Did you just finish another interview?
No just on the phone, for a radio station. They’re alright but you find its kinda funny doing interviews
Because you just started doing them right?
Yeah, yeah
Well I've got heaps so I’ll just crack into them. Do you have lots of time?
Yep! I just ordered a coffee and a panani so I’ve got lots of time.
Ok. How did you get into the music industry?
My family are musicians, my dad and my sister play guitar and my mum sings. We all played music together, like we’d got out on family outings and take the guitar and sing and I guess it just came from there. I’ve always loved music, I haven’t trained in music as such I tried for a while but got really bored and I just wanted to play, but it kinda came from my family I guess.
So you’re very close to your family?
Yes
And do they do it as careers or just a past time?
No. Well my dads done a couple of singles. He hasn’t released them he’s just gone into the studio and recorded them. I think he’d like to, but he doesn’t. So, no it’s just a kinda hobby thing.
So your real names not Marvey King (its Tanya Horo). Why’d you chose Marvey King?
Well I’ve been playing in bands quite a while and bands always have stage names you know they always have names attached to them. So when I first started playing solo I called myself Kapala because it means solo so I kinda went with that and then I was in another girl band called Growler and then from Growler I went solo again and I came up with Marvey King and used that. And now its too late to change it anyway because the singles out so I’m stuck with Marvey King.
Does it have any significance at all?
Yeah it does. It has a huge significance but I can’t tell you what it is!
It’s personal?
Yeah, yeah
Ok, that’s fair. Have your goals changed from band to band?
Yeah they have actually. Most of the times when you’re in bands it’s just for fun and there’s no real determination to get anywhere or to be heard by thousands of people, its just cuz we really enjoyed it. Being solo and going out there on my own made me more determined, because the focus is on you and it’s not so much a hanging out with friends group anymore. It’s more about the music and getting the music heard.
When did you first start playing in bands?
4 years ago. When I moved here (to Auckland from Christchurch).
Why’d you do that?
My boyfriend I was with at the time moved here and I always wanted to move to Auckland but I didn’t want to move by myself cuz I was too scared. And the acting scene and the music scene is better up here and I was really into acting back in Christchurch so I moved up here for that as well.
So you’re sticking with solo. You won’t consider a band again?
No, I got asked to join a band in Australia, a record company asked me, but I don’t think I could do it because I want to do my own thing. And in bands its so many different people collaborating on one thing, whereas with myself I can just say ‘nah I don’t like it’ and I don’t have to like it, I don’t have to have a vote on whether or note we’re going to keep it as a song. So I think I prefer solo.
Have the different musicians you’ve worked with changed or affected your writing style?
Yeah definitely. Most of the musicians I've worked with have been amazing and I’m quite simplistic with my writing style, like I’m not a complicated writer musically and a lot of the other musicians have more knowledge than I do so what they bring in is quite amazing. Like my celloist, the things that she brings in –
Is that Georgia someone?
Yeah Georgina. She’s in London now, but musicians definitely help.
What were you like at school?
I was a little brat, I was terrible at school.
Did you take Drama and piss all the teachers off?
Yeah! Haha. I took Drama and that was the only subject at Leftfield that I took, apart from English and Maths and stuff. But yeah I wasn’t disciplined, I wasn’t that great at school.
So you didn’t get good Reports?
My report cards were always ‘Tanya has a great imagination but needs to listen more’. I got 5th form and went up to 6th and 7th form but I just wasn’t very good. With Drama I was, like my report cards for Drama were awesome.
What do you think, personally, is the purpose of music?
That’s a good question. I think music is a universal language, you can listen to Japanese music and still get a feeling from it. Music without lyrics to me is amazing, like classical music. I think it’s just a way we can express ourselves, and everybody can get an understanding from it. It’s a language that has been around since before we could speak as well.
What do you think of manufactured bands?
I think they have their purpose, I’m not down on manufactured bands.
What do you think their purpose is?
Umm I don’t know, haha, that’s a good question as well. You’ve caught me out! I think their purpose is…..there quite, I don’t know. I mean I look at bands like, what are some manufactured bands? Like Britney Spears is manufactured and she has got a huge purpose really they give you a feeling of…umm. I know what I’m trying to say I just can’t say it. They let you know that things can happen, someone who isn’t musical isn’t exactly gonna go out there and try and get it on their own, you know that you can audition for things like this or..
Oh I see what you mean
Yeah! You know, you can do it.
Actually, that made me think. It also gives jobs to the people who write music but don’t sing it
Yeah! Well there are a lot of musicians out there who love writing but they don’t want to play live so they can give them their songs. I think manufactured bands are fun as well because we can all sit back and laugh at them.
Haha that’s true actually
And you know they are only going to last a certain amount of time. And the children absolutely love them, I mean you’ve got bands like The Wiggles, they’re manufactured.
Oh The Wiggles are great!
Yeah, yeah. So they are the same, people are really down on manufactured bands but you know at least their out there and there doing it. You can be down on someone in your lounge room and criticise them to hell but their out there doing it and your not.
So you’ve just got signed to Wildside? What do you owe that to?
Umm….hopefully my music! Haha. Murrary’s fantastic (Murrary Cammick), you know he’s got some amazing bands and he came to see me play. And he’s heard about me for a wee while because I was in Growler and I’ve been around, but he didn’t really like Growler that much but then my manager played some of my solo stuff and he was like ‘Yep its not my cup of tea, but I really like what you do.’ So that was good, he’s honest.
Did you chose Wildside over other ones?
No, not really. There was Festival for a while and I was thinking about going to Festival. But Murrary was the best person because he gives you so much freedom as well. I mean he doesn’t have as much money as the major labels but he also gives you the freedom to do what you want to do. So he is the best person for it, so I am quite lucky to have him.
Do you have a deal to do an album?
Yeah
Ok. When will that be?
Next year.
Where's your favourite place to get away from everything?
The bath. Other than the bath, somewhere where there is absolutely no people at all.
So – in a way your favourite place is where people are, but they aren’t? Cuz you said the bar didn’t you?
HAHA no the bath.
Oh! The bath. I see
Haha yeah I like to go to a bar and get drunk to forget about my worries. Hahaha.
Yeah I was gonna say...
Haha no I’m not an alchy. But yeah where no one is, like the forest. But I can’t drive so…the bath until I learn how to drive.
Why can’t you drive?
I don’t know! I failed my license because – you know I was sitting my license and my car, cuz I bought a car, and the handbrake wouldn’t work and I was doing the handbrake start and my car started rolling down the hill so he failed me and I haven’t gone back.
Oh..hahaha! Ah..what’s in your CD player at the moment?
Norah Jones. Beautiful, kinda soul/jazz music. I’m a big fan of her. I tend to buy an album, like I don’t have many albums only like 5 or 6 I’m terrible with music, and I’ll buy one album and play it for a whole month and that’s all I’ll play.
And you don’t get sick of it? Do you chose carefully?
No, and yeah I do chose carefully. Even if I do get sick of it, I put it away and put another one in.
Who do you consider at the most overrated band or musician?
Hmmm..maybe Ricky Martin. Hahaha. Oh actually I don’t know, that’s a hard question, because I’m judging somebody else for something they do..And I can’t really do that. Let me think about it more……….yeah, I don’t know why I think of him. I mean he’s got an fantastic voice and he’s a great performer, but there’s something about him that tells me that hes not there completely for the music in a way. I don’t know what it is. I think I’m gonna have to say Ricky Martin, people will probably hate me for saying Ricky Martin but I cant think of anyone else. It’s either Ricky Martin or a manufactured band.
Do you dance? Oh I suppose you have your guitar onstage
Yea I do, I try to do dancing but I’d never do a dancing video. Haha unless I was taking the piss, then I might do it.
What’s your ultimate goal for the music industry?
To be recognised in my own country as a musician and then to be able to go overseas and be recognised as a New Zealander overseas making music.
To help NZ music as a whole?
Yeah and NZ is a such a small country but we have so much talent here and half the time it goes unnoticed. So having like Anika Moa and Bic Runga and all them overseas is bringing more and more people to realise that for a little country we have an amazing amount of talent here. I mean all musicians want to be recognised in their own country first, but it doesn’t always happen. I mean Crowded House were recognised overseas and then NZ took notice of them. But that would be it really.
What's the hardest thing to adjust to in the music industry?
I think the hardest thing to adjust to is knowing you have to write good songs. When your just sitting at home playing your guitar and writing and you don’t have a record company or anything, you are writing pretty much for the love of it and you don’t care what your songs sound like. And then you get signed and you know that your songs have to be good to get out there, for people to pay attention to them. I think that’s the hardest thing.
Do you think that brings down the way you write at all?
Yeah it does, you’ve kinda gotta but that behind you. I guess that’s a good thing with Murray as well. I've got plenty of songs but I've also got lots of time for, cuz I’m working on the album as well, so I can write new ones and throw the old ones aside. Whereas with some labels you’re signed and your doing the album and if you don’t have enough songs, then write them. So it puts a lot of pressure on you as an artist to get the songs out there.
What do you see as a sign that you’ve made it?
Maybe hearing your song in the supermarket! Or in an elevator.
What about awards? Cuz sometimes really good bands don’t win, through popularity and stuff
Yeah that’s true. I mean there's a certain audience. For example, I don’t know the certain statistics, but young people buy more albums than old people. Older people are more inclined to listen to, for example Ricky Martin, whereas young people are more inclined to listen to Britney Spears. Young people tend to have more money they can throw away so they buy albums more than say Ricky Martin audiences so then Britney Spears gets all the awards. To be nominated is a fantastic thing.
Do you think the nominations for the New Zealand Awards were fair? I don’t..
No. But I understand why they were like that, it’s because these bands had songs out at that moment and that’s how they work pretty much. There's a lot of bands that weren’t even mentioned and that’s because they didn’t have anything out. So it is kinda hard with the NZ Music awards because there are so many other bands. There is really like a top 5 who get nominated for things and that’s kinda typical so I know what your saying there.
What's the formula of success for you?
Being happy with what you do, not doing it without expecting a huge…what's the word?
You mean something in return?
Yeah. Expecting a huge…just doing it because you love it and not expecting too much from it. I mean you still want to have goals and know where you want to be but don’t hold on to them too much, just let it go and let it be there.
Yeah, it can be a sad thing if you really want to be a musician and you don’t make it
Yeah! I mean they say if you want something too much and you really wish for it you don’t get it. If you just have it there, its almost like knowing your gonna make it. You know how you have some people and their always like ‘oh I've wanted to do this my whole life and I know that I’m gonna do it.’ Its just like having that in the back of your mind and knowing your gonna do it.
Who are your influences?
I love classical music over any music.
Any certain types?
Yeah most types. I love music without lyrics like soulful music without lyrics. Lyrically I love Belly, Tori Amos, Heather Nova and David Bowie. I love listening to David Bowie, he’s not an influence as much but I love his stuff and I love what he does. The Cure, I really love The Cure. That is it I guess.
Do you think bits of their sound is moulded into your own? Do you know what I mean?
Yeah I know what you mean. Yeah that would be true
Would you ever do instrumentals then?
I wouldn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind using vocals more as an instrument instead of lyric based. But that wouldn’t be till much later.
Do you use the same band members in NZ?
Yeah I do. I use Hamish and Tim from The Feelers a lot because I really like The Feelers sound so I do use them. I've been looking around for other musicians but I just love what they do(Hamish and Tim) but yeah I tend to use the same musicians, which is ok but I should to look around more cuz different people add different variety.
Have you heard any funny rumours about yourself?
Yes! There was one rumour that I ran away to the Philippines with a photographer and he married me. When I came back to Christchurch everyone was like ‘Oh my god are you ok? What happened in the Philippines?’ and I was like ‘what are you talking about? I’ve been living in Wellington.’ So I don’t know what happened there, it was quite while ago. That’s all I think.
Do you enjoy karoke?
Umm I judged a karoke competition once and that was quite funny. My sister loves karoke, I don’t really dig it.
When did you judge it?
It was ages ago and I was on Shortland Street and they asked me to judge it, so about 4 years ago. It was so funny and there were 3 American basketball players as judges as well and they wanted to pick the women who was wearing the low cut dress and was real slinky. Hahaha and I was like ‘No you can’t pick her! She can’t sing!’ She came second…
Have you ever imagined one of your songs being a karoke song?
No I've never imagined it actually, but it would be funny
It would be funny walking in on someone doing it
Yeah it’d be cool. I guess it’s the biggest compliment. Somebody wanting to sing your song.
That would be another sign that you’ve made it
Yeah that’s true.
Who's your hero?
My hero? I don’t know!……would have to be Gelfling from Dark Crystal. Hahahaha
What?!
The Gelfling…It’s a children animation. Have you ever seen the Dark Crystal?
No
But that's not really a hero. That's ridiculous. I don’t know if I have a hero…. I don’t think….
That’s ok. I don't have an hero either
Don’t you?
I don’t think so. What for you makes a good song?
A good song is something that doesn’t annoy you when you listen to it, and you can listen to it over and over again and you hear different parts that you didn’t hear the first time. But I think this is a beautiful song (playing in the café), Beth Orton, but I can’t really describe what it is about it that makes me appreciate it. I guess it’s different because what makes a good song to me isn’t going to make a good song for someone else. It’s just if I can appreciate it as a musician then I guess it’s a really good song. But some songs, like some of the Britney Spears songs I think are real crap, but I can appreciate it still, because it serves that purpose again. Haha!
What do you think of the state of music currently?
I think it’s really good. I think its fantastic that there's so many female singer/songwriters coming out and I think that’s really good. Because for so long males have dominated the music scene and finally the females are coming out going, ‘well I've got something to say as well, thanks very much.’ So I think its good.
For you, will music win over acting? Or will you try and juggle the 2?
Well I love both, music’s a part of me, acting’s more physical and with acting I’m reading someone else’s script and bringing it to life. With music I’m writing my own music and it’s my own voice, so to speak, that’s coming out. So they’re so different, but they’re so similar at the same time. So far doing the 2 has been fine but if I ever had to choose I’d probably chose music, you can do music videos and act like a twit. What acting stuff have you done so far?
In Christchurch I did theatre for about 4 years. Up here I have done Shortland Street, which everyone does in the acting scene, a film with James Wallace Productions, Jackson’s Wharf, TV Commercials.
Yeah, for a while before you actually came out, you were known as the House of Travel ad chick
Haha yeah
Yeah..But I haven’t seen it
Haven’t you?
No I don’t watch TV
Oh that’s good.
Do you have any doubts about being a musician?
(Without hesitation) Yes definitely. It takes a lot of self confidence to put yourself out there and to be criticised because that's what people do regardless of what job your in, so that takes a lot and it is hard. Yeah I have doubts..I don’t really have doubts about acting as much, but music yeah I do. I still do it and I love it. At the end of the day I have such a wonderful group of people around me who are there for me and it doesn’t really matter what anyone else says but I think I’ll always have doubts, even if I make it really far in the music industry I think I’d still have doubts. But it’s the doubts that keep you ego-less as well. So I think its necessary.
Are your parents supportive? Oh well I suppose they are from what you were saying earlier.
Oh god yeah
How did you score singing for the Australian dance act Pnau?
They came here and toured with House of Downtown and I had residency at Grand Central, a bar on Ponsonby Rd, and there's 2 of them Nick and Kim and I think Kim might have gone back to Australia. So after their concert Nick came to the bar I was playing at with his brother and they stayed there and listened to the songs. When I had finished they came up to me and asked me if I’d ever be interested in singing for them and I said yes and we had a meeting about it. But it never happened because there was a whole Festival thing going on and I think it was for a signing so I stayed back here. But then I went to Australia 2 months ago and caught up with them and we did it then.
What did you do exactly?
I sung on one song for their album…Kings of Swing? I cant remember so don’t quote me on that (I looked it up and it seems the only album they have is called Sambonova). In return their gonna do another one of my singles so that’ll be good.
So it’ll add a dance influence?
Yeah their really dancy, not with my stuff so much cuz I don’t really like dance music so I wont be getting them to put that influence in. But they’ve got a ….what's that band called? They’ve got a kinda more soulful…
Are they overseas?
Yeah they are. I can’t remember….
You mean Moby style?
Yeah kind of, its annoying me. They have a song that goes ta-de-da (she starts singing/humming it). Do you know that one?
What part makes the sound?
Oh it’s supposed to be a voice, haha. Anyway we’ll (Pnau) do it how I want it more, not dance cuz dance would just sound horrible with my sound. It wouldn’t work.
So naturopathy. You do that too?
Yeah, it’s dealing with herbs and everyone on my dad’s side of the family is into naturopathy so it’s been around since I was little. That’s something that I always thought I’d do as well and I went to study it but I just wasn’t ready. Its full time study and I would have had to give up music; I felt guilty cuz I was there studying and I wasn’t writing. But its something I can do when I’m 40 as well. I still love it but music’s real important to me.
And the children’s books?
Yep, I’m putting a story into the Tom Fitzberggen Scholarship which is for young authors. So I’ve got a story going in there in October. But I’m such a child myself that its so easy to write children stories, and I love doing it.
How did you start that/get into it?
Well I had a dream one night and I remembered it so vividly I had to write it out and that’s how my first one came about and I just kept going from there.
Who are you publishing with?
It’s a competition, if they like your story then they publish it so I’m putting it into that. If it doesn’t get published, which if it did would be amazing, then I’d just continue to make it better and take it to another publisher.
So you also did skateboarding, was that just a past time?
Well I skated for 5 years. my boyfriend at the time was a skateboarder so the only way to spend time with him was to skateboard cuz he was always skateboarding. So I started skateboarding with him and found that I enjoyed it and entered competitions and kept on going and pushing myself. I love skateboarding.
Did you get hurt lots?
Yep. It kinda made you tough, and I couldn’t cry cuz I skated with boys. I’d just get back up and be real staunch and keep on going and I’d be bleeding. Haha. At the end of the day I’d look at all my wounds and go, ‘yeah I’m tough!’ Hahaha. So yeah you kina enjoyed having wounds after a while because it meant that you were progressing. Weird thing….if you hang out with boys.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve got a skater friend who's like ‘I broke my leg today’ and they’ll be real happy about it.
Do you? Hahaha yeah.
Was Growler a good learning experience for you?
Yeah it was. You know – 4 girls just having fun and writing music. Then when it got more serious we had more arguments, and we kept on losing our drummers. We had one drummer who just went missing, we have no idea where he is to this day, still don’t even know where he is. Yeah it was heaps of fun and it was definitely a big learning experience. We travelled the whole of the South Island, so we had a blast. But I prefer being a solo musician, not that I’m not a team player or anything! Haha. I just prefer having control over my songs.
How did you form?
A friend of mine phoned me cuz I’d just moved to Auckland and said that there was a girl band looking for a guitarist and I thought, ‘oh you know that’ll be fun cuz I love music blah blah.’ I went to the audition and they had just bought their instruments that day so that was really funny. Erin, the drummer, couldn’t play drums but she was so awesome to watch, she really got into it. Carly had just bought a bass so it wasn’t really an audition at all. We were just sort of jamming and then a girlfriend of mine, Shan, who’s the best female guitarist in New Zealand I swear, she’s amazing.
Does she get out and do stuff?
No she doesn’t, she should. Shan Bennett. So I phoned her and when she first came to hear us play she was like, ‘oh god…’ Hahaha. But she preserved and stayed with us, she’s really cool.
Did you play like rock music?
Yeah, really rock and I sung. I can’t sing rock, haha. So it was funny.
Did you release anything?
No. I don’t think anyone would let us. Hahaha
What don’t you want to become?
I don’t want to become stagnated
Stag..?
Stagnated, I don’t want there to ever be no movements you know? I always want to be progressing in what I’m doing. In this industry you have so many people judging you and it may not be harsh criticism but there's always gonna be a point when you know that somebody is gonna be judging your songs. I don’t want to be tainted by that you know? Just keep on believing in yourself and move forward and trusting your instincts. Hahaha your looking at my nail polish!
(It is all scratched and faded, so she hides her hands).
Haha no its ok. What happens on the average morning for you?
Lately I’ve been getting up quite early and just doing interviews all day. Normally I would – well its very varied cuz I do a travel show as well so we’ve been filming for that. But normally I get up, go for a jog, have a shower, have breakfast, go for coffee with a friend, write music, get bored, and write music, bath, write my children stories, ponder about my life for about half and hour.
Do you read challenging books? Ones which question life?
Yeah I do. I read a lot of spiritual books. I’m reading a book at the moment about a theory that the earth’s hollow! Haha yeah, that’s quite funny, and my story book is about the earth being hollow as well so that’s kinda cool. I read a lot of philosophical books.
Favourite author?
I did like Tim or Tom Robbins, he wrote ‘Still like a woodpecker’ and ‘Even cow girls get the blues.’ He’s not a philosophical writer at all but I like him. And I also really like….I cant remember his name..
Hahaha you forget a lot of names
Haha yeah. He wrote ‘The Fury’ …um Tom Green? No..
Which other ones? The Fury sounds real familiar. Did he do a series?
Yeah Tom Cruise did a movie to The Fury I think..or The Firm. It’s about a court case about a tobacco company. I like detective stories as well. I really love those books when I was little and it’ll go, ‘if you want to go to the garden go to page 6.’
Yeah! I love those. They have a name but I cant remember
Yeah they have a name but I can’t remember.
I tried to write one once
Oh did you?
It was a diaster
Haha it must be quite hard. I always die in them as well.
One day when I’ve got more time…
Yeah that’s a good idea.
Do all the interviews you do get real annoying? Don’t the interviewers ask the same questions?
Ah…you haven’t actually which is cool. A lot of radio interviews do but I guess they have a certain standard about what they ask. You feel kinda stupid talking about yourself, I think I’m no more interesting than the person sitting next to me. So you kinda try and make it interesting but then at the end of the day its just ‘ah whatever..’.
So you don’t get sick of it?
No..
Oh!
Yeah, I might. I haven’t so far, a lot of people ask the same questions and you get bored with the answer but mainly because you think the answer sounds really stupid or its not that exciting.
Ok. Heres a few questions about the Rosary single. Are you satisfied with it?
I’m glad its out but… its my baby really, all my other songs I don’t really care that much about as Rosary. I don’t think I’m ever gonna be glad with Rosary. If I have the money to do it, I’d do it with a full orchestra and just vocals, that's how I really want it but radio’s not gonna play that so how it is, is really good. I still love the song but it’s not exactly how I want it to be.
With the recorded radio version, is there anything you wish you could go back and change?
Yep. I’d take out the annoying guitar that goes – I don’t even know how it goes.
Do you play that bit?
No, I’d never play that bit hahaha. It’s the lead guitar in there and I wanted to take it out. There was Malcom the producer and another guy, Paul and we were flipping coins. They really liked the guitar and I didn’t and we ended up keeping the guitar in. and I so wanted it to be taken out. It bugs me every time I hear it.
I’ve got it with me
Do you? It’s after the first chorus
While I’m getting the CD ready we say this stuff:
What was the last CD you bought? Nora Jones I suppose?
Yeah she’s got beautiful music
Is it kinda like the stuff you do?
No, I mean I’d love to do stuff like that, its very cruisy.
Jazz and Blues?
No not really but I do appreciate it.
We listen to it
Can you hear it? Oh I think I know which bit you mean. It’s not the acoustic?
No it’s the solo guitar.
Ah ok. What are you trying to say in the lyrics?
Well when I wrote it I wasn’t really trying to say anything. Haha. It took me ages to write and I wasn’t quite sure what I was writing. There’s something about Rosary I absolutely love, it’s so different to all my other songs, none of my other songs are like this - I’m not a complete weirdo. Rosary is about a woman who remembers her past life and in her past life she was in love with a man who stole her child that she had. And then she was reborn again into this life, but she remembers her past life knowing that he took her child and he doesn’t know, he cant remember the past life. So she’s got like conflicting emotions because she remembers what she probably shouldn’t.
And if she tries telling it to him he’ll probably think she’s crazy.
Yep! Haha, like me. I’m feeling crazy saying it to you.
Was it made up or a dream you had?
It was kinda both. I know that I’d get asked about Rosary and it was so personal to me. To not have what it meant just didn’t sound right you know? To not have an idea. So I was thinking about it and I feel asleep and it kinda came to me in little bits and I pieced it together in the morning.
Are dreams important to you?
Yeah dreams are really important to me. I base a lot of my decisions on dreams and coin flipping.
Coin flipping. I think that’s a very fair way. Oh actually it can be bad when you’re choosing who gets who. Heads or tails.
Yeah you gotta be quick in your choice.
How was it working with Malcom Welsford?
Malcom Welsford is fantastic; he’s really calming, mellow, cruisy, he was really good. And also because he’s worked with so many other fantastic artists, to have him wanting to do my song was a huge compliment for me.
Did he approach you?
No, hahaha. I approached him but he said yes. He could of said no!
What did you learn when recording the single?
That it’s really boring. The process of recording takes forever and its so hard to know because you do the drums, then the bass, then the guitar so your hearing the instruments solo so its hard to understand what the songs gonna sound like put together. It’s very creative as well, but it’s also very boring.
What inspired your video?
The video kinda bugs me again, because the video I want for Rosary would of cost me thousands, well not me, but it would of cost thousands of dollars. My idea was to shot it in Prague around all the beautiful architecture, the really romantic – cuz that’s what I wanted for Rosary to be quite romantic. I was gonna go to Prague and shoot it but then the September 11 thing happened so it just wasn’t a good idea to go over there, so we shot it here. It my video so your always gonna be critical of it. It’s still fine but I think next time there’s things I’d do differently. And because its the first time people see you as well, so when I watch it I go, ‘oh god!’ Haha. Never mind…
Are music video’s important to you? Do you think they matter a lot?
Yeah they are and I think they do. I mean the visual aspect is very important, we take a lot in visually. I remember there’s a band I don’t like at all, I wont say their name, but I didn’t like them. I heard their song on the radio and it didn’t appeal to me and then I saw their video and I love the song cuz I love the video so much. So I think it’s important.
What about bands who goof around in their clips?
I like that as well and it depends on what kinda band it is. Like if Enya were to start joking around in her video clip I think it would ruin her music. Bands like – have you heard of 3/11?
yeah
And Third Eye Blind and what's the other band called? The 3 piece and they joke around and they run round naked.
Blink 182
Yeah, it kinda suits their music. If they started doing serious video clips then I’d start worrying about them so I guess it depends on the music, what flavour you bring out.
Do you like Bjork?
Yeah I love her music. Oh Massive Attack that’s the band I was trying to remember. Haha
What were we trying to remember them for?
Umm Nick from Pnau. Knew it would come to me. Yeah I love Bjork, she’s amazing. There’s not anyone on the planet like her. And her videos are just bizarre. Have you seen the video where she’s naked and she’s things coming out…
Yeah
Some are beautiful, some are just…
Plain weird
Yeah plain weird.
Reminds me of tool’s videos
Yeah I love the pace of Tool but their videos freak me out, I can’t watch their videos
You cant really understand them either
Yeah and they’re too dark as well. It’s like ‘oh what’s the point. Your music’s dark why not lighten up a bit.’
What’s your future plans?
Putting another single out. Doing a tour next year. Going to Australia and recording more over there.
Why Australia?
Probably go back to record with Nick. And then I’m going to LA in March I think. After the tour because my managers in LA so I’ll go there and do some gigs over there.
Have you chosen a song for the next single?
Yep..haven’t recorded it yet so it’ll be released at the start of next year because this years nearly coming to an end and the tours coming up and Christmas. And if you put a song out to close to the end of the year it gets lost.
Do you have any advice?
Yeah, I personally honestly think that if I can do this then anyone can do it. Because you know, I’m not musically trained. I just love music and I honestly think that if you love something and you know its right for you and your not doing it because someone else wants you to, then you should keep doing it. And if you get knocks and you fall down then just get up and do it again. As long as you have the love for it then you should continue doing it, as soon as you lose that then you should stop.
Oh, can you buy Rosary?
Its being released in 2,3 weeks I think. That’ll be scary.
What about airplay?
It’s getting heaps down South. Auckland not too much, because I’ve had so many songs come out all at once and I’m not on a major label, that you get put to the back at bit. And they say they like the song and they play it, but I'm sure they’ll play it more. Plus they have to.
Did you just finish another interview?