Right back there at the dawn of time, before the spotify, when the 9 minute youtubes took 16 hours to load, when one remembered their myspace password, when giants walked the land and St Patrick was yet to banish the snakes and a sport was a sport and groovin’ and we all went to club called cherry bomb….wait wait whoa whoa back up…. Ages ago, this guy told us to talk this other guy who ran a record store and that maybe just maybe he could help us figure out how to distribute our first record and he did and not only that he helped us pay for it, and we managed to pay him back but he must’ve known by looking at us that that would’ve been a 50/50 proposition at best. And yet he still did it, he’d done it one other time for this band Trinity Roots which was obviously a smarter bet so he couldn’t be all crazy all the time. When the earthquakes swallowed his first record store then a second a few months later he went home to wellington and proving that the whole smart bet thing on trinity roots was indeed a one off, decided to put the insurance money towards another record store and even worse making a little record company and absolutely maddest of all was making The Eastern the first band he would put on it and then there was Ladi 6, Mantarays, cake kitchen, End Boss, Beastwars and more and more and more and in the words to live by from Talking Heads never for money always for love, always always always. Since then he’s been a hero, a surrogate dad (amongst the many I collect) and brother and friend. He’s quiet and strong and a loving believing father to his blood son and a true friend to music and musicians alike. And he’s got brain cancer, and it ain’t the going away kind, it’s the take you all the way to the light kind and it’s the kind that no bruisers like us are gonna be able to punch away and it’s the kind that no matter the subs no heavy roots will dub away and it’s the kind that breaks your heart and makes you hug everyone closer. But there is a small drug that will help, that wil slow it all down and maybe give him some more time with his loved ones and us! And you! But fuck it all its about $10k a month to get it and no body with a boutique record label with the eastern on it are going to be able to afford that on their own. Theres just no way. So us and Trinity Roots and End Boss and Cake Kitchen and San Fran in welly and more and more and more are gonna have a shot at helping to fill that pot…on sept 4th in welly at San Fran. It’ll be the Sunday of the year and the year before and after that and we will need you ours and on pauls side. So come with us friends!.... And that’s not all, Just before the pandemic I made a solo album and because I have no ambition I just sat on it and sat on it and thought I might put it out in march maybe next year, but with Paulie needing a hand I’m going to put it out in about 3 weeks and its called Dear Companions and Paul is one of those and so this is the announcement, and the vinyls not ready and theres no plan and no team and no press and no nothing but fuck it it might help and we’ll take the pre orders soon and start shipping the cds soon and it won’t be on spotify or youtube or anything else streamable for as long as it takes because every single penny of profit I might make from selling real live copies and downloads of it will go to Paul to help him on this fight. Every one. So I’m gonna put it out and I’m gonna sell the shit out of it and that’s that. All power to Paul and all profits there too! There’ll be much much more about that sooner than anything. Heres the tickets for our show at the san fran with the above brothers and sisters: https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/ticket/17917/Sunday-Best.utr And here is the link to Pauls donation page, if you can help please please do: https://givealittle.co.nz/.../help-paul-has-terminal...#! and heres Paul and his loves Trish and Zac