Letfus Magazine Issue 1 by Letfus Magazine

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facebook.com/letfusmagazine letfusmagazine.com youtube.com/user/letfusmagazine facebook.com/letfusdesign letfusmagazine@gmail.com Letfus Magazine is a brand new bi-monthly publication based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Aiming to bring you up to date interviews and photos of some of the rising stars in the media industry, both local and abroad.

All my life Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been surrounded by music. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been the old-school rhythm and blues my Mum would blast through the house during my childhood, the Hip Hop and RnB thrust upon me by my older siblings, or the pop-punk and alternative music which I find myself falling more in love with daily. In recent years, however, my love of music has developed into a love for all the arts, whether it be visual or otherwise. This love turned into an idea, which turned into a dream, into a goal, into a plan, and now, finally, into a reality. Letfus magazine encompasses a majority of the things that have had a positive influence in my life. I am striving to present them to the world in a manner which, hopefully, can change peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives the same way it changed mine. Thank you for your support in taking the time to look at this issue, which will hopefully be the first of many.

-Melody Letfus

p a g e 3 e d i t o r p a g e 6 amplified m e d i a p a g e 9 s c a r l e t t d e l l o w photography p a g e 1 2 m a r k 4 2 page16 ironstein p a g e 2 0 selfhood p a g e 2 4 littlebrother p a g e 2 8 reece&jopo 4

contents 16

AMPLIFIE D

MEDIA

In a nutshell, what is AM? Amplified Media is an independently owned and run online music publication. We’re simply fans of music who happen to be fans of writing as well and Amplified Media is an outlet for us to do our own thing. How did it all start? Well I (Nisa) originally had been writing for various independent music sites and most recently had to create a blog for one of my classes at La Trobe University. I decided to create a blog called The Band Enthusiast and I was focused on interviewing small, unsigned and local Australian bands. I had a bit of an epiphany after I completed that class and decided I wanted to keep going with the blog but make it bigger and better – and so Amplified Media was born! How long has it been going? The site has been running since March this year but under the name The Band Enthusiast (also I was just a Wordpress blog – I didn’t have a domain name). I only reconstructed the site to what it is now on August 15. That’s literally only four days haha. That being said, as I previously mentioned I have been writing for way longer than that. I used to write for a publication called Barricade Crashers and after that it was Vital Sound Media. Both were great experiences and allowed me to interview some big names (New Found Glory, Jack’s Mannequin) and I’ll be forever grateful for that because it’s definitely gotten me here today.

What is the hardest part about being in the media business in this day and age? I think the most frustrating thing about being in the media industry (especially when you’re independently run and learning on the go) is being taken seriously. I’ve seen many great writers get turned down for stuff like being put on a mailing database or to get media accreditation passes simply because they’re not “official”. Having said that though, being independent should definitely not discourage anyone out there who wants to get into the field. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere! Where do you want this to take you? Do you see it as a full time gig in the future or will it be more of a hobby on the side? I want to take Amplified Media as far it will go. It’ll be difficult turning this into a full time job simply because we’re not getting paid for this and right now it’s a full-blown hobby that I’m putting a lot of time, effort and money into. I just hope to see it achieve something great one day. Your posts have been predominantly pop-punk, metalcore, hardcore etc, will you remain in that genre or branch out into others? I hope to branch out and feature a whole variation of genres on the site but I think it will be a little more alternative for the most part (at least for now). The reason for this is simple – the three people a part of this site are big fans of alternative music and we know a lot of bands that we can talk about on the site. I really hope to discover new music and more artists though and would love to feature them on the site.

What’s the future plans for AM? Being a very new and very small website, we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves and bite off more than we can chew. Right now our main goal is to earn a following. A goal bigger than that though is to get our publication to Soundwave Festival or Vans Warped Tour Australia someday. Like I said, we’re still very small so we’re just taking baby-steps for now. Music must be a pretty big part of your life, are you a musician yourself? Music is most definitely a huge part of my life. I grew up around a whole different bunch of music from my siblings and my culture and then I eventually branched off and started discovering things for my own. I think that’s where my love for writing came from as well – I discovered new music and wanted to tell people about it, I wanted to write about it and let everyone share the experience with me. Favourite band currently? That’s probably the most difficult question I’ve been asked so far hahaha. My favourite band of the moment changes at least twice a month. I think right now my favourite band would have to be Alesana and that’s purely because I saw them live recently and haven’t been able to stop listening to them on repeat. Another band that I have to mention though is Belle Haven. They’re a local band from Melbourne, Australia and they are incredible. I had to throw that one in there everyone who doesn’t know who they are should check them out! Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive

What would your dream job be? To be plain and simple: A writer. And I’m doing that already, just voluntarily. What did you find most difficult about starting this site? Is it still an issue? I think the most difficult thing was probably the silliest thing as well and that is to just start. It was the anxiety of dedicating my time and money to something that might never take off. It was the fear of not being taken seriously from other media outlets or even just the fear of not earning an audience. But that’s just something I had to overcome. I just said “Screw it”. I’m doing this because I want to and because if it did fail, I could at least say I ran after my dreams 100%. I wouldn’t say I’ve completely jumped that hurdle but it’s not something that’s going to hold me back from now on. This website is something I created because it’s something I enjoy and care a lot about, and that’s all it should be about. What advice would you give to someone interested in working in the area of media? Oh God… NETWORKING. The only thing that would make this easier for you (if you’re freelancing or writing independently) is to create a network. Go out and meet new people, create contacts, befriend the people you want to write about or people who can get you places. I don’t mean that in a way that sounds like “use them”, that’s definitely not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is, have a helpful contact list. Get to know people that know other people because it’ll help you so much in the long run. Another piece of advice is – don’t be afraid! Take chances, don’t let the fear of being wrong or making errors hold you back. You’re human after all. I missed plenty of great interview and press opportunities simply because I was afraid I’d screw it up – don’t do what I did! If you screw up, it’ll be okay. It’s not the end of the world. If you see a chance, grab it by the horns.

“

Don’t be afraid! Take chances, don’t let the fear of being wrong or making errors hold you back. You’re human after all.

”

Can people get involved with AM and how would they do that? They can! We’re only at two writers at the moment (myself and April Muller) so if there’s anyone out there who thinks they have what it takes (which is essentially an ability to write and a love for music – that’s it) then they should get in contact with us! They can do that by filling out a form on our Contact page on the site or just shoot us an email atamplifiedmediaaus@gmail.com What has the site achieved so far? In its four days of being, the site has earned a small but strong following. It’s really up to our audience to help us take off to be honest. We can write all we want, but it won’t do much if no one is there to read it. Our fans and readers are the most important element to Amplified Media and to making this work for us. Without an audience we would not be anywhere. What do you hope the site can do for your fans? I have two simple things I want to achieve in my writing: to inform and to entertain. I don’t want to bore our readers with an album review that’s pages and pages long – no one’s going to read that. We try to keep things short and sweet and I hope the fans see it the same way that we do. 7

Do you see the site developing into something more? A printed publication, video blog, anything like that? For what it’s worth, I think Amplified Media will stay digital for the long run. Everything and everyone relies on technology nowadays and while I love physical magazines so much, I don’t think that’ll suit what Amplified Media is trying to achieve. Not only can we reach more people online, but we can be consistent with our writing and stay up to date to keep fans in the loop with the music industry. One thing I would like to see for Amplified Media is a video blog though. We may be creating a YouTube account in the near future and start posting video interviews and other cool stuff but we’ll see. You say on your site that “We at Amplified Media hold unsigned artists dear to our hearts so if you’re a budding musician be sure to get in touch with us!” what would a musician have to have in order to be advertised on your site? An album, a facebook page? Well artists should essentially have some kind of media platform for us and the readers to get in contact with them and to get a hold of their music somehow. A Facebook page or Bandcamp is really good to get your music out there but that’s the artist’s choice – not ours. All they have to do is send us an email with what they’re interested in us doing for them (interviews, reviews etc) and a link to their music and we will get in touch with them asap.

Cameron Adler of Tonight Alive

If you could say one thing to your fans and followers, what would it be? Just thank you. To all our friends and family who have helped us spread the word of our existence and for following us. This is just the very beginning. Not one follower is gone unnoticed, we appreciate each and every one of the people who are vouching for us. I feel like there are big things to come for Amplified Media so stay with us and watch us grow.”

And they will keep growing. To watch them as they do be sure to check out the links below: amplifiedmediaaus.com twitter.com/AmplifiedMedia1 facebook.com/amplifiedmediaaus

Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive

Photos courtesy of © Scarlett Dellow Photography Interview held on 19 August 2013 8

S C A R L E T T D E L L O W photography So you’re the photographer for AM, how did you get involved in that? I met Nisa (the owner) at Melbourne airport earlier this year while I was over there for Soundwave. She was waiting for some bands to arrive that my friends and I also liked so we quickly bonded and became good friends with her. She recently sent me a message on Facebook informing me that she was going to start Amplified Media and asked if I would want to be the photographer for the site, of course I was honoured and jumped at the opportunity!

Cameron Adler of Tonight Alive

Do you see this as becoming a career for you in the future? In all honesty, I hope so. Despite the fact that it is such a hard industry to succeed in I believe that as long as I work as hard as possible, I may have a chance at making it a career, or at least a side job. When did you become interested in photography? My parents are heavily interested in photography and everything surrounding it so I generally grew up loving it. I got my first point and shoot at about 12 and took photos of anything and everything. Eventually I started taking it with me to shows and quickly realised that that was really what I enjoyed. The day I bought my own DSLR (June 2012) was when I really started to become serious about making this happen though.

Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari

Where do you want photography to take you and what steps will you take to get there? In all honesty, I just want to be able to accomplish making a career out of something I’m so passionate about. I’m working as hard as I possibly can to achieve this already and I’m still only in high school. I’ll just continue to work like mad and network my way through the industry until I manage to make my name and my photos known.

Favourite band currently? My favourite band will always and most definitely be All Time Low. Currently, however? La Dispute, no doubt about it. Best live show you’ve ever been to? I think that would have to be Enter Shikari at Zeal West in September 2012. It was a sold out, tiny, sweaty venue and the crowd ended up breaking down the barricade within the first two songs. There was stage diving and crowd surfing from every angle and the band members were constantly jumping into the crowd to sing with fans or let fans play their guitars. It was hectic as hell and literally the most energetic show I’ve ever been to. That band kills it live; I had the bruises for weeks after to prove it. Best show you’ve ever photographed? This would have to be Tonight Alive in August 2012. It was the first show I shot with my DSLR. It was at a small venue with no barricade and about 300 people so I was right up against a stage that didn’t reach much higher than my knees. I had the angles to shoot all band members, including the drummer, and the bands’ stage presence was way too rad. Plus, the lighting was perfect which is always an important thing for a photographer.

Biggest achievement so far? I’ve just been approved for a photo pass to shoot All Time Low’s first show in New Zealand on August 27th at the Powerstation, so I am definitely going with that as my biggest achievement. Being my favourite band, and the reason I’m so into music, this is huge for me. Also, it’s sold out and most likely going to be the best/biggest show of the year in its’ scene! 10

What do you want people to feel when they see your photos? Speaking about my live photos, I want people to be able to feel the energy of the show. I think that’s the reason I enjoy concert photography so much; it’s raw, natural, energetic, the happiness in the atmosphere is so evident and the connection between bands and their fans is the most incredible and intriguing thing I’ve ever witnessed. I want my live photos to portray that and to be able to show the viewer a memory and a story of the moment captured. Do you prefer concert photography or do you also play around with other forms of photography as well? Concert photography is always going to be the thing that interests me the most. However, I do want to start branching out more into the other side of music photography, such as promo shoots and candids for small bands that I’m friends with. Generally though, I do just enjoy taking photos of everything.

Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive

What advice would you give to someone interested on being involved in concert and event photography? There are so many times when you will doubt yourself and you’ll want to give up, don’t do it. If you want to do this badly enough, and you’re willing to put in the effort, things will happen. Constantly work as hard as you can, shoot every show you can, apply for photo passes, volunteer for publications, make connections and definitely become good friends with your local bands.

If you could say one thing to your fans and followers, what would it be? Literally just thank you so much if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever supported Amplified Media or me in any way. From liking a Facebook page to reblogging a picture to making a nice comment about my photos. Anything. It all fuels me so much in achieving what I want to do! I really do appreciate it. Scarlett is doing amazing things for both herself and the New Zealand music industry. the future is bright for this young, ambitious, amazingly talented photographer. You can check out her photos through Amplified Media or find her on her at: facebook.com/ScarlettDellowPhotography scarlettdellow.tumblr.com

Matt Best of Tonight Alive

Photos courtesy of ÂŠ Scarlett Dellow Photography Interview held on 19 August 2013 11

“

Don’t give up, ever. It sounds real cliché but if you have a bad gig keep doing it anyway. Definitely just keep going. Persevering, even if you get smacked in the face a few times, just keep doing it. ‘Cause eventually, eventually if you persevere enough. You’ll get a bite and something will happen.

”

Mark 42, Hamiltons very own pop-punk/rock band, are hoping to “change the face of music as you know it, one kick ass rock song at a time.” And with their release of Sweet Memory, their debut single, it’s evident that they are capable of doing that, and much more! They are definitely a band to look out for, the sky’s the limit with these boys. Make sure you don’t miss out on anything: facebook.com/mark42official mark42band@outlook.com

DARRYN

Photos courtesy of © Letfus Interview held on 11 September 2013 12

george

B E N

DAVE

What’s your name and role in the band? I’m Dave and I’m the drummer. I’m George and I’m the singer and rhythm guitarist and ambassador of awesome. I’m Ben, I’m the lead guitarist in the band. George- Darryn’s not here but he’s our bass player. And arrangement specialist. Our arranger and production adviser. Dave- He’s just the man. George- Great addition to the band.

What’s the best thing about being in a band? Ben- Music. It’s what we’re here for. George- The best thing about being in a band is, I don’t know, just kinda letting loose I guess. Like I was just saying before, I feel more relaxed when I’m in front of a microphone, than I do when just talking to people. So yeah I dunno, just going nuts. Its good fun. Dave-Yeah I just like to play the drums with people. It’s a bit boring playing by yourself. Just like to have a jam.

How long have you been a band? Ben- Since march. George- February?

What’s Mark 42’s biggest achievement so far? George- We got played on Life FM for all of 10 seconds last week. Twice. (Ben- Probably more. The probably played it again.) Yeah we heard it on their twice. (Ben- That’s our biggest achievement as a band.) Staying together. That’s probably a big one. (Ben- Mostly.) But we’ve stayed together. (Ben- Us three original members.) Well you two and me kind of. (Dave- Original founding members.)

What inspired you to start a band? Ben- Well it was me and a friend. (Dave-Me too.) And Dave. Oh yeah we asked Dave after we’d decided to make a band, then we asked George. George- I used to be in a rock band and I missed it and I came back, and it’s fun. If you had to classify yourselves into a genre, what would it be? George- Ambient hip hop. (Ben- What is that?) I don’t know haha. I made it up. Ben- I’m gonna say pop punk/rock. What inspired you to start playing music? Dave- Well I got rock band for Christmas and I really liked it so I kind of moved up, got a real drum kit and I just wanted to keep playing. George- When I was a little kid I wanted to be rock star, like no joke. That was what I wanted to grow up to be and then for ages I was sort of messing around with music but never really taking it seriously. If you want the honest answer, God jumped in and went “Oh look. Go do music. ‘Cause you like it.” And so here I am doing music. Ben- Well mine was an ad for free guitar lessons and I did and have been playing ever since. That was about 7 and a half years ago.

What’s your worst experience together as a band? George- To rationalise it probably, different directions in mind. And trying to work out where we actually want to go as a band. Instead of, sort of, each member having a different idea of where we wanna go. That’s probably a more PC way to word it. What’s the best thing you’ve experienced together? Ben- Being played on Life FM na haha… probably recording. George- Yeah recording. Probably the first time we did Sweet Memory. Even though it wasn’t the best track. But that first 12 hour session was great fun. Dave- That first 8 hours on the drums was just bliss. Ben- And the first practice with Darryn was good. George- Oh yeah that’s right. That was real good. ‘Cause that’s the one, we did Back Off for the second time and it was great. And we did Adversary for the first time after Darryn left. That was different, it was good.

You all attend a Christian college and you are all religious in some way, will that become a part of the band? Dave- I think it would be cool to integrate it some way. George- It’s not really something we’ve talked about. Ben- My short answer would be yes. George- I could talk about it from a song writing point of view, and the songs that I write for the band are definitely not worship songs, they’re not CCM songs but definitely always keeping God in mind in what’s being said. And I guess for me, bringing God into the band would be in the songs I’m writing and my passion is sorta to meet people where they’re at. And I write songs that people can relate to, and that gives them a bit of hope. And hopefully that they can see God in and that God can come through. That’s what I hope we can sorta achieve but at the same time still maintain our sort of party atmosphere I guess. I think inspiration for me are bands like The Almost who definitely do the punk rock thing and the big loud cranking shows but always, always very open about God and you can hear it in their music and stuff. Family Force Five, stuff like that. What are your musical influences? Ben- Rage Against The Machine. George- As a band that one probably is. Ben- Just the one song. Red Jumpsuit, could say Blink. Maybe. Dave- I’d say Blink’s an influence for me. I steal a lot of their fills... Borrow fills... George- Your fills are inspired by Blink. You channel blink. Ben- I bring my metal influences into the band. Bullet For My Valentine, Alter Bridge. That sort of stuff. George- For me, Yellowcard, always gonna be a favourite. Dashboard Confessional. Always getting compared to Dashboard Confessional. Snow Patrol. Getting into some heavier stuff now and that’s kinda an influence in the way I write. Ben- A Day To Remember. George- A Day To Remember, yeah definitely. My writing is changing because of them. Ben- Oh Mark 42. George- Oh yeah, Mark 42, they’re pretty good aye. Ironstein, definitely big influence, yep. Fly By Wire. Sound The Ocean. The tutors here (Vision College) are definitely big influences as well actually I’m gonna say.

If you could have any job in the world what would it be? Ben- What I’m doing now. Musician. Dave- I’d be a surf instructor in Hawaii. George- You are so the drummer. Dave- Just frigging chilled out with the… Oh, man. You got me thinking about it now. Ben- I’d be a famous musician, travelling the world all the time. George- I wouldn’t even have to be famous, just gigging and having the money to be able to do it. Ben- I want to be international though. George- Yeah hard. But just having the money to just tour and gig and record just even if it doesn’t ever make it out there just doing that stuff is just great fun. What would your performer alter ego be called? Dave- Yours has to have something ginger in it. Ben-Ed Sheeran. George- It does have to have something ginger in it haha. Ben- Flaming carrot I think was one of my names at one point. I kinda just do my own thing. George- What? Ben- I kinda just do my own thing. George- Well that doesn’t answer the question does it? Dave- Just make up a cool name like Larry Sherman. George- So you‘d be Larry Sherman? Dave- No? I’d be Dirty Dave.

What are your plans for the future? Will you stay together? Dave- Na I’m gonna quit soon. George- Oh thanks for telling us. Good thing we got Darryn aye? Oh but then we need another bass payer. Dave- I’ll play bass. George- You just said you were gonna quit? Dave- Yeah but I’ll re-enter. Solved. George- I hope we stick together. I think what we’re doing right now is pretty cool. Like I feel like as much as study is a focus, Mark 42 is a focus for me at the moment. (Ben- Same.) Yeah I’m quite keen to take it seriously. (Ben- I’d like to do some more gigs. Yeah wouldn’t we all. (Ben- Get some more songs on the radio. Like whole songs.) We haven’t had a song on the radio. We should get a whole song on the radio first. Definitely wanna get like an EP or an album or something. And get some stuff on the radio and get it out. See if we can get some kind of recognition I guess. Do your studies and Mark 42 clash? Are you practicing when you should be doing work? Ben- We should be doing assignments now. Dave- Yes it does conflict with study. What would you say to your fan and followers? Ben- Thanks for the support. We love you. Dave- Rock on. George- Thanks for giving us a chance. Share, share, share, share, share, share, the page please. Dave- I still haven’t shared the page. George- Dave can share the page when he gets home. Dave- I don’t know how.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start or join a band? Ben- Grow a beard. Dave- Practice like a boss. With friends. George- Definitely get as much practice time with people as you can. I think even now we’ve discovered you get a lot better if you’re playing with people. You get a lot better if you’re playing with people than if you’re just playing by yourself I reckon. Yeah, definitely practice. Oh yeah and don’t give up, ever. It sounds real cliché but if you have a bad gig keep doing it anyway. Definitely just keep going. Persevering, even if you get smacked in the face a few times, just keep doing it. ‘Cause eventually, eventually if you persevere enough. You’ll get a bite and something will happen. Ben- Pray would be the other one. Practice, pray, play. George- We haven’t broken out yet but one thing we’ve definitely learned about getting gigs is you have to talk to people and then you have to talk to them again and then you have to talk to them again and then you have to keep badgering them and pestering them until you can get anything. So it’s definitely perseverance. Do you have any releases or gigs coming out in the near future? George- We’re playing Narrows Park Kids Camp, which is not an open gig, but that’s in a couple of weeks’ time. That’s just gonna be a covers gig for us. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. November 14th we are playing Agora Goes Live with a great post-hardcore band called The Shift who are also local. So it will be Mark 42 and The Shift and maybe a couple of other people as well. And also we’re in talks with Zeal Hamilton to do a rock night with them which should be great fun as well. And really anything else we can get. We’re in the studio recording at the moment. We’re trying to get some tracks together and hopefully whether they come out good enough on their own or if we look at getting them mastered we can get some stuff on the radio if we’re lucky. We’re looking to get an EP out of that at least. Maybe an album. Depends how much work we actually put in. Also this great girl called Melody Letfus is maybe shooting a video for us. That’ll be fun.

Ironstein, New Zealands only folk-metal band do the obscure genre justice with their unique sound. As strange as it may sound at first, one listen of their music is enough to make you both confused and in awe of their talent. They are definitely not what you expect, because they are so much better than you could possibly imagine. Photos courtesy of ÂŠ Letfus Interview held on 18 August 2013 16

IRONSTEIN

Who’s who and what’s your role in the band? My name’s Peter Letfus I am the keyboardist/acoustic guitarist/singer/wielder of weapons. My name is Adam and I am a guitarist/ a singer/… that’s pretty much all I do aye? I’m Matt, I’m a guitarist and occasionally a little bit of back-up vocals. I’m EP, I’m the token Viking. I play the drums, and also sing Scott, play bass. What does your name mean and how’d you come up with it? Peter- Well we’ll start with how we came up with it. Originally a band existed called Life Through Death… and I was in it a little bit towards the end, and nothing ever really happened, and Matt wasn’t a part of that. It kinda died and we’re like “We should form another band with a new name.” and so we were all like ok, let’s think of band names. And I came up with Ironstein actually at work. I was working at Pak n Save at the time as a security guard. And well there’s nothing else to do so I’m like “You checkout girls should think of names for me.” And they didn’t actually think of Ironstein It just came to me. And it was like “Oh, no, we should think of punny names, play on word names.” and I’m like “Ironstein! Oh wait that’s clever because it’s like the man Einstein but it’s spelt differently. And it’s like we play metal and it’s Iron. And like Stein is like a German thing. (Isn’t it Norwegian for stone?-Adam) Yeah something, but it’s also like a Stein is a drinking thing so it’s like the folk and the metal and a play on words. I thought it was brilliant and I floated it with these fine gentlemen here. (EP- And we all agreed.) (Adam-I didn’t agree but it was majority vote. I wanted to be called Riders of Rohan.) But that was copyrighted by some guy named Tolkien. But Ironstein works. It’s easy enough to say, well actually it’s not, people still say it wrong. Ironsteeen.

The genre folk metal is a bit interesting, how’d you guys decide on that genre? Everyone- Adam Adam- I wanted to form a folk metal band so I was like “Hey Scott, we should get Andrew and Pete.” and Scott was like “Oh yeah I know this guy Matt.” Oh yeah, folk metal band. And that was pretty much it. EP- Adam writes most of the songs and he always writes these folk metal type music and so we just kind went with that because the only music we had to start with was Adam’s stuff. And everything Adam writes has got that Folk metal swing type shuffle feeling. Scott- Folk metal already existed and that was what Adam was listening to. Peter- And also Folk metal is a genre where you’re allowed to sing about Vikings and dragons and fantastical sort of things and we’re all reasonable metal heads (Adam- Have we got a song about dragons yet?) No we need to, but we have permission to. If we were metalcore or anything else we could only sing about how emo we were or how love hurts, or something or, I don’t know I don’t listen to it. But you know, we’re allowed to sing about lumberjacks, trolls and historical events because it’s cool. Adam- I suppose for me it was like the sort of images that I wanted to evoke to people’s minds are pretty much brought about by this style of music. Because, well, if it was hip hop you’d sort of think of an urban setting or buildings or something, you know? But with this, it’s nice to think of yourself as being in a forest, or at sea, or up a mountain,. Besides the fact that there’s a lot of reason to believe that natural settings actually lower your stress levels so you know I suppose you could say this is kind of a stress relief. But yeah, folk metal really brings those sorts of images to mind which are cool. Better than cars, having doinky donkey with girls, getting drunk or whatever. 17

There isn’t much of a folk metal scene here in NZ, but you’ve had some success overseas. What can you tell us about that? Peter- Well the folk metal in itself, as far as we know, there aren’t any other folk metal bands in New Zealand. (AdamThere was another one called the Highlanders but I think they broke up. ) So apparently, there’s a few in Australia. There’s this folk metal website that some guy found us and added us to it. You look under Australasia and we’re one of only six bands. But in Norway and Scandinavia, those sorts of western European countries it’s huge. And people like folk metal over there. And thanks to Facebook and YouTube and things, random Polish people, random Russian people, random Norwegian people will find us and go “I like this music, yes this is good.” And even to the point of, we’re getting apparently played on Polish radio, I believe there was some talk even there was a Russian radio. Some dude is playing us on Russian radio as well. So we call that success. We don’t see any money from it and we don’t exactly know if it’s only him and his mother listening in the basement but we can still say we are played on Polish radio, maybe Russian radio. (Scott- There was that Dutch website.) (Adam- Oh, and somebody from Iceland liked our Leif Ericson song. He was like “Yay he was born in my country.” and I was like “Sweet.”) Oh, see we got fans overseas this is great. (Adam- And apparently Brazil, quite popular in Brazil and Argentina and those south American countries as well. We’ve got a few from there so it seems to be from Europe and south America seems to be where we get most of our—and a little bit from new Zealand. ) What are your musical influences? Peter- Well myself personally I probably listen to a lot of old CCM stuff, Keith Green and probably Carman in terms of showmanship and Keith Green in terms of playing style and singing. Metal sort of stuff, although I cannot play or sing anywhere near as good as the likes of say Dio or Iron Maiden but they’re good musical influences. Adam- And Megadeth. You wrote that song that sounds like Megadeth.. So how long have you been a band? Adam- It’s pretty much coming up our two year anniversary this month. Happy anniversary guys. I love you. What’s your favourite thing about being in a band? EP- Comradreship. I can’t say that word. Togetherness. Scott- It’s just being all mates. It’s just being goofs, being ourselves, and we’re mates and doing music, it’s just fun. Peter- Certainly in this band, it’s a lot more relaxed and a lot less formal. Because it is a new genre of music, there aren’t expectations. Because in New Zealand in terms of what we’re doing, its new. And there’s not people telling you how to write and what to do and how you should behave. We’re not trying to push our image as any sort of band so we just enjoy ourselves and we can sing about all sorts of things. We can insult each other on stage and throw things at each other and you know, it’s fun. (Adam- It’s fun to perform too. It’s fun to make people turn up at a venue and make people go “Whaaaa.” (EP- The performing side of it is also quite a good aspect of being a band.) (Adam- It covers up the fact that we can’t play very well.)

So what are your plans for the future with regards to the band? Where do you want this band to take you? EP- Well that’s kind of up to me. At the moment I have no idea what I’m doing next year. Being a music teacher I need to find another music teaching position somewhere. So if anyone out there knows of anything let me know. (Close to Hamilton.) Yeah, so the important part is if this band is going to continue, I need to be close to Hamilton so that I can still come to rehearsals. So if everything does go ahead and I end up in Hamilton, or close to, then, I don’t know. What do you guys reckon? Scott- We talked about recordings as the goal for next year. Adam- Getting an album done. Peter- Yeah, we’ve got some alright recordings but they’ve been for like student projects and so they all sound quite different from each other and there’s flaws in them because of time constraints. And you know, we haven’t really been pushing the band. I think if we did what other local bands have been doing, like really like-whoring. “Get people to like me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, check this out, check this out.” sending out to people, we could be big, bigger. But we seem to be popular enough to the people that see us but we are quite happy really just moving at a snail’s pace perhaps because people find us and like us without us really pushing it too hard. And it would be nice if we had something nicer to give them. Saying we actually have an album or a good recording. The stuff that’s getting played overseas are those mediocre student produced recordings, so yeah maybe they’d play more of our stuff if we had good recordings we could send over. I think that’s about as solidified as we are in terms of future direction. You made it quite far in the Battle of the Bands competition, what was that like? And how has it impacted you as a band since then? Peter- Well we got to the regional finals which is great. (ScottWe weren’t expecting to get past the first round.) Well no, especially because we are so unique and that was probably the thing that I didn’t really like, about this particular Battle of the Bands, was that they were looking for pop music. They were looking for something (Scott- Marketable.) that we didn’t want to be. (Adam- Not necessarily pop I think just more mainstream rock.) Well yeah that’s how I use the word pop. It was a good experience. I mean, we got to play with and for other bands and other people and some of the critique I guess was useful. Everyone found us hilarious which is great but they don’t have a category for that so we can’t really get credit for it. But I just think for us it was, well this obviously isn’t how we’re going to get discovered. This isn’t gonna work for folk Metal or for Ironstein. But nevertheless we can still say we got to the regional finals of battle of the bands, thank you very much. EP- We also got a few gigs in which wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t of gone into battle of the bands, and it made us practice a bit more.

Andrew “EP” Edward-Paul

Scott Glass

Adam Helliwell

What’s the most embarrassing moment you’ve experienced as a band? Adam- Well one day we had a gig coming up so I got home from work.. I get a call from Scott on the day of the gig “Oh, Pete’s got some ear infection, he cannot stand up.” He had vertigo. “And won’t be able to play tonight.” And so we thought maybe we just couldn’t play but no we ended up playing and it was absolutely terrible… absolutely horrible. Pete sings, Pete plays keys, he sings half the songs, he does lead vocals on half the songs and so we had to quickly learn the words to half the songs. And not only that but I had RSI in my hand so my guitar playing was like *illegible noise* and my guitar was up loud and he (Matt) was actually playing properly and his was really quiet so... EP- I think we realised though how much we actually rely on Peter. Matt- We totally forgot to mic up any of the amps or anything. Scott- It was really quiet and they couldn’t turn us up ‘cause we weren’t mic’d up. Peter- On the other hand though, I wasn’t affected by that at all. That wasn’t really embarrassing for me. Adam-Well I did have a few words on stage “Naughty Pete, he didn’t eat his vegetables.” That was probably our most embarrassing moment. Peter- Although it is pretty hard to embarrass us. The stuff we do... It would embarrass lesser mortals. Most of what we do. (EP- We’re a higher status?) Well we must be. We are above such petty concerns as embarrassment and shame and it serves us well. (Adam- Although it would be good to not play any more bad gigs. If you do get sick again we just won’t play. If anybody in the band gets sick we just won’t play.) (EP- Well we could probably do it without you, Adam) What would your alter ego be called and why? Peter- Well, I would be called, Ok the Lumberjack, because I’m a lumberjack, and I’m ok. Scott- Well my alter ego, Dragontooth the mighty that’s me. Slayer of dragons. EP- Well you know I already have mine, EP the Viking. Or Hans the troll hunter. Peter- Yeah well ‘cause we have character songs so I’m Dan Loaf the lonely old troll for one song, but I like the lumberjack better. Matt- Well I guess it would be pretty easy for me (EP- You have multiple personalities.) just don’t wear any funny hats and I’ll be fine. Adam- Alter egos are stupid. (Peter- David Bowie.) David Bowie?! David Attenborough maybe.

Peter Letfus

Matt Dalgety

Do you have any releases or anything coming out in the near future that you’d want people to know about? Peter- Not in the near future. I mean, you can check out what we do have. We have a fair amount of live stuff now, because we’ve got some lovely people that follow us around with HD video cameras. But in terms of stuff that we have, you’re welcome to go download it off YouTube if you want but we haven’t got anything produced just yet that we would be proud to go “Buy this.” (Scott- Yeah, keep your ears out for next year, next year it’s gonna happen.) That’s definitely in the future. Once we know what this guy (EP) is doing but we’ll make it happen. Are there any performances or gigs that you’ve got coming up that people should head along to? Scott- That people can come to. Not really. Peter- Well, you see we’ve got a 21st birthday thing, a wedding. In the new year though, depending on when this is being released, we are gonna be having some more gigs at Biddy Mulligans. They seem to be good for us or just where we can find some gigs but if you check out the link to our page, you’ll be able to keep up to date with where we’re playing next and come check us out. So are there any last words or thank yous that you wanna say to your fans, or anyone that’s helped you out? EP- Uh, I wanna thank my mum. Peter- I wanna thank the prime minister Helen Clarke, not that pretender John Key. Scott- The fans that do come are pretty like devoted. (PeterYeah like your dad.) Non family members. EP- I’d like to thank all of our family members for supporting us at gigs. Matt- Yeah pretty much. Peter- And just, yeah, you know, thanks to all the people that do come along and give us a go because with something obscure like us, that looks... like us, it can be a bit of a gamble but we appreciate that when people take that risk and then, usually at least, it seems they like it. They enjoy what they hear and they come back again. So thank you to those people that weren’t our family members who came anyway.

Great things can be expected from New Zealands sole folk metal band. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of it, check them out at the following links: facebook.com/ironsteinband youtube.com/user/ironsteinnz

Photos courtesy of ÂŠ Letfus Interview held on 1 September 2013 20

Selfhood is a Christchurch based pop punk band consisting of vocalist Matt Clark, and guitarist Kyran Ball. Since the interview, Selfhood have welcomed George Foley on drums and released their debut single Fall Apart. Be sure to keep up to date with all the impressive stuff these boys have to offer: facebook.com/selfhoodpoppunk youtube.com/selfhoodpoppunk twitter.com/selfhoodpoppunk selfhood.bandcamp.com What does the name Selfhood mean? Matt- It means essentially ones individuality. So because it’s music, music represents individuality and it gives you personality. Essentially music being selfhood. If you had to classify it to a genre, what would Selfhood be? Kyran- Probably pop punk. Matt- Pop punk but kind of like alternative rocky sort of a little bit. What inspired you to start Selfhood? Matt- Well we play in a metal band together, and we just like pop punk, and both just started hanging out lots I guess, writing. And then we did the Lorde cover and it was supposed to just be that but then the Lorde cover did so well, well did like kinda well, and then we’re like, “Why not?” so then we just started writing our own songs and that’s what it is now, I guess. The Lorde cover just kinda turned out not as bad as we thought it would. What would your biggest musical inspiration? Kyran- Probably just the typical ones: All time low, Blink 182, Man Overboard, probably like some metal ones as well, We Came As Romans. Matt- Mine would be probably be Blink, Brand New, anything with Jesse Lacey in it’s awesome. Green Day, just like the normal stuff, but we listen to a lot of stuff. Kyran- We like music. Matt- Yeah, music, yeah.

You’re both part of metal band Redgrave Manor, do they mind that you’re doing your own thing on the side? Kyran- We’re not really sure. Matt- Yeah they’re ok with it. I don’t even know if they know. Our other vocalist Gareth is in that Tennis Court song doing some shouts. So I don’t think they mind. I hope they don’t mind. Kyran- They seem cool about it. Matt- If they do mind then sorry. I didn’t think they were gonna be mad but we keep it balanced and out of each other. So we don’t associate either of them so they don’t clash or anything. What got you interested in music in the first place? Kyran- When I was really young my parents bought me an acoustic guitar and I started taking lessons and at school, through like very boring stuff. Like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and, yeah, it just started. Matt- I had a brother that played guitar and I guess I just learnt from him. Then I just picked up like my first few albums and got into the Foo Fighters and Blink and stuff and it kinda just grew from there. And then I saw Green Day when I was like 15 and that pretty much solidified the music thing for me. So it was like a combination of those things. Why’d you choose Tennis Court as your debut song? Matt- Well, I know for me, it’s just a badass song, it’s just a sick track. Honestly, I wanted to listen to it but I didn’t want anyone to give me shit for it so I was just like “Oh I should cover it.” And I took it to Kyran and he was like “Yeah.” and so we just like hashed it out. I heard it in the song, like it’s got a good tempo, it sounded like it would feel good as a pop punk song and then it just worked I guess. Kyran- And also she’s from New Zealand so it was like repping. Matt- Yeah repping our home girl Lorde. What’s your favourite thing about being in a band? Kyran- I think like my favourite part is when someone that we don’t know, or even a friend comes to us and say, ”Oh your music is really good, I got it on my iPod.” or something like that.

N YRA

What are your plans for the future with Selfhood? Matt- We are going to jump in the studio this weekend and start our EP. It’s gonna have three songs, and then we’re just gonna start playing shows, hopefully start touring and then we’ll just see where it goes from there. We haven’t really thought that far ahead. Kyran- Everything’s just basically happening. Matt- Yeah we didn’t think that it was gonna be anything, and then the Tennis Court cover came back and we’re like, “Oh okay, we’ll start a band for it.” Then it’s just sorta happened so we’ve tried to catch up on everything. So yeah, but we have an EP coming out, hopefully late September, early October, hopefully if we can get it done in time. But yeah that’s gonna be pretty cool. Best and worst performance experience? Matt- I couldn’t’ tell you how many worst ones I’ve had. The best one for me was… my old band Stay Awake played this show in Blenheim in the south island at this random high school ball, and just the crowd was really good so that was probably the best one. But the worst one, man I’ve had so many worst ones. Probably just like starting out in bands, the first few shows you play you’re real bad and you just end up playing covers. Those are still fun though. Kyran- I haven’t actually played much gigs. Just with Intentions and Redgrave. Probably the worst would be with Intentions, our second gig I think. We were not prepared and we did a cover of Parkway Drive and we all forgot some parts and we would just look at each other and were like “What do we do?” Matt- Haha I remember that. It wasn’t that bad. Kyran- But the best one would probably be actually only a couple weeks ago. We played at Churchill, to be honest we had a few drinks and that night was more just about having fun. We just had lots of fun. What is the hardest part about being a musician in this day and age? Matt- Trying to push your music sucks. Kyran- Lots of people don’t really take you seriously sometimes, in this genre. Matt- Sometimes when you’re a pop punk band people are like “Oh, it’s pop punk..” Tryna push your music when you’ve got no one backing you sucks. Like when we first came out with that tennis court song, no one knew we were in a band or anything so we had to rely solely on our friends, who did like a crazy good job, you can’t really ask for much more than that. But I think tryna push your music sucks but it’s fun.

BAL

CLA ATT

M 22

Photos courtesy of Selfhood Update recieved 13 September 2013

What has been your biggest musical achievement? Matt- There’s been so many little victories. Just like playing good shows and all that sort of stuff. Getting noticed and stuff. My old band did quite a few cool things, good experiences you can learn from. So just the little things, for me anyway. Like playing a real good show or getting to travel like the north island playing some shows, that’s pretty cool. Kyran- Yeah it’s just those little things, people recognise you. Matt- When you pull of songs that you didn’t think you would. Will you stick to covers or can we expect some originals? Matt- We’re gonna do an EP with just original songs. Which we’re doing next week. We have got a couple more covers up our sleeves but we don’t wanna rest on other peoples stuff so we’re trying to focus more on writing our own stuff. But there will be a few more covers. Kyran- We’re tryna plan out like lots of different things, a lot of variety, sorta stuff. Matt- We’re gonna pepper in a few covers here and there. We’re working on another one right now of a song that’s quite popular at the moment and it sounds amazing. Kyran- Bitches like covers. How did you two meet? Matt- Well I put an ad in the paper for a masseuse. Haha na how did we meet? He was in an old band called Intentions and I was good friends with a couple of the guys from that. So I would just always go to their practices and then we just started being mates. And then his band, which was Redgrave Manor, needed a new guitar player, and I got the call for some reason and then we just started hanging out, been a romantic pairing ever since.

Releases or performances? Matt- So we’ve got a new single that will be out in a couple of weeks. I don’t know what date, hopefully in a couple of weeks. We have an EP following that and once the EP drops is when we’re gonna start playing some shows. So we’re gonna have a single around mid-September with the EP in October and after that, it’s just like straight shows. But we’re still working on that so yeah. Kyran- Hopefully we’ll have a Facebook up soon so we can keep everyone posted. If you could say one thing to your fans and followers what would it be? Matt- Sorry. Haha. Thanks for taking the time to check us out I guess. Means a lot cause it’s hard to push your music. Kyran- Thanks for all the support, believing in us. Thanks for not pushing that dislike button. Matt- Thanks for not pushing the dislike button cause that shit sucks. Just that we’re gonna work twice as hard now to get out some dope original music that hopefully people like. Shortly after the interview Selfhood welcomed George Foley as their new drummer. Below is a statement from vocalist Matt Clark on the addition. “Our new member is a guy called George Foley who plays the drums. He’s one of my best friends and we’ve been playing together for a long time now, so when it came to looking for a drummer he was the first choice and I’m kinda surprised it took this long to get him in. It feels natural with him and it’s made the band so much better already cause he’s so creative with his drum parts so the dynamic he adds into the band is perfect. And uhhh, in terms of what’s next... We have our debut single, which is dropping within the next week or so, following that our EP we are aiming to get out by October and following that we are gonna be touring a lot. Looking at a national tour over the summer with some great bands.. And then next year.. Well we haven’t thought that far but we’re looking at heading overseas.”

LITTLE

brother Daniel Brunskill, musician, photographer, journalist and sound producer. Starting young, Little Brother is building a strong following and is guaranteed to turn some heads in the future! Check out his music, photos, and all that he has to offer at the following links: f a c e b o o k . c o m / l i t t l e b r o t h e r a r t l i t t l e - b r o t h e r - a r t . t u m b l r . c o m

Photo courtesy of ÂŠ Letfus Interview held on 21 August 2013 24

So you’re a musician, sound producer, photographer, and journalism major? Do you ever find you have too much going on or that one gets in the way of the other? I find everything gets in the way of my studies and I don’t do as much work as I should do in those studies but I always find time for music. Yeah but no, the other ones don’t conflict. Music is my main focus, everything else is just a side project if you like. What first got you interested in the practical side of music? My brother used to play guitar, he was an electric guitarist in a rock band, he used to sit in his room and just jam out guitar all day. And I had this tiny quarter size classical guitar and I’d like sit outside his door and I’d like strum randomly and pretend I was playing what he was playing. And eventually my parents caught me doing that and sent me to guitar lessons. And yeah, I’ve never looked back since. What you interested in the sound production side of music? I got given just a little recording interface and software and I don’t know. I guess it was just a passion of creating music. It gets a bit boring just playing guitar by yourself. If you can record and check things out its much better. What type of music do you play? I play what is called non-traditional folk or contemporary folk. It’s kind of a re-insurgence, yeah it’s been really big. Bob Dylan and everyone was playing folk music and that’s sorta become cool again. People like Mumford & Sons, Ben Howard and The Staves, they’re all playing folk music. So yeah just acoustic, melody based, lots of finger picking on guitar quite gentle. I’m playing solo at the moment but sometimes I get a band together sort of make concerts a bit bigger. What instruments do you play? I play the guitar. Mostly the acoustic, but I play a few songs on the electric. Something quite cool about playing solo on electric guitar just ‘cause no one does it. Who do you look up to most musically? Probably my brother, Ben, still. He’s very inspiring, a great musician, great songwriter; he’s taught me a lot of things. And other artists like Ben Howard, on a bigger scale, inspiring me a lot at the moment. What’s your biggest musical achievement? I haven’t had any. Haha na, I made a great EP with my brother Tim. We made a 3 track EP called Find Me There. And I think it’s great. We only got like 50 downloads or something online but I think it’s good. Yeah, what else have I done? I played a gig with The Paper Cranes, they’re a fairly well established band. But still pretty small stuff.

What was your best performance experience? Just before we released the Find Me There EP we held a gig in our attic, and we invited just some of our good friends, there was only about 14 people just in the attic of our parents’ house. We went to The Warehouse and bought like 200 tea light candles. So we were performing in this tiny little space to just like 14 of our friends with 200 candles, it was magical. It was my favourite concert I’ve done. What’s your worst performance experience? We once played at a fundraiser for Starship, Children of Hurin again, talking about my old band. We showed up and it was quite a big venue, like real good sound gear and we were really excited. And then like no one turned up. Pretty much no one at all. There was like the performers and there was maybe like 10 other people. It was tiny and we were just like at this big venue, bit awkward. So what got you interested in photography? I don’t really know. We had a camera and I just started taking photos I guess. Eventually I got an SLR and just naturally I did it. Yeah there wasn’t that anyone inspired me or anything. I just started taking photos. Got lots of encouragement so I guess that kept me going. I look back and some of my photos were so bad. I don’t know why people were being so encouraging. But yeah I got an SLR and I took it to other friend’s parties and things and everyone loved it so I just kept doing it. A social thing I guess. People liked me ‘cause I took photographs so I kept taking photographs haha. What sort of photography do you do? I do mostly event, like gigs. And like, what else do I do. Yeah, and portraits. One of my favourite things to photograph is insecure girls. Who don’t think they look good in photographs. Because it’s such an amazing buzz. You take someone for a photo-shoot and they’re all like “Oh no I don’t look good.” And then you show them the photographs and even they have to admit they look good and that’s just like the best buzz a photographer could ever get. 25

Who is your biggest photography inspiration? I have these two friends Becki and David. (facebook. com/davidrobinsonphotographer and facebook.com/ BeckiMossPhotographer) They used to have this collaborative photography project. And they kept posting stuff on Facebook and it was awesome photography, and that got me back into it like 2011 but they’re probably one of my biggest inspirations.

Do you have much of a fan base? Photography, not really, no. But musically I do. Quite small but when you play music it kinda starts with your friends and then it moves on to your friends’ friends so I’ve pretty much just stopped at the friends’ friends stage. Some people I don’t know come to my gigs and stuff. Occasionally get comments from people I don’t know so it’s just starting I guess. You just build off your friends it’s how you do it.

Do you have any major achievements in photography? Not really. I got to photograph Luke Thompsons gig a little while ago but that was quite cool. He invited me along to photograph. But mostly little things, aye. Little concerts. No exhibitions yet

If you could say one thing to your fans what would it be? Thank you. And stick around because there is more to come.

And on top of all that you are also a journalism major. What inspired that? Once again I don’t really know. It was just always something I thought I’d do. I really like the news and newspapers and documentaries and ever since I was like 12 or something I’ve been like “Oh I’ll be a journalist.” It was just kinda always what I was gonna do. Yeah once again I’m not really sure why, I just do things. Where do you see all of it taking you? I’d love to create promotional media for artists, band and stuff. So I’d make videos about performances and making albums and photo-shoots and stuff like that. Would kinda be my dream job I suppose. If you had to pick one thing out of all you do, which would it be? If I had to pick one, I think it would have to be music. It was my first love so I can’t really live without it. I’d shut down if I didn’t play music. What have you found is the biggest struggle being in the media industry? Getting opportunities. Like it’s taken me a long time to build up a network of people that do stuff so you get chances to play gigs or take photographs whatever. For years you’re just doing it in your bedroom. It’s quite hard to find other people to do it and get invited to do stuff at their events and stuff. So it’s probably the biggest challenge for an artist.

Anything coming up, releases or performances that you would like people to know about? I’m secretly recording. But I’m not telling anyone though because I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna do with it. But I’m recording some songs. So I will be making a release in the future of some description but haven’t really sorted out the details but I’m gigging heaps got gigs twice a month at the moment so come to my Facebook page and find some. What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a similar path to you? Just do it all the time. Write heaps of songs. Say yes to every gig. Just put yourself out there, just keep going. Even if you’re writing crap songs or taking bad photographs you’ll get better, yeah. Just keep going, you’ll get there.

Photos courtesy of ÂŠ Becki Moss beckimoss.co.nz facebook.com/BeckiMossPhotographer 27 beckimoss.blogspot.co.nz

John Purdon

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I’m into a bit of Che Fu. It was my first favourite. And Bryan Adams. That’s about all I got really. Reece is a good inspiration.

What’s your name and what do you do? My name’s Jopo and I sing. My name’s Reece and I sing, play guitar and piano. What inspired you to start playing music? Jopo- God did. And this girl called Rebecca. I was forced by my mum to learn how to play piano and then Reece- I just learnt to like it. If you had to classify yourselves into a genre, what would it be? Reece- Well I would be RnB, there we go. There we have it. Jopo- Pop-py. What are your musical influences? Reece- In terms of artists, I like older kind of RnB. So, like, John Legend’s really cool. It’s really hard to think of artists when you’re trying to think of them isn’t it? John Legend is a good line to go off but otherwise life is a pretty good influence. Jopo- I’m into a bit of Che Fu. It was my first favourite. And Bryan Adams. That’s about all I got really. Reece is a good inspiration. Reece- Oh, I love you man. What’s your favourite thing about being a musician? Jopo- Well my favourite thing about being a musician is understanding music. Reece- My favourite thing about being a musician is… it’s a good release.

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Do you prefer to do covers or originals, and why? Jopo- Well I sing covers ‘cause I can’t write songs to save my life. So I’m pretty much stuck with covers. Reece- I’m passive. It doesn’t really matter but I tend to make most covers my own anyway. But when I find a song that I’ve written that I really like I probably will sing it over and over and over and over again. You said you don’t write songs, will you in the future, or have you ever given it a go? Jopo- Yeah I can’t write songs. They’re not good. It will happen one day, maybe, hopefully. What are your future plans for music? Do you see it being a hobby or a career? Jopo- Yeah it’d be my career. Get famous. Reece- I hope to make a career out of it. I don’t really mind where it takes me but I’d like music to take me somewhere. Whether that be teaching or actually playing music for people or making music for people. Something similar.

reece northcott

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I hope to make a career out of it. I don’t really mind where it takes me but I’d like music to take me somewhere. Whether that be teaching or actually playing music for people or making music for people.

What has been your best performance experience? Reece- It would depend. There have been different performances that have brought different things that I enjoyed. Like different aspects of it that I enjoyed. I did a solo gig at the start of this year and it was really cool ‘cause I had all my work staff that wanted to attend so they set it up for me and I did it for them there and that was really cool. Just ‘cause I knew they all wanted to be there and stuff like that. But then we just recently went on tour with Vision College and that’s always a really good experience. There’s always a really good atmosphere there and everyone gets into it and everyone enjoys it. Jopo- I would say tour. Just mean vibes. Everyone, all round. What was your worst performance? Jopo- Well, worst performance, probably be a performance workshop performance where I was underprepared, it was just rubbish. It was just a bad performance. Reece- When I was in high school I did a production in my seventh form and they made me lead and I can’t act to save my life. And I was Tony in West Side Story and it was the worst performance I have ever done. I enjoyed the making, but actually the doing of it was just so hard and it was so embarrassing ‘cause I suck at acting.

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What is the hardest part about being a musician in this day and age? Jopo- Everyone’s already done everything. Reece- Being poor. Being poor sucks. Jopo- If you want to be famous you either have to be ridiculously good… Reece- Or really hot. Jopo- There’s like three levels, not making it, making a little bit of money, then heeeaps of money. Reece- There’s like local fame and then FAME. What has been your biggest achievement so far? Reece- Getting into Vision. Passing my first year. I think that’s it. Jopo- Yeah getting into Vision really. How has Vision College influenced you as a musician? Jopo- Well when I came to vision I knew where middle C was and that was about it. So a lot. I can read music… kind of. And I can sing so yay. Reece- I guess I wouldn’t be as close minded about music as I had been before I came. Like I listened to the same stuff and I would only be interested in that. It made me less stubborn and not wanting to listen to other music sort of thing. I still don’t like some music but I can learn to appreciate it.

If you had an alter ego for your performances what would they be called? Reece- You’re in a very beneficial place here because you have your actual name and Jopo. Jopo- Yeah I do but everyone already know me as Jopo so they’d be like, Jopo, John and catch on. Reece- If you were to like sell yourself as Jopo though people would eventually find out you’re John Purdon so they might just think it’s your stage name. Jopopo? Jopo- I could be Jopo. I’d be Jopo. Or probably like Leonardo something cause its cool. Reece- There is always just my name. Reece. (Alter ego- Maria) Reece- Reece the beast. Jopo- Aaron? Reece- I could be Aaron! We could use my middle name. Jopo- Cottnorth. Reece- I could be like Reece Southbed, but like R-H-Y-S. I could just be Reecicles. Jopo- It sounds too much like testicles. Reece- You sound too much like testicles. If you could ask one question to anybody in the world, who and what would it be? Reece- I would ask Celine Dion why she’s so good. Jopo- I would ask the Dalai Lama, why Buddhism? How did you two meet? Jopo- Well apparently I mocked the way he talked for about… a long time. Reece- A very long time but that’s not how we met. But that was our initial… Jopo- Contact. Reece- But I met him in a hallway at Vision, he was thug like, because he looked like he was gonna smash everyone. And I was like, “Well I’m avoiding that.” He had his beanie on and his frown on. He was walking through like he needed something to eat, or smash by eating. Jopo- Yeah that’s exactly how everyone sees me. I’m just a big thug like man. Reece- He was pretty thug that first day. He didn’t seem very open at all until he started talking. Jopo- I think I was just a bit shy. Reece- He looked like a thug. Jopo- Reece is a thug. Reece- He’s not wrong.

If you could say one thing to your fans what would it be? Jopo- I should probably start making music. To get fans. Reece- Jopo already has fans. Jopo- If I do have fans, I love ya. Reece- Well that was short and sweet wasn’t it? What am I gonna say? What, like, I love you too? No. I do love you, but I would like to say thank you. It’s actually awesome having all your support. What advice would you give to someone wanting to be a musician? Jopo- Get a very good tutor. And practice your bum off. Reece- Practice makes progress. Jopo- And progress makes.. better. Reece- It’s true. This is all true. Wise words from Jopopo. Jopo- I am the wisest. Do you have any releases or performances coming up? Reece- I might release a new song on Facebook. That’s as good as it gets. Last night with our other awesome friend Maria Letfus (facebook.com/MariaLetfus)… (Jopo- She’s a little psycho.) Little bit. But she’s also a ridiculous vocalist, our vocal coach approached us and asked if we wanted to help him record a demo for his publisher who also manages another big group in New Zealand. There’s a band called Sound the Ocean, they’re really awesome, you should check them out. (Jopo- Check them out, subscribe to them.) Their lead vocalist is our vocal tutor. Just saying. He’s ridiculous. And he approached the three of us asking if we could record a demo which he could sell to another big band in New Zealand. So if that comes out, I’m on it. I’m telling everyone that I recorded that song. You will be doing some busking this summer, what can you say about that? Reece- That is happening on the 20th of December 2013. I’ll be at garden place between twelve and one fifteen with Maria Letfus. It’s kinda like a lunch time gig thing that the City Council set up to just entertain from December through ‘till March, just like catch people in their lunch break and give them something to listen to. So if you could roll on down to that, that would be awesome. Jopo- Buy a kebab. Go listen to him. Kebabs are good. Reece- Garden place is a nice place, check it out.

Reece and Jopo have what it takes to go all the way. Support them on their journey by checking out the link below: facebook.com/ReeceNorthcott