ON TOUR IN NEW ZEALAND
Februar 16th, 2010ANN PASCOE NEWSLETTER February 2010
Editor: Bob Dyer bdyer@clear.net.nz
Hello again, we wish you all the best for the New Year. Here is it, February already! Grab a coffee and read what Ann’’s been up to!
Ann’’s year got off to a busy start with festivals - The Festival of Lights was another fine summer’’s evening on Thursday 14th January and Ann, Allan Webster and OLDOGS gathered a good crowd of around 300 on the Hatchery Lawn.
A visit from popular German country artist, Hermann Lammers Meyer on his way to the Marton Festival meant getting him up on stage with Ann and OLDOGS which was an introduction to Hermann who was appearing at the Hatchery Lawn on the following Monday evening.
On the 15th January, Ann, Allan and OLDOGS, Mark Corbett, Noddy Curd, Kevin Joyce, Charlie Winter and Joe Martin rocked it up at the RSA in New Plymouth and presented a ”Five Dog Night” evening of good music and dancing! An active crowd enjoyed the music. OLDOGS was a five piece band with Joe Martin helping out on steel.
On the 16/17th of January Ann and OLDOGS, and Allan and Maureen Webster (who had been staying with the Pascoes) headed to the Marton Festival which once again was a great success. While the weather wasn”t the best for the outdoors, the head count was up on other years, and the audience was able to shelter in the two huge marquees.
Well done Anne George, for your skill and tireless work to get the Marton Festival underway for another year. This festival is growing in popularity and has a waiting list of NZ and overseas artists wanting to be included.
OLDOGS was the backing band for the afternoon show and Ann joined them in the afternoon and presented a couple of songs. The Wanganui Chronicle gave good photo coverage of the festival, and Ann got her photo in the paper.
From Marton, it was home again to Taranaki and off to the Festival Of Lights on the 18th of January when Trevor Stevens and Hermann Lammers Meyer shared the stage. Ann was invited up by both singers to combine in a duet with each of them. The guys had a huge crowd for a Monday night.
Not much chance to rest up before it was ”on the road again”, this time to Hastings where I had organised a gig for Ann, and Hermann at the Hastings Hibernian Club on Thursday the 21st of January. We had a busy and very pleasant day with Ann and her support team, Frank & Jocelyn calling in for a cuppa after their long drive from Taranaki. Great to see them again.
After Ann and her crew left, I had a call from Robert Dew, (TLC Radio founder and tour guide) asking me to put the jug on, he was just coming in to Napier with Hermann, (A long trip from Raglan). We met Hermann and had another ”cuppa”.
I was pleased to see members of various Country Music Clubs from Napier and Hastings there in support of the show, but also it was pleasing to see members of the general public there, too. It was a 7.30pm start and Hermann and Ann had the receptive crowd going from the very start.
Big thanks must go to Dave Jones at the Hibernian and his staff for hosting this event, providing a supper and doing wonderful pre-show promotion. And feeding the travelling team so well.

Friday morning, the whole crew called in to have another ”cuppa” before heading off for Auckland where Ann and Hermann were to appear at the Victoria Park Market on Saturday at noon. Hermann called it a Marton Festival Reunion because Trevor Stevens and Kylie Austin, both of whom had been at the Marton Festival and Allan and Maureen Webster all turned up at the Park. They did a stint on stage with Hermann and Ann, too.
Ann said it was also great to meet in person, Paul van Beurden who wrote the honky tonk piano style song “We”re Through” she recorded, and to meet his wife Christine, too.
Then it was on to an evening show at the Sail Rock Cafe, Mangawhai further on up the road north. More great food and comfortable accomodation provided.
Sunday and it was across to the ”Funky Fish Cafe” at Bayleys Beach, Dargaville. Thank you to Sonny and Carol Franklin (TLC Radio Northland) for organising the gig for Hermann and Ann. And thank you to Phil Godfrey, Big Riverfm for hosting all the travelling team at his comfortable residence.
Monday was a travelling day to show Hermann the sights - the Kauri forest, and Hokianga Harbour which was absolutely beautiful on a perfect summer’’s day. Back home in Germany, Hermann’’s family was shovelling snow. While Hermann was determined to get a Kiwi tan!
Manuka Studios was the place to be on Tuesday, and with Mike McCarthy in charge, Hermann and Ann recorded three duets. One of them, “Foggy Mountain Top” is being released with Hillcrest in March and will be sent round many country music radio stations, and receive good exposure.
(Both Ann and Hermann having both released (separately) on Hillcrest recently are having great exposure on the ECMA and the Joyce Ramgatie charts at this time!)
On Wednesday 27th it was time for Ann, Robert, Jocelyn and Frank to say farewell to Hermann and put him on a plane back home. It was a sad time. He was to endure 26 hours of flying, and another three hours on a train to get back to his snow covered homeland. But he survived it - and says that he will be back! And we look forward to that. Hermann was popular with everyone he met - an all round good bloke!
It’’s probably best summed up by a piece Allan Webster wrote on meeting Hermann.
Over the years as a country music artist I have had the privilege of meeting many other artists, but I can’t remember meeting anyone quite like Hermann.
I found him to be an inspirational entertainer with a very interesting background in the field of music. Hermann was liked by all he met in New Zealand and I am sure he has left them with lasting memories, and especially for me, his “after show performances”.
A hot chocolate will never taste the same again. (In-house joke!) There is no doubt he will be welcomed back to New Zealand, and I only hope that I can meet up with him again one day. (And so say all of us! Ed.)
Allan Webster. (Australia)
www.allanwebster.wordpress.com
A huge thank you must go to Robert Dew and FreewheelingNZ who took Hermann around New Zealand for three whole weeks and who in the last week, drove the whole team around in his comfortable tour bus. Thanks, Robert - Ann says it was relaxing and a pleasure to travel with you.
www.FreeWheelingNZ.com Email bobdew@freewheelingnz.com Showing you New Zealand without the rush!
Ann’’s email address: - annpascoe@orcon.net.nz
See Ann’’s videos on www.annpascoe.com
2009 Kiwi ProAm
Female Country Artist Finalist
Check out www.nzcountryscene.notlong.com









