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AViATOUR

We just play who we are and sing what we need to at the time

Aviatour in the parkAViATOUR is one of the few, if not the only, remaining all girl band in Christchurch. We're not sure what's happened in the last few years but since the great late 90's girl singers and guitarists, let alone bands, seem to have faded away … Hawai Five-0, Snort, Loves Ugly Children's Floss, Space Dusts Violet … There's definitely been a bit of a lull and probably the dance scene invasion hasn't helped either. So, we decided to catch up with AViATOUR and find out what it was all about.

How long have you guys been together
Two years. We started off just mucking around one afternoon. Trouble was none of us could play an instrument back then, so we had to learn! Bindy could only play the tambourine but now she does keyboard and Belinda always wanted to play bass guitar - so she is. Kylie just started playing the drums like she'd always done it but she used to get tired playing a whole song. None of us took lessons - we were all self-taught. All you have to is listen to the beat …
Belinda: BassDid you all go to the same school
Nope. We're from different schools - and different years. We know each other through the same church though and we've all got a love of music.
What do you think's happened to all the girl bands
We don't really know and honestly can't figure out why there aren't more around. It is kind of a male dominated scene now though with maybe a bit of classic stereo-typing going on. And there's the assumption that girls just don't play in bands but then again there're some really famous ones … like Charlotte in Ash. It's like most girls, ourselves included, would probably prefer to go and see an all boy band. Hey, but we always pull the crowds … (Pulse aside: this is what we refer to as a tongue-in-cheek remark)
How would you describe your music
Maybe pop/rock that's fun to dance to
Kylie: DrumsAre you serious about staying together as a rock band
Absolutely. We want to stay around and do something with our music even though we're all looking at other careers now as well. Two of us are studying law and the other two are after-school carers. It's hard to find time to get together but we practise at least once a week. The hardest challenge of sticking together is staying motivated - especially if there's been nothing happening for a while.
How're the gigs going
We've done a whole heap just recently - in the parks and down at the Dux de Lux. It's been great. We know quite a few of the other groups out there and get asked to be the support band quite a few times which helps. It's really all about getting out there and doing as much as possible so that your name gets known.
Kim: Soloist & guitarAnd talking of names …
We weren't always called AViATOUR. Originally we were called The Lucks Girl which all started off as a joke as we came across a band calling themselves the Lucks Boy and we were just messing about and saying we could be Lucks Girl … but somehow it stuck!
Any other bands that have influenced you
Mmm, maybe The Stroke … oh, and White Stripes
Who writes your songs
Kim mainly although we all contribute. She usually comes up with a cool line for one of the lyrics, works it out on acoustics and then we all get together and just keep at it until it's right. It's a case of experimenting and trying different things out until it kinda evolves into what you want.
Bindy: Keyboard & backing vocalsMost memorable experience
Has to be the Band Competition over in Orton Bradley Park. It was the first time we'd ever played together in public and there was an audience of about 2 thousand and there we were up on stage … it was incredibly professional with the lights and big screen and stuff. It was just fantastic and we came 2nd.

Another great time was when we entered the Women Play in Round-Up at RDU. We ended up in the semi-finals and got to play at the Dux for half an hour. That was another great night with a whole load of people. But it's not just about the size of the audience and who's there and who's not. We've been to gigs with small crowds and had a blast - it's all about just getting up there and having some fun. We've seen a few other groups who've been disappointed at how small their audience was and they haven't really gotten into it … and it sure did show! The secret is to just get up there and go for it every time. We just go crazy on stage and it's good to have a bit of an angle. Like when we played at the Jetset - it tied in so well with our name, so we all dressed up as Air Stewardessses and did the whole airline thing … flying safety instructions … please put on your seatbelt … and chucking out lollies like they do on the planes. We reckon we're all about 70% stage presence and 30% music!

Most embarrassing moment
Every time we play!!!!! Belinda always manages to break something or fall off or over something!!!! At our last gig at the Dux she swung from the lighting rig and her strap broke which meant that she had to do this weird bounce all the time to be able to keep on playing.
AViATOURWhere would you like to be in 5 years' time
In America making it big with a manager. We're not so sure about signing up with a label because they can be really controlling with contracts. And, after all, there are plenty of grants out there from Radio NZ and Creative NZ to help get you going on your own.
What would you say to a band that's just kicking off
JUST DO IT … AND KEEP AT IT!!!!!!!!!