Aiming to dissect the cross section between the creative process and the industry side, Cross Section is a popular interview series hosted by Shannon Coulomb.

Fan Club, a four-piece band from Auckland, has been making waves in the local indie-rock scene. They won the 2023 Auckland Regional Final of the SmokeFree RockQuest and placed second in the AJ Hackett 'Live More, Fear Less' Competition. Known for their dynamic and engaging live performances, they have opened for notable acts such as Ekko Park, Double Parked, Coast Arcade, and recently Borderline at The Tuning Fork, where they were joined by special guests Frankie Venter and Spencer Coyle.

The band have just released their debut EP, Towards the Sun and are set to headline their EP Release Party at Big Fan on July 14th, 2024. This all-ages event will also feature special guests The Boondocks and Kliff’s, promising to be a must-attend show for fans of indie rock.

:@anishchdhry

Congratulations on your new EP, Towards The Sun. How did the creative process look and what were the biggest challenges you faced making this album?

The biggest challenge we faced making this EP was definitely finding funding for recording. Fortunately for us, our RockQuest Top 30 placing got us a recording for No Caller ID and NZ on Air New Music Single funding for Westbound. The rest were funds raised from gigging.

Do you apply the same creative processes to other aspects of the Music Industry, for example, in your approach to marketing yourself?

Definitely. Indie artists have to be the Jack of all Trades today, so we try to approach promo with as much creativity as we can. Fortunately, Emma is an avid filmmaker and can quickly shoot and edit our videos. She keeps an eye on trends and then we have the odd content creation session. We kind of hated it at first but we now have a lot of fun with it. Fortunately, we are all pretty good actors.

Is your creative process something you feel to have locked down or does it generally change on a song by song/release by release basis?

It’s pretty fluid, really. It usually starts with Caleb bringing in a riff and then Emma gets some lyrics and melody going. Thom comes up with some deadly beats and Tilly hooks in with some bass. But sometimes the songs come fully written. For example, Emma wrote Beach Weather and also Sedate (Sedate was written via an NZ on Air New Music Development grant in collaboration with Jesse Sheehan (Producer) and Bella Rafflyn (Coast Arcade)). But we only bring in songs that suit our sound.

What qualities do you appreciate the most in other musicians?

The qualities we really appreciate in other musicians is an open mind and a willingness to experiment. We also really appreciate kind, supportive, professional people who are positive communicators.

If you could collaborate with another NZ musician/band, who would it be?

If we could collaborate with any other NZ band it would definitely be The Beths, Park Road and Fazerdaze.

How do you keep an eye to the future in regards to your work and work ethic? Do you generally focus on just the project at hand or are you considering how it fits into a larger plan?

We pitched to Soundsplash recently and they were shocked that we were an ex-RockQuest band that were still together. We know the odds are stacked against us, but we ensure we are all working to the highest professional level. We focus on things like turning up on time, performing our best, and doing the hard mahi - we’ll let the future take care of itself. Our plans really only extend to the beginning of next year with a focus on festivals for the summer and touring regionally between now and then. Hopefully, we can play Australia sometime next year.

Where have you had the most success in terms of marketing to the Aotearoa audience? If applicable, has this translated well to an international market?

Probably our Music videos and IG reels - they tend to do better than if we boost posts

There are so many resources available to musicians in Aotearoa, such as Muzic.net.nz, Music Managers Forum Aotearoa and APRA/AMCOS. Have any of these (or other) NZ resources played a significant role in your journey so far?

We are so lucky to be musos in New Zealand. We got our start with Play it Strange and the recording of Never Ever. We then got help from RockQuest, NZ on Air Music, NZ Music Commission, Muzic.net.nz, and Paula Yeoman (NicNak Media) via MMF - they have all been so supportive of us!

Has having access to these resources led to any break-through moments for you, particularly in regards to crafting a successful narrative in your online presence?

Play it Strange without a doubt got us started. Without that opportunity, Fan Club really wouldn’t exist - and Never Ever is still our biggest streamed song with zero promo - it got picked up by Spotify’s Discovery Mode at the start of 2024 which was a pretty big breakthrough for us. The RockQuest Auckland Regional final was easily our biggest breakthrough moment for our live performance, and it significantly changed the way we perform. Probably getting the NZ on Air New Music Single grant felt even more significant, because we weren’t just competing against students, but all NZ bands and it felt very great to get that acknowledgement.

Are there any resources that you would recommend to NZ musicians who are coming to terms with the business side of the craft?

MMF is definitely helpful in guiding on the business end. We’ve had help on the legal side of things as well as promo and band management advice. APRA AMCOS also runs some valuable courses and are always willing to give out help, but MMF give you a chance to speak one to one with a range of experts which is so helpful. Shout out to Paula Yeoman, Mikee Carpinter and Joey Tashkoff.

: @_chloescamera

Pre-save Towards the Sun here

*****

Shannon Coulomb is a member of Auckland bands Swerve City and Impostor Syndrome. He is passionate about music education and is currently Curriculum Specialist in Music Education at AUT University and Head of Music at Birkenhead College, Auckland.

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