29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Villainy - Villainy Ammunition Tour Newsletter Interview

06 Sep 2014 // An interview by terry666

Villainy interview with Neill Fraser
4-09-2014
Questions by Terry

Villainy is about to head out on the Ammunition tour is that right?

Yeah we're about to head out to 6 cities I think around the country just a little blast to get back out there we haven’t really toured since the end of last year. Now that the record's done we thought we could think about other things and head out on the road and play to some people again it’s been too long.

I noticed that not only are you playing the main centres but you are playing a few out of the way spots this time too that don’t make it so often on tour schedules.

Yeah we're playing Palmy and New Plymouth and also playing Masterton which we have never been to which will be good. We have played Palmerston and New Plymouth before and it’s always been great, so it will be cool to get back there as well.

You have been lucky and got to tour NZ and Australia now how has that been for you?

We went to Oz in September last year. We have a done a few bigger shows over their we did the Big Sound Festival in Brisbane which is a big music conference which was 3 days of endless music and bands and music people everywhere so that was really cool and then we drove from Brisbane down to Byron Bay and then Sydney then across to Melbourne kind of if anything gives you an appreciation of how small New Zealand is. You drive 12 hours to get from Melbourne to Sydney as opposed to a 4 hour jaunt to get from say Palmerston North to New Plymouth or something like that kind of puts everything into perspective. It’s a hell of a lot of fun though the 4 of us packed into a van with a couple of crew and it’s just like a road trip its awesome. We definitely live in each other’s shoes when we are on tour.

Have you guys got to the point where you can quit working yet or do you still have to hold fulltime jobs outside of the band?

We all hold down day jobs. Just to keep the money coming in when we are not doing the music stuff. To be able to get to that point we need to be able to look at getting overseas a bit more and building those fan bases over there. So that’s our next big step as well.

You were able to work with Tom Larkin for your first album what was it like having Tom onboard?

I guess at that point we still hadn’t worked out what kind of band we really were at that point so there was a lot of exploratory type of stuff going on doing lots of pre-production working through songs and just figuring out I guess what sort of sound we were looking for. He helped a lot with that. He has an insanely good ear. I think with the first record we walked in with about 30 or so songs and he was able to pick out what he thought was the best on first listen it’s just having that fifth member type person in the room who can listen to stuff and be a bit more detached from it and sometimes a bit cold or even excited because they hear something they really like and want to pursue. It’s really good in that respect. He really knows his way around the studio and has also worked with a lot different producers so has a wealth of experience. He’s learnt a lot of the tricks along the way and developed his own style from there.

You have new material on the way how do you guys go through the writing and recording process?

This time around 90% of the songs were written out of jams we just rehearsed weeks on end and just recorded everything that we did and then we would all go away after the rehearsal and listen and pick out the things that we liked and somewhere in there were things that we thought was a song and just kind of work backwards from there. It worked really well for us and I think we wrote like 30 or 40 tracks for the record and we just took those back to Tom and he just did his thing and went through them and put in his votes for what we should do and then we started tracking.

So how far away are we from getting some new material?

I think at this point it’s probably going to be early next year it’s still got to be mixed and mastered and that sort of stuff so there is still a fair bit of work to be done but we're feeling pretty good and have been able to sit back and listen to the fruits of our labour just this past week actually as I have just finished all the vocals. It’s nice knowing we now have a second record and we just have to finish it off.

With the tour will we hear a few of the new tracks?

Yeah for sure part of the reason for the tour is to go out and road test some of the new songs and get inside them we have really only played them in the studio for ourselves and in some situations we even only wrote them tracked them and moved straight on. So we're sort of learning them now and learning how to perform them so it’s a lot of fun.

One last question Words of advice for young musicians.

I’ve been making music now for about 10 plus years now in bands I’ve been playing music most of my life. I think what made the difference for us was hooking up with people who had a lot of experience people like Tom  who can steer your sound and just give you an opinion, It helps you find out what works and what doesn’t work. That was insanely invaluable for us. Even more so you just have to be committed. When I first started off in bands I really wanted it to do well but it wasn’t really front of mind but if you want people to hear you and some degree of success you really have to believe in it and believe in yourself and that doesn’t mean you have to go out there and make crap sell out music but you just have to back yourself and put everything into it.

 

About Villainy

Villainy
vill·uh·nee /?vil?nç/
Noun: 1. The actions or conduct of a villain; outrageous wickedness.
2. Maniacal rock band from Auckland, New Zealand.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Villainy

Releases

Dead Sides (The Lost EP)
Year: 2021
Type: EP
Beggar
Year: 2020
Type: EP
Raised In The Dark
Year: 2019
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Dead Sight
Year: 2015
Type: Album
Mode. Set. Clear.
Year: 2012
Type: Album

Other Interviews By terry666

Interview: Seas of Conflict
05 Mar 2019 // by terry666
Seas of Conflict are a hard-hitting heavy metal band from Hamilton. Their 2017 EP Vestige along with their recently released single Monachopsis have proven that they are an incredible act worth paying attention to.
Read More...
Barney Greenway Napalm Death Interview
01 Oct 2017 // by terry666
We’re talking with Barney Greenway who with Napalm death and the assistance of Valhalla touring is bringing their Campaign for musical destruction tour down to Auckland October the 4th. How are you going?
Read More...
Poison Skies Newsletter Interview
02 Nov 2016 // by terry666
Auckland-based high-energy rock band Poison Skies have just released their long-awaited debut EP Day to Defy, and are embarking on the Road Rage tour, a 5-city trip through the North Island, with co-headliners Rebel Sound Radio. Terry had a chat to Jamie (bass), and here's what went down: What would you describe as Poison Skies' style?
Read More...
Rebel Sound Radio Newsletter Interview
31 Oct 2016 // by terry666
Rebel Sound Radio are best described as a hard hitting three piece collective, unified by volume, distortion, high energy and with a drive to break away from the everyday grind. Formed to start something new and forge a totally different sound that will sent them apart.
Read More...
Devilskin Newsletter Interview
31 Oct 2016 // by terry666
Terry had the pleasure of interview Paul Martin from Devilskin. Here's what he had to say: Hey there Paul.
Read More...
Thy Assassin - Thy Assasin - A World Left Behind Album Interview
23 Mar 2015 // by terry666
Interview with Josiah Forlong from Thy AssassinQuestions by Terry You have just released your first album A World Left Behind, how excited are you about that? It’s been a long time over a year for this dreaming of actually getting it out there we are pretty happy to be finally doing it.
Read More...
The Datsuns' Deep Sleep Newsletter Interview
05 Sep 2014 // by terry666
The Datsuns Interview with Phil Somervell03-09-2014Questions by Terry Album number 6 Deep Sleep is about to be released in October. What are you most excited about?
Read More...
8 Foot Sativa Interview 22/09/2012
14 Oct 2012 // by terry666
I caught up with Jack Hammer from 8 Foot Sativa just hours before their opening slot for Fear Factory. How does it feel to be back in 8 Foot Sativa and what brought you guys back together as a band?
Read More...
View All Articles By terry666

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem