Verg: Hey look at this -
it’s Zed
Ben does this really gay
hand action and says hi
Verg: what have you
guys been up to? Its been about two years since you released the
album.
Ben: and its been a long
time since we’ve been and visited you.
Verg: I know, so what
have you been up to? Tiddlywinks?
Ben: yep, tiddlywinks
Verg: Hopscotch?
Ben: a bit of that
Age: Juice TV, a bit of
Juice TV - no, we’ve been writing, recording. We spent a bit of time
in Australia last year. The odd trip to LA and we just made a video
over there which was quite fun. The time has been filled up.
Verg: you’ve been touring
too - you toured with pretty big names
Ben: yeah, we toured Australasia
with Robbie and Coldplay
Verg: And what was that
like?
Ben: Great.
Coldplay cos they’re my favourite band pretty much.
Verg: were they nice people?
Ben: They were real nice.
I didn’t hang out with Chris much but Johnny the guitarist and Guy, the
bassist, we had a few nights out and they were lovely. Just British
guys you know saying “a year ago we were washing dishes then - bam!” (Why
does Ben sound so much more gay here – Meg’s comments on watching it –
must be the use of the word “lovely”)
Verg: did you get to meet
Robbie?
Age: Very briefly, we caused
a few security scares by just being there, you know - we’re quite dangerous,
but we met him.
Verg: does he have quite
a big posse around him?
Ben: Yeah, all these ex-SAS
guys dressed in black with the headphones and they’re quite scary looking
- you don’t wanna screw with them, you might get your beans.
Verg: Now you’ve just been
in the states filming a video that’s going to be on a movie - how did you
land that deal. That’s massive.
Ben: yeah. I think
its just a matter of good timing, good luck, and good contacts - the management
and record company in the states just pull stings, call favours and they
liked the song and it just happened. We were just sitting home watching
juice and got the call.
Verg: What do you reckons
the biggest difference between home and states?
Age: the biggest? Well,
my top 50… I’d have to say its bigger. And from that stems everything
else I think. New Zealand’s better.
Ben and Age then proceed
to say ‘New Zealand’ in over-pronounced Kiwi accents.
Then some song is on and when it returns to the studio, Nath is on the couch with Verg.
Verg: tell me about this
new single of yours
Nath: Starlight, its our
brand new single. Just your classic love song really
Verg: Inspired by
affairs of the heart?
Nath: yeah, I think
so, it’s just simple and nice and catchy
Verg: when did you
write it?
Nath: I didn’t actually
write it myself, but it was written by Rivers Como who is the lead singer
of Weezer. It was a song he wrote that he didn’t really dig himself,
the record company in the States heard it and fell in love with it and
flicked it on to us. Weezer did a demo and it was okay and we did
a version and they loved it so we got to do it.
Verg: and recently you just
shot a video for it overseas?
Nath: yeah that was
a lot of fun
Verg: so tell me about that,
cos its for the soundtrack of the new Rob Schneider flick.
Nath: yeah the
movie’s called “The hot chick”
They then rattle off things
Rob Schneider’s been in - namely Deuce Bigalo and The Animal, although
I mostly know him as the “you can do it!” dude.
Verg: have you seen
the movie yet?
Nath: I’ve seen the new
one, and it’s pretty funny. The whole concept is with the role reversal
thing, so we did the same type of concept with the video, where Rob did
a swap thing with me.
Verg: What was the
shoot like?
Nath: oh it was hilarious,
he was a great actor
Verg: is he a nice
guy?
Nath: yeah, he is,
down to earth and friendly
Verg: how long did
it take you to shoot it?
Nath: um, 16 hours,
it was like a big long day, pretty intense but lots of fun.
Verg: did you have
food and all the rest of it?
Nath: oh there was
catering the whole time you could kinda chow down the whole time, I spent
a lot of time there, you’d always hear the RTs - “Where’s the lead singer?”
they always knew where to find me.
Then they play the video of Starlight
Age and Ben are back on the couch with Nath and Verg.
Verg: back here with Zed
Ben: these are comfy couches
Verg: they are, they’re
kinda like the back of a car
Nath: good for posture
Age: yeah come on
people, sit up straight
Verg: that is so exciting
watching that video. I was saying before the lighting, everything’s
different, how does it feel to see yourself in a video that’s so American
looking?
Nath: especially the guys
with the college jackets on, that looks kinda funny.
Age: weird
Nath: its good though
- to see the professionalism of it.
Verg: was there a
different feeling on the set that making your other videos?
Age: its very fast
paced and not to say it’s unorganised here, but a lot of crew and everyone
knew what they were doing - just boom boom boom.
Ben: and its the thing where
you stop doing the song and there’s two people wiping your face, offering
water, and we all cut our fingers and we had bandages over our hands
Age: there’s a couple
of times I thought what are we doing here, four monkeys from New Zealand,
what are we doing here, spins your head a bit
Verg: and you’re going to
be the first single from the soundtrack to “the hot chick” - that’s pretty
cool
above other people that
are on the soundtrack - who else is on the soundtrack?
Ben: we know Jimmy Eat World
- who we’re big fans of
Age: we don’t’ “know” them
Ben: no, we know they’re
on the soundtrack
Nath: yeah
Ben: one day maybe
Verg: and while you were
over there, for four days, you were there for Halloween, I mean America,
I mean we get a few trick or treaters but nothing like that
Nath: there was so
many crazy people out on the street, it was funny aye. And its supposedly
the worst traffic night of the year. We tried to get out of this
parking lot and it took ¾ of an hour. It was … slow.
Age: don’t complain
about the traffic here
Nath: yeah, Auckland’s
fine
Ben: but you’d be
walking down Hollywood and there’s these freaks walking round, people with
no pants on.
Nath: I didn’t see that!
Ben: We saw this guy,
full on Mohawk, piercings, (um, hello Ben, you have a le bret, don’t mock
other people with piercings idiot) he had a leather vest but no pants,
just walking round.
Nath: So Halloween
is no pants day.
Verg: So did you guys
go to any parties, or trick or treating or anything?
Age: didya didya didya?
Ben: I got lotsa candy *so
dodgy*
Ben: one of the people from
the video that we made friends with, had rich friends and was having a
party in the mansion next to Hugh Hefner’s place
Age: you’re getting there
Ben: then I can die happy
- Hugh please! (my mum made nasty remarks about Ben’s sleaziness, but you
can make up your own :)
Ben: and the gates
open and there’s all these Ferraris and its actually Babyface’s old mansion.
And chicks in wet nurses uniforms and naked people, it was out of control.
Nath: and Age and
I went back to the hotel and read a book and brushed up on our algebra
and slept.
Ben: and Andy and I got
home as you got up
Nath: and then we went and
saw a lawyer
Age: actually Andy came
along
Ben: but I piked
Verg: did you dress up?
Ben: no, we went as Kiwi’s
Nath: that’s freakish enough
Ben: they love the accent,
are you from Australia? Isn’t New Zealand part of Australia?
Verg: speaking of holidays
what are you doing for Christmas and New Year?
Nath: for New Year’s we’re
going to Wellington, and hopefully Palmerston North, if a sponsor comes
on board - whoever you are.
Verg: both on one night?
Nath: yep, we’re workaholics.
Verg: well thank you for
coming in and the video looks great.
Nath had the straightened
hair look going, although he had a bit of hat hair going on, also I think
its getting a bit long for that fringe over his face. Age had some
jersey with a falcon *?* on it and Megs reckoned his hair sticking up made
his head look like an egg *sorry age*. Sleazy was wearing the
glassons bracelet and a three quarter sleeve tight top, quite similar to
the one that I bought from Glassons, although my one doesn’t have a picture
of a an airplane on it. Only girls should wear tops like that, unless
of course he was making a stop at G.A.Y. on the way home.
Her lips were saying "no," but her eyes were saying, "read my lips."