SIX60 music and mana
Six60’s Matiu Walters and Marlon Gerbes would tell you that the coolest thing they could be doing right now is opening Christchurch’s brand new stadium. That’s what they told Metropol editor Nina Tucker, just two weeks before the concert – their latest in a string of sold-out stadium shows.
“You have to set lofty dreams. That’s the kind of culture that we set for ourselves at the very beginning, like, why not? Why not set goals that would seem unattainable or just ridiculous? We were zigging when everyone was zagging,” the band’s lead singer Matiu Walters says. “It’s something about our biology, us together. We’re a different beast.”
Six60’s first show beyond Dunedin was at Christchurch venue-no-more The Bedford. “The owner of the bar had no idea what he was in for…understaffed… and so many people came. That was 15 years ago. You have to kick yourself when you’re about to play a stadium, knowing where you’ve been,” guitarist Marlon Gerbes reminisces.
On 16 May, Six60 co-headlines the first concert at One New Zealand Stadium with the electric SYNTHONY orchestra. “Before we started playing stadiums, New Zealand bands would never even be a conversation, even a possibility. We had to fight back our own tall poppy syndrome,” Matiu adds. “We never take time on the stage for granted.”
The beauty of band life
And if you’re wondering, yes, “Being in a band is as cool as you would imagine it to be,” Matiu says.
“We’re as close to family as anything and we get to create music and travel the world and play gigs and bring joy to people.
“I just think we’re so lucky, and it’s actually ridiculous, to meet each other and all be fairly decent at making music, and then like, not breaking up and hating each other, that’s a feat in itself,” he laughs.
The life and landscape changed as the band grew into each new era of themselves. “We went from teenage bachelors, now we’ve got children and starting families,” Matiu says. And once upon a time, airtime and engagement was a competition between just a few stations; now their work needs to cut through a world of noise. “We don’t want to be influencers. We don’t want to be known for social media. We want to be known for our music.”
No amount of school drop-offs or pre-show stress could distract them from the thrill of making history. “We’re aspirational people, and that’s different from desire. You know, we don’t desire things. We’re just driven and want to do cool shit. Right now, the coolest possible thing is opening this brand new stadium in Christchurch.”
Super Round made it feel more real (though I won’t remind you that the band ended up sporting more yellow and blue than red and black); they’d been met by a skeletal structure in previous visits. “Seeing it full, it was actually a really emotional night. People have been waiting for this for a long time,” Matiu says.
Once in a Lifetime celebrates something momentous for Christchurch and its community, but it’s also the stage for Six60 to showcase their latest chart-topping album Right Here Right Now. Though, selflessly, “It’s more for the people of Christchurch,” Marlon smiles. “They’ve been waiting for this for so long. So we’re really happy to show our new album and give the people their first concert at the stadium.”
But before Six60 asked themselves what it means to open Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium, they asked what it means to tangata whenua. The members of Aotearoa’s biggest band spent a week in April exploring the South Island and soaking in its sights and sounds, generously guided by Ngāi Tahu. “So we don’t go into the show as strangers,” Marlon tells me, “We know we’ve connected with the land and the people.”
Matiu says it’s about recognising the land before them and the inspiration that speaks to their songs. “Now, playing the stadium seems a lot more official than it did before. We have the blessing, and that’s something we’ve done wherever we play around the country. We like to make the point of checking in with the local community and local iwi.
“The common thread through our music is that it’s really mighty. I love that about music and I love that about New Zealand. If there’s a place that we should be seen playing songs like this, it should be two hours up the Dart River. It should be halfway up Mount Cook. It should be standing under the dark skies in Twizel. It should be in these most ridiculously breathtakingly beautiful spots. That’s where these songs are meant to be taken in.”
In those places is where Matiu finds most of his inspiration. “It’s just something about nature. Something about the drama and permanence to the natural landscapes. When we’re making music, I see landscapes like that.”
But blending four streams of inspiration? Marlon describes that process as an “intuition” the band has built over 15 years. “The four of us couldn’t have more different tastes in music. The push and pull is what makes great art. It’s about knitting those together in a way where it transcends and creates something that no one would have thought,” he says.
A masterclass in authenticity
Like Once in a Lifetime, what Six60 creates is one of a kind. Four personalities, from four different worlds of Aotearoa. “That is what makes bands unique in the world of music. We can just plug in and let it rip and what you’ll get is something that only the four of us can make. Like you could put Flash on the guitar, and you could have Ed Sheeran singing and Charlie Puth on the keyboard, and they could play our songs, and it’ll never, ever sound the way we sound. And that’s magic.
That’s music, isn’t it?” Matiu exclaims. “There’s an entire ecosystem that just happens and is exclusive to us.”
“We push to be authentic and potent in everything we do,” Marlon adds. But it’s not a ‘pressure makes diamonds’ situation – the standards they’ve carved out for themselves in New Zealand music isn’t what forces their best work. It’s the act of leaning into what feels true and right. “We want to take what’s unique and special about who we are in our culture to the world like it’s never been taken to the world before. We’re not really interested in conforming and trying to attempt to do the thing that works,” Matiu explains. “We have high standards.
That’s our nature, and we’re trying to make the best songs we possibly can, and that’s not any more in reference to the past or worrying about what people are going to think in the future.” Each song, each album, each show… different from the last. “We’re everchanging,” Matiu says.
“Six60 has become bigger than the four of us. It really represents whānau and bringing people together. I’m just always amazed at the amount of joy and memories that people have that are connected to our music.”
Get ready, Ōtautahi, Once in a Lifetime is next in line.
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QUICKFIRE WITH SIX60
Describe your fan base in a few words?
Marlon: Every walk of life, pretty much a reflection of us.
Matiu: People that like a good time, and they have an emotional connection to music.
Ji: I’d describe our fans as a direct reflection of the band itself.
Chris: Our music is for everyone. I like to think that it doesn’t discriminate. Our fan base seems to reflect that, all ages and cultures, people who want to connect with each other and the music.
If you could have dinner with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?
Marlon: Jimi Hendrix.
Matiu: James Brown.
Ji: That’s a hard one. I was really inspired by Eric Clapton growing up, not just as a guitarist but as a singer-songwriter. The feeling he puts into every note is just something else. I’d love to pick his brain a bit over a meal – his influences, his process, all of it. I think I’d walk away seeing the guitar completely differently.
Chris: Paul McCartney, and I’d prefer for him to be alive.
What is your pre-performance ritual?
Marlon: I like to chill and be as present as possible. Stay off my phone. I like to walk around the venue and look out at the audience, at the stage, and ground myself to the show.
Matiu: You need to be present, so meditating, and then preparing for the show, so warming up my voice. We huddle around the setlist and talk through the show. About 10 minutes before we go on, we’ll play country music, like Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith, or Pretty Good At Drinking Beer by Bill Carrington, these comedic country songs that make us smile.
Ji: I like to keep things relaxed. Laugh a lot backstage and keep the energy light. I’m not much of a fan of serious preshow rituals or conversations. The more laughing that goes on backstage, the better we seem to connect onstage, which usually leads to our best shows. Laughter is honestly the best warm-up.
Chris: I like to pop open a bottle of red and have a cheers with the other boys.
