Swimming low down with The Stremes

After crying a river and then mopping it up, we pulled ourselves together and tried to go back in time (in our minds of course) and remember what was said. So here goes our attempt at pulling a rabbit out a hat...

Histreme

The Stremes are definitely a South African band. Their history is a tad tricky since they were pretty much here, there and everywhere. Atom went to Irelnd to seek his fortune as a folk musician while Wayne worked with his dad doing cover gigs in Cape Town. Wayne met Benjamin at a cover gig at a time when he too was about to relocate to London. Wayne placed some demos on MySpace while in the UK which were discovered by an A&R scout. They signed to A List Records; Atom arrived in the UK from Ireland and joined the band. Benjamin abandoned his solo career and played bass - which he'd never done before and POOF! The Stremes were alive and rocking.

UK vs. SA

In South Africa any band will tell you it's all about the gigging - fitting as many gigs as possible into a calendar month - just to get some street cred and to build a formidable fan base - all in order to make it in the music industry. The Stremes however make it seem almost too easy. They didn't have to do too many gigs; after they were "discovered" they had some great exposure with some of their tracks being used in TV ads and such. They didn't have to go looking for a market to sell to, the market found them.

Wayne described the difference between the UK and SA music industries as "comparing a bicycle to a 4-wheel drive vehicle". In other words, SA is a real small fish in a pretty big pond. But enough with the metaphors. The international scene is basically much bigger than South Africa. Apparently, in the UK there is a lot more competiton and tons of venues at which to play so it's a pretty tough industry out there by the sounds of it.

"Music is my life and my life is music"

Wayne and Benjamin - who were present for the interview - both grew up with music. Both their parents were ambitious musicians in the country, so it naturally become a part of their lives; it was a natural path to follow for them. Wayne grew up in Cape Town and did many a cover gig with his dad while Benjamin spent a large part of his youth travelling with his parents.

Music is a full-time path for both of them and they pretty much get by day-to-day living on it. They're focused on making it big in the industry at the moment so making music has encapsulated their lives. There is no time for hobbies and extra-mural activities but Benjamin does enjoy going out for a pint or two at the local pub with some buds.

"But most of all, we'd like to thank the fans!"

BizLounge caught The Stremes at Stones in Table View two weeks back and we were very suprised to find that they'd actually built up quite a big fan base in the area already. They say these are all newbies who hadn't heard of The Stremes until they showed up in SA but it's the same group of people at every gig they've done so far. Suddenly the fans are making friends with each other and friends of their friends are becoming friends; it's all about spreading the love for The Stremes. They describe their fans as pretty intense (we also noted this with a whole buch of groupies decked out in The Stremes shirts and a bra being tossed on stage...), but they love the support nonetheless.

What's in a name?

These days you've got to have a name that means something, I think. A band, in my opinion, is just like a brand - and you've got to be able to build something from the material you've chosen to work with - a good solid, catchy name is one of them. So where'd The Stremes come from? Well, it was all Wayne's idea. Apparently, he'd googled Stremes and it was an old English word probably from Chaucers days but for him it's all about the streaming of digital info and how their music "stremes" to listeners in the digi-age. It's pretty much a play on the word "streams" which can be opened up to many interpretations.

Odds and ends

Adam Shapiro wasn't present at the interview, but we were curious about the origins of his stage name, Atom shape - seemed a bit bizarre to me. Turns out it was Wayne who bestowed the name on Shapiro during there schooling days when they dreamed of becoming as big as The Beatles. Richard Starkey = Ringo Starr / Adam Shapiro = Atom Shape - go figure.

Wayne also apprently rocked out with Obi-Wan Kenobi aka Ewan McGregor on drums once upon a time. Wayne thought Ewan should perhaps stick to acting...He'd rather be on stage with U2 than anyone else in the world but just the thought of it makes him giddy.

If Wayne could be a superhero, he'd be Aqua Man and Benjamin would like to be someone who can fly.

Influential whispers

It's hard in this day and age not to sound like a band that's already come and gone or one that's still alive and well. All the music you listen to influences your output but it's what you do with those sounds that matter. It is good to know that The Stremes influences are pretty rock solid bands that always knew what they were doing. They are - in no specific order - Cream, Hendrix, Oasis, The Beatles, U2, The Verve, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, The Waterboys, U2, The Killers and The Kooks etc.

Wayne likes to think of their sounds as straightforward rock 'n roll noting there are way too many sub-genres to actually box your music in and since they have a rather eclectic mix of sounds its better to call it something that encompasses all those things. They do, as Benjamin pointed out, have a softer type of sound at times, producing melodies in an accoustic laid-back style.

The Stremes will be doing lotsa gigging in the Cape Town vicinity till around September/October 2009 afterwhich they will be jetting off to where the big boys play to prepare for world domination. If you're up for the ride, make sure you check out this band live. They're playing at Dizzy's in Camps Bay on 25 July.

The Stremes are Wayne Pauli (Vocals/Guitar), Benjamin Peacefull (Bass/Vocals) and Atom Shape (Drums)

For more info on this super cool band go to www.facebook.com/pages/The-Stremes/20030546704 and www.myspace.com/thestremes.