Petula Clark
‘Touring Porch Thoughts’
If you are a solo performer or in a band and your tour schedule prevents you from having a fixed residential address, then you know you are on a good thing. Naturally this lifestyle depends on many factors – your age; commitment levels; the type of band or group you are in; and of course the location of your fans.
However, should you be performing with your soulmate touring from Melbourne to Oxford in the United Kingdom with hundreds of stops in major cities and regional townships in between (and perhaps penning some songs on aeroplanes), then everywhere together is simply bliss.
When I first saw the April Maze perform in Melbourne's Yarra Valley in 2006, they were celebrating their 10th live show. On stage, performers Sivan and Todd were in their own alternative folk music world (think Fleetwood Mac meets Belle and Sebastian and jam in a 70s San Francisco bar with a cellist from the future that never played in an orchestra) and through their unique sound, story-telling and on-stage chemistry, I was not the only person in the pub that night happily drawn into their world.
Over the years I have followed their musical journey that when opportunity arose in my media work, I invited them to open a major ‘Victorian Flood Relief Appeal’ concert held in Melbourne that raised $25K to assist families to rebuild their lives following the 2011 Victorian floods. The April Maze was a roaring success on the night and won the hearts of many new appreciative fans.
Now with over 750 live performances under their belts, The April Maze is continuing to light up the lives of thousands of people through their original songs and beautiful covers that all started when Sivan knocked on Todd’s front door in Melbourne when she was looking for a room to rent.
I caught up Sivan and Todd (hello it’s me again, please don’t call security, I’m just a fan…oops! Now I remind myself of that guy in the Ed Sherran’s Lego House video clip) during their tour of the UK, where amidst the beauty and wonder that London is famous for (so much to see and do), between performances they have not only blown up a car but that have also learnt what the term ‘batty’ refers to in England.
Let’s just turn back to when you first met in Melbourne. How exactly did you meet?
Todd: We met in an old scout-hall-come-share-house in Coburg, Melbourne. Sivan walked in for a house interview and we instantly hit it off as good friends and she moved in the following day!
Wow! I guess when you know, you know. How did playing music together in the house take-off?
Sivan: Todd was always singing around the scout hall, writing songs and showing them to me. One night I shared a few songs I knew on guitar and Todd said, “you never told me you were a musician.” I answered “that’s because I’m not.” From that day on Todd never let me get away without singing every time the guitar came out and eventually we started singing and writing songs together for fun.
When did singing in the lounge together turn to something more serious such as starting The April Maze?
Todd: I was originally from Cairns located in Far North Queensland and I had only gone to Melbourne for a 3-month working holiday. I had quickly made friends and a new life in the music mecca. I decided to fly back to Cairns and pick up my 1976 kombi van. I asked Sivan and a couple other friends to fly to Cairns and celebrate Christmas with my family and then join me on the massive road trip from Cairns back to Melbourne, which is the best part of 4000km or 50 hour drive.
Did you all make it to Cairns?
Todd: My other friends dropped out last minute so it ended up just the two of us! We incorporated Woodford Folk Festival into the trip over 05/06 New Years and were singing around a campfire and people kept asking, “what stage are you on” and we were like… “No, we’re just jamming mate.” But the encouragement created a spark and we started brainstorming band names all the way home! We played our first gig as The April Maze in May 2006 – soon after we met you Mark.
What’s the meaning behind the name – The April Maze?
Todd: It’s a story of serendipity! When we were thinking of names Sivan kept thinking of Felix the cat and she didn’t know why. Eventually she let the Felix thing go and we came up with The April Mays, as Sivan is a month and my surname is Mayhew. As a joke Sivan suggested we spell it ‘m.a.z.e’. I liked it. When I looked up The April Maze online to check that no other bands had the name already the only thing that came up was one of the first ever Felix the Cat movie entitled ‘April Maze’ We took that as a sign.
What instruments do you both play during your performances?
Todd: Sivan sings and plays cello at the same time, on the new songs she also plays tambourine. I sing and plays guitar, banjo & stomp box.
Your original songs are uniquely raw, catchy and quite poetic in many regards, what is your song writing process?
Sivan: We don’t have one particular way but it often starts with a guitar riff or chord progression, followed by a melody and then we jam out and let the lyrics flow to match the vibe until the song takes shape. Our songs are mostly inspired by an experience that we have shared or witnessed on our nomadic adventures.
What is one of your most meaningful songs you’ve written?
Todd: ‘I’ve seen the rain’ is our newest recording and our most meaningful song to date. We wrote it for the friends and family of our friend that died in a tragic spear fishing accident just north of Jervis Bay, New South Wales (Australia) in January 2013. He was an incredibly talented percussionist and drummer (The Andy and George Band and Southerly Change) and was a pillar of the south coast Musician community that had over 150 drumming students. We wrote this song the day we heard the news of his death. We then lived in his home town of Nowra to be close to his friends and family from February to May 2013. His memory will always be with us every time we play this song.
I first met you in your early formative days performing live gigs. How do you feel you’ve both grown as musicians?
Todd: I have come a long way with my singing since the early days. I was never a natural vocalist and have had to work at it – especially singing in harmony with a female vocalist. So our songs feature more harmonies now. My performance confidence has also come a long way – we tell more stories through our shows now to give the listener a sense of what we are about as musicians and songwriters.
I love one of your latest songs - 'Don't Let the Bastards Bring You Down.’ What is the story behind this song?
Sivan: I was thinking back to some of my school days when I was being bullied. I remember thinking, “this won’t last forever, stay strong.” I did exceptionally well to stand up for myself. These days I think it is even tougher for kids because they cant get away from it – it seems to carry on through social media, as well as at school. We read about these kids that just can’t take it anymore and so they commit suicide – I guess I wrote this song to remind people that they are not alone and that they can make it through.
The video clip is very Australian with a backyard BBQ set against a typical weather-board house with a real Aussie feel? Tell us about the making of the video?
Todd: The concept and look of the video was really all down to the amazing director we worked with – Tim Marshall. He has won awards for his short films, and so we were privileged and excited to be working with him and his team! They did all the work so we can’t really take credit for it!
How are you enjoying the UK?
Sivan: The weather has actually been amazing! All the people we are meeting are great. We have lots of gigs and festivals rolling in and are building an amazing team of people around us! We arrived mid June and bought a car a few days later in Oxford. On our first trip into London our car bombed out! We had only done 20 miles! It was so stressful! We have since had to scrap the car and our now looking for a hire car sponsorship!
Is this your first time to the UK?
Todd: Sivan grew up in Harrow, (North London) and moved out to Australia when she was 18. She came back in 2008 to visit friends and played a solo show at the Good Ship in Kilburn – apparently it was a cracking night! I have actually lived in London and Brighton in 2003 – 2004 and back packed around Europe with my guitar.
Where are you touring and performing in the UK?
Sivan: Since we arrived we have played some festivals and shows in Wales, Bath, Cornbury, Worcester, Oxford, Witney, London, and Surrey. And we have some festivals coming up in Sommerset, Swanage, and East Sussex, as well as some London and Oxford shows. We also plan to troubadour (open mics, folk clubs and street shows) to Liverpool to play the Cavern - as well as Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow as we here they all have great live music scenes.
Is there anything spcial you would like to do in the UK?
Todd: We want to play a Beatles song at the original Cavern Club in Liverpool, watch the sunset while drinking wine on the pebbly beach in Brighton, get some surfing in at Cornwall, and record a music video for our new single ‘I’ve Seen the Rain.’,
What’s coming up after the tour in the UK?
Todd: We are going to the Yukon in Canada to follow the footsteps of my Great Grandfather who was made Bishop of the Yukon in 1905. We will sing our song ‘The Bishop Who Ate His Boots’ at 2 very special intimate concerts, in his old church and old home. We then play 14 house concerts in 14 days across British Columbia.
Is there a new album in the making?
Sivan: Yes. We are always writing new material and have written half the next album. We went into a beautiful studio in Oxford last week to get some demos down.
Do you have any messages for your fans (like me) back in Australia?
We miss you!! And we love you!! We promise we will come back!!
What is you Porch Thought For The Day?
“Speak of the things in which you believe, speak up and be proud!”