Strangers Newsletter Interview

What is the best gig/event you have ever performed at, and why?

For me, last year’s show with The Wrongmen and Smashin’ Off at The Schooner in Auckland was particularly good for some reason. The show with Pisschrist and Crux at Valve last year was also pretty good. I never seem to remember the good ones.

What is your favourite NZ venue?

Arc Café in Dunedin was great, despite the noise complaints that seem to follow us like a plague. Valve in Wellington has its charms too, as does the Yellow Sub in Hamilton. Basically anywhere that doesn’t treat musicians as a source of revenue and are supportive of live music, and are not just concerned with bar sales.

What can we expect to see from Strangers over the next year?

We’re off on an Australian tour in April, and then we’ll start work on our next record, which will be a 7" with 5 or 6 songs on it. Then we have another NZ tour with an Australian act, and some other things.

What other NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

Basically there are a couple of NZ bands worth mentioning who deserve far more attention than they get. But that seems to be the nature of the so-called NZ music press, who seem to shun anything even vaguely ‘heavy’. But off the top of my head, I’m looking forward to more things from DIAL, RIFLES, SMASHIN’ OFF, THE WRONGMEN, NEON BASTARD, SCAB, BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL, BLACK BONED ANGEL, KNIFE FIGHT. There might be more that I’ve forgotten.

If you could, what rumour would you start about yourselves?

That we are in fact coffee-drinking, scarf-wearing, Godard-watching losers, but we still beat up The Rabble. And we killed the radio star, not video.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Don’t listen to anyone.