Waikato Herald

Superheroe­s don’t all wear capes

Live life to the full - it’s a gift

Question: What do top flight comedian Dai Henwood, internatio­nally acclaimed local rockers Devilskin and recently formed Hamilton thrash metal band Bad Taste all have in common? Answer: They all “own” their stages when they step out upon them.

Each, in their own way, commands attention and respect as they entertain their respective audiences.

Henwood (pictured here with fellow 7 Days laugh-meisters Jeremy Corbett and Paul Ego), on stage or on camera with the 7 Days crew or the various TV series he’s fronted including Family Feud, Dancing With The Stars and LEGO Masters with that inimitable Dai Henwood comedic wit; Devilskin busting out blistering A-game musiciansh­ip, formidable energy, and compelling presence to the stage at venues the length and breadth of the country, and; start up thrash metallers Bad Taste presenting powerful and passionate covers of their favourite artists at open mic nights and school assemblies – all the while receiving high praise from audiences and on their Youtube channel (youtube.com/@badftaste) — a nod to the past whilst they plan and plot their life-course through collating their musical influences and their studies to establish their own unique musical identity and future alter egos.

But wait, what’s this? Devilskin appearing on 7 Sharp (tinyurl.com/26h3dtqq).

And guess what? They all have alter egos. Drummer Nic Martin is a warehouse assistant (that’s a great example of ‘no-one knows what I do until I don’t do it’ – imagine if no one stocked shelves, packed and shipped goods – there’d be nothing for end-users) and guitarist Nail (Tony Vincent) – is a fencer and an earth mover who gets told often how down to earth he is and quips with a chuckle “I’m more down to earth than you probably realise.”

Vocalist Jenny Skulander is even more anonymous – donning the costume of Ruben the Road Safety Bear — a large purple bear that goes into kindergart­ens and daycares, teaching kids how to cross the road safely. How much is that doing to protect our tamariki from serious injury or worse! Let’s not forget too that she has had her health issues – and through writing the song Endo, she and Devilskin have helped raise awareness of the often debilitati­ng disease Endometrio­sis.

Bass guitarist Paul Martin is a radiograph­er – well, we reckon if he took a chest X-ray of everyone in Devilskin, including himself, you’d find four of the biggest hearts in Kiwi music today.

That was evidenced when they instantly connected with Bad Taste at their No. 1 charting EP Surfacing release gig/album signing as we reported in our earlier story and we hear a whisper that a further exchange of mutual respect has occurred between the two bands.

Bad Taste members are all students, mixing studies, activities and band practices, learning and honing new skills, all the time while they also navigate that tumultuous tunnel of torment called teenagehoo­d – and we can only but wonder how many other young folk this charismati­c quartet have inspired to start singing or play an instrument or just start listening to a different genre of music.

So how do these folks manage to do it all? With support.

Support of husbands and wives, mums and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, wider family and friends – all getting behind them to make sure that what needs to get done actually gets done. Those unsung heroes on the home and work fronts who work tirelessly behind the scenes, providing an infrastruc­ture that makes it look like things ‘just happen’.

It was with sadness that we learned from Dai Henwood himself that his cancer prognosis was now terminal (tinyurl.com/ and minimises the negative – citing a sense of relief in learning of the change in prognosis, it shifted his mindset from one of being on a mission to be cured to one of being in maintenanc­e mode.

“I'm just trying to help people reframe things, realise that if you've got cancer, you are living with cancer, you need to really squeeze the sponge and squeeze every moment of life out.

“It means just enjoying the moment and that could be sitting and looking at a beautiful tree, it could be playing Snakes and Ladders with your kids, it could be giving your spouse a real hug.

“You're living, so live now.” How he responded to cancer was what defined him, not the cancer itself. He’s realistic and isn’t dancing on rainbows and has bad days but it’s how he responds to those days that is the key and that’s with self-love and accepting the love offered from those around him.

So when you go home tonight think this one little thought – not every superhero wears a cape. You’re probably standing next to a superhero in your life right now – acknowledg­e them with a kind word or a hug and if heavy metal is your thing go catch Devilskin (devilskin.co.nz) on their in-progress national tour or Bad Taste at one of their appearance­s.

Or if a good laugh would do wonders for you – go catch Dai at his upcoming show at Sky City on July 4 – he’s basically indoor fireworks when he gets going.

We thank you Dai Henwood, Devilskin and Bad Taste for each in your own way being our superheroe­s without capes on stage and for being such an inspiratio­n to those around you.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present – so take a leaf out of Dai’s book (actually he does have a new book – Life Of Dai) and embrace the day and unwrap that gift to you that is life – and get living.