What brought you together at such a young age- to write and perform music?
Shenoa: When we were younger, my dad, my brother and I started performing at a local school at an event they call the 'Pizza party.' Back then, Kian, my brother, didn't have a real drum set or even any proper sticks, so he just played on the old lego box. We played 'If I had a hammer.' After that we started inviting people to come and play with us. The first person we invited was a guy from my brother's class called Gilbert- he played the trumpet. Then we got a pianist, a bass player and so on.
Kian: I LIKE PIZZA!
Where do you get ideas for your songs? Who are the people or musicians that inspire you?
Shenoa: When I write songs, I write about events that have happened in my life that I feel strongly about. When I feel sad, I write sad songs. When I'm feeling happier, I write cheerful songs. For me, songwriting is all about sharing my feelings with others.
We all have our favourite musicians. mine is currently Taylor Swift. I find that she puts a lot of feeling and detail into her songs and you can just imagine the scene in front of you. But she didn't exactly inspire me- in fact, nobody really did. As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a singer- even before I knew bot any famous singers. Dad is great with helping me with my music. He's really encouraging- that's what really counts.
What inspired the name: Great South Band?
Shenoa: The name 'Great South Band' originated from the term 'Great South Land.' Of course, we are Australian and we thought it would be fun to do a bit of a play on words. Also, South comes from our family's surname.
Because you are still quite young, is it difficult to find opportunities to showcase your music? What are some things that help you get shows? Where do you play, and what is your favourite venue?
Shenoa: In some ways, yes. Sometimes we perform in places like youth centres and we often find that these are for older teenagers. However, some of the venues that we perform in suit us quite well- Chatswood Youth in the Mall was one of them. What are the things that help us get shows? Usually, word of mouth. They hear about us and contact my dad. One time we were busking, a radio announcer spotted us and asked if we'd like to perform live at the radio station. From then on, people started to get interested in us and now we perform each year at event like Chinese Lunar New Year and Kaleidoscope in Lane Cove.
At your gigs, what is the general atmosphere (or feeling in the air)?
Shenoa: The general atmosphere isn't like everyone's dancing around to rock music, and playing air guitar. It's more friendly and laid back. People listen to our songs.
What are your aspirations for the future? What do you want to be doing with your music, in say, 5-10 years time?
Kian: Our aspirations for the future would be to improve in our skills playing instruments. I think some, or most of us would want the band to be globalised and be quite popular. That would be a good achievement, but none of that is really good unless we have fun. I guess our goals would be to have fun, improve, get globalised and make more music videos!
Find them on:
myspace
greatsouthband.com
Great South Band
Great South Band is a group of young musical performers on a mission to have fun learning about playing songs together. They perform a mixture of catchy original songs and classic pop.
Their own songs draw inspiration from the best pop, soul, country and jazz artists. Their exploration of music at a young age is really quite inspirational- we asked Shenoa and Kian South a few questions, revealing a lot about themselves and their music.
What brought you together at such a young age- to write and perform music?
Shenoa: When we were younger, my dad, my brother and I started performing at a local school at an event they call the 'Pizza party.' Back then, Kian, my brother, didn't have a real drum set or even any proper sticks, so he just played on the old lego box. We played 'If I had a hammer.' After that we started inviting people to come and play with us. The first person we invited was a guy from my brother's class called Gilbert- he played the trumpet. Then we got a pianist, a bass player and so on.
Kian: I LIKE PIZZA!
Where do you get ideas for your songs? Who are the people or musicians that inspire you?
Shenoa: When I write songs, I write about events that have happened in my life that I feel strongly about. When I feel sad, I write sad songs. When I'm feeling happier, I write cheerful songs. For me, songwriting is all about sharing my feelings with others.
We all have our favourite musicians. mine is currently Taylor Swift. I find that she puts a lot of feeling and detail into her songs and you can just imagine the scene in front of you. But she didn't exactly inspire me- in fact, nobody really did. As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a singer- even before I knew bot any famous singers. Dad is great with helping me with my music. He's really encouraging- that's what really counts.
What inspired the name: Great South Band?
Shenoa: The name 'Great South Band' originated from the term 'Great South Land.' Of course, we are Australian and we thought it would be fun to do a bit of a play on words. Also, South comes from our family's surname.
Because you are still quite young, is it difficult to find opportunities to showcase your music? What are some things that help you get shows? Where do you play, and what is your favourite venue?
Shenoa: In some ways, yes. Sometimes we perform in places like youth centres and we often find that these are for older teenagers. However, some of the venues that we perform in suit us quite well- Chatswood Youth in the Mall was one of them. What are the things that help us get shows? Usually, word of mouth. They hear about us and contact my dad. One time we were busking, a radio announcer spotted us and asked if we'd like to perform live at the radio station. From then on, people started to get interested in us and now we perform each year at event like Chinese Lunar New Year and Kaleidoscope in Lane Cove.
At your gigs, what is the general atmosphere (or feeling in the air)?
Shenoa: The general atmosphere isn't like everyone's dancing around to rock music, and playing air guitar. It's more friendly and laid back. People listen to our songs.
What are your aspirations for the future? What do you want to be doing with your music, in say, 5-10 years time?
Kian: Our aspirations for the future would be to improve in our skills playing instruments. I think some, or most of us would want the band to be globalised and be quite popular. That would be a good achievement, but none of that is really good unless we have fun. I guess our goals would be to have fun, improve, get globalised and make more music videos!
Find them on:
myspace
greatsouthband.com
What brought you together at such a young age- to write and perform music?
Shenoa: When we were younger, my dad, my brother and I started performing at a local school at an event they call the 'Pizza party.' Back then, Kian, my brother, didn't have a real drum set or even any proper sticks, so he just played on the old lego box. We played 'If I had a hammer.' After that we started inviting people to come and play with us. The first person we invited was a guy from my brother's class called Gilbert- he played the trumpet. Then we got a pianist, a bass player and so on.
Kian: I LIKE PIZZA!
Where do you get ideas for your songs? Who are the people or musicians that inspire you?
Shenoa: When I write songs, I write about events that have happened in my life that I feel strongly about. When I feel sad, I write sad songs. When I'm feeling happier, I write cheerful songs. For me, songwriting is all about sharing my feelings with others.
We all have our favourite musicians. mine is currently Taylor Swift. I find that she puts a lot of feeling and detail into her songs and you can just imagine the scene in front of you. But she didn't exactly inspire me- in fact, nobody really did. As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a singer- even before I knew bot any famous singers. Dad is great with helping me with my music. He's really encouraging- that's what really counts.
What inspired the name: Great South Band?
Shenoa: The name 'Great South Band' originated from the term 'Great South Land.' Of course, we are Australian and we thought it would be fun to do a bit of a play on words. Also, South comes from our family's surname.
Because you are still quite young, is it difficult to find opportunities to showcase your music? What are some things that help you get shows? Where do you play, and what is your favourite venue?
Shenoa: In some ways, yes. Sometimes we perform in places like youth centres and we often find that these are for older teenagers. However, some of the venues that we perform in suit us quite well- Chatswood Youth in the Mall was one of them. What are the things that help us get shows? Usually, word of mouth. They hear about us and contact my dad. One time we were busking, a radio announcer spotted us and asked if we'd like to perform live at the radio station. From then on, people started to get interested in us and now we perform each year at event like Chinese Lunar New Year and Kaleidoscope in Lane Cove.
At your gigs, what is the general atmosphere (or feeling in the air)?
Shenoa: The general atmosphere isn't like everyone's dancing around to rock music, and playing air guitar. It's more friendly and laid back. People listen to our songs.
What are your aspirations for the future? What do you want to be doing with your music, in say, 5-10 years time?
Kian: Our aspirations for the future would be to improve in our skills playing instruments. I think some, or most of us would want the band to be globalised and be quite popular. That would be a good achievement, but none of that is really good unless we have fun. I guess our goals would be to have fun, improve, get globalised and make more music videos!
Find them on:
myspace
greatsouthband.com
