It seems you can’t interview Bang Bang Eche and get anything like a straight answer. Which okay, because what fun would that be? Vocalist Zach did the band proud in our email interview, telling us about his love of Germany, his apparent technophobia and why Best Coast are good for breakups.
Hi, how are you?
A .docx just for interview questions? Shame on you. Lucky Google Docs can open it or I'd have had to download TextViewer or something.
What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to the band lately?
We wrote this fucking banger of a song and soon we'll be playing it to Germans. I love Germans.
Have you noticed a knock-on effect after being nominated as one of MTV’s best new bands?
If you mean, "Have you been picked up by other mainstream media channels" then no, we haven't. Oh wait, I think 91ZM copy/pasted a paragraph about us under the "Other" section of their website. Maybe the answer to this question is "yes!"
Have you voted for yourself on the list?
Yup. About a million times and you should too.
Are there any other bands on the list that you like?
I LOVE DAS RACIST! And when as I was breaking up with my girlfriend I listened to "When I'm With You" by Best Coast over and over and over and over and over and then I played it to her and told her I was going to hate sleeping alone and she cried.
Has being in Bang Bang Eche changed you?
Yes.
What are you looking forward to most about your upcoming European tour?
Playing shows. Playing as many shows as there are hours in the day. All day, every day, I don't want any days off, I just want to play shows.
What is your favourite destination to visit? Why?
Germany is my favourite destination. The coffee is shitty, the Turkish is awesome, the people are really nice and no one has tried to fight us even though we're all dicks.
What stereotypes about NZ are you privy to when you tour overseas?
It depends how stupid the people are. Some people are all about the sheep thing, others, the Middle-earth thing. Actually, there is a pretty big Flight of the Concords thing still going on overseas but the only comedic thing about us is Charlie's tentative hold on reality.
Where are you currently based?
I guess we're based in here in Christchurch? I don't know. We're Internet based? We're GMail based?
Do you have any plans to relocate?
I'm going to move to Atlantis and we're going to break up.
Do you feel any pressure from having gained a lot of attention very quickly?
I think the pressure really comes from us.
Do you have any releases on the way?
We're going to record and release our debut album when we get back from tour. We're going to do it mostly in bedrooms around Christchurch and it's going to be fun instead of tortuous which is what the recording process has felt like in studios. But really soon our split 7" with Bandicoot comes out and it's going to be heaps cool! We recorded our songs in two bedrooms in Christchurch with our friend Ben who was in Blast! Blast! Noise! During the process I fell in love with him and he moved to Sydney to stay away from me trying to booty call him every night.
How do you write and record your material?
T'Nealle tracks everything out and brings it to us. I think she gets inspiration from all the men she eats.
What’s the best or most memorable gig you have played?
Oh man, I'm not sure. I really liked playing at this place in Germany called Bayreuth. Um, playing Mighty Mighty in Wellington is always rad. I have good memories of losing my front tooth there at our Mighty debut.
What are you listening to at the moment?
New Order, Das Racist and Alex Mauer.
If you could go back and talk to yourself before you joined Bang Bang Eche, what would you say to yourself?
Buy Apple stock.
What else does the future hold for Bang Bang Eche?
We're going to release the album, get fucking huge and then sell out/cash in and I'm going to buy a hot air balloon and fly around all hovered up above the sickening muck stuck in the terra firma.
In your opinion, what is the state of music in NZ?
Music is awesome. There are bands in all of the cities who are killing it in terms of creative output. I'd like to see those bands actually start making it. If I have gripes they're more about people starting myriad bands at the drop of a hat.
Write songs, play shows, release digitally. Rinse, repeat and go crazy when you see bands because just standing there is boring as shit and it makes me want to vomit and it makes you want to slink home to your dark, damp houses and cry.
