Band chats with the radio edges left on.
Off The Record is a Radio Hauraki interview feed built around musicians passing through New Zealand or calling in from the road. The chats move fast, with room for tour stories, local banter, family detours, and the odd stray joke.
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Off The Record works like a side door into Radio Hauraki’s music interviews. The format is simple: a musician is in the studio, on the phone, or passing through the New Zealand touring circuit, and the conversation starts wherever the day happens to be. It can be very quick. It can also wander. That looseness is the point. Jacoby moves from double rainbows and early viral internet memories into a broader thought about doom scrolling, screens, travel, and the value of live music. Ruben Nielsen from the Mint Chicks talks from Portland, with the conversation sliding from a classic-record honor to family ties, music-town reputations, and craft beer. Jacob is met through a Christchurch gig story about a teenager getting a guitar pick, which says more about live music than a polished tour pitch would. Neil from Villainy gets congratulated on a new baby, then the room turns the moment into a sideways story about band practice, labor, parenting, and pub timing. The show likes that kind of human detour. Greg Preble’s chat with Tom from Coast Arcade finds a neat full-circle story: a young Biffy Clyro fan who once waited outside a radio station now opening for them. Gavin Rosdell brings the heavier, more reflective side, talking about Bush returning to New Zealand, old rehearsals in a disused bank, band continuity, modern heaviness, melody, and the ritual feel of being on stage. Nick from Shapeshifter gives the road map version of band life: regional dates, gaps between shows, old album memories, and the strange experience of revisiting music after everyone else has lived with it. Liam from Playlunch adds the rowdier lane, with “Bogan Funk,” seven people in a van, road-trip playlists, and songs built to be fun live. Across the feed, New Zealand place names matter. So do small logistical details. The best interviews are not tidy artist profiles; they are compact conversations where a promo stop briefly opens into memory, craft, travel, family, or scene history. The pacing is brisk, and the humor can be cheeky. It suits listeners who like musicians sounding less managed than they do in formal press copy. The tradeoff is the radio shape: sponsor reads, subscription reminders, and short intros can sit right beside the good stuff. For fans of band conversations, that rough edge is part of the texture.
Made for: For music fans who like touring stories, album memories, New Zealand gig chatter, and musicians speaking casually rather than delivering polished promo lines.
What sets it apart: Its strength is proximity: artists are often caught around actual shows, tour routing, local venues, and radio-station moments, so the interviews feel lived-in instead of packaged.
Radio Hauraki goes "Off The Record" with all the biggest bands & musicians in the world. Featuring uncut and uncensored interviews not heard on the radio
Backstage chat gets real enough to take you from tour routing to heroin without changing seats.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A conversation that settles into Bowie, childhood difference, and why rock can make room for both.
Bec Sandys gets Adam Duritz talking while Counting Crows are in New Zealand for a sold-out gig at the Kiri Takanawa Theatre and then a second show Tuesday.
A relaxed tour-stop chat that turns travel talk, songwriting, and 1972 details into the main attraction.
The interview keeps its attention on touring realities, from the effort of reaching New Zealand to the long drives needed to tour the States and the other regions still on the wish list.
A candid music conversation that moves from Austin's live-wire venues into Milan Boric's memories of addiction, recording, and performance.
Milan Boric's conversation with Jeremy Wells opens in Austin, where South by Southwest, dive bars, and hundreds of live rooms frame a city made for bands to load in, plug in, and find an audience.
Gavin Rosdell traces Bush's heavier turn from a disused bank rehearsal to the ritual charge of the stage.
Bush's return to New Zealand gives this Off The Record episode a clear frame, but its best material comes from Gavin Rosdell reflecting on how the band sharpened into a heavier, more modern version of itself after a period of change.
Mikey Havoc discusses the upcoming reunion shows of his band Push Push, including tour dates in Auckland, Hamilton, and Christchurch, and reflects on the band's history from the early 1990s.
Jeremy Wells interviews Milan Boric, frontman of the New Zealand band Pluto, on Radio Hauraki's Off The Record.
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale joins Off The Record to discuss the band's upcoming New Zealand tour in September.
Joel Little discusses Goodnight Nurse's 20-year-old debut album, a reunion tour expanded from three to six shows, and the band's return after 13 years apart.
Jason Kerrison of Op Shop explains to Bec Sandys why Amplify Aotearoa pairs established New Zealand musicians with rangatahi artists for Take It to the Bridge.
Dave from Clap Clap Riot recalls a New Zealand tour postponed three times and cancelled on its fourth attempt during lockdowns.
Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach discusses the impact of internet culture, doom scrolling, and the value of real-world experiences in music.
Jeremy Wells and Minaya Stewart interview Ruban Nielsen of The Mint Chicks about their album Crazy Yes Dumb No being awarded the Independent Music New Zealand Classic Record at the Tate Music Prize.
The hosts interview Neil from the band Villainy about the recent birth of his daughter and share humorous anecdotes about fatherhood.
Bec interviews Jakob from Sublime about a memorable concert in Christchurch where he gave his guitar pick to a teenage fan from Wanaka, highlighting the multi-generational appeal of their shows.
Greg Preble interviews Thom, the drummer of Coast Arcade, about the band's origins, Thom's background from England, his lifelong fandom of Biffy Clyro, and the excitement of opening for them tonight.
Bec Sandys welcomes Adam Duritz of Counting Crows while the band is in New Zealand for two shows.
This episode chats with Fun Loving Criminals as they look ahead to New Zealand.
Mikey Havoc discusses the upcoming reunion shows of his band Push Push, reflecting on their 1990s history and current tour plans across New Zealand.
Milan Boric discusses his experiences in Austin, Texas, including the vibrant live music scene and a surprising emergency alert about a missing child, while reflecting on broader events in the state.
Angelina Gray interviews John backstage at the Manuka Phuel Full Metal Orchestra event, discussing the fusion of metal music with orchestral arrangements and his experiences performing with orchestras.