Great news. The fundraising/tribute album for Chris Knox, Stroke, has gone gold in New Zealand. If memory serves me right this means at least 7,500 sales, which is just terrific. It really is a great album, and is still available on-line and in stores, if you have not picked up a copy.
I saw Chris and Barbara in Auckland just after New Years, and Chris was in good form. He certainly has some challenges in his day to day living, but is as determined as ever to meet them and keep on improving.
I hope he can make a full recovery in the fullness of time.
I listened to a few tracks on the web link you gave. God almighty! This is cringing amateur junk. If these clowns charge more than 3 cents a track it’s over-priced. I suspect if instead they mowed lawns and painted pensioners’ houses they’d raise more money for Knox. NZ pop music hasn’t advanced at all since the 60s bands I used to listen to – and most of them knew 2 chords at most.
If only they received enough support from government so they didn’t have to carry out this kind of fund raising. My wife’s uncle had a serious stroke last year. He nearly died and has been left majorly disabled. It is tragic to see his wife struggle to not only look after him but also go to work and try and earn enough money that they won’t loose their home. The assistance they receive is woefully inadequate.
@John, happen to totally disagree with you, but that is the nature of music I guess. The good news for Chris is that many thousands of New Zealanders agree with me on this one. Chris was the master of low-fi production and and a number of the artists have paid homage to that in their recordings of his songs. It will not be for everyone, but for anyone with an interest in the ‘alternative” genre it is a great listen. And remember everyone gave of their time freely, and it was put together in one heck of a hurry.