Buckwheat: AKA ‘The Smiling Assassin’ AKA ‘Buckwild’
By the 2000s, Buckwheat had become something of a legend in New Zealand's scene, known equally for his technical prowess and his increasingly elaborate tales of musical encounters. His stories – from claiming to have stolen his first amp from The Sex Pistols' during their Filthy Lucre Tour, to detailed accounts of downing vodka shots, with the Beastie Boys backstage at The Logan Campbell Centre – grew more outlandish with each telling. While dismissed as creative fiction, they still only added to his mystique, transforming him into a folk hero among Auckland's disaffected youth.
Buckwheat's origin story is a punk rock fairy tale filtered through the lens of New Zealand's isolated underground scene. Growing up in the industrial outskirts of Auckland, his youth was a carefree melange of halfpipes, alcohol and distorted bass lines in his girlfriend's garage. His first bass, allegedly won in a skateboarding bet with a touring sound engineer, became his constant companion through a string of failed bands at infamous venues where old bikers clashed with anyone and everyone seen through their meth-hazed eyes.