D
eadly Vibe managed to grab a few minutes out of Rachael Maza’s Hectic schedule during her recent performance at the annual Survival Day concert held at Waverly Oval in Bondi, Sydney, where her band Nerkep were introducing the Sydneysiders to their earthy sound.
Rachael who is no stranger to theatre, television and film is also branching out into the musical world, with Nerkup, a word meaning “heart” in the language of the Meryan people from the Island Mer in the Torres Strait.
Deadly Vibe: I’m talking to Rachael Maza from “Nerkup”! So Rachael what can we expect in 1998?
Rachael: This year I am hoping to get something down finally on CD. We’ve had a few years of playing around and getting a feel, getting to know each other as musicians and getting a solid sound; Basically working towards getting a recording and a lot more gig’s.
Deadly Vibe: Do you like to see yourselves being of non-specific music genre? Or would you like to be broader than that?
Rachael: I’d like to be as broad as possible. I’d love to just whack in a few country songs and a few of heavy metal NoKTuRNL types to. Why not?
Deadly Vibe: Well it’s funny about Country & Western because it actually has longevity. People have a career that spans for twenty or thirty years, but if you’re a rock star, unless you’re the Rolling Stones it is always a bit difficult to hold on to that number one spot.
Rachael: Absolutely. It’s rock ‘n’ roll. Pop is so much based on image and personality. However Country music is based on story telling and that lasts forever. Everyone will say they never get sick of listening to their favourite country songs. That’s just how it is. You always have your classical music and there’s always country music and you’ll always listen to it.
Deadly Vibe: So you guys are hoping to get a CD together this year? How difficult is it with limited funding to actually go ahead on your own to produce an album?
Rachael: Well one of the members in our band has gone ahead and recorded her own CD. It is very difficult because you are asking a lot of favours of people. You try to get people to play with you for nothing and you’re trying to get studio time at funny hours. It’s very difficult.
Getting a CD together means putting up a lot of money yourself so people are always working triple jobs to try and fund it, as well as themselves. It will be tough but it will be worth it.
Deadly Vibe: Many of you might know Rachael as an actor. She has been on our television screens and in our theatres for many years. How does singing in a band and acting go hand in hand? It is difficult when there is a tour on and you might get that big mega film that’s going to give you the money to make the CD.
Rachael: Well they actually do at times appear to clash. Like last year we hardly gigged at all and we only had about half a dozen gigs because I was working absolutely fulltime back to back, one job after the other. There was hardly any time for the band. Also there was no time in terms of energy. I had no heart in it because it was just too much being pulled in all directions. Then again, things can also compliment each other. There is always something happening, so when the acting work is not around there is always the band which keeps me inspired and stimulated.
Although it is not necessarily money producing, it keeps me satisfied in that way. It is really healthy for me to have both avenues to express myself creatively.
Deadly Vibe: So can we expect any tours of the band this year?
Rachael: Nothing is locked in, but we are definitely hoping to go up to the east coast of Queensland. It is all in the process of being booked and you have to get managers and all that stuff.
Deadly Vibe: So if any of you fellas are reading this out there and you need someone to do a gig, like at the Lismore Festival (October), you could use a good band like Nerkep.
Rachael: We are looking at locking into Woodford Festival next year.
Deadly Vibe: What about the acting scene?
Rachael: At this stage, coming up for another round of ICAM, acting as a presenter. We are actually changing time slots this next series. It is going to be changing to Sunday and at this stage I am not sure what the time slot is. I have been away on Christmas holidays while all the decisions were being made. Then after that the feature film Radiance is hopefully coming out mid year some time, so very interesting to see how that gets received.
Deadly Vibe: Rachael is one of the performers in the new feature film Radiance which will hit our screens mid year, and that film is about three Aboriginal sisters who return for their mothers funeral. It is on the big screen so don’t miss that one. And of course Deadly Vibe will keep you up to date with all that.
We have no doubt that Rachael’s many talents will keep her very busy throughout 1998. Her endless enthusiasm and drive is awe-inspiring and we wish her and Nerkep all the best! Keep it up sis!
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