‘The Eighth Note’ is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians.
A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music.
Today’s guest is Daniel from the Richter City Rebels.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
We’re the Richter City Rebels, New Zealand’s first and finest New Orleans Second Line brass band. We proudly draw on the traditions of bands like Rebirth Brass Band, TBC, Dirty Dozen and Hot 8 Brass band to create wild and energetic party music with loads of groove and hip-hop swagger. The music is big, it gets inside you and the beat is relentless. We write most of our tunes ourselves, but we also play a few classics from the NOLA brass band scene and some nostalgic bangers to get the party cracking.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
We’ve almost finished assembling our second studio album. We’ll have some new tracks ready around the middle of this year and an album soon after that.
Where is the best place people can follow you and find your music?
We are on Facebook and Instagram, we have a really great Website and you can listen and buy all our music through the Website or on Bandcamp. There are also loads of cool videos from us and our fans on YouTube.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
There are nine of us so this is tough, but we love Move Your Body by Rebirth Brass Band, To Be Continued by TBC Brass band, and Phrenology by The Roots, if we have to pick.
Which other Wellington musicians would you like to work with?
We are lucky and have tons of great guests at our gigs. We love music that grooves and makes you feel good, so we’re big fans of Raw Collective and The Phoenix Foundation. We also secretly dream of making a record with Lorde. Hah! (it’s not really a secret, I think everyone already knows).
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
Ooooooooohhhhhh tough one. We could never ever choose between our spiritual homeland of Havana and the ultimate party spot The Rogue and Vagabond. Best bars in town, hands-down. Havana and Rogue are SO good to us and so supportive of the scene, we are incredibly grateful.
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how to the compositions and songs take shape?
We generally write most of the songs individually and bring them to rehearsal as ideas and parts. We make changes and decide on the structure, but they’re never fully formed until we play them live. We know straight away what works and what doesn’t – often unanimously! – the second after we finish the tune after playing it on the gig for the first time, which is kind of exciting and means that the tunes all end up with maximum vibe.
Where/when is your next gig?
Homegrown – the Local Stage in Frank Kitt’s Park, Sat. March 4th, 7:05pm. Can’t wait.