06 Dec 2008 // An interview by Shade
What is the best gig/event you have ever performed at, and why?

It's a crazy thing to try and nail down the best ever gig when each show is so so different and memorable in it's own way - and it's just that, a memory. My best show is always the one I'm playing - you can't get a better opportunity and feeling than sharing your music in the moment.

What is your favourite NZ venue?

After touring the country with The Bandits I'd have to say it's The Harbour Light Theatre in Lyttleton, Christchurch. The venue is superb - it has beautiful acoustics, is the perfect size for an intimate show that still can seat a great crowd and tom and helen are so welcoming and have managed to retain all the style and character of this great feeling theatre. Go Harbour Light Go!!

What can we expect to see from you over the next year?

I have just released my new album 'Holster' so I will be working on sharing that with as many people as I can. I'm also planning on recording over the summer and - fingers crossed - I will be like speedy gonzalez editing it all so I can release it by the end of next year!

What other NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

I'm a big fan of LA Mitchell - in fact Lauren gave me singing lessons when I used to live in Christchurch. It usually meant we'd end up sunbathing out the back with a gin and some fine harmonies! She's the next big thing in my book. SideKickNick is driving me nuts with his catchy tunes - in a good way - he has a fantastic band and are well worth listening to live and at home.?

If you could, what rumour would you start about yourself?

"Hey have you heard?"
"Nah I haven't."
"Reb's got a new record called 'Holster' and it's fuckin' awesome!"
"Nah - really?"
"Yeah man and guess what?"
"What?"
"You can fuckin' buy it in the shops man."
"Nah bro"
"Yeah bro . . . and get this."
"What?"
"She's got video's you can watch for free on her MySpace page."
"Insane! Quick, tell me the address!"
"It's www.myspace.com/rebfountain
"I don't believe it!"
"Swear on me mum it's true!"
"Wicked."

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Be true to yourself and keeping making your music - it's a hard road to be a musician and you have to work diligently to create your vision - but, like anything, all you have to do is do it, and keep doing it, and no matter what you'll get there - wherever that may be (:

Reb Fountain may be New Zealand’s best-kept secret. Identified as a “the best voice to come out of Christchurch in ten years” in the finals of Battle of the Bands way back in 1990 she disappeared off the Kiwi music map. Since then Reb occasionally appears at her old haunts, mesmerizes anyone who’s there with an increasingly polished repertoire of breathtaking vocals, soulful lyrics and melodic tunes, before vanishing into thin air again. So what ever happened to Reb Fountain?

Perhaps it’s more like what didn’t happen: She got her first guitar at six and by the age of thirteen she had mapped her poetry onto melody, writing lyrics to the sound of her acoustic guitar. She’s been singer/songwriter for three bands Immaculate Sun, Like Water and Beckoning South with talented musicians like Pete Woods (Salmonella Dub/DJ Rockwood), Tony Harlem (Future Stupid), Mark Tyler (Salmonella Dub) and Pete Hobbs (Lesley Speaker/Kitset); trained as a jazz vocalist at a college in Seattle performing with great musicians which drummed out any insecurities about playing live; lived and recorded in major musical cities like New York, Vancouver and London all the time living and breathing music.

Yet you could be forgiven for not knowing who Reb Fountain is. If you’ve been at one of her gigs you certainly wouldn’t have forgotten her. Or maybe, by chance, you would’ve heard one her low-fi 4 track recordings with Like Water on Indie Hit Disc (#5 and 8), doing the rounds on RDU and Radio One. There’s no doubt, with her immense talent and productivity as a singer/songwriter, that she should’ve made several records in the last decade, but that hasn’t been her path until now. She’s been a lover, a fighter, a mother, and a writer; got a degree, two gorgeous kids, plenty of knowledge with wisdom to boot, strong political leanings and a great big heart wide-open to the world around her. Fortunately for us it pulses deeper and stronger everyday with desire to have the freedom to write and play, perform and learn, travel and share music with others.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Reb Fountain

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