A Word in Your Ear: Before the Snooze

Before the Snooze are one of several bands who were inspired to form as a result of working with Brendan Christie on City Library's Nook and Cranny Music Festival.  Stephen Hillman is the band's songwriter, and in his day job lectures in Digital Media in Design at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art. We caught up with Stephen to ask about what playing music in the Libraries has meant for him, and how he stays connected to music during life in a bubble.

Ed: You formed Before the Snooze in 2018. What was it about working on Nook and Cranny that inspired you to form the band and get into live performance?

Stephen: I guess it was a similar experience to watching a game of football and wishing you could get on the pitch and play yourself. It was also a safe place to try gigging again after a few years away from it raising a family and moving from the UK to New Zealand. It's a family friendly event and I thought it was a good chance for my children to watch me perform before they reached an age where I'll be the embarassing dad, which we've reached now haha.

Ed: How does a library venue and audience differ from gigs in other venues?

Stephen: The thing about the nook and cranny that is unique, certainly in Dunedin, is the diversity of the music in that 5 hours of the Festival. And it's happening all over the library on multiple floors and locations at the same time. A family can come in and just explore the library and be attracted to a sound of style they like, then move on. It also gives new performers the chance to play alongside experienced ones and I've witness great moment of caring and sharing of advice among the performers over the years. There is not a 'top of the bill' so to say.

Ed: Where do you get your inspiration to write songs?

Stephen: Life, I guess. Songwriting has always been a weird one for me. I can spend many a fruitless day trying to write a song but the better ones seem to pop into my head unplanned. I will always get a few chords, then find a melody and quickly record to my mobile phone. Then it might be years before I can write the rest of the song to finish it. Back when I was younger I hit a little groove mainly because of another songwriter and I, in my old band, competing with each other. Not in a bad way, but it a way that we inspired each other to write quicker and better. You can get into a flow that way. These days its harder to commit so many hours to it. I'm sitting here with hundreds of ideas on my phone that need finishing.

Ed: As a sound technician and video artist, how have you integrated those skills into your work as a musician?

Stephen: I guess I just love creating something from nothing. And both music and video has helped me do that. I started making videos when I was a teenager skateboarding. Filming clips on VHS and then editing on two machines. The results were terrible and nearly unwatchable. Then in my early twenties I picked up the guitar. When I finally got round to being in a band, the internet had just started to have the capabilty to show video so I guess it was an obvious step to do both. Record a song, then make a little video to go on My Space or whatever.

Ed: What challenges has life in the level 4 bubble presented for you as a musician, songwriter and band-member?

Stephen: Isolation. I like spending time in my own company when I'm starting something new and this experience has also given me the time and reason to try some new things, but there is no comparison to getting in a room with the band and jamming the song together. That is where it goes from a simple song to something more together, inspired by something another member will do or them putting their own style to the song. I'm never short of ideas or new stuff to try. One big project I'm working on now is taking mobile footage from a gig by one of my favourite bands and I have started to edit it together into a full concert video. I managed to contact people who filmed some of the clips on YouTube and they have given me extra footage to make the edit better. This is a massive ongoing project which I hope to release free for the fans soon.

Ed: Have your experiences in the bubble changed how you will create music in the future - inspired you to write songs, innovations in videography/sound/recording?

Stephen: Yeah. I think its quite good for us as a band of dads where we can only rehearse one evening a week usually. This has given us a way to work on songs separately at home which could be useful. I'm not sure the others in the band have enjoyed the experience so much because we are limited to playing along to a click track to keep us all in time with each other. This can be a little boring as a few of our songs change tempo and it's time consuming to set up a video shot as well as record your part. I think in a few weeks or months there will be a multitude of new software released that will help people collaborate musically online, and improvements in the live streaming capabilities. It's always hard because there is a delay between people so you can't currently play live but it's only a matter or time before the technology exists.

Ed: Back to NZ Music Month, what are some of your fondest memories of the Nook and Cranny Music Festival at City Library?

Stephen: I remember the first time I saw Person Will in the teenage space. I just thought it was great seeing someone do his thing like he was performing to a stadium full of people, giving it everything. I loved the mentalist playing on the ground floor between the stacks. I liked seeing a bands like One Day Sane do an MTV unplugged style set, and seeing people like Boaz play every festival in different bands and setups. The thing I look forward to is planning, meeting and doing this stuff with everyone involved each year. From you Kay, to working with Brendan, the photographers Adam and Paul, the performers, the volunteers. The feeling that we are all volunteering our time to do something awesome. Oh, last year getting to perform last was a special moment as well. i hadn't realised how many people were watching us till we saw the video back. It was a real buzz seeing everyone clapping along and a privilege to be asked.

Ed: What do you have planned for this year's online festival, since we aren't able to have music performances in the Library this year?

Stephen: Well firstly I'd like to say that Brendan and Person Will are working super hard to try and make this years festival an amazing experience. Will had joined to help make a live stream as he previously worked on the Waitati festival live stream and has some awesome innovations and approaches to make the stream look and sound great. My phone has never been making so much noise as it has the last few days with the messages they are sending each other planning every aspect. I'm just sitting back in awe at them. As a band we have been recording some backing tracks with all the members to make a 20 min set. Then the plan is that I will play them on my TV and film myself playing along to that which it pretty different. We have also learned a cover version by a New Zealand band that had links to Dunedin as the lyrics seemed appropriate. Really looking forward to the weekend and seeing what everyone will do. The line-up looks great and diverse, something for everyone. It's going to be great. Tune in!

Nook and Cranny 5.0 is scheduled to livestream on the Nook and Cranny Facebook Page from 10am - 4pm on Sunday 3rd May. A free online event to enjoy from the safety of your bubble.