MERV PINNY - Singer, Songwriter and Musician

Los Angeles, CA - June 13, 2017 -- Musician Merv Pinny was born in New Zealand’s King Country and spent his early years in the small town of Te Aroha in the Waikato region.

Growing up in a house full of sound, it was only natural that Merv would have an affinity for music himself. His first real encounter was at the age of 10, when he bought a guitar off his brother for $10. Often, Merv would get home from school and jump straight on into jamming on his brother’s band gear – and by 14, he was singing and playing in the band.

Merv left school at 15 to work fulltime on a farm by day and play in a band six nights a week. Throughout his music career, this unique mix of farming and music made Merv stand out as an artist, breaking the stereotype of rock musicians.

With a passion not only for playing music but also composing his own songs, Merv developed a following around New Zealand. In the 90s, he had three hit tracks to his name. His first single was in the New Zealand Top 20 hits and his single ‘Destiny’ won the Rock Single of the Year award at the Waikato Rock Awards.

Merv’s music was put on hold in 1996 following a serious motorbike accident in which he broke his back and spent six weeks in the spinal unit with paralysis. He underwent a spinal fusion operation, which took more than two years to recover from, but his passion for music never faded.

Back on track, Merv recently released a new song: ‘OB can you hear the children cry’. The song was inspired by a desire to raise awareness of the suffering of children across the world who have been – and still are – affected by war and terrorism. Merv composed and produced the song and music video in his home studio. Within a matter of weeks, the song went viral with over 12 million views, attracting a lot of media coverage from television, radio and print media. The song also recently won the Akademia Best Rock Song and Best Rock Video award.