“We feel like we’ve done New Zealand enough now,” Marshall says. “I think there’s been about ten tours, so it makes sense to come across the Australia and look for a bigger crowd.”
Although Australia has its own problems with regard to market size, it appears to be a much larger pie when put next to the NZ market, although their gig-going dedication may give us a run for our money. “It definitely is a much smaller market here in New Zealand and you have to be really busy to sustain yourself but at the same time you can’t play everywhere too often,” he explains. “You wanna do ya Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch maybe three or four times a year but that can even start to be pushing it. We’re based down south, we do have that dedicated following at home but you need to limit your shows if you want to make some sort of buck out of it.”
Buzzy, the follow-up to their debut Nuggety, was a while in the making and the three or four years that lapsed between album one and two is not on the cards for album number three. “We released Buzzy back in May in New Zealand and that was three or four years since the last one which was longer than intended, I mean, we’re not here for long are we?” he says somewhat philosophically. “There was a lot more expectation, especially from our hometown down here, but we actually felt like we had more freedom this time. We had a nice new studio to use and we were able to just go in as we wanted. With the first album, we knew we had to get in and get it done because what’s the point of touring if you’ve got nothing with you to sell or promote? You may as well be treading water.”
With the Left Or Right members walking the usual path of flirting with casual bands before they committed to their musical monogamy, it was being immersed in and desperately wanting to deviate from the New Zealand roots/reggae scene that cemented their direction. They have taken their love of all things vintage even further with Buzzy being released not only on orange vinyl but also on cassette, in addition to CD and digital formats. “The three of us realised that we were the ones who were in it for the long haul,” he explains. “There was a really heavy reggae/roots scene and we got caught up amongst that but we had such strong influences from the psychedelic scene and elements of the heavier side of things, we couldn’t resist having them all merge into the one thing but at the same time tried to make it seamless. A lot of the time in New Zealand, people were finding it hard to palette us. They want their dub and reggae and hey, it’s good stuff. But we couldn’t resist that fuzzier stuff with those long jams and heavier tone.”
When Buzzy finally came together the reception set Left Or Right’s reputation in New Zealand. The wait may have been long but was obviously worth it in both the eyes of the band and punters. Mike Holland, honorary Left Or Right member, producer and all round awesome sound guy, took on production and engineering duties and is permanently responsible for the band’s live sound. “Mike was pretty sick during our first album so we couldn’t use him but he’s at every show and on every tour; we don’t do a show if Mike can’t do it,” he says. “He’s hugely important to our sound. He was involved from the pre-production stage; he knew the songs well from earlier touring as well. He’s coming down with us to Australia and it’s so good to have him on board because you have that extra 20 percent confidence knowing your sound is going to be looked after well.”
BY KRISSI WEISS
