Growlersworld.com - The Growlersworld Interviews

The Growlersworld Interviews

The Growlersworld Interviews is an ongoing quest, bringing you closer to successful and creative people in all walks of life.

Rawle Austin presents...

A conversation with The Big Yellow Band - Rocking all over the World

The Big Yellow Band are an indie rock group who are making waves in the music industry.

I caught up with them for a chat to see what they're all about.

Rawle Austin: Could you introduce the Big Yellow Band to Growlersworld.com readers?

Nick: Big Yellow was founded by myself (Nick) and Cyril.

In the beginning, we used the classic band forming method of looking in Loot for other band members.

There's been quite a few line-up changes, but we've been Nick, Cyril, Ben and Jeremy since October 2004.

RA: Where did your passion for music come from?

Nick: I always listened to the radio when I was growing up. It was quite therapeutic.

Ben: Private lessons from Liberace - not! From toy keyboards, Organ, Piano [and] keyboards....

Jeremy: The rhythm of my mother's heartbeat in the womb.

Cyril: I grew up with the usual stuff in the 70s - ABBA, Carpenters, mum's Chinese music.

The first few records to really hit me were the Doors first album, The Velvet Underground and David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.

Later came bands like The Fall, New Order, Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen.

RA: Who were your earliest musical influences?

N: From guitar garage bands to synth bands to the Carpenters.

B: 80s Brit pop to Old School Hip Hop (LLCOOLJ & Run DMC) when I started school in California.

J: I learnt to play jazz drums first, so some of the greats like Tony Williams and Louis Bellson.

Rock wise [my earliest influences were] Keith Moon, Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell.

These guys were legendary and set the scene for rock drumming to this day.

C: VU, The Doors, David Bowie, The Stranglers, The Fall and Sonic Youth.

RA: How did you nurture your musical talents?

N: I wrote my first song at 13 yrs, and I'm self-taught at playing instruments.

B: School choir, I cheat - I'm a good site reader, you’re really developing and improving musically all the time - musicality is strongly tied to your emotional experience and connecting it with music.

J: Practice, practice, practice.

C: I think I joined my first band at 16, and started writing at 17.

I was a classically trained pianist before that, but taught myself to play guitar.

RA: How did you all meet?

N: Myself [Nick] and Cyril have known each other since childhood. We met Ben through a mutual friend, and Jeremy worked with Ben (in libraries!)!

B: Met Nick via old bandmate - who happened to be in my Cantonese class.

RA: Who inspires you, musically, now?

N: Anyone with strong melodies.

B: Virtuosos alive and dead.

J: Ben, through virtuosos alive and dead.

C: Not too many modern bands, I'm still mostly influenced by bands from the 60s to 80s.

Television, Rain Parade, Moffs, Church, Pixies, Died Pretty, The Chills, Band of Outsiders, Crystal Set, Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, VU, Can and Loud Family.

RA: What was the thinking behind the band's name?

N: The name was suggested by our first singer. It's actually to do with a chain of warehouses...

B: Or perhaps it's the yellow sun that gives Superman his power.

RA: How would you describe your sound?

N: We have been described as 'blissed out indie rockers'. What do you all think?

RA: Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics?

N: I don't really plan them out in advance, they are kind of spur-of-the-moment.

C: Random streams of whatever comes into my head, usually from some emotional event.

RA: Can you talk us through a typical recording session?

N: It's the usual process, drums and bass first, then guitars and keyboards, then vocals.

RA: What are your goals for the band?

N: I'd love to do this for a living.

B: Go International, be recognised in the street!

J: Play well, be professional and recognised as good.

C: Likewise! I'd love to write a truly classic song

RA: How often do you rehearse?

N: Not enough!

B: When necessary, my grade 8 piano affords me the technical ability to know the pieces sufficiently well enough to hold a cold beer in the other hand.

J: As long as it takes.

C: Whenever everyone's free at the same time!

RA: You recently performed at the first Chinese Showcase featuring many musical talents from the Chinese community. What did you think of that event?

N: It was a great experience, really great to play in front of a large crowd. I'm very supportive of what it is trying to achieve, although the music is most important.

B: Great variety and demonstration of the great talent there is
from our community.

J: By all accounts it went well.

C: I had a great time - it seemed everybody enjoyed it and it was our largest and most enthusiastic crowd to date.

RA: Which worldwide venue would you most like to perform and why?

N: Not sure... Anywhere where people want to listen.

B: In Space - International Space Station, Zero-G would be a real challenge.

J: Anywhere in New Zealand. Then we've gone global!

C: Too many cool venues out there - the new Wembley stadium supporting the Pixies in 2008, CBGBs, or maybe under the Pyramids or in Tiananmen Square... Though I would be happy if we had a big enough crowd to play to at somewhere like the Astoria!

RA: What advice would you give to up and coming musical artists looking to emulate your success?

N: Believe in what you are doing, and enjoy the music.