GRAVITY WINS AGAIN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK BEYER & NIKKI VAN WIJK
WEBSITE: http://www.gravitywinsagain.com
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Rock / Pop

GRAVITY WINS AGAIN HAS RELEASED A REALLY COOL MUSIC VIDEO RECENTLY FOR THE SINGLE "BAIL ME OUT". YOUR WEBSITE WWW.GRAVITYWINSAGAIN.COM HAS A REALLY COOL PAGE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO AND WATCH IT. TELL US MORE ABOUT THE VIDEO?

NIC: The video was fun to make, and we also found ourselves well equipped with knowledge after spending a day with walls covered in news paper. Knowledge is power.

GARETH: I read up on all the latest current events and news about the world markets, whilst simultaneously rocking out and sweating way too much. The video was directed by Peter Jones, and he and his team were super professional. Drew wasn’t even allowed to look him in the eye, that’s how intense he was.

PEOPLE CAN ALSO GO AND CHECK OUT WWW.LOVEHATECAKE.CO.ZA WHERE THEY CAN PRE ORDER YOUR NEW EP "LOVE.HATE.CAKE". MEANING THAT PEOPLE CAN PLACE THEIR ORDER AND PAY FOR A COPY UPFRONT AND HELP YOU MAKE THIS CD. WHO CAME UP WITH THIS CONCEPT AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO FANS?

GARETH: Our producer, Matt Allison (no relation to me), and I came up with the idea sitting in the studio one day. It’s been going well – we really would like some more people to pre-order the CD, so that we can give you guys the best product we can. You get a whole ton of free stuff when you pre-order, and we’re looking at throwing in even more stuff soon. Please check out www.lovehatecake.co.za and look around. We’d appreciate it a lot!

HOW CLOSE ARE YOU GUYS TO REACHING YOUR GOAL OF RELEASING THE EP?

GARETH: Most of the tracking will be finished this coming Saturday (February 21), and then it comes down to raising the money for mixing, mastering and pressing, which is pretty costly. We want to make it as good as we can, so that when you hear the songs they will sound exactly the way we want them to.

WHILE YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON GETTING LOVE.HATE.CAKE OUT HOW ARE THINGS GOING IN THE "LIVE" DEPARTMENT, MEANING HOW HAS YOUR LIVE ACT IMPROVED IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE AT A GRAVITY WINS AGAIN SHOW?

NIC: People can expect to see and hear us play music and cure colds and flu, all at the same time.

GARETH: I think we’ve got tighter for sure…there have also been some shows where it has basically turned into a standup comedy show with songs inbetween. We all enjoy entertaining, and besides, its boring just going to see a band and they ignore the crowd and play 10 songs and get off. We’d rather make people remember us by playing some cool songs and trying to make them laugh and have a good time rather than being yet another forgettable rock band.

HOW DOES YOUR SETUP DIFFER BETWEEN RECORDING AND PLAYING LIVE?

NIC: It doesn’t really differ, other than the fact that when we record, we have someone telling us to play the song one or two more times. That seldom happens when we play live.

GARETH: Right...unless my mom is in the crowd. Then we have to play the song over if there is even the slightest mistake. She is ruthless, I tell you.

EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT BEING IN A BAND AND TRYING TO MAKE A SUCCESS OUT OF IT IS HARD TO SAY THE LEAST. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED SO FAR?

GARETH: Wow…I think that with the internet and Facebook, Myspace, etc. it has helped bands to get their name out there a lot. It has also made things a lot harder, as there are now 400 million bands vying for your attention online. I think that kind of oversaturation definitely makes it harder to be noticed. There are so many awesome bands out there that don’t get the attention they deserve.

ARE YOU GUYS PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT BAND, AND IF THAT RECORDING CONTRACT CAME AROUND WOULD YOU GUYS SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE?

NIC: I’m proud to be making music and music videos without the help of a label, it all depends, if the right dotted line came along it could be an option.

GARETH: I agree – the more you can do yourself the better, especially with the state of the music industry worldwide. Book your own shows. Make your own merch. Shower five times a day. All good advice!

WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING ON ANYTHING RELATED TO
GRAVITY WINS AGAIN?

NIC: I make cartoons (3D Animation) and do some illustration and design. Oh and play in another band.

GARETH: I am a web designer, and Drew works for the man (aka Mxit). He used to be a full-time male belly dancing instructor, but sadly the market for it has dwindled. It’s a dying art form…much like Latin or Simply Red.

DO YOU FIND THAT WHAT YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE "MUSIC" INFLUENCES HOW AND WHAT YOU WRITE FOR GRAVITY WINS AGAIN SOMETIMES?

GARETH: Absolutely, all the songs are about life experiences and ideas and stuff like that. Obviously we don’t have songs about designing web pages or animating, but you still interact with people day-to-day in your job, and in normal life as well. We all listen to a lot of different types of music as well, and I think that helps a lot. Nic claims that listening to Beyonce helps him to come up with killer drum parts and breakdowns – I’m not convinced myself though.

PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW IDEAS WHEN WRITING MUSIC, BUT ARE THERE A FEW RULES THAT YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER DEVIATE FROM WHEN WRITING SONGS?

GARETH: Wow. Good question – I’m not sure if I’m even smart enough to answer that. The only thing I can think of is always write from the heart, and be genuine.

NIC: People should never try to fuse hip-hop with gregorian chant.

OTHER BIG PLANS FOR THE YEAR 2009?

GARETH: We want to do something called “The Two Month Challenge”, where you just let your facial hair grow unashamedly for two months with shaving. Maybe we will do something cool to tie in with that – we invite you guys to join us! We will post details about it as soon as we have organized it properly. Women need not apply (unless you already have your own moustache).

IS THE CHOCOLATE CAKE USED IN YOUR PROMO PHOTO ON WWW.LOVEHATECAKE.CO.ZA REAL OR DID YOU GUYS HAVE LIKE THIRTEEN "PROP" CAKES ON HAND TO GET "THE PERFECT SHOT"?

NIC: Wow, you think that shot was perfect?

GARETH: That was a great cake, possibly one of the top 5 cakes I’ve ever had. We just had one, it was baked for us by our photographer Kim. I was in love with it – I would have married that cake if I could. Alas, our country’s legislation frowns upon a man marrying baked goods.

ANY LAST COMMENTS/ADVICE OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

NIC: I’d be REALLY excited to see America have its first Ginger president.

GARETH: I’d like to thank Matt Allison, who is awesome. Peter Jones for wearing his Scottish hat and directing our video…please go and check out our music video for “Bail Me Out” on MyVideo.co.za or Youtube. If you don’t, Peter will find you – and don’t think he won’t.