The Midnights interview (2006)

NZ Musician February/March 2006 (Vol:12, No:7) By Natasha Francois

Fresh Talent: The Midnights

Midnights are fast putting Auckland on the local reggae map with their rhythmic blend of original flax roots reggae, soul, ska, rock steady and blues.

The Midnights officially came together in late 2002, after Wellington natives Leo Horgan (lead vox/guitar), Chris Varnham (organ) and Berin Hunter (drums) moved to Auckland in search of fellow musos. These three core members had met in fifth form and formed the Velvet Underground-inspired European Son. Varnham later drifted up north and Horgan moved into Hunter’s spare room where the pair jammed their way through a cold and dreary winter, eventually themselves relocating to Auckland.

In no time at all they had hooked up with Varnham ‚ flatmate Will Mark-Brown (bass guitar), Isaac Sciascia (percussion) and Erena Hodgkinson (backing vocals) to form the current Midnights lineup.

They have graduated from playing parties to major events including Soundsplash, Alpine Unity, the Grey Lynn Festival, AKO5 and Orientation week. Along the way The Midnights have honed their skills playing with the likes of Katchafire, House of Shem, Cornerstone Roots, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Salmonella Dub, gaining a small but loyal following in the process.

Despite, or rather because of, its more established reggae scene, Wellington has proven a difficult crowd for the band to break into. They find it harder to get noticed there among so many other highly regarded reggae-flavoured acts. But that’s one hurdle they are keen to overcome with the help of their debut five song EP ‘Hot Country’. Distributed by Brian MacMillan’s (Cornerstone Roots) Motherland Records label, it was recorded and mixed by Daniel Howard from Downbeat Studios in Hamilton, with a couple of tracks recorded on Mark-Brown’s PC at home.

Using the EP release to get their name out, they’re hoping word-of-mouth will attract new audiences to their gigs before the next wave of touring commences. They have shown impressive shoe-string budget abilities. The recent promotional push covering the entire EP, a video for Sweet Togetherness and travel to and from their out-of-town-gigs was squeezed out of just $1500 of band savings. No small feat when you remember there are six band members to transport, feed, and divide any earnings between.

"We’re such social animals," Horgan says, explaining the average need for four hours per band practice. "We have to allow for plenty of f**king around. There’s six people in a hot stuffy room together. We’ve learned from experience to allow for cigarette breaks, drink breaks… any kind of breaks," he smiles.