Ois II Men Newsletter Interview

Ois II Men is a punk band hailing from Christchurch. "Ois II Men began in the drunken haze of Punkfest 2006 when FC, Jenks, Bentos and the members of ex-Christchurch band Not With You decided they should start a band where being so drunk they could barely stand would be an advantage, and so the band was born." Check out their answers to our questions…

What is your greatest achievement?

I don’t know if we really have any "great achievements" as a band. We’re just going about and doing our thing the only way we know how. I am always pretty stoked when I hear someone humming one of our tunes after the first listen though, means we’ve done something right at least.

What do you think could be done to make NZ music even better?

Getting rid of all the watered down, American copy cat rubbish would be a good start. There is too much airtime and money given to bands that aren’t doing anything that hasn’t been done overseas 3-5 years earlier. It seems that in NZ we only like music that is already famous in other countries, and when a band comes out and does something original we don’t pick up on it until the rest of the world does, which is sad. It would also be nice to see some support for smaller local bands, because that’s where everyone starts. No-ones born with a gold record, ya know?

Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

I can’t see Ois II Men being around that long, but we’d all like to think we’ll be playing in bands still. Really I have no idea where we will be in 5 years, that way too far away.

What is the best thing about making music?

Being able to have some beers, play some tunes and have a fucking good time, and hopefully everyone watching you has a fucking good time as well. I’ve met a whole bunch of good cunts through music that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and I’m sure I can say the same for most people playing in bands.

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

Just get out there and fucking do it, there aint nothing stopping you except yourself. If Ois II Men can play shows, anyone fucking can.