Katie Cheer
Interview 2011.
Hello. Hi.
How are you? Great, how’re you?
Good thank you. This is pretty standard.
What do you do? Um, I do a few things. Most currently I’ve played in a band tonight. We’re called Robin. I think you’d enjoy it if you heard it. Um, and I take photos and I paint some times.
Oh yea, so describe your creative process. Which creative process?
Do you have one process or does it differ between music and art? I’ve never really thought about it.
You have to now. Ha, um. I guess if I think of something I pursue it, then I go until it’s done. And then it’s done.
What are your plans with art? Ah, this year I was kind of just doing it for fun, to keep up with everything, and next year I’m going to study and hopefully head towards a career in some form of art.
Who are your main influences? Um, mostly contemporary artists, like James Jean quite a lot, a dude called Eric White is really good. Um, there’s this guy called Justin Williams who’s really cool because he’s from New Zealand but relocated to Australia and I really like the work he does. These people are all painters so um yea, mostly painters and illustrators are the people I look at I guess.
That’s good. So you take your camera to shows a lot. Yea.
What’s up with that? I just enjoy shooting I guess, and people seem to like looking at themselves so it goes hand in hand quite nicely.
What’s your favourite subject to shoot? Live stuff is pretty fun, but I did a lot of portraiture last year and that was also pretty cool. I liked it because I worked in film a lot. Which is, the process is, I don’t know, it’s a lot longer but more effort makes it seem nicer in the long run. Like you’re way happier with the product when you’ve put more work in I guess.
So what gear do you use? I, pffft, not very good gear really. I’m in the process of upgrading. But I use a 450D cannon SLR mostly with a fixed 50mm 1.8 lens, mostly for live stuff, because I want to get the most light in. because it’s usually like dingy venues and stuff. But for film I have like a, well your, 3000D with just the same lens. Usually shoot like quite fast speed stuff, like 400 asa+ so yea.
What about your music? Um, I play drums. I play a few other things but not really in front of people. That’s just for myself. I don’t really own much drum gear; I also need to get onto that. I borrow a lot of things from people who are really nice to me. But I just purchased some really nice K high hats, which I need to add to.
Who’re your influences music wise? I listen to a lot of Pelican, a lot of Russian Circles, quite a lot of post rock stuff recently like This Will Destroy You and stuff. That kind of thing. But also a bunch of hardcore and other stuff.
Cool. Who’re you going to vote for? Anything left. So, but probably Labour. Because I want anything to prevent Donkey from getting back into parliament and Labour has the best chance so I’m going to go with them.
If you could have one thing written in print what would it be? No idea, can’t answer that.
Anything else? You got anything else to ask? You’re running this shit.
Where’s the first place you’re going to travel to? Um, going to go to Melbourne in January, which I’m quite excited about because I’ve never been there, and I hear lots of great things about the city. Lots of people are relocating there so I guess it’s for a reason. They were voted like most liveable city in some survey that they do every year like just an annual thing. Should be quite fun.
Why do you wake up? Just to do the things I like and be happy I suppose. No like bigger purpose or anything.
What do you think the best way to be happy is? Find what you like and do that, and don’t worry about other shit that’s not important.
Sweet. Our band is pretty mean, where can people hear us? Yea Robin, ah we’ve got a band camp, you should look it up. Hopefully we’ll play a show in Palmerston North sometime. Oh we will, on the 16th of December at the new Youth Space, I think it’s going to be at 6pm, sometime around then.
Do you have a website? I don’t, because I’m a bit useless, but I should get onto that. I‘ll get back to you. I put like all of my live stuff on my personal Facebook page, because I guess mostly the people in all the photos are mostly my friends so they get to see it. But yea I’ll do like a portfolio type based website thing soon.
Mean, thanks. Thank you.
Artwork by Katie Cheer.
She got a website, see it here.
http://robin.bandcamp.com/
