Patron-only: "WHAKANEWHA" with Aurelia Torkington @ Waiheke Musical Museum, May 2022 (Patreon)

Hello loves.

First of all, THANK YOU for your input on the Graveside Closing/Thinging poll! A whopping 98% of you voted for me to go ahead and Thing It, so it shall be thung. It's a thung deal. Thank you massively for all the comments. Alex, Liz and I will all be working on that post for a few weeks.

Greetings from Massachusetts.

I've been offline for a few days, gathering my mind and soul together, and meant to pop online today just to drop this patron-only video.

But I've also been dealing with some disturbances in the force, and I wanted to open with this little shot & musing I posted to socials this morning....

I took this photo this morning, in Massachusetts, after a long deep dive into and education about the (broken) justice system, domestic violence, sexual assault, and the long-lasting repercussions it can have. The seemingly endless intergenerational trauma. I’m filled with horror and I’m filled with hope.

I’ve lost so many loved ones recently, and some of them could have been saved. The system is not made for most of us.

The path is full of painful bends, my love, but we’re gonna make it.

The only way out is through. And all that. And in my own words: it’s all just another layer in the shitcake.

I am thinking about all of you and everything you’ve been through, and everything I’ve been through. It’s a lot.

And I’ve never been happier than today, being where I am, being who I’m with.

Steady as she goes. Hang in there.

I’m sending extra deep love to my friends on Waiheke today.

Listen to the waves, to the leaves, to the wind, to the insects in the sink and on the walls. They know.

It’s all so fucking temporary, people.

......

This musing and this video drop are not at all disconnected, and I can talk more about why later, when I have my wits more about me, but for now....I present to you....this amazing little live video, long held onto, released today.

This was a one-take performance with GREAT AUDIO, filmed live at the Waiheke Musical Museum on May 24th, 2022, shortly after I wrote the song (which then appeared on the "New Zealand Survival Songs "EP, the free download link for which you can find in the patron-museum HERE.)

Back when I wrote it, in around Feb 2022, still living on Waiheke, I didn't know if it was going to be a solo song, or a Dresden Dolls song, or a lost shoebox song (those happen).

I wanted to preserve the moment.

By May of 2022, I knew I wouldn't be staying in New Zealand forever. I was due to leave the next month.

I wanted to record this song, with Aura, somewhere on the Island Where it All Happened, just in case I nevcer came back, or Aura moved, or the island sunk into the sea...or, you know. I had just survived 2020, 2021. I was prepared for anything bad to happen. The worst had already happened.

I was not recovered.

(I am only just beginning to recover.)

My FANTASY was to borrow a piano and drag it out to the beach of Whakanewha....which, no shit....

look like this.

Can't you just see the piano?

(....not for from Auckland, New Zealand...another beach, another moment.)

But that would have cost....a fucking fuck ton of money. Filming a piano outside - and getting it to a beach, and not ruining it, and making it sound good in addition to LOOKING good - is very fucking expensive. Trust Amanda.

SOMEDAY.

Can't you see the Dolls in New Zealand, making the final video in Piha?

Call Jane Campion.

I hear she books out early.

And if you think I'm kidding, I am not.

Who's got her number.

............

The Waiheke Musical Museum was literally walkable from my house, had a STUNNING grand piano, and was willing to let me use the space to record and film. It's not a lot to look at from the outside...

But inside....

Bingo.

So there we went to film and record our hearts out.

(For the record, no pun intended, the recording was so good that we used it as the official release on the EP, if you want to go check the audio. Two birds, one stone! Video AND song! See what I did there?)

Putting out this art, step my step, is part of recovering.

The Dolls' new record will be a part of it. The Dolls' touring will be a part of it. Digging through all the wreckage on the shore and releasing everything that got tossed over the boat in the storm of 2020 will be part of it.

There's a lot to release, in every sense of the word.

So, Whakanewha (and to remind you: FAH-KAH-NAY-FAH).

As many of you (who've seen the band on tour lately) know, it IS now a Dresden Dolls song, Brian's drums sound THUNDEROUSLY FUCKING EPIC and have sort of changed the whole tenor of the thing, and I'm so happy to have this little fetal-lounge version that I recorded when it was fresh out of the oven.

My plan is to release this sucker to the public, to youtube, LONG after the dolls record drops and people have heard the song in its finished form. For now, it's just for you.

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ALSO?

Aurelia Torkington, singing like an unreal creature here,. is one of my favorite Kiwis. They came into my life through their dad, Nate Torkington, who's a patron from New Zealand and a beautiful man (he originally brought Aura into my life to help with social media, then they started watching Ash, and then....well, you know how it goes around here), and you can find beautiful tidbits of life-story, including some of their songwriting HERE on IG. Watch this one. It's gonna be big when it happens. Aura has been through their own unique shitstorm, as have I, since this video footage was taken.

Go tell them you love them, ok?

By the by....

When I went on the recent tour of New Zealand, we sang this song live togehter on stage in Auckland, and it was just devastatingly gorgeous and heartbreaking. You can see that footage here on the livecast of the Auckland show that was sent out to patrons HERE.

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 A little about the Waiheke Musical Museum, which is a magical little "wtf?!" place on the island...

The Museum was founded in 1996 by Lloyd and Joan Whittaker who, for years, had collected musical instruments from second hand shops, antique dealers and various old sheds located all around New Zealand. Lloyd was a talented musician who played a variety of instruments from an early age. He was also a consummate restorer of these instruments. When the couple  moved from New Plymouth to Waiheke Island in 1996, they brought their collection with them and, with help from the community, started the Museum at Artworks in Oneroa. It moved into the current space in the same venue in 2000. Lloyd and Joan presented their Live Show there together every Saturday afternoon until their retirement in 2019 aged 87 and 90. 

Prior to this, in 2007, the Waiheke Musical Museum Charitable Trust was formed to ensure the preservation and ongoing management of the collection. While some instruments were gifted to the Trust by the Whittakers, many of the larger or more valuable instruments were purchased from them  by individuals and Community organisations and donated back to the Trust. The centrepiece is world famous Polish musician Paderewski’s 1897 Bechstein Concert Grand piano, brought to NZ in 1904 for his Australasian Tour,  and still used for many of the Museum’s concerts. 

In addition to these performances by invited musicians of both National and International renown, the Museum is open to visitors, available for educational music workshops and offers special guided Group Tours by prior arrangement. 

It is the only “Live” Musical Museum of its kind in New Zealand. In fact, as many international visitors have said, it is rare to find a working, visitor friendly, “hands on” Museum of this quality anywhere in the world.

Here's Lloyd and Joan...BLESS.

The museum runs on donations - if you're feeling inspired to donate, PLEASE DO IT!!! You can do so from anywhere in the world by following this link.

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Here are some behind-the-scenes photos by Michael McComiskey, where you can see some of the BEAUTY OF THE MUSEUM, and some shots of me and gorgeous Aurelia.

Those were times.

......

I love you all.

So so much. Thank you for being my patrons.

xxx

Amanda

P.S. I was hiding in a coffeeshop in Western Mass between one spot and another to find wifi and post this post, and one of my local patrons, Sarah Knox, recognized me. And did me a favor. I ain't telling you what. Bu tI love this world and I love it when you say hi to me, so for fuck's sake, always say hi to me (unless I'm like, peeing, or in the middle of having a deep talk with Robert Smith or my kid or something. Use your obvious best judgement).

Here's me a Sarah like literally like 26 minutes ago. There's my magic table from which I posted this post in the background. META!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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CREDITS for the VIDEO

AMANDA PALMER with AURELIA TORKINGTON

WHAKANEWHA

Recorded live at Musical Museum, Waiheke Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, May 24th 2022

Director of Photograpy
OLLY HARRIS

Colourist
HUGH SUNDAE

Audio
DAVID WERNHAM

Production Assistants
MICHAEL MCCOMISKEY
BIANCA SCARLETT

Loving thanks to
JORDAN VERZAR
AURELIA TORKINGTON
ALEX KNIGHT
SOPHIE PERKINS
ANN JOSELYN 

Produced & Directed by
HUGH SUNDAE

......

<3

------THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS---------

1. if you are a patron and new to my work, don’t forget your patronage allows you access to ALL of my patreon releases to date. HERE is the link to download my latest big solo record, “There Will Be No Intermission”, and HERE is a link to download the PDF of the art/essay book that goes with it.

2. if you’re a patron reading this post via an email notification, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol. that's always nice for me to see, so i know who's reading.

3. see All the Things (over 150 of them) i've made so far on patreon:

http://amandapalmer.net/things

4. JOIN THE SHADOWBOX COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/

5. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/

6. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net