Herriot Row
| Herriot Row | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Simon Comber |
| Born | New Zealand |
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Genres | Indie, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Associated acts | John Vanderslice, The Verlaines, The Chills, Edmund Cake, Split Enz |
| Website | herriotrow |
Herriot Row is the musical moniker of New Zealand songwriter Simon Comber who has also recorded and performed under his own name. The moniker references the street Heriot Row in Dunedin.
Comber performs both solo and with an Auckland-based band as Herriot Row. The band features musicians Stuart Harwood, David Flyger and Edward Castelow. Comber's music mixes alternate guitar tunings, folk rock arrangements, analogue production techniques, psychedelic melodic strains, and a narrative lyrical focus. Influences include John Fahey, Neutral Milk Hotel, Television, Townes Van Zandt, Sonic Youth, Peter Jefferies, and Joni Mitchell. He has collaborated with acclaimed artists such as John Vanderslice, Edmund McWilliams, and Graeme Downes, and performed in New Zealand, Australia and America.
Comber began performing under his own name in the late nineties in Auckland before moving to Dunedin to study music in 2002. Regular performances in Dunedin led to his first national tour opening for The Chills in 2004.
After being spotted by founding Split Enz member Mike Chunn and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn at a Sacred Heart College fundraiser show in Auckland, Comber ended up recording most of the material for his debut album Pre-Pill Love at Finn's Roundhead Studios with producer Edmund McWilliams, former singer for the band Bressa Creeting Cake. A further three songs were recorded at Albany Street Studios in Dunedin, and featured contributions from members of The Verlaines Graeme Downes and Darren Stedman. Downes, a lecturer at University of Otago where Comber studied, contributed a trumpet arrangement to one track, and Stedman drummed on two tracks. The Sunday Star Times compared Comber's songwriting to Judee Sill and Don McGlashan.
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