Celebrity Chop Growers

Erin Simpson

Erin Simpson’s on-stage debut came in 2005, when she performed as an apostle in Jesus Christ Super Star. While this was satisfying work, it wasn’t covering the cost of Erin’s potentially fatal Creme Egg addiction. To help pay those growing Crème Egg bills, she took on a part time job working on the popular Children’s television show What Now. “My audition consisted of jumping around the room acting like a monkey,” says Erin. “To this day I never knew if it was a complement that I got the job or not!” The following two years saw Erin filming for What Now during the day and singing in various theatre productions throughout the country by night. In 2007, Erin finally got her big break when she bagged herself the gig of co-hosting TV3 kids show, Sticky TV.

After a successful two years on air co-hosting, Erin was approached by the same producers who make What Now in Christchurch about coming back to Christchurch and making a new show for teenagers. “I had said yes to the job before I even knew what is was, let alone what it was called!” says Erin - little did she know that this was to become her biggest challenge yet. She cancelled her Europe OE plans, filled her Subaru to the brim with whatever would fit and caught the next available ferry to Christchurch. “When I arrived I was literally living out of my car for about 8 weeks before I got sorted,” she remembers.

Both on and off screen, Erins’ kind efforts take centre stage. Erin is passionate about causes close to her heart and works hard at raising awareness for The Asthma Society. “I’ve had asthma all my life including two bad asthma attacks when I was younger,” she says. “I think it’s important for people with Asthma to know that it’s not something that should hold you back.’’ Erin also supports World Vision and Duffy Books in Schools.

Erin is donning the Chop-Sticks for Christchurch in 2011.

Visit The Erin Simpson Show Website
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Booga Beazley

From Wikipedia:

HLAH (Head Like A Hole) formed in Wellington, originally consisting of Nigel Regan, Mark Hamill, Nigel Beazley and Andrew Durno. Previous to HLAH forming Nigel Regan and Mark Hamill were playing in a covers band playing songs by artists such as early Masters of Reality, Black Sabbath, Tad, Faith No More, Nirvana, Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney and Fugazi among others. It wasn't a cover band as such that we played gigs and got paid, more an excuse to get together jam and bash out songs we could play says Regan.
At the end of 1990 Nigel Beazley returned to Wellington from art school in Auckland and was roped in as singer (even though he had never sung or been in a band in his life), as Nigel and Mark's latest singer and bass player had fallen by the wayside and they wished to form an original band. The three of them went to their practice space at the 'Hopper Street Warehouse' in Wellington (the old Empire Spice Warehouse complete with dripping water and stairs that would cause a heart attack) and after blasting though a rendition of 'War Pigs' by 'Black Sabbath' to see if Beazley could actually sing the decision was made and the band was born, minus a name and a bass player which was soon rectified by the addition of Andrew 'Tall' Durno who Mark had met at a party and invited along to a practice.

Not long after the band was fully formed, for a bottle of Whiskey and $100, they recorded their first self-penned songs on an 8 track at (now defunct) Tongue studios in Wellington above the pool hall on Manners Street. this became their first self released cassette titled 'Shitnoise'. Only 100 copies of this were made and these are now rare sought after items.

Around this time Head Like a Hole shared a run down practice room at the old Empire Spice Warehose on Hopper Street with local act Shihad. After an off the cuff remark from Jon Toogood that HLAH should support Shihad on their up and coming 'Devolve' tour Regan rang Gerald Dwyer (Shihad's then manager)and said "Hi, I'm Nigel from Head Like a Hole and we're coming on tour with Shihad" to which Dwyer replied "Is that right?". Toogood had neglected to actually inform Gerald of this great idea. However, seeing the benefits in it, Dwyer stopped in to see HLAH playing upstairs at the Empire Warehouse (above the practice room occasional gigs were put on even though the place was an OSH nightmare and fire hazard with the dodgiest staircase in history) and the idea was put into play and it was on this tour that Regan for lack of a suitable 'rock wardrobe' hit upon the idea of playing naked.

They started off playing small gigs at the Hopper Street warehouse, The Carpark, and Rocky's pub and soon started touring the university circuit. Having taken the name Head Like a Hole the band gained a following with outrageous gigs, performing naked and caked with mud, or with complete face and body paint. With a strong and dedicated following, HLAH got signed to Wildside Records, who at around the same time signed another Wellington act, Shihad.

IN 2010 Head Like A Hole started working on new material for their first album in a decade. After deciding to work with Andrew Buckton (Midnight youth, The D4) the drum tracks were laid down at York Street Studios with the rest of the tracking done at 203.The first digital download release from the album 'Swagger of Thieves' went to no.1 on the BFM charts in December 2010 and has received good airplay on other stations such as the Rock and has been welcomed by fans old and new with the band showing they can still craft highly energetic rock songs except now with an added level of maturity. The Second single 'Glory, Glory (Hallelujah)' being released in June 2011 with the Album and nationwide tour to follow in August 2011. Blood Will Out the new album containing 11 brand new tracks released July 4, 2011.

Check out the tour dates in support of HLAH's latest album "Blood Will Out".

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Te Radar

Te Radar (Andrew J Lumsden) is an award winning satirist, documentary maker, writer, stage and screen director, failed gardener, and amateur historian. He was also the star of four top rating TVNZ programmes, Global Radar, Radar’s Patch, Off the Radar, and Homegrown. A new TVNZ series, Radar Across the Pacific, is currently in production. Radar’s Patch won the 2010 Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Information/Lifestyle Programme.

He has recently toured his acclaimed New Zealand history show Eating the Dog following its award-winning season at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival at Sky City Theatre, and will be bringing it to Wellington for a second season at Downstage Theatre in 2011.

Over the past decade he has traveled extensively throughout New Zealand, Russia, Scandinavia, UK, and Canada, and he has filmed documentaries locally and in Australia, East Timor, Israel, Africa and The United States.

As well as performing comedy both locally and internationally he has worked for Radio New Zealand, The New Zealand Herald, Metro, TVNZ, Maori TV, TV3, Alt TV, Kiwi FM, and various other publications.

Other than that he really does very little.
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Millen Baird

A writer/performer, Millen's first professional outing was his acclaimed one man show "Wedding Speeches" which toured NZ in 2002/2003.

In 2005 he wrote and starred in his own comedy pilot, "The Comedy Pilots", which aired on TV2 as part of a late night comedy initiative.

Then in 2007, Millen wrote and starred in his widely acclaimed sketch comedy series, "The Millen Baird Show"' which aired on TV3 in 2008. He will appear in TVNZ's new web series, Auckland Daze, and has another TVNZ show in development titled "The Ex-Men". DonateMore

Kurt Shanks

NZ singer-songwriter Kurt Shanks has quickly embraced Choptober: "Count me in. Sounds like a nice lazy way of raising money for Christchurch, and I can grow some mean chops!"

Seven Flights Up is the brand new debut solo EP from Kurt (ex-stellar*).

"Seven Flights Up rewrites the book on how to make a first impression.... a fantastic release" - Real Gone (UK) review Sept 2011.

The record’s release is hard on the heels of Kurt's well-received five concert tour around NZ in July as support for internationals’ Steve Kilbey (The Church) and Ricky Maymi (Brian Jonestown Massacre).

The five-song EP includes the hooky acoustic-drive of We Shall Have Another Day, the pop-punk thrash of Shoot To Kill (which spent a month in the Radioscope chart) and the dreamy wigged-out title track Seven Flights Up. Check out the videos at youtube.com/kurtshanksmusic

Recorded at Roundhead, BigPop and Kurt's own studio, mixed by Chris van de Geer (Tim Finn, Black River Drive), produced by Wayne Bell, and featuring Andrew Thorne, Mark Hughes, Lani Purkis and Troy Shanks.

See kurtshanks.com or befriend Kurt on facebook.com/kurtshanksprofile DonateMore