It's My Kind of Interview - James See (Streamer Bendy)

Alex Woodward, Erinn Swan and James See of Streamer Bendy!



Yesterday we wrote about Streamer Bendy, one of the most exciting up and coming acts on the Brisbane music scene. Have a read of our New To The Scene feature and then check out our interview with guitarist, James See!

Q. You've announced that you've got some live shows coming up. Where can your Australian fans get their Streamer Bendy fix over the next couple of months?


JS: 31st of March at the Bettle Bar in Brisbane and also an acoustic show at Barsoma this coming Wednesday!! Should be good fun, we haven't been playing much live shows at the moment, so it'll be nice to get back into it. And I haven't ever been to the Beetle Bar so I'm looking forward to that cause I have always wondered what it's like on the inside.


Q. Moving on from live music, any news you can share about an album release date?


JS: Aha we keep pushing it back and waiting for the right time to release it but there's still no real confirmed date. Sometime in 2012. We are very stoked on it! We had a lot of people come together to help make it sound the way it is and yeah.. it's got some killer tunes!


Q. You've done some recording in Stockholm and even filmed the video for 'Away From Home' there. What was the experience of recording overseas like and... why Sweden?


JS: I think I can speak for all of us that Sweden was amazing. We had the opportunity to work with a lot of very talented people that helped us shape this record and make it as good as it could be! We recorded in Stockholm mainly because Erinn and Matt had been there previously on song writing trips and made some really good contacts, so it seemed like the perfect place to record there. And it's an awesome city!!


Q. You were a finalist in the pop category at last year's inaugural Queensland Music Awards for 'You're So Cool.' What was it like, making it that far (beating out acts like Ball Park Music and John Steel Singers) and are you submitting anything for the 2012 awards?

JS: We were stoked! It was a fluke for us, especially with a lot of other great Brissy bands with great tunes! We put them in not thinking much of it and we even put a song in the urban catergory for laughs which got us in the finals as well. We got to play on the night as well which was great fun.


Q. What music are you guys listening to at the moment? Any new Brisbane bands catching your eyes and ears?


JS: Between the six of us, we are all listening to things from Radiohead to LMFAO and everything delicious inbetween. But anything with a beat and melody we are all pretty keen on. Ball Park Music, John Steel Singers and DZ Deathrays and Tourism are killing it!!


Q. Congratulations! You've made it to the finals of the world karaoke championships. You've got one more song to sing before you walk away with the $100 000 prize so it's got to be a good one. What karaoke classic would you rock out with?


JS: Genesis - Invisible Touch!!!!


Thanks to James for taking the time to answer our questions. If you're around Brisbane on Wednesday or Saturday night, make sure you head on down to the Barsoma (Wednesday) and Beetle Bar (Saturday) to check out Streamer Bendy live! That's it folks... let's listen to some sweet, sweet Genesis.

New To The Scene - Streamer Bendy



Streamer Bendy!


If there was ever a time for a new Australian act with commercial pop appeal to make an impact at home and abroad it's now. With Gotye and Kimbra dominating charts worldwide with 'Somebody That I Used To Know,' the eyes and ears of many music fans will be focused on what else is coming out of 'straya. All we need is a couple of singers/bands to release something big and we just might have an Australian invasion on our hands. Kimbra (yeah, I know she's from NZ... but if she can win an ARIA I'll pretend she's Australian like everyone else) is putting the moves on the US, wowing critics and fans with performances at SXSW and her supporting slots for Gotye and Foster the People will only add to her growing buzz. The Veronicas, the last group from home to chart in the top 20 of the US and UK charts, have been away from the spotlight 4ever (see what I did there), but will always be a strong contender for international success with their catchy tunes and pseudo-lesbian behaviour. What? It worked for Tatu. Anyway, there's this one band right. A newish one from Brisbane. They exude a certain confidence and charm that makes me believe there's the potential for them to attract the attention of the world. They've found a fine balance between pop and rock and their lead singer's a bit of a babe. I'm talking about Streamer Bendy... and they just might be the next big thing.

Incredibly long introductory paragraph over, let's examine this Streamer Bendy. Fronted by former Nina May vocalist Erinn Swan and Matt Newton from Repeat Offender, this six-piece have apparently been, "channelling all the bad things you wanted to do in high school since they were in kindergarten." So says their Facebook. James See, Damon Whiteley, Alex Woodward and Anthony Mathews make up the rest of the band, matching Swan's evident enthusiasm and proving themselves to be more than bit players despite the difference in experience. These crazy kids have been hard at work on their debut album over the last couple of years, moving between Brisbane, Stockholm and Sweden for recording and writing while building a reputation for being a world of fun throughout their live performances. The quality of their work isn't being overlooked, with nominations at last year's inaugural Queensland Music Awards in the categories of Pop ('You're So Cool) and Urban ('I Wantcha Number'). Urban? Yeah... Swan can pull off a Ting Tings inspired urban performance when required. What of it?

There's this massive opportunity for an Australian act to seize the moment and step into the spotlight right now and I feel like Streamer Bendy could do it for a couple of reasons. They've got the right attitude; not taking themselves too seriously, while still being very good at what they do. Check out any interviews with them, their YouTube videos or even their Facebook info. They're having fun and it makes them likable. I'm a bit questionable of their obsession with being party rockers, given my disdain for LMFAO, but we'll let that slide. For now. Erinn Swann has all the qualities needed in an awesome frontwoman. Attractive, nice voice and in her element live on stage... can't go wrong. Most importantly for their future success, Streamer Bendy have a certain universal appeal. Kids that like Miley Cyrus will like them. Rough as guts Mums that like P!nk will love them. Tweens that like The Veronicas will like them. Home and Away viewers who enjoy Kate Miller-Heidke will like them. Guys will like them because there's a pretty blonde singing and the band look like they're having a fun time. Everyone wins. Hopefully it's Streamer Bendy that are the biggest winners. Keep your eyes and ears on these guys!