Goodnight Nurse was a New Zealand pop punk band formed in Auckland in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album. It consisted of lead vocalist Joel Little, guitarist and back up vocalist Sam McCarthy, bassist Rowan Crowe, with drummer and back up vocalist Jaden Parkes.^{[citation needed]}

The band has released two studio albums, Always and Never (2006) and Keep Me On Your Side (2008). Both peaked at number five on the New Zealand Top 40 Album chart. The albums combined have spawned nine singles to date, with Goodnight Nurse having a top 40 single in New Zealand every year since 2004, the most recent being 2009's "Lay With Me".

History

Formation and early activity

Goodnight Nurse formed in 2001 after bass player Paul Taite responded to a flyer Joel Little and Jaden Parkes put on the stairs at Shadows, the Auckland University bar. Goodnight Nurse met and practiced for the first time on 25 June 2001 in Parkes' garage.^{[citation needed]} At the time of their formation, Taite had only been playing bass for 3 months.^[1]

Paul Taite left the band in 2007. Goodnight Nurse later became a four-piece, with the additions of Rowan Crowe and Sam McCarthy.

They played their first concert at Papa Jacks / Voodoo Lounge in Auckland in early 2002.^{[citation needed]} They were chosen for the Boost Mobile NZ Schools Tour in 2004, during which they played at 120 venues nationwide over a period of five months, the single largest tour done by one band in New Zealand history.^{[citation needed]} Other bands that have participated in the Boost Mobile NZ Schools Tour include Steriogram (2002), Wash (2003), My Life Story (2005), Falter (2006) and Streetwise Scarlet (2007). Goodnight Nurse have since toured New Zealand many times with bands such as Steriogram, Elemeno P and 48May, and Australian act The Living End. In 2006 they toured the east coast of Australia for three months on the Rock the Schools tour, and have played several other shows there since. Goodnight Nurse also played main stage at the Big Day Out 07.

Always and Never (2006)

Goodnight Nurse's debut album, Always and Never was certified gold by RIANZ a single week after it was released. It debuted to place number five on the RIANZ New Zealand Album Charts.^[2] The album spent 6 weeks in the Top 40 (30 January - 27 February). Always and Never produced seven singles including: "Loner", "Going Away", "Taking Over", "Our Song", "Death Goes to Disco", "All for You", and "My Only".

Goodnight Nurse also recorded a rock cover of Kelis' hit song "Milkshake", which appeared on the CD single for "Our Song" and as a bonus track on the Australian release of Always and Never.^[3] Goodnight Nurse's song "My Only" was also used on the NHL 07 soundtrack.^[4]

Following the release of their debut album, Goodnight Nurse hit the road. On 5 March 2007 Goodnight Nurse opened for Fall Out Boy on their New Zealand show. They also supported Story of the Year and HIM. In April 2007 they were the headline act on the MTV Mile High Gig, playing on an airplane flying at 35,000 feet over the Tasman Sea.^{[citation needed]}

Keep Me on Your Side (2008)

On 24 September 2007, vocalist Joel Little announced that "the album is all recorded". Goodnight Nurse departed for "Melbourne on Monday (13 August 2007)" to record the album. He also said that they are "busy finishing mixing and getting the artwork together".^[5] Keep Me on Your Side was released on 7 April 2008. The first single "The Night" was released on iTunes in Australia and New Zealand on 4 February 2008, with a music video for the song being posted up on YouTube on 26 February. The album debuted at number five on the RIANZ album charts.^[2] The track "This Is It" was used in 2008 in television adverts for the Push Play initiative.

In support of the album, Goodnight Nurse scored a support show with American band OneRepublic, following Maroon 5 cancelling the New Zealand leg of their tour. OneRepublic became the headlining act and needed a supporting band. Goodnight Nurse provided the support for the OneRepublic performance in Auckland.^{[citation needed]} Goodnight Nurse completed their first headlining tour in New Zealand in June 2008, the "I Need This Tour". They then went to Australia and supported The Getaway Plan on their "Where the City Meets the Sea" Australian tour in July 2008. They will be supporting Anberlin in August 2009 for one show only.

Jaden has also started a side project called "Like You Crazy", and Sam fronts the band Kids of 88.^{[citation needed]} They formed the two side projects because there were several songs that did not make it onto the Keep Me on Your Side album which they liked.^[6]

Reunion

The band reunited to open for the My Chemical Romance concert at Western Springs, Auckland, in March 2023.

Genre

Lead singer Joel Little has described the band as "a pop rock band that's been influenced by punk."^[1] Goodnight Nurse is frequently called New Zealand's answer to American pop-punk bands such as Green Day and Blink-182.^{[citation needed]}

Band members

• Joel Little - Lead vocals, guitar
• Jaden Parkes - Drums, backing vocals
• Sam McCarthy - Guitar, backing vocals
• Rowan Crowe - Bass

Member changes and hiatus

Paul Taite decided to leave Goodnight Nurse in early 2007 to pursue a career in Europe. His last performance with Goodnight Nurse was at the Auckland Big Day Out in January 2007 - saying farewell to the band he formed with Joel & Jaden and served for almost 6 years together. Following Taite's departure, the remaining two band members - needing a bass player - approached Sam McCarthy of CapGunHero to replace Taite. In August 2007, vocalist Joel Little announced on the band's website that "Goodnight Nurse is now a 4-piece!" and that they'd been "wanting to do it for ages". The new member was to be Rowan Crowe, who would take up bass as Sam McCarthy would be "moving over to guitar". Joel stated that new bass player Rowan Crowe "is epic and he likes to jump off high places and go dumpster diving" and also that he "is a legend".^[7][8]

In February 2010 the band went into an indefinite hiatus. A message was posted on the band's MySpace thanking the fans for all their love and support: Plaza "We don’t know if or when we’ll be back, and we’ll all keep making music till the day we die, but for now this is it for Goodnight Nurse. So one last time THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for everything you’ve given us, it’s been an amazing 9 years and we love you for it."

Following their indefinite hiatus, lead singer and guitarist Joel Little has gone on to forge a highly successful career as a Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer. He is best known for his work with Lorde, Jarryd James and Broods.^[9][10] Guitarist Sam McCarthy and 2004 Smokefreerockquest winning "Incursa"^[11] bandmate Jordan Arts formed the New Wave musical duo Kids of 88.

Discography

Albums

Singles