Peter Jefferies was the towering personality of New Zealand's scene in the second half of the decade.Peter and his brother Graeme grew up in Stratford, a service town for the local dairy farming area in the verdant Taranaki.
They were encouraged in their musical endeavours by their family. Graeme was given a guitar and Peter a drum kit. By 1981, they had formed a band called Nocturnal Projections.Peter described them as being relentless.
Admittedly, they did have an early 80's sound about them but were certainly much better than many of their contemporaries. They borrowed much of their sound from British punk. Comparisons were made to bands like Joy Division.
The band broke up after a couple of years, having released a handful of tapes, singles and EP's.Out of the ashes of Nocturnal Projections, arose, This Kind of Punishment. The main nucleus was Peter and Graeme.
There were other notables that came and did a stint with the band like Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer) and Chris Matthews (The Headless Chickens)The project was based mainly on recording. This freed them from trying reproduce TKP’s music live.
They did occasionally take their material out on the road. Musically, This Kind of Punishment was a much more adventurous affair than Nocturnal Projections. They were tagged with all sorts of labels like: industrial or cabaret.
None seemed to fit. Their music ranged from blinding white noise to almost ballads.After the breakup of This Kind of Punishment, Peter moved to Dunedin. He recorded a single with Shayne Carter called "Randolfs Going Home".
the single itself has mostly the work of Shayne, but Peter's influence was clearly felt. Peter did record a second single with Shayne which was called "Knocked Out or Thereabouts". His association with Shayne didn't stop there.
he played at an early line up of Shayne's post Straitjacket Fits band called Dimmer.Peter played drums for several other bands including Alastair Galbraith’s Plagal Grind. He also kept himself busy with recording projects.
He also teamed up with Jonno Lonie to record an album called "At Swim 2 Birds". The rather odd title "At Swim-Two-Birds" is a novel by Irish novelist Flann O'Brien. Lonie himself, did not mix in the traditional Flying Nun circuit.
He was more well-known and folk music circles and his band "Stuffed Husbands". Stuffed Husbands were unusual and the Dunedin scene in the late 80s. They didn't draw on the likes of the Velvet Underground or the Doors like many other Dunedin bands of that period.
Lonie played a guitar synthesiser which had similarities to a Adrian Belew's work in King Crimson at around that period. The bass player also played a Chapman stick. "At Swim two birds" was instrumental affair with Jefferies playing drums, piano and effects.
Jonno played guitar synthesiser and violin.Note one to rest, Peter was also working on some solo material. His first solo outing was “Last Great Challenge in a Dull”. The album was a quite a mixture from the meandering “Unknown Beach” to the rather naked “Domestica”.
Jefferies then went on to make more solo albums. Peter's last solo album, "Closed Circuit" came out in 2001. At the time, he said it was going to be his last solo album. He has remained true to his word, although he still plays from time to time in Anita Anker Trio.
Peter currently keeps himself more than busy by teaching drums around various schools in Taranaki and mentoring young bands.
