INTERVIEW: Facebook Campaigners Behind Chase & Status At R&V

A couple of students from Dunedin have swayed R&V organisers to book an international act.

Harry Whyte from Havelock North and Nick Lyne from Auckland, currently studying at Otago University, started a Facebook campaign to get UK act, Chase & Status to come to New Zealand.

There's a huge number of amazing DJ's all over the world, what's so special about Chase & Status?

Chase & Status are a very rare breed of entertainers. Not only does there music make people want to go absolutely crazy, their ability to really work up a crowd is second to none, and after witnessing some of their performances on youtube, notably the one at the warriors dance festival in England earlier this year, we cannot wait to see what they will bring to Rhythm and Vines 2010!

What inspired you and Nick to start the campaign to bring them to Rhythm & Vines?

After a few beers on a Saturday night, with Chase & Status cranking through the speakers, we began to discuss the thought of them coming to R & V. The idea of a facebook page was suggested, as we were interested to see how many other people shared our passion for them. We began by inviting close friends, and it has spiraled out of control from there!

Were you surprised by the reaction you received on Facebook?

Yes we were very surprised! After one day, we had 200 members, half of which we didn’t even know! We knew then this was going to be big, very big. Quickly we began advertising the page on bigger facebook pages, such as the Rhythm and Vines Official page, and the BW campgrounds page. Our intention was to get over 1000 members, then post it to the official Chase & Status page, however we quickly surpassed this goal, and managed to get over 2300 members which was mind-blowing!

What was your reaction when you heard they were actually confirmed?

We were completely shocked. The difficult thing was that we were sworn to secrecy for over a month, and living in a University Hall of Residence in Dunedin, with over 500 fellow teenagers, it was hard to really express our emotions without giving anything away! Rumors that they were coming were flowing throughout the hall, but all we could do was have a cheeky smile at each other, and play along as if we knew nothing at all.

And finally what can festival goers expect from a Chase & Status performance?

Well, having not seen them live before, we can’t talk from first hand experience. However thanks to the joy of Youtube, we believe you can expect a hardcore, sweaty, physical, no holds barred performance, which will leave you with a smile on your face for days to come. Chase & Status will definitely come to rock your world, and we cannot wait to be apart of it!

Chase And Status have been confirmed as part of the second R&V 2010 line up announcement.