Where are you from?
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Was there music around you when you were growing up / how?
Not really, of course my parents listened to the radio in the car, but it was mostly talkback like Newstalk ZB. My uncle is a cover artist, but I only really saw him on holidays or the odd occasion. Artists such as The Bee Gees, ABBA, and country music such as and Willie Nelson (who is now one of my favourite artists) is some of the music I remember listening to as a little gremlin.
I grew up a sporty kid, playing football and badminton every winter, tennis and touch rugby in the summer. At high school I got really into doing theatre. Yearly musicals, Shakespeare, and even theatresports (competitive improv comedy), my music obsession started when my best mate/band mate Jack Horsnell introduced me to The Beatles after I badmouthed them on a road trip stop in Palmerston North. It was headfirst down a rabbit hole from there.
When did you start making music? How has the music you make changed over time?
Not long after Jack introduced me to The Beatles we formed our band ‘Factory’ which was alot of fun, but absolutely terrible. The year after that broke up. We formed Late to Chelsea, which is still going strong after 5 years.
Being passionate about music means you have a constantly developing array of different music you listen to. The insatiable search for new music and discovering bangers and stinkers along the way is a big part of the fun. I work in radio, so finding new music of all genres all the time. But I have always gravitated to faster, heaving alternative stuff. At the moment. My music taste would be 50% alternative rock/punk/metal. 20% Country and Soul and 10% of the random stuff in between. I also love all kinds of Kiwi music, I'm a massive NZ history nerd. And love doing things like Driving down Dominion Road listening to Dominion Road by The Mutton Birds.
You participated in Smokefreerockquest... how was that experience for you? Do you have any advice for this year’s participants, or young musicians in general?
Smokefreerockquest changed my life, I did both the 2018 and 2019 Manukau competitions with my bands Factory and Late to Chelsea. While, I will admit, the quality of the music was pretty horrendous - the process of forming the band, writing the music, practicing the music and eventually performing the music was indescribably exciting. As I said earlier, I loved doing theatre, but getting up on stage to perform your own music to a loving crowd….. It’s just the absolute best.
In terms of advice…. I could write a whole book on that topic. Let’s make a few bullet points
You have played on some major stages and had some great media coverage of projects you've been involved in... is there any part of your musical journey that stands out as particularly special / a favourite moment?
3 major milestones come to mind when thinking about “holy moly” moments with my band.
The first one was our first ever independent gig that had no connection to our school whatsoever. It was called ‘Fright Night’ and it was a halloween themed punk gig that took place in a carpark, was it legal? Probably not. Was it extremely fun? Definitely yes. The standout part was the crowd chanting the “oi’s!” in unison with us in one of our songs, called F$%k It. It was the first time I'd properly experienced someone truly enjoying my music, it was fantastic.
The second one came around 18 months later. Late to Chelsea (my band) were putting on a gig at Grey Lynn Library Hall and it was a big one, we were with a couple of other local bands (including Smokefreerockquest alumni Stacked and Slow Rage) and it was a sold out show with 500+ people there, I was nervous but very excited. I then got a message from one of my favourite bands in the local music scene called Dartz, they asked if they could be on the lineup as they had a show later that night but wanted to come along to see our gig. Fast forward a few hours and I'm standing to the side of the 500 strong crowd, dancing away to my favourite band at the time. And it was my responsibility! I shed a happy tear, it was fantastic
The third milestone was our first festival. At the end of 2023. We played our first ever festival ‘The Others Way’ where K Rd venues open up and simultaneously host shows, allowing gig-goers to go to and from different gigs at their leisure. It was a really unique experience. A lot of our gigs to date have been very DIY. so the very official nature of the festival was very exciting.
In saying this, everytime something new happens within your band it's a milestone, your first gig, first recorded song, first album, recently my band has just started making merch for the first time. Even half a decade into a band's tenure something new can always happen.
When you're writing, what do you start with? What is your process from beginning to end?
I personally don’t write a lot of songs, almost all of my musical contribution has gone into just rockin out on stage. But when I do, alot of my songs stem from riffs or licks I think of or accidentally come up with. I always record them as best i can. No matter where I am or what i’m doing I always record it (mostly just by singing, humming or straight up explaining it on an IPhone voice note). I do this so I don’t forget the idea. Song ideas come to me very sporadically, and my mind is busy. Which is easy for me to forget. After starting a demo with said-riff. I’ll normally establish a solid rhythm with drums, guitar and bass. Then just play around with the melody. I’m a sucker for effects, especially modulation and distortion. I usually gravitate towards big sounding distorted riffs. But it depends on what fits the song!
How do you choose what songs to release?
As an artist, I am unapologetically me, a lot of my songs involve things that happened to me, whether it happened directly or indirectly, it still is personal to me. My songs come from the soul. So if I were to independently make music, that’s what I would do.
For your band, a collective decision made together is the best way to go about it. Of course writing songs is a very personal thing. But openly discussing which songs to release with your band-mates is a good way to avoid conflict and figure out what is best to do in the interest of your band. For Example, what song of yours do your crowd enjoy most? My bandmates and I have been in the situation where lots of people have come up to us asking “when are we going to release THIS song or THAT song?”. That pretty much answered that question for us! But at the end of the day, it is your band. Noone knows your music better than yourself.
What are two things you have learnt along your journey, that you would tell yourself if you could go back in time?
One thing that I have learnt that can sometimes be forgotten is to be nice! Naturally, having people enjoy your band and your music is a really great feeling. It validates that you’re good at what you do, writing bangers. And there is no harm in that, you’ve put in the mahi, and you’re getting the treats. What’s not cool though, is letting it get to your head and it evolving into an ego. In my short time being involved in the music scene. I have seen lots of bands come and go for different reasons. Creative differences, other commitments etc. But I have been surprised at the volume of bands breaking up due to personal reasons like aesthetic differences, discussing the importance of band roles. And a bunch of irrelevant stuff when it comes to playing music. As I mentioned earlier. All (if not all, the majority) of bands start purely because they wanna jam with the homies. Being nice goes a long way in building connections with other bands, promoters and venues owners!
And honestly just have heaps of fun. All of this stuff i’ve talked about is stuff i’ve learnt at Smokefreerockquest, and since doing Smokefreerockquest. So you’ll be just fine, turn your amps up to 11, and rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!
You've got to be in it to win it!
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