Posted by KB on May 4, 2010
Motocade are more than the sum of their sparkly new clip for ‘Oldest Trick in The Book’. They are a well-seasoned NZ indie four piece who are willing and able to cross the great divide – watch out world. London and NY are on the to-do-soon list. Revisiting Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane is not out of the question either. Neither is offering a free download. Yours to own and listen to while you enjoy the following interview.
Covered: Being musically anal, dark smelly spaces, evolving sounds, staying true to the demo and magnanimous characters.
Kat Hartmann: Motocade has been playing together, with the same band line-up, since 2003. How did you first come together and what is the secret of your longevity?
Eden Mulholland: I originally though up starting the band so I could hear all my electronic songs played with real instruments. Then the music could have an evolution beyond what I initially dreamed up. The goal was to be as tight as humanly possible to the point of being pretty anal - we spent a crazy amount of time in dark smelly practice cubicles painstakingly rehearsing over and over. The way to stay together as a band is to give each other space and time to live life outside what we do as a group. It all adds up to getting on pretty well most of the time.
KH: You released two EPs before taking the LP plunge, any particular reason for the short-short-long release pattern?
EM: Releasing in that pattern was accidental I think. We initially just recorded our best seven songs. The following EP, it kind of made sense to do another seven as we were not quite ready for full length; the sound was still evolving. I guess we just needed more time to get comfortable with launching what we considered the fully developed Motocade sound.
KH: How does Scott’s house music background influence the band’s sound? What inspired his transition from electronic to indie?
EM: Um… I think as a bass player with an electronic background, Scotty brings a laid back playing style that counteracts the driving feel of most of the songs. Also it’s a good style to have on board as it is slightly different to all our musical tastes; which I hope helps us write more eclectic material.
KH: What about everyone else? What do Eden, Geordie and Will bring to the music table?
EM: Eden writes all the music and lyrics and generally the band arrange them together in rehearsal. Although, some songs just stay pretty true to the demo. Geordie is the party animal and comes to rehearsals straight from emergency rooms/parties/gigs/general incidents that we attribute to his magnanimous character - he jumps off a speaker stack very well and is an important part of the live energy. Will is the backbone of the Motocade rhythm section and everyone follows his lead.
KH: Two of your singles have featured on Home & Away, including your most recent single, ‘Oldest Trick In The Book’. Does the show screen over the ditch in New Zealand? If so, are you fans?
EM: I don’t watch the show regularly but I have been known to watch the odd omnibus screening of a Sunday in NZ…
KH: So then, do tell, what is the oldest trick in the book?
EM: The oldest trick can be anything you are tricked into doing/saying because you are trusting or gullible. The lamest one would be the old tap on the shoulder while you are standing on the other side of the person. Lame! But it could be considered an old trick.
KH: October 2009 saw you guys cross the aforementioned ditch to play over here in Oz. How did that trip work out for you? Any plans to return in the near future?
EM: We had a very cool time! We were touring just before heading to play in New York at CMJ festival. It was our second tour to Aussie and we are super keen to keep crossing the ditch on a regular basis. We played Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney with some cool Aussie bands we’re hoping to keep in touch with. We shot a clip called ‘My Friends’ from the Into The Fall EP that has a lot of Aussie footage in it.
KH: What about our readers in the USA and UK - will they be seeing you on their shores any time soon?
EM: The plan is to release a new record in NZ and Australia 2010/2011, and possibly late 2010 we are planning a tour to America and the UK in support of a release in both territories.
motocade, new zealand