Glass Owls are about to drop their EP ‘Dead Love’ on the world and are also heading out on the road for some shows in Auckland and Wellington in the coming months. We caught up with Anthony and Tomas via email to get some background on the band and to find out what else we can expect from them in the future.
First things first; How long have you been around?
Roughly three years. We count the years by drummers we’ve had.
Where are you based?
Anthony: East Auckland, where the old come to die.
What is your current line-up?
Tomas: Vocals/Guitar
Anthony: Guitar/BVs
Chris: Bass, Sass
Cam: Drums
How did you meet?
Tomas: Anthony and I met up during high school back in 2006 but we didn’t really develop too much then. Piece by piece we gradually got more serious, Chris jumped on board and we went through a bunch of drummers. We only really got going in mid 2007 when we started doing regular live shows.
How would you describe your sound?
Anthony: We usually go by the comparisons others draw after hearing us. We’ve had Pavement, The Strokes, Apples in Stereo and our good friend and producer Dave Parker says we sound: “Like a careless time traveller accidentally left a vinyl copy of Pinkerton in the 1960s and a college surf band found it and fell in love.”
What’s the best thing that has happened to you as a band, since you started playing together?
Tomas: I suppose being offered the RedBull Live Session slot early on in our career stands out; it really helped us to get noticed. (Thanks Grace).
You have an EP on the way. Tell us about it.
Anthony: We recorded it at Little Monster Studios with a Big Monster producer, Dave Parker. We recorded the six-track EP in late January over four days. Tom was almost hospitalised by some Oratia chickens. Nasty business.
How do you write your material?
Tomas: Usually for me I sit down with my computer and guitar and work out a progression that I like, while I’m doing that I write lyrics that I feel suit the progression most and I base them on how I’m feeling or my thoughts at the time. Several hours later I have a semi-finished product that I take to band practice and show the guys, and then they usually rip it to shreds or build off it. Lately though we’ve been doing a lot of writing together. It’s good.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Anthony: Seinfeld theme tune.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Tomas: If I’m listening to the radio it’s always the Coast or Solid Gold, on my iPod though it’s a different story, usually a bit of Kanye mixed with Bon Iver but, it varies daily.
Anthony: Wilco, Girls, LCD Soundsystem, Happy Birthday.
Do you have any plans to tour?
Anthony: Yeah we’re currently planning a tour to promote our debut EP ‘Dead Love’. We’ll be playing in Auckland on Friday June 25th and Wellington on Saturday the 26th. We haven’t locked in all the details, but check out our myspace/facebook/tumblr for updates closer to the time. We’re also playing with Ruby Frost and Jonathan Lee at Bar Tabac on May 27th (free show) and June 11th at 4.20 with Cool Rainbows and Ghost Wave.
What is the best or most memorable gig you’ve played?
Tomas: The most memorable is probably the worst one that we’ve played, I’ll never forget that night at the PR Bar. It sucked.
What other kiwi bands would you most like to play a show with?
Anthony: Good Laika, Phoenix Foundation, The 3d’s.
And international bands?
Anthony: Tomas says Radiohead.
Out of Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, mHype and any other social networking sites you might be a part of, which has been the most helpful to you as a band?
Tomas: After much debate Anthony and I agreed that though Myspace was good while it lasted Facebook has definitely been helpful getting people along to gigs and promoting our music.
What else does the future hold for Glass Owls?
Anthony: Hopefully a music video. Then an album after we release ‘Dead Love’.
The state of music in NZ is…
Tomas: I have to admit it’s getting better. There have been some really great bands coming out of New Zealand lately like Artisan Guns and Collapsing Cities, among others. It’s getting better all the time.
Anthony: Loads of good bands, but making a living as an originals band in NZ is so much harder than overseas. If you wanna make money fast you have to play covers, or music like Midnight Youth.
