Bandstanding: Gibson ‘Gibz’ Harris

‘There are people in your life that 100% believe in you.’

Born and bred in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Gibson (Gibz) Harris made his move to Auckland in 2009 to study music, though he had never intended to become a musician.

“Growing up, I had two of the world’s greatest guitar players in my family and it seemed impossible to ever be that good!“

That concern is past and Gibz now sings alongside his Dad in their band Chemamari, based in Kaitaia. “We have been together for seven years now and play RnB, funk, right through to country. The other group I am a part of is a duo called Tonez and Gibz. Tony O’Rourke and I started an acoustic duo not long after we both graduated from the Excel School of Performing Arts. We started making YouTube videos because we were bored and we’ve accomplished some amazing personal milestones together since then. Our mission statement has always been ‘to build a platform to inspire youth’ and I feel like we have been true to that.”

A further year of study at MAINZ led Gibz to SAE to learn audio engineering. “It was challenging as I had no idea that there was so much maths involved in producing music. But it prepared me to be able to record my own music and that of others to a professional standard.”

Gibz now teaches music at Zeal West Auckland, a space providing events, creative programmes, workshops, crisis intervention and more for young people across five centres in Te Ika-a-Māui (the North Island).

“Before I started at Zeal I used their facilities a lot for practice and studio work so when I heard there was an opportunity to teach I jumped at it. Zeal is the embodiment of all my passions rolled into one. It’s just a great place to meet new people and hang out, and is something a lot of us wish we had growing up.

“In my classes we teach the basic theory of the student’s chosen instrument, apply that theory to performance and take this new knowledge into the studio to make a recording they can take home. We provide a foundation that makes it possible for students to pursue many different opportunities in the future. We are very fortunate to have a group of staff who are well connected in the creative industries and who are always willing to go above and beyond to help individuals who are passionate about achieving their dreams.”

As well as delivering Zeal programmes, Gibz says the connection with rangatahi (youth) is equally as important. “The service you provide is more than the title of your course. Sometimes a student just needs to talk to someone before they can even decide to learn. It’s so rewarding to remember that we offer that.”

In addition to his work at Zeal, Gibz is involved in two other projects. “The first is a second season of the stage show Maui run by the dance company Freshmans. We tell the stories and legends of Maui through a mix of contemporary and traditional dance and music. The second project is Autaia Haka Tapere run by a company called Hawaiki Tu, eight talented Māori artists specialising in haka theatre (kapa haka, Māori dance, and theatre). They have come together to help three kura kaupapa (Māori schools) in the Auckland region to produce a 20-30 minute haka theatre piece of their own to showcase at Auckland Town Hall.”

Inspired by people and ideas that extend beyond the square, Gibz’s musical influences include Prince, Stevie Wonder, Pharell Williams, and film composer Hans Zimmer. Closer to home it was an Adeaze gig that flicked a light on.

“My Dad took me to a concert that Adeaze put on in my home town of Kerikeri, and while we were sitting in the crowd I turned to Dad and said ‘I want to be like them one day’. Fast forward to 2010 – I was doing a small fundraiser show in South Auckland and the final act was Adeaze. I had to call my Dad and tell him where I was and what I was doing. He wasn’t surprised and had never doubted me.

“That memory always lingers with me and reminds me that even when I don’t know if I can do something there are people in your life that 100% believe in you.”

Apalogue (meaning a short moral fable, especially one with animals as characters) is the title of Gibz’s second album “I wanted to write an album about my favourite fairytale stories and characters, and what they would look like now in the real world. It’s been lots of fun and I’m hoping to release it at the end of the year.”

Gibson ‘Gibz’ Harris: ‘Sometimes a student just needs to talk to someone about how they feel before they can even decide to learn.’

For more information on Zeal go to Zeal.nz. To keep up to date with Gibz: @Gibzworld on FRINGEADLTD.pdf 1 15/11/16 16:33Instagram and Gibzmusic on Facebook.

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