Why Six60 are a tough nut to crack

The notoriously withdrawn Kiwi rockers finally open up in their new movie - and it's a hell of a watch.

• Six60’s new film, Till the Lights Go Out, hits theatres this weekend. Should you go? Yes! Absolutely! Do it! Even if you’re not a fan of the band, and that might be a fair few of Boiler Room’s readers, it’s still just a really good film. I’ll explain why below…

The first time I met Six60, I was given a warning: they didn’t want to talk to me.

It was no surprise. The band were wary of the media after receiving plenty of scathing local reviews over the years - one silly critic headlined his piece, Six60: Killing music since 2006 - and they were notoriously sceptical about talking to any of us anymore.

After a few emails, their manager and I decided the best way to meet them might be on their terms. That meant squaring up together - in a boxing ring. They’re big fans, often using the gloves and pads to warm up before shows. Front man Matiu Walters had even invested in a local gym.

So, one midweek lunchtime day in 2015, I headed to Kingsland, laced up some gloves, stepped into a ring and got about as sweaty as I’ve ever been.

I kind of enjoyed it. Did it help the story? Not really. The rumours were true: Six60 really were a hard nut to crack. They were super cautious about revealing anything at all really. Clearly, I wasn’t going to get them to open up just because I’d stepped in the ring once with them.

Fast forward a few years, and things had progressed - slightly. I was invited to attend a recording session in their new headquarters, a makeshift studio in a suburban warehouse next to a camera hire shop.

There, they were a little more confident, they’d been working with a pschologist, and they opened up just a bit more. They had some new songs with a soulful new vibe to show off, and as they played me their new EP, a neighbouring store owner ran through the door and demanded they turn the volume down.

As you can imagine, it was a much better story.

I’ve interviewed them a few times since: at Western Springs before their record-breaking show that confirmed they’d become New Zealand’s biggest ever band, and again a few weeks ago, ahead of their new movie, a warts-and-all doco that opens this weekend.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot from Till the Lights Go Out. I predicted it would be just like those All Blacks documentaries on Richie McCaw and Dan Carter - fluff pieces that did plenty to promote New Zealand rugby but skipped over anything that might prove to be controversial.

Carter’s doco didn’t even mention his drink driving conviction. WTF? Why bother?

When it came to Six60’s film, I had probably gotten as close to Six60 as any local journalist had over the years. I thought I knew everything.

What could anyone else get that I hadn’t gotten?

Plenty, it turns out. There’s a lot they didn’t tell me. So much, in fact, that I’m a little jealous about how much they really do reveal in the film. Because Till the Lights Go Out lifts the lid on some pretty shocking details about their past. Things likes binge-drinking, in-fights, nearly flagging it all, and embarrassing themselves in front of Pharrell.

For all that we can thank local filmmaker Julia Parnell, who clearly has far more patience and skill than I. She filmed the group for 18 months, taking each band member back to their - ahem - roots, addressing some of their biggest controversies, and putting each of them through gruelling five-hour interviews they compared to therapy sessions.

I won’t spoil the film’s big talking points here - I wrote about much of them in this piece for the Sunday Star-Times. It’s a big read, so you can go take the deep dive to prepare for the movie, if you have time.

So, if you’re wondering what to see at the movies this weekend - and just pause for a second and enjoy the fact that you can actually go to a theatre and choose a film to watch, unlike most of the rest of the world - I thoroughly suggest you choose Till the Lights Go Out.

Even if you don’t like Six60, it’s just a great deep-dive watch about a band’s rise to the top. They’re not afraid to address the past, talk about the hurt, and put their wounds on display. They didn’t need to do it. For that reason alone, I applaud them.

• Six60: Till the Lights Go Out is in theatres now.