How much of your income is derived from record sales & how much comes from touring/live gigs?

I would say record sales probably account for about %5 or less of my total income. Live gigs maybe more like %20. Most of my income as a musician comes through licenses for film and TV.

What advice would you give young musicians just starting out?

Work on your songwriting and take that side of things very seriously. Songs are what all music is based on and without good songs a great singer or guitarist will never make any impact.

How does being on a major label differ from being on an independent? In today’s musical climate is one better than the other?

I don’t think it makes much difference anymore. But I could be wrong. Certainly majors have a lot more sway with radio and they have more money to spend on advertising but there are advantages to small labels too. You usually get better deals from small labels and you get a team of people working on your product who are very passionate about what you do. Ultimately the choice between the two comes down to who is making offers and who has the best vibe. Working relationships are paramount.

Who would you cite as your biggest musical influence/influences?

That is almost impossible to answer. For me it might be the Velvet Underground who are a great 60’s underground rock band. The Beatles are pretty hard to beat when it comes to stealing great ideas off a great band!

Do you have any future projects/new recordings in the works?

Yes we are working on a new Phoenix Foundation album at the moment.

Check out Samuel Flynn Scott and Luke Buda from the Phoenix Foundation at the Wellington Central Library on Thursday 28th May 4.30-5.30pm

Author of the rather popular Hoard zines (so far we have seen his collection of library cards, stamps, and sugar packets), we always thought Matt was a shy and retiring type- dropping off his zines without so much as a hello, but he is bit chattier on the old keyboard…to quote Matt’s email: ‘Thanks for the interview, I had a bit of fun putting a few words in your mouth. I hope you have fun, too!’ [read: everything Zine Librarian says below is fictional]

Zine Librarian: Hello!
Matt: Huh!? Hi! What? Oh, it’s you. I’ve seen you around. I know you a little bit. Zine Library, Zinefest, something else… How’s life?
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Here comes the fourth in our series of zinester interviews, but our first ever international interviewee.

American Nick Wortham first came to our attention in 2007 with the beautiful zine of his colour photography, Put Your Ear to the Floorboards. We have just received his latest offering, A Place Called Go Home. Both are available to borrow from the Wellington City Libraries’ Zine Collection on the first floor of the Central Library.

Describe an average day:

An average day involves waking up on my moulding bed mat in West Oakland and quickly making and drinking too much coffee. Then I bike around town for friends, band practice, photo projects, or the general milling about the train yard by my house. Someone’s band seems to be playing in this town every other night so shows happen a lot. The recent rain has led to my friends and I drinking cheap wine and dreaming about Summer. Also I’ve recording everyday trying to finish a tape of songs I’ve written.

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