The year was 2005, and Terry Shore had been creating Terry’s Retro Show at Wellington Access Radio for the past two years – but he felt he needed more of a challenge.

So Terry’s Songwriters Show was launched, and almost 20 years later it is still going strong, even winning a Best Access Radio Programme award at the New Zealand Radio Awards in 2007.

Terry combined his love of music and performance with a desire to showcase the unknown artists he saw around the cities open-mic nights.

‘In the beginning a lot of my guests were people I saw performing at places like Indigo and Blue Note, as they were known then,’ says Terry. ‘It was good to have a chance to see them play live and then approach them, and people were generally happy to come on the show and play their music’.

Each episode showcases a different musician or band, with Terry interviewing the guest in-between live performances. As a musician himself, he likes to find out what inspires his guests and where their musical influences come from.

He also knows how hard it can be to be an artist trying to promote their work.

‘I always treat people with compassion and try to be encouraging,’ says Terry. ‘I treat everyone with respect and kindness.’

Some of Terry’s former guests have gone on to have high-profile careers in the New Zealand music industry – he particularly remembers the interviews he conducted with Mel Parsons and Louis Baker over ten years ago. As for favourite episodes, Terry says he’s enjoyed them all, but anything that is 80s style synth pop ‘grabs my attention’.

Terry began playing his own music as a teenager, first learning drums around 11 years old, then moving on to guitar at 14. He has put out five albums and two EPs, and his latest EP ‘Spunky Funky Beat’ will be coming out early next year.

As Terry reaches his 20-year anniversary, what does he see for the future of the show?

‘I just plan to keep going as long as I can,’ says Terry. ‘There are always new artists to showcase and that keeps the show fresh’.

 

For more information about Terry’s Songwriters Show and to listen to past episodes, go to: https://accessradio.org.nz/shows-podcasts/terrys-songwriters-show/

If you are interested in being a guest on Terry’s show, you can contact him on: terryshore7@gmail.com 

To listen to Terry’s music, go to: https://terryshore.bandcamp.com/