Paul McCartney first heard John Lennon sing at a church fair. Jimmy Page first heard Robert Plant sing at a gig at a teachers training college. But typical for 2015, Josiah Samuel first heard Murk Aukema sing on Youtube.
While Murk and Josiah’s new band may not have reached the heights of the Beatles or Led Zeppelin just yet, their chance meeting is good news for Nelsonians as they prepare for their first summer tour around the region.
The day the band formed, Josiah was watching a Youtube clip at a Nelson backpackers with a friend when the voice in the video jumped up behind him. “I was watching the video of Murk and then he walked passed, so I asked him if he wanted to jam.”
He did and they connected instantly.
“We play totally different styles of music,” says Josiah. “But it feels good… go with it… yeah, it works well.”
Later that night, while having a few beers at the Sprig & Fern on Hardy St, the pair played a couple of songs on stage. While most of the punters were happy to clap, Justine Jamieson wanted to help.
“They were so good and after I met them I just wanted to help them so we decided to try to make them famous in Nelson,” says Justine, a local advertising rep and fashion writer who was enjoying a night out with her friends before running into the pair.
The following day, after the Dutch courage disappeared, the three were true to their word and decided to start a band. They found a name – Found It – and started organising a summer tour.
The speed of the band coming together and the number of tour dates confirmed has shocked all three.
“When I came up [to Nelson] I was busking, coz I left Dunedin with a bag of clothes and a guitar,” says Josiah. “Now this has happened, it’s a bit better than busking.”
Murk, travelling in New Zealand from Holland, says forming this band has given him belief to make a living out of his passion. “Back home last year I had a 20 hour job on the side and the rest music, but it’s only been the last couple of months that I’ve actually been making a living from it. It’s real exciting, this is the only thing I wanna do in life.”
The Found It summer tour starts tonight at Rhythm and Brown on New St from 5-8pm. Other gigs are at various venues throughout Nelson and Tasman until the middle of January.
For more information search “Found It” on Facebook.
