New Zealand Writers

SHUTE, Gareth

Links
Kapai: Kids can read more about Gareth here

SHUTE, Gareth (1973-) was born in Canada and now lives in Auckland.

A writer and a musician, Shute has written two non-fiction books about music in New Zealand; Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa (2004), published by Reed Publishing, and Making Music in New Zealand (2005), published by Random House.

Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa describes the journey of hip hop music from the fringe into the mainstream of popular culture. Gareth Shute was introduced to hip hop culture as an adolescent living in Singapore and when he returned to Auckland, he was surprised to find that rap music hadn't yet had the same impact on the North Shore as it had elsewhere in the world. The book follows the development of hip hop music in New Zealand from the old to the new, featuring in-depth interviews and photographs throughout. It won the Lifestyle and Contemporary Culture section of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2005.

Shute has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Mathematics, and a BA (Hons) in Philosophy and English from the University of Auckland. He worked as a librarian from 1998-2005 and is involved with the label Lil' Chief Records. He plays for two bands: Ryan McPhun & the Ruby Suns and The Tokey Tones.

He has also written several articles, short stories and poems.

Gareth Shute is available for school visits as part of the Book Council's Writers in Schools programme.

Kapai

Where do you live?
Kingsland, Auckland (in a big rundown old villa with car parts nailed to the ceiling of the hallway and a lounge that is wallpapered with pictures from National Geographic).

What books do you read?
I read a lot of novels, especially books that show a lot of imagination and which are fresh in their approach. I also read some books about music – in particular, the history of music or the sociological aspect of how music exists in society. If I am writing a book on a particular topic then I will usually read a lot around this subject. For example, lately I have interviewed a number of painters (John Pule, Dick Frizzell, etc) for a new book I have just completed, so I spent some time reading about the history of art in NZ.

Aside from books, I also listen to a lot of music – especially local music – which has been very important for the kind of work I do. I also play in two bands.

Who is your favourite writer?
I don’t think I could pick out one particular writer. The last book that I read that I really enjoyed was David Foster Wallace’s book “Infinite Jest” though I probably wouldn’t recommend that book to someone who I didn’t know because it would take a certain type of person to enjoy a book like that (i.e., someone who doesn’t mind an ending without closure and various indulgent elements like endless footnotes). I also enjoyed Nicholson Baker’s book “Mezzanine” which takes place entirely during a guy’s journey from the bottom of an escalator to the top. As far as music books, two of my favourites would be “Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azerrad and “England’s Dreaming” by Jon Savage. Though I find “Stranded In Paradise” by John Dix a valuable resource – it’s a book on the history of NZ popular music – though it is factually incorrect in many places!

How do you think up your ideas?
I write non-fiction primarily (though I have had some short stories published) so my main aim to is to think of some aspect of New Zealand culture that hasn’t been documented before, which I think is important. For my first book, I saw that local hip hop music was about to become an important force in local music so I went about writing the history of it. In this case, I was quite correct, since by the time the book came out, Scribe and others had made a real dent on the New Zealand charts and were beginning to make inroads in Australia. For my second book, I realised as a musician that there was a lot of information that didn’t seem to be compiled in a book to do with what it was really like being a musician in this country. I thought the best way to capture that would be to speak the musicians themselves and use their quotes to construct a book. I also backed that up by talking to certain key people in the music industry as well. For my latest book, I wanted to capture a wider picture of what it is like to be any sort of creative person in New Zealand, because it seemed to me that there were a lot of things that they had in common – e.g., there isn’t much money available for artists in this country, so you have to be creative with what you have. Now I’m starting to look for my next idea…

What is the best thing about being a writer?
The best thing about being a writer is being able to set your own schedule. Basically it’s a form of being self-employed, so you have that flexibility. Also, as a book lover, it’s great to think you are contributing another book to the world. Occasionally I go back to do a day’s work at the public library in town and it always makes me happy to see a couple of my books there on the shelf.

Primary School Students

What sort of pets do you have?
I have a cat called “Winnie” that always tries to nestle on my lap while I’m writing, and then she gets in my way while I’m trying to type by trying to rub against my arms! She’s grey and a bit round. She loves sitting on people’s laps, whenever they sit down in our lounge. Sadly there are lots of other cats in all the houses next to ours so she is always growling with the neighbour’s cat. When see another cat in our yard, I always hiss and try to scare it off, so that my cat will be not so scared!

What is your favourite colour?
I like the blue of the sky on a very sunny day. And also the green of the grass, when it’s a nice day and I’m lying on it reading a book.

What is your favourite food?
I don’t know what the answer to this is. I’m pretty impressed by carrots though – they just grow in the ground, then you clean them, and then you’re able to eat them. It’s amazing. I suppose you could say the same about fruit, though it’s not quite as filling. I do love nice green granny smith apples and easy-to-peel mandarins. Fruit is always better if you get it fresh and it’s great eating the fruit that they sell on the roadside out of Auckland.

What is your favourite movie?
This is a very tricky question. There are so many great movies in the world! The last good movie I saw was about a man trying to decide whether to be a piano player or a gangster. It was a French film, so I had to read all the words at the bottom of the screen. I always wish I had tried harder in high school so I could actually understand French rather than have to read the translation. I also saw King Kong and I liked the bit where he tore up the Civic theatre in town. My favourite movies are always the unusual ones, because I get bored if I know what is going to happen in the end.

What is your favourite game?
As far as sports, my favourite game would be soccer, because all you need is a ball and some markers for where the goal would be. Anyone can play and it doesn’t matter what size you are. I used to play rugby when I was younger, but I was very very bad at it. I think you’ll find that lots of writers in New Zealand are bad at rugby. Fortunately lots of rugby players are bad at writing books and when they are asked to write down the history of their lives, they have to get a writer to help them, which means there is more work for writers. Unfortunately, there is no way a rugby player could help me play rugby! More likely, I will spend my time playing scrabble.

What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Well, I usually write books about true events so they most fun thing is talking to the people that made those events happened. So when I wrote my hip hop book, I ended up talking to lots of rappers and DJs, like Scribe, Savage, and Mareko. Hip hop is all about making music with whatever you have on hand, so it’s very inspiring to talk to people who have that attitude. I also like finding out new things, so I don’t mind spending lots of time in the library reading about things that have happened. It might seem a bit geeky but I really enjoy it! Occasionally I write fiction and that’s fun as well, because there’s nothing better than just making stuff up. Especially if you can make a story out of it.

How do you make books?
The main thing you need is a good idea. Therefore you need to have a lot of imagination. If you are writing a nonfiction book then you need to read all about the subject in the library and takes notes. Then you can interview relevant people. If you’ve already researched the subject, then you’ll be able to ask them sensible questions. Often I tape-record what those important people say to me, which means I later have to do the hard job of typing up everything that they have said. Lastly, I need to sit at a computer for a long time and put all that information together. That would be one good thing about doing fiction or making up stories – if you write fiction, you can just sit at the computer and make it up! At the end I also have to edit my work – to make sure it has all come out sounding how I had planned. There are always lots of mistakes so I have to be very careful. When you are writing about other people, you have to be very careful to check your facts otherwise they might get very angry! Once you’ve made a book, you have to convince people to read it and then people have to interview you, which is a nice change!

Where do you go for your holidays?
I try to go to places where they have nice beaches for swimming. Then I find somewhere nice and sit down and read a book or throw a frisbie around. I spend all my time indoors when I am writing so I like to be outside, sitting under some shade. Even just looking at clouds. Then having a swim when I get too hot.

What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I wasn’t very naughty at school and the main problem that teachers had with me was that I was always day-dreaming! When you are a writer, you need to have a good imagination, like a little kid. But when you are meant to be concentrating in school, it is very hard if you are thinking of stories and ideas in your head! However, having a good imagination means that you never get bored. Though usually it is better to listen to the teacher and save your great imagined ideas for lunch-break or after school, then you can play games based on those ideas or write them down or draw about them.

Secondary School Students

How did you get started?
When I first started, I wrote fiction so I studied creative writing at Auckland University. Writing essays at university and writing stories for my creative writing class, gave me a great control over my writing which allowed me to transfer my thoughts into words on paper, without it seeming jumbled or clunky. I also wrote articles for the university magazine and this eventually led to writing articles elsewhere. I had always wanted to write a book, but it was only when I was at the hip hop summit in 2003 that I realised that it would be a good idea to do a non-fiction book. The hip hop scene at that time seemed so alive that I just knew it would make a good story and I also felt that it was about to break through to the mainstream. Therefore I put forward a proposal to a publishing company, where someone from my old school was working and that got me a foot in the door.

From there, I wrote a sample chapter and then signed a contract to complete the book. I didn’t get an advance for my first book so it was very hard going. I worked three days a week at a library and spent the rest of my time researching and writing the book. I also have to take my own photos because I couldn’t afford to get someone else to do it. I’d never taken serious photos before and had to borrow my ex-girlfriend’s camera in order to get started! I also borrowed her Dictaphone. But I was inspired by the hip hop idea of just making art with whatever lay to hand.

Who inspired you when you were getting started?
Every time I did a good interview, it inspired me to continue and convinced me that the story I was trying to tell was an important one. The interviews that I did with some of the earlier pioneers in local hip hop were probably the ones that inspired me most – especially my interview with DLT, because he is such a friendly and helpful person. And also my interview with Phil Fuemana, because he had such an amazing story to tell – he helped start his brother’s band OMC (Otara Millionaire’s Club) who had the most successful single to ever come out of New Zealand (“How Bizarre”) and he also started the careers of Dei Hamo, Ermehn, Brotha D (from Dawnraid) etc. Phil has passed away now, so I am extra-grateful that I got the chance to tell his story.

What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
Well, I think there are two basic types of writers – (1) those that write very slowly and carefully, who don’t need to edit their work much at the end, and (2) those writers like me, who write very quickly and then have to edit things a lot at the end (though I am getting better at this). I think the best situation is somewhere in the middle. If you write too slowly and methodically to start off with then you won’t ever get anywhere. I see a lot of people who are trying to write, but can hardly get past the first line because they are so hung-up on getting it just right. You have to remember that you can come back and fix it up later. First drafts are always pretty bad. So just learning to generate lots of words is a good start – trying to find some confidence in your own voice as a writer, through writing as much as possible. Even something like keeping a diary or journal can be helpful for that.

The other things is – you have to be brave and take opportunities. It’s all very well to hide away in your room and write, but if you get the chance to submit some work somewhere or write for some project then you should do it. You have to be tough and survive some bumps along the way, because people won’t always like your work. Personally I’ve had lots of rejection letters and I don’t let them faze me anymore. One of my friends, Carl Shuker, had his novel published in the US and the way he managed it was by having the attitude that for each rejection letter he got, he would send out twice as many more submissions. So you also need to be persistent and try not to let criticism get you down.

It’s quite hard, because people often show me their work and sometimes they just want to be encouraged, whereas other times they want real criticism and you have to know which is which. So when I’m reading other people’s work I always try to praise the good parts as much as possible as well as giving advice.

Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
It sure is. There isn’t a bit enough population in New Zealand for many people in the Arts in general to be able to support themselves off what they do. This results in a lot of artists relying on funding to do their work or just surviving on the dole. However, I have never had any funding and I just try to find other work that is vaguely interesting to me, in order to pay the bills. Once you can write, you do have a lot of options open to you. There are always new magazines, newspapers, etc, that need people to work for them.

There are a lot of people who want to be writers, so some magazines just get people in to work for free in order to get experience. This is a good idea for a while when you start, but sooner or later you want to actually paid for what you do, so you just keep looking for opportunities.

And while I don’t think you should rely on funding, you should apply for any funding that is available and send writing off to lots of competitions or to lots of magazines. Sometimes you need to move sideways into another area to survive, but that always makes for an interesting journey!

What were you like as a teenager?
I was pretty unsure of myself, when I was a teenager. It would’ve been good if I had been a bit more confident and taken a few more of the opportunities that were presented to me. Being a teenager is a great time to learn foreign languages, play music, and try different types of art. If you start these things early, then you’ll find you’re a lot better at them. Being at school, gives you a lot of opportunities as well. When I was young I didn’t really pay attention in my French classes, but now I meet French people and I’m really disappointed that I can hardly say hello.

In the end, you get out what you put in. So if you are going to play guitar, for example, then you should take every opportunity to play in a band. Personally, I hardly ever played music with other people when I was teenager even though I was surrounded by other musicians. It was a bit of shame really – I just wasn’t confident enough to give it a try, even though they weren’t much better at playing their instruments than I was. Later on, I learnt that you don’t actually have to be confident, you just have to learn how to pretend to be confident for short periods of time – after you’ve done that long enough, you actually find that you have become confident after all!

Is there anything else you could tell students about yourself?
I have already talked at one school to some music classes about what it is like being a musician in New Zealand. This went down quite well, both since I am musician myself and I have written a book on this subject “Making Music In New Zealand.” I have plenty of anecdotes about different local musicians with which to back up any information I give.

Links

For more information, visit:
www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/misc/shute.asp
www.publicaddress.net/default,speaker,110.sm
www.livejournal.com/users/tryingtobenice
www.lilchiefrecords.com