Culture

Dunedin band Knives at Noon sat down with Critic reporter Lauren Wootton to pop her interviewing cherry, and discuss their new EP.

Opening for Shihad at Orientation last Friday, Knives at Noon were amping to share the stage with a band they have looked up to since before they were freshers sweating it up on the dance floor in The Cook.

I met up with vocalist Tim McCartney and guitarist Paul Gauvin for lunch the week before the show. They’re half of Knives at Noon, the other half being Tim Couch (drums) and Oly Wilson (Keys).

So there I was chilling in the sun outside Everyday Gourmet waiting for the boys, and I was shitting myself. It was my first interview, I found out about it half an hour before hand, and I had no idea what these guys looked like. Just when I thought I’d picked them out, they went straight inside, came back out and sat at a different table. Right next to me. Shit.

After watching Tim for ages (side note: sunglasses are ideal for staring like a ninja) I was almost sure he was who I was looking for, and I was ready to make my big move. Then a moment of hesitation struck - holy shit, holy shit, I actually have to talk to these guys – and in the meantime he pulled out his phone and rang the other Tim. All I heard was “Yip, I’m staring right at her.” Oh My God. Awkward.

From there on in though, it was gravy. We yarned in the sun and the boys enjoyed their pies, while I learnt a whole lot about a band that I couldn’t wait to hit up at O-Week.
Apparently their gig with Shihad was to be their first in a long time. They hadn’t played together since the Rugby World Cup, so Friday’s show was a big deal. Not to mention they were opening for one of their idols.
“Shihad, you know, shit,” Paul said, “when I was at high school I loved Shihad man. It’s like one of your high school kid’s dreams, to play with someone like that.” But as terrifying as that may sound to you and me, they said they were really eager to play with Shihad, especially at the new stadium.

While Forsyth Barr might be a new experience for them, these guys have been playing Dunedin venues since way back, and their favourite is still ReFuel, “Just coz it’s standard old ReFuel, we’ve played there so much. Good memories. It’s kinda grimy down there and shit, it’s good old home for us really.”

Sadly, it wont be home for much longer: Knives at Noon are heading to Auckland to focus on reaching a larger audience. “Basically, we had a bit of a radical change for this album from what we were doing last year,” said Tim. “We recorded a whole bunch of songs but then we kinda decided we didn’t really like some of them.” So they’re headed north to work on some new ones and get more involved in the New Zealand music scene.

In the meantime they’ve picked some of the songs they liked best and made their new EP “Second Skin”, which you can buy on their website. But there’s a catch: you also have to buy a t-shirt. Sweet idea, right? You buy one of their t-shirts online or at their gig, and it has a unique download code attached which allows you to go online and grab the EP. No longer do you have to worry about buying your CD at the concert and then leaving it in the toilets at Monkey whilst embarking on your latest foray into the wonders of the opposite sex. All you have to do is keep your shirt on, and you get a new t-shirt, new music, and a cheeky wee one night stand to boot. Score!