INTERVIEW: The Earlybirds Ahead Of Jim Beam Homegrown

Fresh off the release of their latest single, 'Truth', we caught up with Jared and Kane from The Earlybirds and had a wee chat with the lads.

How did you all meet and form The Earlybirds?

Jared: Me (Jared), Sean and Michael met at high school when we were about 14 and started to jam together at lunchtimes as a kind of hobby during school, basically an adolescent-sounding Led Zeppelin cover band, then after a couple of years taking it more seriously we met Filip and Kane and properly formed The Earlybirds around 4 years ago.

How do you feel about winning the Jim Beam Homegrown Band Search?

Jared: It's really a dream come true to play an event of that size made entirely of New Zealand bands. To be playing alongside some of the most respected NZ artists ever is an amazing feeling.

Are you looking forward to playing at the Jim Beam Homegrown festival?

Jared: We've been hitting practice hard for the last couple weeks getting a couple new songs ready for the festival to show them off so yeah we are definitely looking forward to it. Festivals always have such a mean atmosphere especially when the audience is just a sea of heads.

Where in New Zealand do you most enjoy playing and why?

Jared: That's a really tough question because we've always had awesome groups of people coming to our shows all over the country but it might be Wellington after we play Homegrown!!

You have a handful of great music videos, which one was the most fun to film and why?

Kane: After a bit of thinking I would have to say 'Truth', probably only because its the newest video and we're all still buzzing about it (after a great deal of running around roasting car parks). But I have to say, the scene where Filip's on the ground and we're in hoods beating the shit out of him was a load of fun to film. Don't ask me why, but I'm sure Fil will disagree there.

You have appeared on Balcony TV a couple of times, how did you find those performances?

Kane: As a band we generally see ourselves as a live act, plugged in and loud. When we're stripped down to acoustic guitars and vocals for Balcony TV it's a completely different game. So we always have to get together and have a bit of a late night cram session the day before. It's amazing to be on the show, the last time was in the Big Day Out stadium overlooking half-built stages. Despite playing to only a camera crew and roadies, its still our biggest venue to date!

You played the Smokefree Hot produce stage at the Big Day Out earlier this year, was that fun?

Kane: That show is definitely up there with my list of favourite gigs of our career, probably the best feeling I've had on stage yet. We had a great crowd to play for too, even though we clashed with some amazing international acts. Which is awesome, reminding us that Kiwis still have such respect and appreciation for local music. Needless to say, we rocked out giving it everything we had and had a wicked time doing it. We also added a few new songs to the set, written since the album.

What does the future hold for The Earlybirds?

Kane: After the last few shows we have set up for NZ, we'll be heading to Melbourne to immerse ourselves in the music scene there, playing to new crowds, and working on a new album. It's going to be a tough move for us there for sure but we're totally amped to give it everything we have. We're under no illusion that it will be easy, will just have to see what the future holds! It'll be sad to be further from our fans in NZ, but will play back home every chance we get!

Interview by David Apple.