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Photo – Tim Cotton

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Interview with
NO CIGAR

(21st August 2024)
Interview with Dave Bruce

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Photo – Tim Cotton

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Since their formation in 2019, NO CIGAR has rapidly established themselves as one of New Zealand’s most promising musical acts, captivating audiences with their infectious grooves and compelling storytelling. The release of their first single Tickets To Space at the end of that year was just the beginning.

In 2020, NO CIGAR released their critically acclaimed EP ‘Radical Road’ which showcased their unique blend of psychedelic rock and groovy guitars. Their growing popularity has been fueled by their dynamic live performances, which have earned them a loyal and enthusiastic fanbase. Following their debut album ‘Bienvenido’ (2022), NO CIGAR has solidified their position as a major force in the New Zealand music scene, earning airplay on popular radio stations such as ZM, Radio Hauraki, and The Edge; playing at festivals such as Rhythm & Vines, That Weekend and Rhythm & Alps; and rising to over 20m+ streams across DSPs. 

Fresh off the success of their European debut tour this year; which saw them play sold-out venues in Paris, Amsterdam, Manchester, and London; NO CIGAR is ready to share their unique sound with even more fans worldwide.As part of their upcoming northern hemisphere tour, NO CIGAR will be treating fans at BIGSOUND 2024 to a sneak peek of some unreleased music, giving listeners a taste of what’s to come in the next chapter of their musical journey. Expect to hear fresh tracks alongside fan favorites from their recent album, ‘The Great Escape,’ which has been making waves in charts and playlists worldwide.

BIGSOUND SHOWCASES

Tuesday 3rd of September Soapbox Beer 7:15pm – 7:45pm
Thursday 5th of September  Ric’s Backyard 11:15pm – 11:45pm

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PRAISE

“..(‘Concubine’) is well constructed, featuring a wide range of instrumentation, taking a cool sonic turn halfway through. It starts out hazy and slow, but soon finds a crowd pleasing groove that’s bound to be received positively at shows and festivals this summer.” ROLLING STONE (on ‘Concubine’, 2023)

“Each performance is a journey guaranteed to envelop you in romanticism, to the ever-evolving backdrop of a thumping sonic experience. With elements of alternative, folk, and indie rock, they also utilise groove-based rhythms with psychedelic undertones to keep your feet moving & your shoulders rolling.” TWICE THE HYPE

“No Cigar has noticeably little banter, and are mostly here to play their music, which they do very well. The crowd was wild and some people climb onto their friends’ shoulders to see over the rowdy room full of music lovers. Anyone who’s not on someone else’s should is awkwardly pressed together as the venue was clearly at capacity, if not over” 13TH FLOOR 

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How did the band come together? Where did it all begin?
We’d all played in bands growing up, and we found ourselves band-less at the start of 2019. Our drummer’s sister got married early that year, she needed a band to be pulled together for the party, and we kept jamming beyond that. The original material came thick and fast, so we used our mates’ flat parties to trial some stuff on them, and people seemed to vibe it, so we kept it rolling. Glad we did. 

Briefly describe your journey to date.
Our first release came later that year in 2019, with ‘Tickets to Space’, before ‘Valium’ dropped amidst New Zealand’s first major lockdown. Covid slowed things down and forced us to focus more on writing, which saw the ‘Radical Road’ EP come about and the introduction of Arthur on guitar and BVs. A few busy summers followed with a couple of albums produced by our mate Connor Jaine (Mako Road). We hit Aussie for the first time in 2023, before a European escapade later that year. ‘The Great Escape’ album release tour was immense to kick off 2024, and since we’ve been focussing on album #3. Big tour plans in the works for 2025!

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How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
‘Soft cock pop rock’ is how a fan once described it. There is quite a breadth of sound in our repertoire, with our live set having multiple peaks and troughs in energy. The lyrics and melodies resonate strongly with our fans, and you could find yourself slow-dancing to it, or moshing by the set’s end. There’s something in there for everyone. We once had three generations of a family come through to our Melbourne show, and they’d driven all the way from Canberra for it. Legendary.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
Fontaines D.C. are a band that have been doing some epic work of late. We almost had a chance to see them in NZ, but a cyclone hit the weekend of Laneway, and the gig got scrapped. They’ve been releasing epic shit since day one, and have redefined their sound masterfully between albums. 

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Your latest album ‘The Great Escape’ was released last December! What are the signature tracks on the album, and which are your favorites to play live?
‘Concubine’ has been received really well in New Zealand, particularly with the two national rock radio stations, and holding its place in the top 20 on the local singles charts a year after it’s release. It’s a fun one to play live, but my favourite would have to be ‘Great Escape’. The build up and chorus following the bridge invokes a special response from the crowd and seeing people belt that chorus along with Willy is always immense. 

Any new music on the drawing board?
We’ve been working on a new album which we’ll be dropping next year, along with a song or two that might see the light of day before 2024 is out. It’s been a special body of work to create, and we’re very excited to see what people think. 

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BIGSOUND is coming up next month? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Having come off the back of a songwriting and recording spell, we’re keen to sink our teeth into our live set. We love getting on stage and playing the songs we spend so much time creating. It’s a special outlet. The sets are short, so it’ll be stacked with energy and maybe our next single thrown in the mix. 

What other tours and events are coming up?
We’re playing a couple of shows in Sydney and Melbourne the week before Big Sound, and then we’re on to the UK for a tour and songwriting trip. We have our biggest show to date booked in London at the Islington Assembly Hall which will be huge, and then planning an album release tour. 2025 will be massive. 

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
Jimi Hendrix to just go wild on a solo. Bring him back from the grave to just rip it onstage and make us all feel something. I feel like the crowd would appreciate that. It would be memorable. 

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What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them? 
Ultimately we want to create a living from our music. As a 5-piece independent band from NZ who still work day jobs, it’d be epic to be able to commit entirely to our craft and create an income that is sustainable for us and our partners. With the release of our two albums to date, we’ve seen huge growth and been able to travel the world. We just want to keep doing what we love and keep it growing as we release new music. We want to tour the US and ultimately play festivals like Glastonbury and Coachella. We’re on the right path and confident album three is going to be the best. We’re ready.

With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out? 
Play as much as you can early on. Keep jamming with other musicians and going to their gigs. You learn so much from others. Keep an open mind and keep experimenting. Find new ways to write and record, and be ready to commit a lot of time! Most importantly though, have fun with it. If you’re not enjoying it, you’re doing something wrong. 

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
Seeing what your music means to people is the best part of performing live. When you release music, all you see are numbers and data coming back at you – this many people are listening to this song in this country. It starts to feel real when you can see and hear the crowd sing the songs back at you. When you meet the people after the show. You fly to the other side of the world, and they have stories about how your music defined a certain period of their lives. That’s special. The career highlight was playing shows on the other side of the world, and seeing that you’ve made this mark on people so far away from home. We hope we can keep doing this and eliciting these kinds of reactions for many years to come. 

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Here are some quick questions for quick answers. Let’s start with these three:
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Probably not appropriate
What is the one topic you can talk about for hours? The difference between an otter and a beaver
What is the thing you like most about yourself? My friends

Finally, just a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Below the Bassline – Ernest Ranglin
Artist – The Beatles
Movie – Taxi Driver
Place to visit – My Dreams
Venue to play – Hollywood Avondale, Auckland NZ
Food – Pho
Drink – Chilli Margarita
Person in History – William Wallace

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Follow NO CIGAR
OFFICIAL WEBSITE – FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM –YOUTUBE –TIK TOK
SPOTIFY – APPLE MUSIC

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Photo – Tom Grut

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AMNPLIFY – DB