begin anew after life in the UK had failed to fulfill its promise.
Paul shares his early remembrances of a childhood in New Zealand that feels both idyllic and palpably real. There are glimpses of his earliest memories of film and music, including a visit to the cinema to witness rock and roll come to life in the form of Bill Hailey and The Comets.
With a mother that Paul claims was always trying to climb the social ladder, the family moved from house to house with regularity. Paul believes this itinerant lifestyle helped to build his resilience and prepare him for life as a touring musician, even though the family’s fortunes did not always match with his mother’s ambitions.
The influence of the port in the Christchurch area where Paul grew up, had an enormous impact on the music, movies and even musical instruments that the locals could get their hands on. Taxes on instrument imports at the time were quite high and foreign sailors would often sell guitars, basses, and other gear to locals off the books to avoid the import tariffs.
During our chat, Paul shares his impressions of being in the same band for 40 years, and how he feels that The Bats have evolved both in their sound and in their approach to life as musicians. On March 6, the band will resume their biggest tour of New Zealand in decades.
This is a charming, and heartfelt conversation with a gentle soul who also happened to help shape one of the most important scenes in the history of indie rock.
Let’s get into it.
Cheers,
Matty C
