Terepai Richmond
| Terepai Richmond | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Terepai Chalmers Richmond |
| Also known as | The Pieman |
| Born | 21 February 1971 |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Acoustic, folk, jazz, funk, hip hop, electro, reggae/dub, drum n bass, ambient, breakbeat, soul, acid jazz, rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, surfer |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, backing vocals |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Associated acts | Directions in Groove, The Whitlams, King Tide, Missy Higgins, Jeff Martin, Fatback 4 way, Professor Groove & The Booty Affair, Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem |
| Notable instruments | |
| Pearl drums, Zildjian cymbals, all things vintage! | |
Terepai Chalmers Richmond (born 21 February 1971) is an Australian drummer, he joined the Sydney-based rock band The Whitlams in September 1999 and formerly played in acid jazz group Directions in Groove (d.i.g.) (1991–1998, 2008).
[edit] Biography
Terepai Chalmers Richmond was born on 21 February 1971 to a Scottish father and a Polynesian mother who ran a restaurant in Sydney. He started drumming in his parents Polynesian show band at the age of 6 where he performed several shows every week until finishing school at 18. This early introduction to such a diverse range of music has given him a firm grounding on which he has built an amazing career from. After finishing school he joined Sydney soul/funk outfit Bellydance and another well established funk band SWOOP. He was the founding drummer and percussionist of acid jazz group, Directions in Groove (dig) formed in Sydney in 1991.[1] The original dig lineup featured keyboardist and vocalist Scott Saunders, saxophonist Rick Robertson, guitarist Tim Rollinson, bassist Alex Hewetson and Richmond as drummer, percussionist and backing vocalist. He contributed song writing to all 5 dig albums including two live recordings.[2] With Saunders and Samuel Dixon, Richmond went on to form Multiball (1995). Inspired by an encounter with The Roots, Multiball toured extensively and released a self titled album before bassist Sam Dixon relocated to London. Terepai joined rock band The Whitlams in September 1999 for the release of Love This City on which he recorded drums for.[3] Since then Terepai has toured and written with the whitlams who are still an active force in Australian Rock & roll.
Richmond has also written and toured for reggae band King Tide, funk veterans Professor Groove and the Booty Affair. As a session drummer, he is regarded as one of the best in Australia.[4] He has worked freelance for other artists including Savage Garden, SoulDecision, Max Sharam, Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem, Trevor Guthrie and Hawksley Workman and a host of others to many to mention.
Richmond has surfed since the age of 11 and was once titled "King of the Island" (Shark Island). He has featured in numerous surfing movies including Life Like Liquid (Billabong) along side Dave Rastovich, "2230" & "Square" to mention a few. He was a team surfer for Mambo in the 1990s. He won numerous surfing titles through the 80's and 90's before pursuing a less competitive path. Today Terepai is renowned for his tube riding skills and can often be found hunting big waves with his eldest son "Tainui" in his local area South of Sydney. Photos of him have been published in numerous surfing literature around the globe.
Richmond and Dixon provided the rhythm section for television and film composer, Stephen Rae's debut solo music album, Feet Lift Off the Ground (2004).[5] He toured extensively with Missy Higgins both in Australia and USA from 2006 to 2010. He has appeared on many U.S and OZ television shows including "Letterman","Earth Hour" and "Where I Stood" at the 2007 ARIA Awards. He has also recorded and toured extensively with Guy Sebastian and label mate Delta Goodrem.
Richmond's domestic partner is former Sparkadia guitarist Tiffany Preece, the couple have a child, Rocket, born in 2009.[6]
[edit] References
- General
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1865080721. http://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/www.whammo.com.au/index.asp. Retrieved 1 June 2010. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Specific
- ^ McFarlane 'd.i.g. (directions in groove)' entry. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "ASCAP ACE - Search Results for "Richmond Terepai Chalmers"". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1544129&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1. Retrieved 1 June 2010. Note: displays 12 results.
- ^ "Love This City: Whitlams". http://chaos.com/product/whitlams-love-this-city/32594-11179.html. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Winterford, Brett (20 June 2008). "Acid Jazz Flashback". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). http://www.jazzmusic.com.au/jazz-music-articles/2008/6/20/acid-jazz-flashback/. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Stephen Rae". Music Australia. National Library of Australia. 31 May 2004. http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ma-NAMO~3714. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Chill out with a little live music". St George and Sutherland Shire Leader (Fairfax Media). 16 January 2010. http://www.theleader.com.au/news/local/news/entertainment/chill-out-with-a-little-live-music/1725415.aspx.
