Artists:Paul Symons

Born in Taranaki in 1968, Paul Symons grew up around music, as his Ma was and still is a piano teacher of great repute. Picking up guitar at the tender age of 10ish, it was a major distraction for the remainder of his short academic career. Finally giving in to the music, he spent the early to mid '90s travelling the length of New Zealand in his vintage Bedford school-bus: living the life, playing on a never-ending circuit of pubs, music clubs, festivals, motorcycle rallys and plenty of dives; shaping him into the versatile player and entertainer he is today. Along the way he held down jobs as dump-truck driver, oil rig worker, groundsman, painter, sawmiller, wharfie, and builder, adding rich experience to can-do attitude. His songwriting chops were shaped by his appreciation of a wide variety of styles from the early folk and bluesmen to Paul Simon, John Hiatt & Ry Cooder, to local heroes Graham Wardrop, Luke Hurley and Andrew White. Just about anything with guitars! These days Paul lives in rural West Auckland, near the wild West coast; on a small farm with his wife Penny, cats, dogs and twenty-odd llamas (some very odd). Writing and playing with a wide variety of musicians in all kinds of settings: a duo with dynamic songwriter Owen Hugh, swampy electric slide guitar in 'Westy' power trio 'The Dusters', occasional Dobro and peddle-steel with top local folk & country artists.. Always returning to his solo roots.