Bandicoot interview

July 2, 2010

Bandicoot

One of the hottest tickets in Auckland is teen rock group Bandicoot. Theyโ€™re different, everyone agrees. Gary Steel has a brief conversation with vocalist Pearl McGlashan, daughter of Don.

Witchdoctor – So things are pretty busy with the band at the moment?

Pearl โ€“ Really busy.

WD โ€“ Has it all taken you a bit by surprise?

Pearl โ€“ Definitely. We had no idea. Nobody said that this was going to happen. And we had no idea it was going to happen, soโ€ฆ it sort of freaked us all out, and it happened so quickly as well.

WD โ€“ What did you expect?

Pearl โ€“ Well, Reuben, our guitarist, had been in quite a few bands before, but theyโ€™d been quite experimental and didnโ€™t have a huge listenership because they were kind of abrasive andโ€ฆ tried to make as much noise as they possibly could. And he got sick of that and wanted to have a band that was more accessible, and this is his version of accessible. So he asked me and our friend Daniel to be in the band.

WD โ€“ What was the idea of the band, apart from being more accessible?

Pearl โ€“ Iโ€™m not sure, Reuben wanted something kind of impressive, and very loud and very fast, and still following that โ€˜letโ€™s be as big as we can with the three of usโ€™. And that translated intoโ€ฆ we are very much more of a live band, I would say than a recorded band.

WD โ€“ Is it quite a different sound live or that you put across an energy or have a theatrical element?

Pearl โ€“ Itโ€™s definitely about the energy, because weโ€™re young so we project that I think, and we like to be onstage and have fun and dance and wear ridiculous outfits and come across that we are having fun.

WD โ€“ Youโ€™re still at school?

P โ€“ Yeah.

WD โ€“ What year?

Pearl โ€“ Year 12. Reuben and I are 15 and Daniel, our drummer, is 16.

WD โ€“ Have there been any problems associated with the fact that youโ€™re having to spend so much time doing this?

Pearl โ€“ Yeah there have been, but weโ€™re managing it currently. We go to school all week and then Friday nights we play a gig. We donโ€™t play on school days, otherwise weโ€™re just knackered. We had a big school holiday and we played at some festivals, and went down to Wellington.

WD โ€“ Did you play at Camp Low Hum?

Pearl โ€“ Yeah we did.

WD โ€“ That sounds like it was interesting.

Pearl โ€“ It was incredible. We played in an empty pool.

WD โ€“ You got a good reception there?

Pearl โ€“ Yeah, it was amazing.

WD โ€“ What you bring the band is your lyrics and singing?

Pearl โ€“ Yeah.

WD โ€“ When you make the music does it just kind of happen, or do you discuss it?

Pearl โ€“ It just kind of happens. We talk about some ideas, and the idea is to develop a little bit, but because we work on quite a tight deadline โ€“ Reuben writes the riff then him and Daniel kind of work it out together and then they expect โ€ฆ lyrics โ€ฆ soon! The ideas that come through in the songs are kind of immature because theyโ€™re from 15-year-olds and I donโ€™t really have big ideas about stuff yet. Political opinions and things. And if I do theyโ€™re very much angsty teenage things.

WD โ€“ What youโ€™re doing is creating quite a wave so people must be picking up on it.

Pearl โ€“ Yeah itโ€™s amazing.

WD โ€“ Is it mostly people your own age getting into it, or even old farts?

Pearl โ€“ Weโ€™ve got a really weird, eclectic following I guess. Kids our age like it because weโ€™re putting on all-age shows and weโ€™re playing for them and the songs are for them and about them. And kids that are much much older than us.

WD โ€“ What about your parents, do they like it?

Pearl โ€“ Yeah, they totally do! Theyโ€™re totally into it! They have to escort us to licensed venues, because weโ€™re not allowed on the premises without a guardian.

WD โ€“ So youโ€™re not doing any gigs with your Dad?

Pearl โ€“ No, Iโ€™m not that we share quite the sameโ€ฆ

WD โ€“ What about recordings?

Pearl โ€“ Weโ€™re thinking that we donโ€™t want to make an album yet, because weโ€™d like to be a little bit more mature. In terms of the sound, the EP is very much a record put out by some teenagers who have only been in a band for less than a year. If we were to make an album I think weโ€™d want to develop it, make it something to be really proud of. We want to do a 7-inch single, but thatโ€™s more for our own entertainment than to put a mark on the industry sort of thing.

WD โ€“ Do you ever see a point where you might want to haul in extra musicians to add to the sound?

Pearl โ€“ We work really well together, the three of us, weโ€™re friends.

WD โ€“ Would you still describe yourself as โ€œnoisy angsty hardcore spazz-pop punkโ€?

Pearl โ€“ At this point, yes, but who knows?

WD โ€“ What about the kind of things you like listen to. Is it quite different, or similar?

Pearl โ€“ Very different. Daniel, primarily, is a saxophonist. Heโ€™s incredible. And he listens to a lot of jazz.

WD โ€“ I read somewhere that you like Deerhoof and Lightning Bolt. Is that right, or have you moved on from that now?

Pearl โ€“ No, we love Deerhoof. [They performed with Deerhoof at the groupโ€™s Auckland gig].

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Steel has been penning his pungent prose for 40 years for publications too numerous to mention, most of them consigned to the annals of history. He is Witchdoctor's Editor-In-Chief/Music and Film Editor. He has strong opinions and remains unrepentant. Steel's full bio can be found here

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