Tim Finn: Bio

In medieval Europe, a common pairing on the show biz circuit was that of the acrobat and troubadour-acrobat to warm up the crowds and the troubadour to break their hearts. On his powerful new solo album Say It Is So, Tim Finn is both of these, the buoyancy of his tunes being nicely tethered by just the right amount of Celtic melancholy. No stranger to the proscenium arch, his early work with Split Enz includes I See Red, Poor Boy, I Hope I Never, Six Months In A Leaky Boat and Dirty Creature. Since then he has roamed the world, writing and singing his way into the hearts and minds of those gathered along the highway.

Such songs as Fraction Too Much Friction, Not Even Close, Weather With You, Many's The Time and Persuasion are now joined by the effervescent mantra of Underwater Mountain, the raw storm of Need To Be Right the wit and sparkle of Death Of A Popular Song and the meditative dub of Rest, to name but a few of the eleven songs on offer. His new album is a road trip, with the songs themselves as signposts to where he has been. And where has he been? Nashville, Tennessee!

"A friend whose eccentric opinion I value told me of her epiphany: 'You must go to Nashville!' Not being into modern country, but digging the old stuff, and having fallen in love with Wilco of late, I had to follow the compulsion of this perverse idea."

Finn traveled to Tennessee with wife Marie, baby son Harper and an open mind. Through a series of fortunate encounters, he met up with Jay Joyce; producer/guitarist/curmudgeon from Cleveland's burning riverside. The two found common ground at a local Mexican restaurant. "I've always followed my instincts," says Finn. "Jay was the producer I had been searching for." Jay's previous production work includes 'Flaming Red' by Patti Griffin. As a guitarist he has worked with The Wallflowers and Iggy Pop.

For Finn, collaboration is all. Witness his work with brother Neil on their 'FINN' album and the Crowded House classic 'Woodface', with Irish songwriters Liam O'Maonlai and Andy White on the ALT project, and of course as a boy growing up in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, his piercing blue/green eyes worked well with those of a female persuasion to produce eros amidst the horticulture.

Tim is an icon in New Zealand, a legend in Australia, and has cult status throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Need we mention the legion of fans to be found amongst his fellow musicians: the Semisonics, the Paul Westerbergs, the Iggy Pops, the Sheryl Crows, the Pearl Jams, the Evens and the Ray Davieses of this world? Probably not - Finn's talent needs no recommendations. Just unsheathe the CD; slip it into your car stereo and drive through the rush hour, out of town and down a lonely by-road.

On any journey it's the other driver you have to watch out for. Hence Finn, whilst firmly behind the wheel, allows into his music the ever present hint of danger. "First takes were preferred. There was no second-guessing. It's how I love to work."

Finally, Finn is answerable only to his muse. "We recorded at Woodland Studios. The roof had just been ripped off by a tornado. Some of that "good stuff" must have come pouring in"!

Tim Finn Say It Is So will be available soon...stay tuned.