Not Exact are a young Bay of Plenty band who find their truth in heavy pop punk. With a 2025 EP release that fully embraced the Kiwi DIY attitude behind them, Not Exact have come out swinging in 2026 with two stonking singles, the second of which, Steeplejack, was included on the June NewTracks compilation by NZ On Air Music.

Where are you each from, and what instruments do you play?

Keelan: Not Exact is Keelan Simpson (vocals and bass guitar), Jack Carpenter (vocals and guitar), Andrew Hannagan (guitar) and William Carpenter on drums. We are all from the Bay Of Plenty – Waihi Beach and Tauranga. We are all in our early 20s, except Jack who is just about to turn 18. The band’s based in Waihi Beach.

There’s only three of you in the Say Now, See How video. How come?

Jack: Our original guitarist Calum left the band and we hadn’t asked Andrew to join the band yet. That was done during the 4-5 month period when we were just a trio. Literally within two weeks of shooting the Say Now, See How music video Andrew was in the band. 

Any other projects that NZM readers might know any of you from?

Keelan: I play the drums in the also Waihi Beach based rock/reggae band Iz Waddid Iz, we have released some music online and have played quite a bit in the Tauranga area. I am pretty sure Jack was in Metallica at some point as well?

Was school or any other music tuition important in your musical progress?

Keelan: I was a part of the Toi Ohomai music course a few years back where I met our original guitar player Calum, and this was definitely an important part for me in my musical progress. The course really gave me a good understanding on recording, songwriting and performing alongside other people and I definitely still apply a lot of what I learned to what we are doing today.

What’s the background story of how Not Exact came together?

Jack: My friend’s dad knew Keelan’s dad, and knew Keelan wanted to put a band together. He gave me Keelan’s number and I went over to his house. We then needed a drummer so I called up my cousin Will to come play drums.

Keelan: Yeah, pretty much! I already had a bunch of the demo songs ready (minus vocals), so we were straight into practising instrumentally within a few days. What’s funny is I actually messaged Will a few months earlier responding to a post on Facebook he made looking to join a pop punk band, but he never saw the message.

How did you come up with the band name?

Keelan: To be honest, it just came out of nowhere one day. I went through a bunch of ideas that just never stuck and finally one came to me. The only sort of guideline I had for choosing a name is that it just had to sound cool. If you have ever started a band/project you know how hard it is to come up with a name you want to stick with.

Are there other bands that have come out of Waihi Beach?

Keelan: There are definitely a lot of musicians and a few local bands from and in Waihi Beach (shout out Disco Bush and Iz Waddid Iz), but since it is such a small place, there isn’t really a constant thriving scene to play for here – hence why we play mostly in Tauranga and Auckland. Waihi Beach used to be a gig hot spot back in the day though (did you know there was a Warped Tour date here on new years in 1998?), but it has just slowly quietened down over the years for some reason. I would love to see it come back.

How much has your music evolved from the Not Exact beginnings to now?

Keelan: The first demos were pretty random style-wise, our sound has refined itself a lot over the last two years structurally and dynamically. The songwriting (lyrically especially) has naturally gotten more aggressive as we have been gaining more experience playing live shows, seeing what works live and what gets the best reaction from audiences. Writing memorable songs is what I aim for also and I think the latest tracks we have been putting out are definitely hitting that mark.

What’s been the big highlight to date?

Keelan: The biggest highlight for me was definitely driving down to Wellington and Palmerston North in the van to play with the absolute legends in the hardcore band Shuv-It. We met and saw so many awesome bands on those three dates we played. If you are reading this, go check out Shuv-It and also their pop punk band Grip-Tape if you haven’t already.

What made Steeplejack stand out for you as a single choice? 

Steeplejack was definitely the obvious choice for a single out of the last few demo’s we have been working on. It is just super straight forward, melodic and the chorus just gets stuck in your head.

What is the lyric story behind Steeplejack?

The whole steeplejack idea/theme came from watching old videos online of steeplejacks climbing up buildings on ladders and I thought that it might be a cool metaphor for always going forward and never looking back. Lyrically the song is about being true to yourself, doing what is right and always pushing forward no matter the circumstances.

Who did you record/produce Steeplejack with and where? 

Keelan: I write and record everything in my room. This one came about so quickly there are no fun stories about how it came about sorry. By the time it was written we were already practising it for whatever show we had coming up at the time.

What’s your favourite moment, musical or lyrical, of the single?

Keelan: The chorus is definitely my favourite moment of the song, the melody and lyrics came out only after a few minutes of writing, it all just fell into place so well.

What would you like listeners to take away from this song?

Keelan: That pop punk music is super sick.
Jack: Don’t be put off just because it’s 600bpm! 

How often do you get to perform live? Most memorable gig?

Keelan; A spot where you will catch us most commonly performing is Ōkahukura in Tauranga. It is a super rad spot and now one of the most prominent spots in Tauranga putting on DIY all ages shows with all the upcoming NZ bands. Massive shout out and thanks to Ryan (who also plays drums in the bands Skonk and Somacaine, go check ’em out also) and his crew that run this space!

Jack: We’ve played from Auckland to the Coromandel to Wellington, and everywhere in between. The most memorable gig for me so far has to be Dougspace Emo Night at Last Place in Hamilton. We played in front of the most people ever in that venue – over 200 people were there!

Anyone else in your team? 

We are a completely self-managed band right now, we handle all of our own recording, production, promotion and even our own merch. We have lots of close friends that help us out with mixing/mastering and photography/videography when we need it also.

You released the ‘On A Roll’ EP last year. What are some things you learned from that experience?

Keelan: It was our first proper body of work after releasing the demo and some singles. It definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for us and we learned a tonne since its release. Mainly that the key for promotion is consistency, you’ve got to keep pushing the content and live shows to build an audience.

Can you name three other local tunes that would fit well on a playlist alongside your song.

Shuv-It: Counting Sheep
The Rainfall: No Good
Melanie: Accident, Emergency

Have any of your previous single releases been included on NewTracks?

No, never included previously.

Are there any musical blogs, Youtube channels or podcasts you’re super into?

SeasideSoundsNZ – they capture almost all of the Tauranga gigs on video. youtube.com/@SeasideSoundsNZ
Start Today Crew – they are putting out the best quality live performances of NZ hardcore bands. youtube.com/@starttodaycrew
Hardlore (RIP Bo Luders) – interviews with all the best international hardcore/punk bands youtube.com/@hardlorepod

How can we find you on social media?

Instagram
YouTube

Who did you make the video with?

Keelan: We shot the video in my shed with our friend Taylor Blackwell behind the camera. We had no plans for what the video was going to be, so we just set up our gear and started filming. What you see is what we filmed!

Any last words?

Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to check out our band either at a show or online. Massive thanks to all the bands that have supported us and given us opportunities to travel around the country and play shows with them. We have heaps planned for the near future so stay tuned.