The iO
About iO
iO is all about energy and fun. We are experienced musicians who love giving an audience a great time.
You will know and love most of our repertoire, and you will hear some songs that other bands don't play. We like to be refreshingly different.
Natalie Meszaros
It’s not everyday you meet a lead vocalist of a rock band who taught themselves to sing in a wardrobe (with a walkman and Celine Dion). But meet Natalie. Once she secretly dreamed of playing electric violin in an emo band, and dying her hair purple. Instead she ended up doing a Bachelor of Music with first class honours in classical piano performance, and has yet to rock a purple ‘do (there’s still plenty of time for that though).
Natalie cut her teeth performing at church, which evolved over the years into fronting bands playing crowds of several thousand at a time. Over the last 2 decades she has been involved in multiple recording projects and performed in all sorts of spaces across NZ. Nowadays she gigs as a soloist for corporate and private events, and wherever she can find people who will listen to her.
Natalie loves all kinds of music, from Mozart to Miles Davis to Muse, but one of her favourite things has to be belting out classic rock anthems with a rowdy crowd. She is absolutely stoked to be part of the iO and get to do this on the regular!
Jim Walmsley
Jim plays guitar and keyboards and does backing vocals in iO, often succeeding to do all three at once. His earliest musical beginnings were learning piano and singing in a choir.
He joined his first professional band at the age of 17 in Christchurch and learned the trade of playing lots of gigs with a repertoire of standards. Later, while at University, he was a member of the world-famous-in-Christchurch R&B, Latino, and Ska band Louie and the Hotsticks. He then came to Wellington to get a proper job.
In Wellington he has played in several bands, including Silverline (blues) and Bliss (Kiwi rock). He has also recorded on several CDs, and has written and produced soundtracks.
Jim's earlier rock influences were guitarists such as Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Rory Gallagher, Eric Clapton, and Bonnie Raitt, but he enjoys playing any music with guts and energy, which is why he’s perfect for iO.
Scott Simpson
Scott is the guitarist that everyone wants. Power chords, sweet blues licks and blistering
speed, he’s got it all!
Scott hails from Toronto, Canada and has been playing guitar for over 40 years. Having
returned to New Zealand in 1982 he has been in various covers bands and original bands,
most notably “The Spirals” who released two albums in the 90s. They toured NZ and
Australia with wide TV and radio airplay. More recently he has been part of Hitchcock
Railway, a Joe Cocker Tribute band playing festivals and corporate gigs. Scott has also done
extensive studio work over the years, mainly on the engineering/production side of things as
well as playing live and now really enjoys being a part of this line-up.
Mike Patrick
Multi-instrumentalist and singer Mike is the newest member of iO. He first began playing bass with Tauranga band The Rogues at the age of 16. Since then he has completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music Studies and played solo and group shows across Wellington. Proficient at both guitar and bass, and with musical tastes range from world music and classical right through to grunge and the odd bit of doom metal, Mike is slowly learning a variety of instruments including the mandolin and the musical saw.
Currently also playing for a Creedence Clearwater Revivial tribute band, and slowly working on his own original works, Mike is loving the opportunity to jam some classics with iO!
James Shanks
James had humble beginnings as Wellington Snare Drum Champion in 1979, spending his formative drumming years playing in the Mana College Jazz Band & Concert Band. Under the direction of Rodger Fox, he performed regularly at the Tauranga Jazz Festival. James also played in covers bands while still at school, and was a regular member of the “2ZB Buzz O Bumble” band with Lyndsey Yeo, as well as the Porirua Municipal Brass Band.
James has toured with the overseas artists Herb McQuay, Carter Edwards and Gerry Joe Weise, as well as touring with NZ artists Johnny Devlin, Tom Sharplin, Maria Dallas, Shane, Robbie Ratana, Eddie Low, Bunny Walters, Tanya Rowles, Brendan Duggan, John Grennel, Ray Woolf, the late Ray Columbusand Billy T James.
Today James enjoys plying his trade in a more rock-oriented genre, and is very happy sitting in that groove.