Culture

As part of their four-date New Zealand tour, Auckland based indie-rock band Clap Clap Riot play Chick’s Hotel on 15 March. Stephen Heard and Dave Rowland talk briefly to Adrian Ng about the band’s new album Nobody/Everybody, touring life, and Rock N’ Roll.

Did you all come from quite a musical background? What caused you to gravitate towards music?
Stephen Heard: My brother was always the most musical in our family. He made the local paper for building a bass guitar in woodwork class, and his saxophone ability earned him the nickname “saxy boy.” We gravitated towards music in high school after discovering that it made us way cooler.
Dave Rowland: My folks tried to get me into piano when I was younger, but I failed dismally at that. Music was just something we all really enjoyed doing together and we always had the same ethos on performance so that’s what kicked it all off.

What was the writing process like for this upcoming album?
SH: One person usually writes the bones of a track and brings it to the rest of the group for further additions/tweaking. Lyrics are usually the last thing to be completed.
DR: It varied from song to song. Some were written in parts by each of us and then added to. Others were written mostly by one person then brought together at the end. They were all refined further when brought to the rehearsal room.
SH: Each song has its own story but a few were written within a shipping container deep in South Auckland, and others may have come from ideas recorded into someone’s phone.

In relation to your previous album, did you feel a difference in terms of what you wanted to achieve musically?
SH: Definitely. We wanted a looser, more live feeling, resulting in a more human feel and groove.
DR: Yes, we wanted to go for a more real, live sound to the record, giving a more honest picture of who we are as a band.

You’re currently touring New Zealand with Sherpa. Have most tours been a relatively positive experience? Were there any major disasters?
SH: There’s nothing better than touring with your mates. We’ve definitely come close to disaster a few times.
DR: We have had some minor hiccups on the way - car engines catching on fire, no accommodation arranged, running off the road at a T intersection, and getting busted stealing chocolate brownie.

Do you feel rock n’ roll will ever die?
DR: Never. People are always going to start getting sick of seeing someone stand behind a computer punching buttons and will eventually crave the real thing again.
SH: The genre will progress but the culture will stick around as long as there’s sex, drugs and beer.