Auckland alt blues three-piece Brendon Thomas & The Vibes are going to play at Auckland’s Own on May 21 which NZ Musician presents as part of our Boosted crowdfunding campaign for a new website. We caught up with bassist Michael Anderson about TV talent quests, record companies and to see what they’re up to right now. 

Most people will remember you from X-Factor, but you’ve actually been around longer than that – can you tell us about the first time you ever jammed?

Brendon [Thomas] and Tim [Nolier] went to junior high school together and met up again at after a highschool ball. They had a jam and the rest, as they say, is history. Brendon and I met at a course for audio engineering where we spent the whole time recording,  playing music and not learning much. He introduced me to Tim in 2013 when he asked us to record on some of the songs he had written. We never looked back.

What advice would you give other musicians who dream of a breakthrough via a talent quest TV show?

Be very careful of what you wish for!

There are positives and negatives to every opportunity and you have to be aware of the kinds of contracts you are signing.

Despite that its a wonderful platform to the industry and a twisted insight into how it all works.

Enjoy yourself but dont take any of it to heart. From the judging to the reality.

Just remember the music and know what you want and youll be fine. You dont have to compromise anything.

The show led to Brendon Thomas & The Vibes getting signed with a record label and finding professional management. What do they actively do to help you?

Record labels distribute your music, build you connections in the industry and help you to work with people to get better at song writing and music creation in entirety. They also fund your recording and push your brand to the world. Its a powerful asset if you both want the same things from each other.

Rumours are that a brand new EP is imminent. Where are you at with it, anything you can tell our readers about it yet?

I think its going to change a few things. Change what people think of the band. Change the way the band sounds.

We’ve become much stronger musicians since our last record and since the X-Factor and its going to show that off as well as provide an eclectic range of formats which the band have drawn from musically and creatively over the last two years. Hopefully we can achieve a few radio singles and still stay true to the music we love to play and the music our fans love. All going well It will be a revolution!

It’s Music Month – what’s your all time favourite Kiwi tune?

Personally my favourite kiwi jam at the moment is The Dudes‘ Be Mine Tonight, but anything by Supergroove is incredibly fat.

You’ll be playing Auckland’s Own on May 21 – who are you looking forward to most on the night and why?

Too many to choose from but we’re great fans of Strangely Arousing.

They have an incredibly unique and powerful sound. With beautiful grooves and some incredible originals.