Weta were a four-piece rock band from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand. The band was formed in 1995. It supported touring bands including Everclear, Foo Fighters, and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...

- after a Wellington Town Hall show, Soundgarden bassist

Ben Shepherd Hunter Benedict Shepherd (born September 20, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Soundgarden from 1990 to 2019. Shepherd has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden. Early life Shepherd was bo ...

presented Clinton Tokona with his Music Man bass guitar after falling out with it on stage. In 1997 Aaron Tokona temporarily filled in on guitar for

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia band The Superjesus, after guitarist Chris Tennent left the band. When offered the position full-time, Tokona declined in order to concentrate on Weta. Impressed with his abilities as a guitarist, former Superjesus manager Dan Hennessy took a keen interest in the band and when he took over as A&R chief at Warner Bros. Records Australia, Weta were added to their roster and the band moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in 1999. The band's first release came in 1998 with the ''Natural Compression'' EP, which had been recorded at Marmalade Studios in Wellington by Tim Farrant, with friend and

Shihad Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar ...

drummer Tom Larkin producing. September 2000 saw the New Zealand release of their debut album, ''Geographica''. The band broke up early in 2001, after Aaron Tokona "stopped believing that I was doing what I really wanted to do. I'm not talking about playing music because I think I'll always do music. I'm talking about playing music in the sense of being in a band or being in public." The album, recorded at Melbourne's Sing Sing studios and produced by Steve James, was never released in Australia. The song "Calling On" received regular airplay on Australian radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

during 2001, however it failed to break into the station's Hottest 100 that year. Weta reformed and played small venues in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch during November 2008, but broke up again shortly afterward.

Band members

* Aaron Tokona (vocals/guitar) * Gabriel Atkinson (vocals/guitar) * Clinton Den Heyer (drums) * Clinton Tokona (bass guitar)

Discography

Notes

External links

AudioCulture profile

Weta @ Amplifier NZ

Weta on MusicMight.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weta New Zealand rock music groups