The Good China (22/11/2011)
_The Good China are ready to launch their latest single, ‘No More Maps, No
More Roads' at the Grace Darling in Collingwood on December 3rd. Before they do, we speak to Mit about band origins, an ensemble of instruments and of course, 90's video-games.
Eight people is a lot of band! How did you all meet?
Cara China had a vision and conducted some successful blind dates to form a new band after being inspired by Arcade Fire's Big Day Out sideshows in 2008. I don't think she intended it to be such a large band but I suspect she liked everyone too much to say no! Some may say we are the only internet relationship to actually work out.
How did you all decide on your name?
It was surprisingly methodical and tantrum free. Each band member proposed some names and we voted on our top five. From there we eventually whittled it down to The Good China. We did dodge a few bullets in hindsight; names we could've been called including Tigerbite and Flannel Beef...
What is the song writing/recording process like with eight band members? Does someone take the lead or does everyone just pitch in?
Generally Nicko, Jag or Ryan will present a song to the rest of the band to have a listen to and a think about what parts they could play. At rehearsal we bring it all together and play around with structure, chords and instrumentation until we feel it is at a performable standard.
There seems to be a band obsession with 90’s video games (the best kind I might add). Why 90’s video games and which ones are your favourites?
My personal favourite is 1080 Snowboarding on N64 (the only game I could defeat my brother on!) but I'm pretty sure the boys would cite Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007 & Street Fighter II. Maybe some Tekken too. In terms of why - I guess it all comes down to being children during the late 80s and mid 90s. We still refer to these videogames because of the nostalgia they evokes and because they blew our minds back in the day!
The band have quite a variety of instruments in their repertoire, when did you guys realise that glockenspiels, recorders, ukuleles and melodikers sound cool and when did you learn to play such instruments?
Sometimes it's hard to fit eight people into a song playing conventional instruments. We use these different instruments as another way to add texture and utilise spare hands. A lot of these instruments are similar to other instruments we know how to play so it's not a terribly difficult transition. The fact that most of us have short attention spans also helps- it's way more fun to play on different instruments instead of sticking to just the one!
If you could share the stage with any band in the world, who would they be and where would you perform?
For a long time we've been fans of Los Campesinos!, Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire. Performing on the forest stage at Fuji Rock Festival with any of them in Japan would be pretty mind blowing! Alternatively, playing at Meredith or Golden Plains with anyone would be awesome!
Which bands would you list as your major influences?
The above three are pretty influential on us, as well as bands like Modest Mouse, The National, The Flaming Lips and Johnny Foreigner.
What can people expect when they come to your gigs? What kind of experience do you want the audience to come away with?
People can expect a mild sense of euphoria (so fans have told us) and to witness Nicko and I bicker about whether teleportation or levitation is a better superpower. We have a lot of fun on stage and we love to see people getting in to the set and our music. It's pretty rad to finish playing and seeing everyone beaming!
What was the inspiration behind‘No More Maps, No More Roads’ and the play on words between that and the name of your previous sampler ‘Old Maps, New Roads’?
It was actually just a coincidence. We do not have a map fetish as it may appear. 'No More Maps, No More Roads' is more inspired by the notion of being able to start afresh and forge your journey ahead. 'Old Maps/New Roads' actually came about because I got lost in one of those housing estates in Heatherton where every street and house looks the same and couldn't find my way out because the roads were newer than the Melways in my little old BMW.
You’re set to launch your new single ‘No More Maps, No More Roads’ at The Grace Darling hotel on the 3rd of December, how are you feeling about the launch?
Pretty excited! We've had terrific feedback about the single and we love performing this song in particular! I'm currently designing some kind of stage decoration to celebrate the launch... come down and check out my craft skills!
Nazia Hafiz
The Good China play the Grace Darling in Collingwood on December 3rd, 2011.
Eight people is a lot of band! How did you all meet?
Cara China had a vision and conducted some successful blind dates to form a new band after being inspired by Arcade Fire's Big Day Out sideshows in 2008. I don't think she intended it to be such a large band but I suspect she liked everyone too much to say no! Some may say we are the only internet relationship to actually work out.
How did you all decide on your name?
It was surprisingly methodical and tantrum free. Each band member proposed some names and we voted on our top five. From there we eventually whittled it down to The Good China. We did dodge a few bullets in hindsight; names we could've been called including Tigerbite and Flannel Beef...
What is the song writing/recording process like with eight band members? Does someone take the lead or does everyone just pitch in?
Generally Nicko, Jag or Ryan will present a song to the rest of the band to have a listen to and a think about what parts they could play. At rehearsal we bring it all together and play around with structure, chords and instrumentation until we feel it is at a performable standard.
There seems to be a band obsession with 90’s video games (the best kind I might add). Why 90’s video games and which ones are your favourites?
My personal favourite is 1080 Snowboarding on N64 (the only game I could defeat my brother on!) but I'm pretty sure the boys would cite Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007 & Street Fighter II. Maybe some Tekken too. In terms of why - I guess it all comes down to being children during the late 80s and mid 90s. We still refer to these videogames because of the nostalgia they evokes and because they blew our minds back in the day!
The band have quite a variety of instruments in their repertoire, when did you guys realise that glockenspiels, recorders, ukuleles and melodikers sound cool and when did you learn to play such instruments?
Sometimes it's hard to fit eight people into a song playing conventional instruments. We use these different instruments as another way to add texture and utilise spare hands. A lot of these instruments are similar to other instruments we know how to play so it's not a terribly difficult transition. The fact that most of us have short attention spans also helps- it's way more fun to play on different instruments instead of sticking to just the one!
If you could share the stage with any band in the world, who would they be and where would you perform?
For a long time we've been fans of Los Campesinos!, Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire. Performing on the forest stage at Fuji Rock Festival with any of them in Japan would be pretty mind blowing! Alternatively, playing at Meredith or Golden Plains with anyone would be awesome!
Which bands would you list as your major influences?
The above three are pretty influential on us, as well as bands like Modest Mouse, The National, The Flaming Lips and Johnny Foreigner.
What can people expect when they come to your gigs? What kind of experience do you want the audience to come away with?
People can expect a mild sense of euphoria (so fans have told us) and to witness Nicko and I bicker about whether teleportation or levitation is a better superpower. We have a lot of fun on stage and we love to see people getting in to the set and our music. It's pretty rad to finish playing and seeing everyone beaming!
What was the inspiration behind‘No More Maps, No More Roads’ and the play on words between that and the name of your previous sampler ‘Old Maps, New Roads’?
It was actually just a coincidence. We do not have a map fetish as it may appear. 'No More Maps, No More Roads' is more inspired by the notion of being able to start afresh and forge your journey ahead. 'Old Maps/New Roads' actually came about because I got lost in one of those housing estates in Heatherton where every street and house looks the same and couldn't find my way out because the roads were newer than the Melways in my little old BMW.
You’re set to launch your new single ‘No More Maps, No More Roads’ at The Grace Darling hotel on the 3rd of December, how are you feeling about the launch?
Pretty excited! We've had terrific feedback about the single and we love performing this song in particular! I'm currently designing some kind of stage decoration to celebrate the launch... come down and check out my craft skills!
Nazia Hafiz
The Good China play the Grace Darling in Collingwood on December 3rd, 2011.