| Team THE NAKED AND FAMOUS... |
| Written by Shahlin Graves |
| Sunday, 10 October 2010 18:07 |
 New Zealand's most promising export of 2010 can hum old-school video game theme-songs* off by heart, likes to mail personally-addressed post-it notes to supporters, holds their own sharing stages with the likes of Florence + The Machine and Nine Inch Nails, and can count not only a Number One single but a Number One album as well[!] amongst their recent adventures... but when it comes to a sharpie and a blank piece of paper, THE NAKED AND FAMOUS' THOM POWERS wryly comments that "this is the most difficult thing that anyone has ever made us do", as each band member knuckles down to draw their likeness in self-portrait form. From America's Nylon magazine, to Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta, there's big blog-love for the little band from New Zealand with the empathetic songs in tow. To be more precise: a chart-topper that makes listeners wish they were head over heels. As drummer JESSE WOOD observes: "In some ways, I think that 'Young Blood' has done a lot of the work for itself. We'll sign in one day [online] and we'll see - today it's on this blog or that blog - and it's purely just been through power of the Internet and word of mouth and people catching on. It's spreading by itself." But bassist DAVID BEADLE is quick to point out that the band "haven't put any resources into marketing overseas". It's all thanks to a universal language that defies the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean - the magic of music at it's very best. Vocalist ALISA XAYALITH notes that: "I feel like people are discovering us bit by bit - we'd pop up in a blog - a friend tells a friend tells a friend tells a friend-kind thing." In a world where Simon Cowell is still in business, I'm not often on-side with the priorities of many musicians of our generation. Hence, it's refreshing - and gives me a glimmer of hope - that the local m-u-s-i-c that will survive in these topsy-turvy times will be, just that. If music to one's ears is meant to be 'something that is pleasant or gratifying to hear or discover' - then that's a plane in which I'd like more New Zealanders to alight upon. And as he is so prone to doing, Powers sagely surmises that "[it's] probably going to piss off the naysayers even more. If you didn't already have tall poppy syndrome, just know that we have done fuck all overseas. But I guess that's what music does. If people like music, they'll listen to it, they'll buy it. They'll put it out there - they'll tell their friends. If you can write something that will connects with people, it tends to itself. I don't think there have been any genius could-be singles that have just been never heard by anyone. People like music and they'll listen to it and tell people about it. It's contagious." And at the very heart of it, that's what music means to me. The Naked And Famous are too good for you New Zealand. We don't deserve them. *If each band member were an old-school video game; Alisa would be a 'Super Mario Brothers' Nintendo game, Jesse would be 'Mortal Kombat II', Aaron would be 'Alex The Kid', Thom would be 'Final Fantasy VII', and David would be 'Counter-Strike: Source'.  COUP DE MAIN: Correct me if I'm wrong? Your band name comes from a combination of a Tricky lyric and is in reference to "everything about music that we thought was stupid"... Is that kind of social commentary something that is important to The Naked And Famous as a band, or is it more of a personal opinion? ALISA XAYALITH: Correct! [It's] a bit of both. THOM POWERS: We try and have ideals, or ideas about what it is that we do want to do and what we don't want to do, but I guess we don't want to be too preachy about it. Personally, the older I get, the less confident I am to say what's right and wrong, and what should and shouldn't be. I start to go: "I don't know..." CDM: Congratulations on your debut album 'Passive Me, Aggressive You'! I can't stop listening to Track Eleven 'A Wolf In Geeks Clothing'. Are you pleased to have it finally released now? AARON SHORT: It has been a big build-up since the beginning of 2009 when we started working on it. Up until just the past couple of months there's been a couple of songs that have even just squeezed on in the last minute. So, a good solid year and a half's worth of solid album-time. CDM: What inspired the title of the album? THOM: It's from the lyrics in 'All Of This'. "Passive me, aggressive you" is just a line that stood out and sort of accidentally talked about what the album encompasses musically. All the ideas that we've got in there, the duality that's going on, and the polarity as well - male and female, electronic and completely analogue sounds - that's on the album. It just made heaps of sense in that it accidentally embodied the concepts of the album. It's not a concept album, but there is this reoccurring theme that happens naturally. It's good fun. We told Special Problems - the guys who do all our artwork - about that and they thought it was really cool and they played off it as well. So the artwork, is analogue photography, and then completely digital ideas juxtaposed against each other, and the polarities are reversed on the back of the CD cover as well. CDM: Which song on the album do you feel is the most significant for The Naked And Famous as a band? ALISA: Most significant? It's really hard to say... I think that's really hard, because each song has a different meaning to everyone. DAVID BEADLE: We've all got different associations to each tune. CDM: I guess it's hard to pick your favourite child... ALISA: Yeah! And each one has its own little story with how it was created and you get attached to that. So it's really hard to just choose one. DAVID: There's moments when one kid's the favourite but then you don't tell the rest of them - 'cuz sometimes they'll be the favourite and yet you don't want them to get jealous of each other. CDM: But if you could pick just one song for a random stranger to listen to, it would be? DAVID: Right now for me? It would be 'Jilted Lover' or 'Frayed'. ALISA: I would choose 'Frayed' and 'Girls Like You' because they're both really different songs from everything else people have heard. CDM: What song are you most excited for people to hear the recorded version of? AARON: I think there's quite a lot of anticipation behind hearing 'The Sun' because a while ago it was released as a live video and we've played it live quite a lot as well. I know a lot of people have been saying it's a great song - there's been a fair bit of people saying they're looking forward to seeing how that one is going to comes across as a recording. THOM: It's really hard to pick singular songs out of it. Because we put so much effort into the idea of the 'album' - and the lost 'art' of the album - I think the most exciting thing for us is actually that, as opposed to having singular high-points. It feels like an album and I think we really - even despite what 'Young Blood' has happened and what we've managed to do - as far as commercial success and what-not, I really don't see ourselves as a song-band. We're an album-band. It's not something that we stress out about at all, but I hope that's the way we become seen. I would hate for us to be seen as the band with 'that' song.  CDM: You released your debut EP before having even played a show live. Internationally, bands like Owl City and Panic! At The Disco have been ripped to shreds by critics for achieving success before ever playing live - why do music traditionalists find this so hard to accept? THOM: I think it's because people are just stupid - in general. CDM: Do elaborate... THOM: Because there are no rules to making music. And I think that to assume that there is... I just think it's juvenile and premature. Music isn't - there's no way to do it - and to assume that there is the one set way and if you don't do it that way it's not music, is completely missing the point and it doesn't matter how a song is recorded, or what it's about. If it moves some-one: great! End of story. You don't really need to think about it too much. It's a pretty simple idea. But I think people just take cultural-crap surrounding music far too seriously. Some people will not listen to a band because of some insignificant thing in their career, that their favourite band has done as well, but they didn't know that their favourite band has done it. It just seems stupid and ignorant and hateful. It's hard to convince people otherwise though. I mean, people are going to think what they're going to think. I guess the people that would have the biggest opinion against stuff like that would be hipsters and scenesters and indie kids that, generally those sort of people only start listening to music because the jocks who picked on them in high school didn't get it. And then they take that identity far too seriously. And then they start listening to music that even musicians don't like - people banging on pots and pans. It's a weird world. CDM: Do you ever feel disappointed that so much of the music industry is built up around perceptions? THOM: Yeah, I think you're right. It is really depressing. It's very frustrating. You can either use it to your advantage or you can just ignore it. You can do both. It's really tricky. So much, is perception. It's so disappointing that people can be so shallow about [it], or that they can put so much emotional energy into something that is not real. It's a tricky one. CDM: Unfortunately, New Zealand is a stomping ground for tall poppy syndrome. Do you try and take critics with a grain of salt - constructively, not personally? ALISA: As much as possible. I think that it's important not to focus on those things, otherwise you just forget about what you love the most, and that's the music. I always just ignore that kind of stuff because it's just not important to what I do. If people don't like it, then people don't like it. I don't expect everyone to like the music we make. JESSE WOOD: It just seems kind of silly when people go out of their way to tell you they don't like your music. What's the point? It's like going to a sport game if you don't like a sport and yelling at people: "I HATE RUGBY!" Go home. Putting effort into it is just a waste of time.  CDM: I wish I had as much spare time as some people… I just read some anonymous comments criticizing things that The Naked And Famous as a band did two years ago. But when you're this old/young [twenty-one to twenty-four] - isn't everything supposed to be a big learning curve? THOM: Pity they're anonymous eh? JESSE: No-one's insulted us or anything real. AARON: I have no problem with people not liking our music. I think it's great. That's fine. DAVID: That's part of art in general. Art doesn't always tickle some people. It's fine. AARON: It's more when some-one makes this big point of saying - oh so and so's a dick or whatever it what may be - and it's like, you've never even met me in your life, how can you make such a weird statement like that? JESSE: That's the kind of thing that personally gets to me. THOM: I think it's really adorable too, how the tall poppy thing in New Zealand is like this Music Mafia, that people pay off to get successful. Unfortunately, and this is terribly unfortunate, getting a Number One single on commercial radio has actually very little to do with the band's effort. It's the radio stations, people who buy the song and make it go Gold, they're the ones responsible. If those charming little hipster tall poppy kids wanna have a go at some-one, they may as well just track down all the people who are responsible for the bands being successful and have a bitch at them. CDM: Going back to that 'Music Mafia' you mentioned… do you feel like NZ suffers from bandwagon-y immaturity, in that the media is quick to cry "sell out!", but reluctant to be critical about an act that it's fashionable to champion? THOM: I think it's all that kind of stuff, the whole thing is just all juvenile. You could just guess forever why people are being fascist about whatever - and pathetic and juvenile about stuff they take so seriously. The selling-out thing though, I think is funny. It's constantly evolving in explanation, what selling-out is. As soon as you sell a record? As soon as you put out a record, you're selling out. ALISA: Making an album is selling out! THOM: As soon as you do merchandise you've sold out. DAVID: I think selling-out is just a stupid term in general, because regardless whether or not you sell out, provided what you're doing is still the same, that's irrelevant. It seems stupid to me to just announce that some-one has sold out. It doesn't really have any bearing on anything. It's just a phrase. ALISA: It's almost archaic now, using that term... DAVID: If you assert that some-one's sold out, it doesn't change what that person's doing. You could be like - "Oh that's yellow!" - and it could still be red. It's just an assertion that some-one makes. JESSE: That's the best point. There's no fact behind it. DAVID: It just seems dumb. It's just a waste of energy to go: "Oh you sold out." Why? Who cares? CDM: Maybe it's because people disassociate musicians with real-life financial needs? THOM: I don't even think it's that. I've taught kids in bands - I took classes with bands, teaching young rock bands and stuff - and there's not even any perception at all. I've asked kids about - I mean kids aged, teenagers basically - the idea of downloading music and it's just like: "I don't care." Blank faces. There's no real thought into it. I think it's the same thing. I don't think there's a conscious thought behind it. It's just the way things are done I guess. CDM: Because New Zealand is so small, do you think everything that you do is so much more micro-analysed? THOM: I think so, yeah. I think you're pretty onto it with that question. I think that sums up essentially where a lot of that tall poppy syndrome comes from, as far as the industry is concerned anyway, or people that know bands. It's just basically because it's your next door neighbour. CDM: Having conquered blogs now, so to speak, will you be looking into more adventurous online promotion of your music? AARON: It'd definitely be something that'd be great fun for us to look into - we're all big on the technological front and taking advantage of the social networking side of things as much as we can. ALISA: We'd love to get more adventurous with it, that's for sure. THOM: Sometimes it's heaps of fun. Sometimes it's a pain in the arse. Sometimes you sign in and are like: "Oh god I can't be bothered." You just don't wanna do that - it feels like you're playing the game. But then when you do feel inspired, it is fun and you can straight away connect with people listening to your music and say something directly from the band to the fans. CDM: Just before this interview, we received tweets from girls swooning over Thom and asking if you and Alisa are an item... is that weird having to get used to now? THOM: I think they just have to spend one session with me at the gym and see how fucking gross and sweaty and horrible I actually am. Or maybe, they could just come over for Sunday dinner... and then they'd probably be like: "Awww he's just a dude." DAVID: He farts. ALISA: It is really weird, but I don't know how to deal with it. I don't think you can prepare yourself to deal with things like that. JESSE: Once anyone gets media attention, they sort of - you put them on a pedestal... ALISA: But underneath it all, we're just people. THOM: Normal boring people. We've all sneezed and farted by accident. DAVID: But even on purpose as well.  CDM: What are The Naked And Famous' main points of difference from other bands in NZ? ALISA: I think it's really advantageous that we are able to record our own songs and make demos at home. AARON: Me and Thom, I mainly did a degree in audio engineering at MAINZ. We're not your average jam-in-a-room band. That's not how we make our songs. Most songs will start playing around on an instrument - but a lot of it is worked on in the computer area. Rather than just standing around jamming as a band, that's kind of our equivalent to it I guess. ALISA: It's so easy for us to set up a shitty microphone in a room and record guitar, record drums, and by the time you know it, we've got this basic demo done. And I think, that maybe a lot of bands in New Zealand don't have that skill? And so having this skill, means we've been able to keep on an upwards trajectory. CDM: What's your songwriting process like? AARON: It generally starts with Thom and Alisa who get a basic demo-concept going, and from that, I then jump in and me and Thom work on the production-side of the thing. Add layers, take layers out. And then it goes to the rest of the band and then we take it to a live rehearsal environment and work on the song as a band - and it goes back and forth between those stages, continually producing it, and then it usually makes its way into a studio environment as well, for the final recording of the track. There's three main areas to it I guess, that each song goes through. But every song is different, there's some that start with a lyrical concept, some that start with a melody which then inspire lyrics, that kind of thing. But generally, that's a structure we follow quite a bit.  CDM: Most people know that the Special Problems team [Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali] are behind your music videos - but how much creative input and control do they have on the other visual aspects of the band? AARON: Entirely. They are the visual half to The Naked And Famous. They've been with us right from the very beginning. They've done all our EP covers, posters, music videos - and we've never once given them a brief or said: "We want this, this, and this." We just say: "Look, here's what needs to be done..." THOM: "Whadya reckon?" AARON: ..."Go for it - show us something cool!" And over time, they've always come back with something amazing. ALISA: I remember in the beginning when we first met up with them, they were asking us about what kind of videos we like, and what kind of art do we like. I remember saying to them that we love subtleties and less is more, and bold but not too loud - they're just always on the point on everything that they've done for us. There's a great synergy between the music and the art that's happening there. We're really lucky to have Special Problems to do that for us. We've never had the difficulty of having to find art directors to do stuff for us, so yeah we're really fortunate. CDM: Is international touring quite daunting for a NZ band? JESSE: You'd be crazy to do it without doing research and having the right contacts and having a good plan first. It's obviously really expensive to travel. Once you get moving gear around, excess luggage charges, accommodation - it really adds up. So unless you've got a good tour manager booking the right shows for you with the right crowd, then you're just setting yourself up for a huge fall. 'Cuz you'll just end up investing a lot of money that won't go anywhere. But as long as you're clever and have the right contacts... ALISA: I think you have to have a bit of a business-savvy person to help you out with that - because things can go so wrong. JESSE: Music can speak for itself in a lot of ways, but when you're traveling, it's a bit different. Music's not going to make sure you get into the right hotel, or don't miss a flight. CDM: Okay, let's play a game now! Tell me something no-one else knows about the person sitting on your right... ALISA: Aaron takes seven minutes to make his bed. DAVID: Alisa has an affiliation for Tiny Teddies. ALISA: I love chocolate Tiny Teddies. JESSE: David's got a sensitive scalp. AARON: Thom wears Y briefs instead of wide briefs. THOM: I changed before, I just thought it'd look real funny if I was in a pair of nice undies and a business jacket. Jess used to be in a stoner-rock band called Seratonin Eclipse. JESSE: It wasn't a stoner-rock band - we were just stoners playing shitty metal. It's a big difference. CDM: Now, we have devised a special round of Mad Libs for you all... "Mad Libs (from ad lib, a spontaneous improvisation) is a phrasal template word game where one player prompts another for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story, usually with funny results. The game is especially popular with American children and is frequently played as a party game or as a pastime."  THE NAKED AND FAMOUS' debut album 'Passive Me, Aggressive You' is out now! Features the singles 'Young Blood', 'Punching In A Dream' and 'All Of This'. View our The Naked And Famous lookbook HERE. |
