On stage with There's a Tuesday

Words by Hannah Powell. Images by Dan Stewart and Fran Scrimgeour.

Yo Vocal sat down with local band There's a Tuesday. While chatting away with the indie sweethearts amongst dumplings and tofu, much was discussed: their upcoming tour, their summer ahead, and their new EP 'Dance With Me Before We Cry'.

Fresh-faced from their performance for RDU98.5 FM, the band and I sit around a small table outside a café in Otautahi's central. Meet Nat (guitar and vocals), Minnie (guitar and vocals), Joel (bass), and Gus (drums). Between the four of them are a student, a builder, a teacher, aid and a drum teacher. After hours, they're There's a Tuesday, Christchurch's dreamiest indie-pop band to date.

With a new EP release and an upcoming tour through December to Feb, there's much to get excited about for the summer ahead. Kicking it off at Blue Smoke, Christchurch on December 4th, stop-offs include Wellington, summer festivals Le Currents and Tora Bombora, finishing up in Auckland on February 19th. For Christchurch, Welly, and Auckland, Gus says, "[it's our] first proper headline tour, which is cool". With a road trip on the cards, "I'm excited to just travel," says Joel.

With Nat only just back from Auckland, the band has been busy perfecting their live festival set. Now together again, the band-mates-turned-best-mates are excited to be back in the same city. A week ago, their debut EP 'Dance With Me Before We Cry' was released. Talking to them prior, I asked how they were feeling before the big day. "Super excited," Gus said. 

"Quite ready for us to have some general work out there". Their first chance at having a body of work, the band agree they've put a lot into it. Listening to it now; their effort is evident. All I can say is it's an excellent sound.

"'Dance With Me Before We Cry' follows that suit of dancy, fun songs, and ends on a solemn, a sort of 'exhale' note," Minnie explains. Featuring popular singles 'Amsterdam' and 'Dandelions', loyal fans are in for a treat. Full of both upbeat and mellow songs, the band was inspired by musicians such as Phoebe Bridges when it came to their experimentation of sound. With a bit of Aldous Harding-esque harmony and influenced by Kiwi artists like Bic Runga and The Beths, their EP has a point of difference to other young emerging artists alike. Exploring themes of acceptance, friendship, heartbreak, and FOMO, The title 'Dance With Me Before We Cry' relates to the order of the tracks, too, Joel adds.

Overall, the EP upkeeps their dreamy demeanour, sneak-peeking their play on production with Will McGillivray. Featuring gorgeous harmonies from Nat and Minnie, and with Joel on bass and Gus on drums, their band dynamic both in-person and onstage is special to see. The four are humbled by their external support, too, giving a shout out to Damien from Meow label and Walt Robberds from The Good Batch. "There's a lot of people who are on our team now who could get us somewhere with music," Minnie says. "We're feeling a lot more confident releasing the EP. Hopefully people will like it!"

Beginning two years ago, There's a Tuesday was born out of four people meeting through the music scene. As Joel explains it, Nat and Minnie were in a band called Household, Gus was (and still is) in Run77, and Joel himself was in indie band Merlinco. With all four still in high school, many saw each other playing at Smokefree Rockquest and at the local venues around Christchurch. "One day out of the blue Minnie Facetimes me," Joel says. "I don't even know who Minnie is, and she asks, 'would you like to play bass for us'?" It was an immediate 'yes'. Not long after, Gus, a family friend of Nat's, joined as drummer. Nat and Minnie, on the other hand, had met at Gus' birthday party two years before.

As talk turns to song-writing, they admit they've never actually written a song together from scratch. With a bach in Akaroa calling for their next song-writing sesh, Nat, Minnie, Gus, and Joel are keen to get over there for a few days to practice and tighten their set and write some tracks as a four-piece band. 

With a big year under their belt, I ask the band what their highlights have been thus far. Supporting Mako Road in the north a week before the interview, Gus and Joel agree on their highlight being playing a sold-out show at The Powerstation, and at Meow, alongside them. For Nat and Minnie, it's friendships. Minnie says "I'm gonna go real wholesome…just developing as friends, not only as a band [this year]." To which Joel replies, "I think we're all best friends now, aren't we?"

With a slot at Le Currents, Rhythm and Alps, Rhythm and Vines, Nest Fest, Tora Bombora, Nostalgia, and Electric Avenue, there's a lot of opportunities to go and support. The band is most excited for new indie festival Le Currents, as well as their New Year's Eve evening slot at R&V. For Gus, "I'm super excited for Nostalgia fest – such a dream to be playing on the same line up as Bic Runga and The Beths".

"After summer, what's next?" I ask. With a little bit booked for next year, Minnie says, "it'd be nice to just focus on getting new tunes…maybe an album." There's some talk about moving to the same city, too. But most importantly, it's about writing together as a band. In the meantime, go pop their EP on repeat.