EP 39 - Shepherds Reign

The Flavor Podcast Network Island Roots Auckland Ways.

This one's for the Brown brothers and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture, their identity, their roots. This is Island Roots Auckland Ways'll love.

The man less we who welcome back to Island Roots Auckland Ways. How oh this week Mariner?

Yeah, man, very good, thank you because we had spoken with Shepherd's ragin funny as these.

Guys are funny but also extremely talented. You can tell that they really really love their work, very passionate, which I feel like it r like sorry, fubbed out, rubbed off on me because now I'm like wanting to reflect on our journey Mariner, and I'm wanting to like, you know, it was just so cool to hear about the individual experiences but then also they collective experience. Yeah, what did you take from it? Mas?

Learning more about Middle.

Literally, because I feel like we have a misconception about Middle that it's just like ah, but like the episode, the only Middle that I've ever listened to really is Shepherd's Rain. Apart from maybe when I was trying to be like cool in high school, I think I listened to trying to be deaf, you know, like not like other girls, but Sheeper's Train and songs like Ainger and Afana as such powerful messages about like culture. But I think like the tone and intensity of Meddle can sometimes

Together, one of one, one of the only one.

And listen to that one right now. And welcome back to Alan roots Auckland. Why it's joining us now? Joseph and Feeley from Shepherd's Rain. Hello, how are we this morning?

For a good?

Yeah?

Good? Thank you?

We're We're alive, We're awaken, We're here, Okay.

We were talking about this off Mike. You guys meet to Norway to perform?

How is that good?

An amazing experience? Heaps of fun, meeting heaps of cool people. The Norwegian people are really kind.

And really friendly, friendly, very welcoming.

Yeah.

How long are you guys in Norway for?

We were there for five days? Yeah yeah, total five days? Short?

And how does it compare to the paradise that money?

I don't know. I wouldn't call that a paradise.

Shot fire. I was waiting for.

It was nice.

You know, ice caps on the mountains like mangy.

And yes.

Outside and it looks like a painting that's so kind to you.

Just like, oh, exactly, okay?

Are you guys live like the worst people?

Really?

Boys?

Every episode we share what we love about home. So what is home to you? Whether that's where you currently live, where you may fly to or travel to to feel like home. It can be somewhere that you don't actually physically reside in or have been to, but it feels like home.

What is home and what do you love about it?

We'll start off first, and what I love about home this week is taking my little sister to school.

I am the.

Eldest child of our family, so I hold kind of like that parental responsibility A and I have always kind of felt like because me and my sister we have a fourteen year age gap, so I truly do feel like her parent. She's nine years old, I'm twenty three, and so little things like taking her to school, being able to shout us a feed after school, taking her to do her errands, it makes me feel closer to home. And I don't actually live with her, but whenever I'm doing those little things with her.

It makes me feel like I'm right at home.

It's lovely nice. Well, I love about home this week. Obviously money Doer is home, I would say, I mean

Exactly what she said?

I think, Oh, that's a tough one. I think home. Home for me is more of a place where I can just go somewhere, somewhere where I can go and just relax, you know, somewhere where I don't have to worry about anything. I don't have to worry about work, I don't have to worry about studying, so somewhere where I can just relax, pull my feet up and just do nothing, no worries at all.

Rest home for me is obviously Mangani.

Mai used to be exist.

I always make that distinction because Mangoi East is very different from Mangedi Central, very different from Mangoi Bridge.

Yeah that's right.

So I currently live in Mugiti Central, but I was born and raised in among the East on Yates Road, and I call that home because that's where I was born and raised. But I think on the weekend I was really good seeing I took my son over and we went to see mom and hung out there for

It's so special.

It's always good going home for cornati because it's soul food.

M Absolutely I love that.

Well, you two are from Shepherd's Reign, which is just an incredible I think the Shepard's Rain copaper and it was just so awesome. It's like the taking of like this music that isn't necessarily attributed to someone or brown, or music that comes out yeah Pacific music, and then putting this stamp on it, like making music and someone I don't know. It's just so cool. I love the co paper. I would love to know how you all met and connected and then also what was have you

I'll start off, I'm the latest member of the group. And how I got into the group was Oliver, who's our guitarist, and he was my teacher at high school at Monday to or Hi and when I was when I was about sixteen, he came to me and he was like, oh, because sorry, I'll restart. I was in one of the practice rooms in Rewa and he was just walking by and you heard me playing some metal because growing up with Middle I love to play it and nice. Yeah, and I'm an original guitarists okay and

And I was like, bass basis think.

No bass on about He's like, oh the spots open, you know, and yeah and hit. But the thing is I was sixteen and he had to wait till I was eighteen, so I was legal to play in the bars or yeah, and yeah. As soon as I turned eighteen, he hit me up again and he goes, oh, we haven't practiced tonight. You want to come through? And then yeah, he came through with all the boys and yeah, restless history. You know. This was back in twenty nineteen, was when I first started.

Okay, so you came around to the idea of playing bass and yeah, yeah, yeah.

Had you had any experience playing bass or only guitar?

I did in twenty seventeen. I was playing bass for Oh sorry, I think it was twenty sixteen. I was playing bass for a band and we were in Tongue in too beats. Oh yeah, love and yeah that was like the only experience I had.

Yeah, so I supposed going into the band. You're eighteen, you're part of this group. Yeah, what are you feeling? Is it good to get amos?

Yeah?

Yeah, it always is.

You know, I've always wanted to be a part of a middle band ever since I was young. So yeah, going through high school, no one, no one's, no one else was into middle you know. Everyone else was playing in the reggae, which I absolute absolutely love, but yeah, middle was more my kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, so it was real good up until mid these guys and yeah, everything else was. I just felt like a perfect.

Me and aur guitarist Oliver started in two thousand and eight, and then we went through heaps of heaps of different musicians to fill in them spots for the band. Later on found out drummer. I think it was in that same year or maybe two thousand and nine. I asked Oliver if he had a drummer, and he said that he knows of someone that went to Odahu College with him.

They both went out who College.

So that's why I met where I met Shaman, and so me, Oliver and Shaman have been together since.

Two thousand and nine.

Wow, and he's still our drummer now and Oliver is still guitar. Went through a lot of different bass players and guitarists and it wasn't until two thousand and fourteen fifteen and fifteen twenty fifteen, we met Goody and who's our other guitarist who's now a part of the part of the band as well. And then yeah, like Joe City, he's the newest member of the band. We've all been

The church music. So I was I was normal, like every other Polynesian.

But it wasn't. It was maybe I was five years old, six years old where I saw Guns and Roses on TV, on Juice TV. I can't yes, yes, yeah, that was really cool. That's when Juice we're playing genres everything, Yeah, playing everything. I think I think we're at two thousands or maybe later started being just.

Pops off top forty songs.

But back then they were playing everything from rock to yeah to pop, all of it, every genre.

So I fell in love with Guns and Roses.

And I started playing a classical piano when I was seven, and the two pretty much just intertwine. So Middle and classical music really similar and in music theory, so if you were to play a classical piece, and you just added distortion or like you know, on the ap at distortion and things like that, it will sound like a middle, like a middle idea.

So it's pretty it's pretty funny how music works. Yeah, and yeah, I loved the middle ever since.

How accommodating was the New Zealand music space to Shepherd's Rai when it started? So two thousand and eight, how was it for you guys Auckland?

Ways for the Brown brothers and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture, their identity, This is Island roots Auckland.

We we did Elvis, but with what you had. Yeah, yeah, yeah, none of us said any experience. And then the music scene, we just knew that we loved the middle and we wanted to make middle songs and we wanted to play in front of people.

So the Pacific side.

Of things, nothing, nothing happened, but there was more of the the local bars that play rock and the middle.

Those guys helped us out.

So we played at the spark called ding Dong Lounge, and we started just a little gigs.

You know, we were playing in front of like two people through.

But back then as teenagers were you know, we'll go to band practice and end up getting wasted. Yeah, typical, typical young young men. So we'd go and make songs and and get wasted, go to the gigs already hammered.

Flex spots like seventy years that's like blue kind of.

So yeah, we yeah, I think every bend starts off like that, and it's that cool experience that you get, and it's cool to think about it now that we're much more professional, and so looking back at it, I think I don't regret it. I don't regret everything we did.

We life experience.

Yeah, so we went.

Through hell and beck.

We did. Now we're received. Actually, no, it's about twenty eighteen we started getting recognized, especially from the Pacific community, and we're grateful. Yeah, yea very grateful that. You know, they don't look at us as these guys are just middle heads being idiots in the music.

They actually they love us, and obviously it shows with.

Awards that we've won, the nominations that we've gotten received. So yeah, very proud of it.

There must be so many misunderstandings or misconceptions about the middle genre, though, right, Like, what is it that you guys, I just love about it that you think other people should know.

Yeah, that's a good question.

I think if anything kind, Oh how do you put this? It's more of it seems able to like dive deeper into the song. You know, it might sound angry, but if you really look into how we're writing our music and a lot of our lyrics that Philly writes, it's really about family, about someone heritage.

Yeah, you know we love that.

We're trying to split that across the world.

Yeah, I love nothing. That's one of my favorites. Like, I'm not a huge middle head myself. I say the only middle as it's right, But when I listen to nothing to it, I'm locks just like like feeling within me as you know, it's you sound more like the sense of strength and like someone, Yeah someone someone as well Like that is so special and even songs like

That's something that happened over time. At the very beginning, I had an idea to start off our set with a someone intro, and I kind of brought up the idea but it just vanished, just died sort of thing. But it wasn't until It wasn't until twenty sixteen or seventeen the making of Lemanu, and I was trying to figure out some words to put into it. At that time, I was playing the bass, so it wasn't in it. So I was recording the bassline and it came time

Yeah, I was.

I was sleeping and I woke up.

For some reason, the Sundone civer toe was in my head.

Okay.

I was like, man, I don't know why I was in my head, but I ended up singing the cever towel with that beat and it just went perfect, and I was like, boys, I think I got it.

You must have been dreaming about playing some rugby or.

No idea.

But yeah, Oliver was cracking up love. He was like, so I go, let's start again, stuff from the top, and I'll sing and and and just tell me if you guys like this.

And then I did civer toe and everyone's like, oh man, what what was that?

Yeah, I think I've got a lyrics So the first versus the civ toe and and I just had to make an extended vision for the seconds and the chorus, and that, man.

Didn't work. Yeah, that's a begger. I wanted to ask.

So, when you're performing to your audiences, many of whom probably aren't basufical or are aware of the cultural nuance and the lyricism of your work, Like, what what is the response? What reception are you getting from your audience? Are they just hyped that they're hearing like this new thing, these new things?

Definitely?

M Yeah, you're right. So there's this majority of uh, you know, Blongese, majority of Bilongese, and I think it's probably one of the most heartwarming feelings when you're you're singing and you can actually see them yeah miming your words, and these guys I think there was a gig we had and it may have been in Wellington and it was all these white people and they're also and I could hear them over myself that was coming out of

That's so cool.

Best feeling feeling.

Do you have a favorite gig that you've played.

Like, yeah, yeah, I think favorite one would definitely be this year would be Sparkling.

Yeah.

Yeah, that was a huge gig.

I admire that camaraderie and that kind of culture of generosity within the middle community.

That's awesome.

Oh they're great.

The middle community is probably one of the kindest, nicest people that you'll ever meet. Yeah, it's real funny.

I'm one of my friends came to l Wellington show and she's never been to a middle gig before and she goes, oh my god, this what she doesn't sound like that.

But oh my dad, oh my gosh.

You guys, Oh my god, like your you guys people she goes to, your guys people are so kind.

I thought they were like what, like, I don't know, and then it's just like yes, like these people were just asking.

If I was okay someone because there was as there was a circle put going on, you know when they go crazy.

Yeah, that was about to start. And uh one guy saw her standing there and then he like quarter back and she was like what are you doing?

And he was like.

Yeah, and sure enough she.

Was standing there and then she saw everything going on. She's like, okay, okay, these people are really kind and I like I like them that. She said that middle people because a lot of people think, you know, all blackdown or gothic looking, and then.

Ye must be like.

Yeah, yeah, Marilyn man, it's.

Very very man.

What did David individualists?

Kind of Yeah, that is so cool.

Recently you've kind of popped off so like your social media on so many views, heaps of interactions.

Shout out to Queen Loud.

Mass louw we meet in Uni, so we did our business degrees together. And yeah, she's always been one to support local music.

She's good like that.

Yeah, she is like hearty for everyone, no matter what genre you are, She's going to give you the same amount of love. Was it kind of overwhelming getting all this interaction on social media because I'm talking Instagram, TikTok everywhere YouTube, people like, millions of yous like and pretty much all came out one to be honest, Yeah, yeah, I don't know. Just there you guys going to social media. What's the relationship.

That's why we got That's where wet when we got at.

Yeah, did you guys get connected?

I made her last years it's gonna it's gonna with.

That connection started.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was real funny. We had a we had a nice streak that night, and.

That was a longs night. Let me tell you what they said Ireland time. Yeah, that's what it's gonna be. Like, it's gonna go past midnight.

I just know.

Midr the after party. And I was I was doing social media at that time, so I was on my phone and I was like trying to.

Cook the posts. I know there was a story.

Really okay, is this a story?

Ye? So don't knows a lot more than I do. But obviously wasn't there at the time, so I was trying to quickly do something. But I was taking ages and obviously half half twists and then low like comes she she had been talking to me and poetic and who else is there a good old Wayno, you were all talking together and okay, yeah, I had a good chair and she was in the mix as well. And then she saw what I was doing and she comes along. She's like, hey, let me do that for you. What

On her phone and it was done on my phone and it was done.

I was like, you do this.

For a living or something, and she goes.

That she does oskie, yes, yes, much love to ask you by the way.

Yeah and yeah. And that that's when I go, cool, can you do some more stuff?

More things? And so she didn't, and I was surprised at how easy it was for somebody to do all that so fast. So at that time, we were actually talking to managers and our new label at the time, and the label was looking at some social media people. They had social media people as well, and I asked and they said that we needed somebody here in New Zealand to be you know, taking videos and uploading things on our side because they're all from Australia and America

Which is amazing?

Yeah, and yeah the Resist history, Wow, she ended up in the team and she's just smashing it. So really, all the media, I'll hear.

It from her first.

You don't to worry about.

Now she's like, oh my god, did you see duh blah blah, And.

Yeah, you guys have been on so many like international media outlets as well, Like you're getting all the love. And the thing about love is that she can sang honey like she some pipes can't wait for her to hear from. Yeah, she's gonna hear the Sorry Pacific Music Awards this year. As of time of recording, it's this's Thursday. So how are you feeling ahead of the ceremony?

Pumped, yeah, pump, nervous, nervous, yeah, I'm pumped.

Confidence.

No, it's I normally don't feel anything until like the day before yeah cooking, Yeah yeah, so right now it's just to come come before the storm, and then a day before and then it was.

Like, how does it feel to receive recognition from your PACIFICA community and getting your flowers because y'all have achieved a lot and broken glass ceilings for Pacific and Metal.

So leading the nominations at the pm as this.

Year, absolutely, yeah, you're going to clean it up.

I think it was crossed. You know, we're really grateful. It's been a long time coming. You know, we we have been getting nominations and winning awards in the past, but for this year, because for this year to lead the nominations is a huge step because last year it was it was for me personally. It was my first time releasing an album, creating the album with the boys and my first album I've released with them, and to get recognized where it's like, you know, you feel like you should Yep.

That's awesome.

That is so cool. Part of our chat today though, is actually the platform the really epic work of spoke Free Tongue to Beats, which Joe I understand that you have been a part.

Of in the past.

Cool.

Can you tell us about how Tongue to Beats has kind of enabled or unlocked some musical passions for you and like what it's meant to you on your journey.

Yeah.

So the first time I did it, I was year nine, was back in twenty fourteen, my first year of high school, and I had no idea about the competition, you know, and my music teacher at the time, Tim Randall, head a department for Money to music, and he he was real pushing for getting as many students to go perform as he can. And so my first time on stage this was year ninetewenty fourteen. This was up in the Mengry Mengry Bridge, the hall.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, so that that was my first time on like big stage with you know, all the band boys at the time, and yeah, and I was so nervous, you know, but after, you know, year after year, I just kept doing it, and I think by the time I was like twenty eighteen, all the nerves had gone. Yeah. So if anything, it really helped with being confident walking on stage. Yeah, just just getting through the whole nervous kind of thing. Yeah, Yeah, so now nowadays, I really get nervous because of it.

Yeah, it seems like such a good platform to start your music journey and to you know, shake off all those nerves, get rid of all those jitters before you, like into the real I guess, the real music world. Why do you think it's so important for our young best speaking so.

Engaged with I think speaking from personal, you know, I think it's very important if especially if you're quite a shy person, but you really want to get out there, you know, do explore what you you know, explore what you're good at, what you're not good at, and if anything, it's just a confidence builder, you know. And uh, yeah, I think that that's all I can say about it the time.

Yeah, I think I think it really shows with joke because.

For someone that's eighteen and you just you're about to play al Friskig, You're about to play with Rain who we've really got a name and we've got everyone knows what we can do. And if for this guy to jump on and you know, with all that confidence and.

He was just a very like he blended in a very well he knew what to do. We didn't have to tell him braid being knew doing so.

I think that's because I'm not I didn't join the tongue to pizza and and things like that. But I think that that's from my knowledge. I reckon that's the whole that's the whole reason behind it. And kids so that when they get to the real world, like you're saying, they're used to it. Yeah, it's easier for them.

Okay.

So we are going to move on to our rapid fire QM. Now, this is a rapid fire game that we've come up with. It's called song for a Situation. So we are going to give you three sorts of situations and then you just tell us what is the song that you would play and see the situations.

So we're going to.

Start with love song. So love vibes, romance? What are you putting on? What are you going to put on? Alissa?

I'm want to try king kick at the moment?

So true?

Is it?

True?

Love by Tricking's a good one?

Okay, mine would be. I was listening to it this morning, Tama and to you, yeah, yea love for me? How about you, guys?

I would choose one of my favorite artists. I would choose Celindian I love you.

Yeah.

Did you feel happy when she performed at the Paris Olympics.

Yeah, yeah, she came back from yea from the grip that she was going through. Okay, so good come back.

How about you? I'd go for Whitney Houston. Run to You?

I don't think I know Run to You?

Yeah, excuse me? Run White? How does it go? You got to wait?

Run you?

What do you use the I feel like let's play. Yeah, it's a great song.

Run to You.

I feel like you'll play it and we'll.

All the bodyguard.

Yeah, do you know what?

That's it?

Let's just run to you.

I love the Bodyguard.

We know run to you?

Yes?

Okay, okay, we're started on. Okay, So second situation, hype song?

What is the hype song that you played before you go on stage?

Hypothetically? A few were performers. If you girl, what's your hype song?

It's a song called Getting Started by Sam Finder. He's like a British artist. One of his songs seventeen Going Under is quite popular, but getting Started is a really good song.

Oh you guys go, I've got to think of one. But what are your guys?

So?

I love listening to my classical music so before but if I get the chance to before a performance, it will be there to be Valdi, you know songs, or or just listen to most nice. But if we're talking about a party, my hype song is always going to be by would be by a system of Oh yes.

Would you say classical is like your favorite genre or still I love not my.

Favorite but actually yeah, so thinking.

So many songs on the memory Bang.

But this guy, yeah, Joe, Joe really does have a massive range of songs that he listens to. Because I'm also a huge Kindrid marfan.

Love Kindred, we love kind track around here. This is not a Drake House.

I don't know either of the.

Mm hmmm, I think I've got one.

Okay you.

Janet Jackson, mm hmm, mess you much.

Yeah, that's a great trick. I'll say you just for hype hype in general, I'd go Compton by Kendrick Lamar. Oh that's a great.

Yeah of the Yeah, okay, we've got some solid plicks here. One more situation here, a song for the road. So when you're traveling, when you're on the road, what are you listening to? What's on the playlist.

What's on the playof us for you on the thong?

Whoa, I'm trying to think, I'm not. I don't drive, so I actually usually aim on the ORB.

Yeah, I don't.

Drive.

I would say probably some Malon Williams make Away for Love. Probably that whole album.

Yes, yes, okay, girl, what's on the playlist?

Do do do? Do? Do do? What?

What's specifics for this so so on the road?

It's a winter summer, I'm thinking summer summer.

Windows are down, went flowing through your hair? Yeah, I would say.

Mary J. Blige, anything.

Yeah, I like the early stuff, the covers, uh real love sweet thing?

Yeah? Cool mine? Would I just had it?

Do you have addressing?

I'd say Controller by l A b.

Oh, Yeah, that is such summertime.

Yes, yes, yes, l A b Are summer.

And you can everyone knows next once you can all sing along.

Great.

Oh, yes, it's Guns and Roses. I'd go Paradise City.

I love that song. I go out listening to a lot of Guns and Roses.

I look music, girl, thing.

And we're bringing it back and what that say? That's time to say goodbye.

Thank you guys so much for joining us. We're talking about the really cool work of Tongue as Beats, but also just for sharing the shipper's rain energy success story with us. It's so cool to hear and yeah, we're so inspired about you guys. So thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us.

Thank you.

Sorry, guys, I'm laughing at me. He was saying, Beyonce, we're talking about a fucking mitche man. Be so for real right now. My favorite part was making oh you someone.

And that is the part shout out to the boys.

Feel so proud of them, so excited. I mean, by the time this episode comes out, we'll know if they want their pm as or not, but they're just excited to.

See them at the pm as.

Congratulations guys, incredible, incredible, incredible work.

Yeah, we'll see you next week.

Bye.