SOURCE: Stuff
When Aaron Tokona was a boy, he and his dad used to take their guitars and go busking when they needed a bit of cash. Last week, Tokona found himself on Hollywood Boulevard on the cusp of an American dream.He and singing drummer Nick Gaffaney comprise rising Christchurch duo Cairo Knife Fight. At first glance, Tokona, also of psychedelic rock and soul outfit A Hori Buzz, and Gaffaney seem an unlikely musical pairing.
Headband-wearing Tokona's guitar-playing and loop pedal wizardry is free- flowing intense wildness.
In contrast, suit-wearing Gaffaney's falsetto vocals accompany a precise- drumming style, which has seen him perform in Goldenhorse, with Anika Moa and as a go-to man for many big names in the industry.
They are from vastly different musical worlds, but when they collide, these two aural warriors create expansive, explosive sounds like no-one else.
Last year, the pair got onto the bill of the prestigious United States music industry showcase, the CMJ Music Festival, by booking the venue ahead of festival organisers, who could hardly refuse to let them strut their stuff on stage.
This year, they received a legitimate invitation to perform as part of the New Zealand Music Commission's contingent.
The trip was not without its difficult moments. A few hours and one Mexican meal after arriving in Los Angeles, the pair sacked their managers after a dispute (no knives involved) and found themselves with nowhere to stay and no money.
"One minute we were on Hollywood Boulevard having an LA time, and the next we're on the plane for New York not knowing where we were going to stay," Tokona says.
Luckily, Gary Fortune, of the New Zealand Music Commission, came to their rescue and the pair stayed at his apartment, topping and tailing on a camp stretcher.
If Tokona sounds a bit upset by the drama, it's partly because he has been through it all before with his 90s group, Weta, which combusted after a messy overseas tour. Over a decade later, he simply didn't expect to find himself in a similar situation.
No manager, no money, nowhere to stay - it's not the ideal way to prepare for a special gig, Tokona admits.
"By the time we came to play our showcase gig, I was completely fried, it was all so heavy. And for those showcase gigs you've only got 20 minutes to get up there and blow your load."
Fried or not, the pair's performance was enough to capture the attention of Kirk Harding, an expatriate who left New Zealand in 1999 and rose through the ranks at Universal International before recently starting his own label.
"He wasn't there for any particular reason, just catching up with a mate, but he came up to us after the gig and said he'd loved it. He's broken Tool and Akon, I found out by googling him later. He took us out for dinner and said he'd been looking for a rock band for his arsenal for his new label and that we were it.
"We went from having no manager to leaving America with an American manager."
Reviews of their 20-minute set by bloggers and respected music publications alike are glowing.
"It's time for the long shadow of The White Stripes to step aside for two new kids on the block," wrote one, adding, "Cairo Knife Fight have chosen an appropriate name.
"Wielding the sharpest knife in the souk, they've carved themselves a musical niche only dreamed of by lesser mortals." They were also described as a "bastard child of the Stooges and Neu!" with a dash of Zeppelin, "back before they were bloated".
Their latest release, the band's second EP, Cairo Knife Fight II, follows on from an album in 2009 and last year's self-titled EP. Cairo Knife Fight II has earned the pair a nomination in the Best Rock Album category at Thursday's New Zealand Music Awards.
They are up against Wellington newcomers Beastwars and Wellington stalwarts Shihad, who Weta often supported back in the day. Shihad frontman Jon Toogood wrote the song Pacifier about Tokona and the lyric "precious star, you are the best at what you are" shows the level of respect that exists between these friends.
"I've had the awards date circled on my calendar. It's come up quickly. It's a bit like going full circle. I won the most promising male vocalist in 2000. I'm also playing in Tiki's band at the awards on Thursday, so it's a full-on buzz."
It's a musician's life, he says - nothing happens for ages and then it's "bang, bang, bang". "I got back to New Zealand and went straight into a Fly My Pretties rehearsal."
Fluttering around the country in its fourth incarnation, Fly My Pretties IV plays at the GeoDome in Hagley Park tomorrow and on Monday, and Tokona will play a special guitar, made from timber recovered from the ruins of buildings destroyed in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Like many Cantabrians, it has been a tumultuous year for Tokona, who aside from difficulties which have arisen from the earthquakes, has long suffered from bipolar disorder, a battle he is proud to be winning. He's now looking forward to what the future has to offer.
"We'll see how it goes in America. In the meantime, the Foo Fighters have asked us to support them again for their next stadium show here. That's not confirmed yet, but it's the next seat to ride."
Hollywood Boulevard may be paved with broken dreams, but hopefully Cairo Knife Fight is set to change all that.
