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Marrer Swan on the beach
Marrer Swan was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to a middle-class couple. His father: Malcolm, was a town planner with the local council. His mother: Deirdre, was a nurse and a member of Wellington's "Orpheus Choir". Deirdre was a regular church-goer, attending the Anglican "Cathedral of St Paul" where she especially enjoyed the music. On Sundays Malcolm was generally sailing. The Swan children were dragged along to church for special occasions and as a result of his singing Marrer learned a great deal of the Anglican service, nonetheless he remained agnostic.
Wellington in the 1960s was an idyllic place for a child and Marrer walked to school with his brother and two sisters and played street cricket in the afternoons. On Sundays he would often go sailing with his father and brother. Summer holidays were always spent at his aunt Fiona's house in Gisborne. They would often go to the beach and it was there that he learned to surf.
Marrer completed secondary school with good grades and left home the next year to pursue Civil Engineering at the University of Auckland.
Marrer's grandmother: Elaine McDonald was a famous soprano New Zealand wide and well known in Australia where her portrayal of Violetta is remembered even today. Her children were all musical and could all sing. So it was that Marrer was surrounded by quality music from the beginning. Deirdre wanted Marrer to develop musically so she auditioned him for the Choir of St Paul's at 8, where he stayed for the next 5 years until his voice broke.
Perhaps it was because he was sick of the sound of singing, or perhaps it was because his older brother Richard bought an electric guitar, that Marrer decided he wanted to play the drums. His mother tried to convince him that piano would be much better but he would not be swayed and after he started bringing home second-hand drums one at a time she accepted the reality and he was given a basic kit for birthday & Christmas. Besides, his brother was making so much noise already that it hardly seemed to matter.
The brothers soon formed a band with their cousin Alfie which they called "Swans Kick Arse". By all reports, although his bass playing was ok Alfie could not sing and the teenage band had trouble finding gigs.
At university Marrer formed a new band with some fellow students called "Boots Of Rubber", (so much more subtle than "The Wellingtons"), which found quite a bit of work and won the Auckland "Battle of the Bands" in 1983.
After he completed his degree Marrer gained work with the ECNZ but he remained in close contact with his band-mate Tama Mahuika the lead guitarist. In 1988 they formed the legendary New Zealand heavy metal band: "Ka Mate" which enjoyed lasting success at home and to a lesser degree across the Tasman. Their first album "Fist of Fire" is regarded as a classic of the genre and is still selling.
Despite the success of "Ka Mate" the New Zealand market was not big enough to sustain a quality living for Marrer and his young family, and after 10 years together the band called it a day. Marrer returned to Wellington where he took up an engineering job working for the same council as his father.
Marrer and Tama remained friends and continued to play together when they could. In 2004 Marrer met Warren Mars at one of their jam sessions in Auckland and joined "The Martian Way" soon after.
Influences: Nick Mason, Carl Palmer, Doug Clifford, Ian Paice, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Simon & Garfunkel.
Likes: fried fish, cinnamon-apple cake, beer, apple juice, Sherlock Holmes stories, "Meet The Feebles", "South Park", surfing, All Blacks!, Waiapu River, hippies.
Dislikes: salt & vinegar chips, scrambled eggs, wine, lemonade, romance novels, rap music, "Shortland Street", washing the dishes, any Australian team, religious fanatics.