🎤 Band Origins & Identity
• Band beginnings — Tell us a bit about how you became a band.
Willy (lead singer) didn't start playing guitar until his early-mid
twenties, and upon returning from London, he and Sam (bass) started jamming
with two other mates. Fortunately (for us), Willy's guitar playing wasn't quite
up to standard, so the others wanted to explore other options on guitar.
However, Sam, hearing the potential in Willy's voice, decided to stick it out
with him. They knew Josh (guitar and BVs) and Ned (drums) from school days and
a shared social circle in Auckland, and immediately started jamming with them
and Ned's cousin, James (saxophone). What started off as a passion project for
playing at mates' parties and the odd gig in Auckland to a loyal group of
friends, soon built into something much more. The release of early singles,
Tickets To Space and Valium, saw the band's listenership grow and during the
Radical Road recording sessions at Roundhead Studio, it became apparent that
another guitarist was needed. Ned called in Arthur (guitar and BVs) in August
2020 during one of Auckland's many lockdowns. The rest is history.
• Band name story — How did your band name come about? What other names were
floated?
The story
involved Josh seeing a surfing video on YouTube titled NO CIGAR, and he
thought, 'hey, that's a cool name for the band'. The guys thought so too, and
banked that one as a back up in case they came up with something better.
As time drew on, it became apparent that they weren't going get anything
better. It played nicely into the self-drepracating nature of kiwis humour as
well, with the saying, close but no cigar. They came close to finding
something else, but never did. I guess that's why we stuck with it.
• Influences — What bands or artists have influenced your sound?
There are too many to mention but to make a start you could look to the
Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fontaines DC,
Wunderhorse, Oasis, The Stone Roses, Pink Floyd. The list is endless.
• Band description — For people who aren’t familiar with you, how would
you describe yourselves as a band?
We call our sound semi-rock. It's not too hard, not too soft, but with a
nice balance of both.
• Day jobs — Do any of you have day jobs, or is music the full‑time gig?
If so, how do you juggle both?
We all work in some capacity outside of the band. Music is a notoriously
difficult industry to make a living out of it seems. We hope that one day NO
CIGAR will be at a point where it can support us all and we can continue to
make music together and tour. There's a lot to do, particularly when you're
self managed, but it's a challenge we enjoy. It's good to be a part of the
whole process. It makes releasing music and touring feel that much more
special.
• Hardest part — In today’s world, what do you find hardest about being a
band?
You're vying for a thin slice of people's attention. There's so much content
and music being made, there's this pressure to stay relevant. Luckily for us
the music comes naturally, so we've had a solid output of releases in the short
time we've been together.
• Inspiration — You’re pumping out songs with what looks like ease —
where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere. We're very lucky to be living this life. When it comes time to
writing and recording an album, the problem is never that we have too few
songs.
• Social media — You’ve built a great social media presence. How did you
find it in the early days when you were starting out?
We've found it's easiest just to be ourselves as anyone can see through it
when you're forcing something. I suppose social media is that insight
into your life as a musician and what it's like to be on tour with four of your
mates, living toe to toe (sometimes literally). It is a bit of an afterthought,
but in this day and age it feels like the role of a musician is changing, so
much so that social media is a necessity as opposed to a nice to have.
🎵 Performing & Shows
• Favourite place — Where is your favourite place to play?
Wherever the last show of the tour is, as that always has the best
afterparty. But no, we don't have favourites. If we had to choose it would be
whoever sings the loudest, dances the hardest, and doesn't relentlessly
demand songs that we're not going to play. Believe in what we're giving you.
• Dream venue — What venue or festival is your ultimate goal to play at?
Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury. That is the dream, followed by a 5 night
residency at Wembley.
• Favourite part of performing — What specific part of performing is your
favourite?
Hearing the crowd sing our songs. There's nothing quite like it
• Superstitions — Do you have any superstitions before a performance?
No superstitions, just some solid hacky sack back stage and a fiery pep talk
to get us amped for the show.
⚡ Fun Quick‑Fire Questions
• Favourite artist
Fontaines DC
• Favourite Australian artist
Parcels. Saw them on the last night of Glastonbury as the sun was setting.
Possibly the best set from the whole festival.
• NZ bands to watch
Frank On Tap, Ivy, Day We Ran, Flaxxies, The Daffodils, Double Parked,
Borderline, Hun Lynch, Jude Kelley, Marlins Dreaming, Mild Orange, School Fair,
Daily J, Park Rd, Earth Tongue, Half Angel, Dartz, Pool House, George Villa
• Favourite album
Romance or The Art of Loving
• Best old‑school song
Someday - The Strokes, if you can call that old school
• Best post‑gig meal
A late night kebab on the way home. You don't feel as guilty as a fast food
drive through, but it still satiates the hunger. Good chance to debrief after a
gig and spill sauce all over your gig outfit.
💡 Fun Extras
• Useless talent or weird skill — What is the most useless talent or
weirdest hidden skill in the group?
Ned is the NZ hand standing champion.
• Did you know? — A fun fact about your band that people might not know?
We've only ever played 3 support slots (Mako Road, The Butlers, Tunes of I).
The rest have been headlines or festivals.
Photos by James Griffin @_jamesgriffin
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