interview with JCK
How was the band formed? I was in the second year of music school and we had to start a band so I asked 3 lady friends of mine If they could help me out with back up vocals and dancing and they did for a little while but they all had their own music careers to look after. One of them became my girlfriend and we became a duo but then we broke up and I kept going by myself.
Can you tell us about your band? I’m not really a band I’m a rapper and music producer but I do play a mean guitar.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? When I first started JCK I wanted to try a new genre of music. I had previously played in Heavy Metal bands. I spent the year at music school writing Hip-Hop songs and trying my hand at rapping and I’m still making Hip-Hop 13 years later.
Where was your first gig? I think the first show I did as JCK outside of music school was a TV performance on “Maori TV” I had 3 girls dancing and singing with me at the time. It was very exciting.
Where was the latest gig? The latest gig is on Friday the 13th of February 2015 in a bar called Bar Eden in Auckland New Zealand.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? I do everything I even film, direct and edit my own music videos.
What genre do you feel you are? I classify my music as contemporary Hip-Hop with an alternative twist or you could also call it alternative Hip-Hop with Pop sensibilities.
Why did you pick that particular style? I chose this genre because I felt I had done all I could with Rock music. Hip-Hop provided a platform for me that still has unexplored territory and room for experimentation. It’s also a lot more affordable to record.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? I mainly write my own material but I have done a couple of covers and I like to add a few covers to my live performance.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
I have just completed my third full length album called Land Of The Wrong White Crowd.
It goes live for pre sales on Friday the 13th of February 2015 and will be released in June 2015.
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/land-of-the-wrong-white-crowd/id958402719?uo=4&at=10lrHH
I also have an EP called The Vampire Trilogy
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/vampire-trilogy-single/id730571920
An Album called The Bees
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/the-bees/id492335242
and another called JCK 5 Year Anniversary.
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/5-year-anniversary/id260088898
Do you have any clips on YouTube?
I have many music videos and many more to come this year.
Have a look at some of my more recent ones.
Tipee Tipee Taa Taa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJhAyrNJD0Y
Stroke The Cat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIwQ9aptQo
Straitjacket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65UFrOSlmOk
Meat Suit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3TISom3dfs
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am 187 which is quite young for a vampire. My sister was my biggest musical influence in my life. She would make me Hip-Hop mix tapes and taught me a few basic tunes on the guitar. I decided I wanted to be a musician after watching her play at pubs.
At what age did you start playing? When I was about 15 I blew off the dust of a nylon acoustic guitar that had 3 strings. It was laying untouched for many years in a wardrobe at home. I worked out a corny tune that sounded a lot like ‘Blister in the sun’ by ‘Violent Femmes’ but I put my own words to it. The words were “Martin the mouse lives in my Melanoma. Martin the mouse he lives off of me” Then I had a day dream about being a rock star and that combined with the influence from my sister solidified my life long ambition to make great music.
How old were you when you first stood on stage? I was 17 years old when I first stood on stage. I was the singer in a band with no name. We played at a festival to about 500 people. It was a fantastic experience.
What year was the band started? 2002
Best/worst gig you've played? I find gigs very stressful and nerve racking but it’s something you have to do to share the music. My worst gig was playing in front of some very drunk art school students at about 2am in the morning. We were the only Hip-Hop act playing that night and at the time white rappers were not very well received. We got kicked off stage and it was very insulting. We had only been going for a couple of months and performing was still relatively new to me. It was like a surreal nightmare. If someone tried that now I would knock them the fuck out.
What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? I have a video release show on Friday the 13th of February followed by half a dozen open mic nights I’m playing to warm up for my Album tours that I will be doing later in the year.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? The best band I’ve ever seen was ‘A Perfect Circle’. The sound was amazing and the show was incredible. I was absolutely mesmerised by the drummer Josh Freese and the singer Maynard.
What are the plans for the rest of the year?
I have an album coming out in June and the first single is dropping Friday 13th of February on iTunes so my year will be spent playing shows and promoting my album.
Land Of The Wrong White Crowd by JCK
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/land-of-the-wrong-white-crowd/id958402719?uo=4&at=10lrHH
What are your goals with your music? My goal is to release an album every year and make my art and music as interesting and as high quality as I can.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from more modern bands? I listen to all kinds of music. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Classical music like Ludwig Van Beethoven, Mozart and Edward Elgar and old Blues like Howlin Wolf, Sun House and Robert Johnson. But when it came to writing my most recent album I tried to keep up to date with current trends in Hip-Hop and took cues from current radio hits. I always put my own original spin on everything I do and having a brain full of all types of genres from many time periods helps.
What's the first step when making a new song? I usually get some words tumbling around in my head and then a tune. Usually while I’m working or not thinking about anything in particular. Then I record it on my smartphone so I don’t forget it. Then when I have time to write I go through my files and use the idea as a starting point for the music and then the rest of the song comes from trying out ideas and sounds, keeping the good bits and discarding the bits that don’t work until the song is complete.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I’m in two minds about this. In some ways it’s good for new bands to get exposure but people have become accustomed to getting music for free and it has made the art for many musicians, not financially viable to make. People will always still make music, but people like me have to keep a day job and spend all their money on making a good product with nothing in return but the satisfaction of making art. People don’t realise that making music, videos and playing shows can be very expensive.
What would you do if there was no music? I would probably be a very wealthy business owner instead of a poor musician.
How important are your fans? Fans are everything to me. Without them I am nothing.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?
My new single 'Tipee Tipee Taa Taa' is one of my favourite songs of mine at the moment and my song 'Spirit X' is an all time favourite because It’s got a lot of acoustic guitar in it.
See 'Spirit X'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50eaGznY4Q
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Just the love of music. Also I am the type of person that once I set my mind to something I don’t give up until I achieve my goal. I have chosen a very challenging goal indeed. But I won’t ever stop. I’m in this for life.
Do you have any webpages?
Website www.jckmusicnz.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jckmusicnz
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/jckinfo
Twitter https://twitter.com/JCKNZ
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? There's only one reason to make music and that is because you love it. If you have any other agenda you won’t last long. It’s a lot of hard work with very little reward so do it for the love of music.
How do you view the music industry of today? The music industry is changing quickly. last year I think only Taylor Swift sold enough albums to reach Platinum status out of the millions of artists in the world. No one is paying for music and that’s scary because it could see the end of good music. The plus side is that music is more accessible than it’s ever been. People are still largely influenced by the radio and T.V but If you want to reach out and find new and interesting music it’s all at your finger tips. Theres so much to choose from and if you want you can find it all for free.
What advice would you like to give other bands? If you want success you have to dedicate your every waking moment to music and to improving and you have to do that for many many years. It’s a hard road but if you are meant for this lifestyle you won’t want to do anything else anyway. So don’t give up. Ever!
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Getting people to pay attention to you out of the millions of other musical acts you’re competing with.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? riday the 13th of February at Bar Eden Auckland. We’re having the JCK music video reveal for the single Tipee Tipee Taa Taa plus in association with 1outs street battles we bring to you the ‘1outs freestyle battle tournament’ Where rappers will be competing for the title of ‘1Outs Freestyle Battle Champion’ You should be there because it’s going to be really exciting to watch the battles and see the new video.
What is your favorite crappy instrument? My crappy “Karina” electric bass that I bought for $100 new. I have to rest the pick up on my knee to ground it or it makes a really loud humming noise. I still have used it in plenty of recordings.
Whats your Pre-show ritual? I like to smoke a bit of crack, drink some blood from a big boobed blond girls neck and worship Santa before I go on stage.
