By Jenny Suo
Pluto was one of New Zealand's most successful bands until all of a sudden, and without warning, it was no more.
But while it was a messy breakup, the rhythm section of the band made it out intact and became Nightchoir.
Dinner at the drum kit has become a regular thing for the band’s members.
With work and family, the three dads can only fit in practice at night.
The three old friends – Mike Hall, Mike Franklin-Browne and Matthias Jordan – squeeze into a well worn space in Auckland's Mt Eden a couple of times a week.
Hall says Nightchoir formed while Pluto was still around.
“We formed as a side project while Pluto was still going, which all three of us were in, and that was our main focus.”
Pluto's messy implosion was blamed on a communication breakdown.
“A couple of guys not satisfied with the way things were going and yeah, and that was it. It was literally in a matter or 24, 48 hours. So yeah it was messy,” says Hall.
It meant that songs that were almost complete were never recorded.
“I reckon about 14 of them were 70 percent there.”
But right now Nightchoir's busy touring the country, having just released their second album ‘See The First Star’.
And while life is now far less ‘rock and roll’ they say they're happy with more freedom and less pressure.
“We just go with it, we don’t have any concern about what it’s going to sound like, who it’s going to sound like, where it fits – we just want to do it if we like the song, if we like the melody.”
Nightchoir will play in Paekakariki tomorrow night before heading to wellington
3 News