This story was first published on RNZ.
This summer, chart-toppers Stan Walker and L.A.B. reunite with their mates from Auckland reggae band Corrella for some of the biggest musical events of the summer - three outdoor shows in Auckland, Tauranga and the Gold Coast.
While it’s often “just mahi” when he plays alongside other artists, Walker says the three bands created a great vibe together on an Australian tour last year.
“Everybody’s on the buzz, eh? It’s gangsta,” he tells Music 101.
For Walker, “heavy prep”, like an Olympic athlete or an All Black might do, is a necessity for lead vocalists preparing to tour, as they have nothing to hide behind onstage.
“We are the only ones that can’t just pick up the drumsticks and go hard or start playing the bass or whatever.”
Psychologically, Walker has also learned to automatically put up “walls” to protect himself, his family and his creative process from “outside noise”.
Sometimes this can get in the way of connecting with an audience, Walker says, but performing in the USA and Hawaii last year, the locals’ unguarded enthusiasm was so inspiring he felt the walls came down.
Raised on gospel music, Walker especially loves connecting with Black fans and friends in the States.
“They’re like, ‘man, you need to lead us, brother!’ So you get like a fire.”
Hawaiian music fans, he says, aren’t held back by “tall poppyness” like many New Zealanders.
“They’re like, ‘I love you. You changed my life. I want to follow you for the rest of my days’.”
A Kiwi who recognises him is more likely to say something like ‘Yeah, my mum is a fan’, Walker says.
“It’s really backhanded, and I think it’s our like defence mechanism. We don’t want to get rejected or whatever. I get it, but at the same time, it’s ugly.”
L.A.B. singer Joel Shadbolt “resonates hard” with Walker’s insight on this cultural difference - “Oh, preach, brother. Holy moly… Don’t be a second-hand fan, be first-hand.”
His band have also played some amazing shows in the States, he says, and American audiences are a lot more encouraging of guitar solos.
“My roots are blues, so it comes from the south, and I know that feeling, I know that music, it’s in me. When I play in the States, I feel that, man. Far out, I feel it. It’s magic.”
Back home in Aotearoa, Christchurch is one place where people really know how to show appreciation, Shadbolt and Walker agree.
Although he’s had “some very opposite experiences” offstage in the South Island city, Walker says he’s always felt recharged by performing there, which he first did at 16.
“[Christchurch audiences] show me why I do what I do, if that makes sense. It’s electric.”
In the lead-up to an L.A.B. show, the members gather to make sure they’re “on the same kind of buzz”, Shadbolt says, and sing a karakia and some harmony-driven songs before hitting the stage.
“We all get locked in, you know?”
Artists give so much and love doing it, but they also really need to refuel, Shadbolt says.
When he starts feeling like he’s living “in a weird alternate reality”, the remedy is going home to visit whānau.
“Hanging out with my Nan is all I need for half an hour.”
As a touring vocalist, performing shows back to back, you become hyperaware of how your body feels, Shadbolt says. Sleep, hydration, nutrition and movement are his “four pillars”.
“You get those right, and then the voice is magic. Any of those fall down, it’s like ‘Oooh, should have had a feed’ or ‘Oooh, ate too much’.”
For Walker, it’s “buzzy” that alongside R&B singer Aaradhna, the up-and-coming musician Liam Te Wehi (Te Wehi) is supporting his three shows with L.A.B. this summer.
Although he’s been listening to his music and enjoying his TikTok for ages, the two haven’t yet met.
“He looks like my dad, bro!”
For Shadbolt, it’s really special that pioneering hip-hop group Nesian Mystic are supporting the Stan Walker / L.A.B. show at Auckland’s Outer Fields festival on 31 January.
It’s his band’s first headlining Auckland gig in over four years, and the first time Nesian Mystic have hit the stage there in about 15 years.
“I listened to some of these songs in the car before, and I was like, ‘Man, it’s gonna be so nostalgic hanging out and playing their stuff live’.
“We’re kind of buzzing for the show up there.”
By RNZ Music 101.
