Before Lorde was barely out of diapers, the Auckland suburb of Devonport was already pumping out a raft of young musical talent - and I was bobbing around as a desperate, over-excited, thirsty teen, drinking in the indie rock scene.
Having first burst onto my radar at a Takapuna Grammar School assembly performance, The Checks went on to become one of the country's finest musical exports.
Between that first show in the school hall and going on tour with Oasis, the band headlined gig after gig across a host of lush green Devonport locations - and guess who was front row centre, wearing her latest K Road op shop purchase?
That's right. Yours truly.
After several heady teenage summers soundtracked by the local talent, life began to move on. I gave up trying to be cool by learning the drums and The Checks broke up.
But for two of The Checks guys, the party wasn't over. After finding a couple of new members - one of whom used be a fan, just like me - they became a brand new band, called Racing.
This was a great development for both the New Zealand rock music scene and me, because last week I found myself in yet another park with those musos I'd so admired, but this time I was allowed to talk to them!
In even better news, they've got a brand new single for me to thrash for an entire six months, yet again. It's called 'Run Wild', and it's bloody good. It was crafted to capture the unforgettable, regrettable and incredible moments of an endless summer, and I intend to use it to trigger some serious nostalgia.
The great thing is, I wasn't weird about it the interview at all, and they all felt entirely uncreeped out by the whole thing. Honest.
Watch the video above for Racing talking through their evolution from The Checks, how to deal with over-enthusiastic fans and the do's and dont's of summer festivals.
