KEY POINTS:
It's not hard to spot Nick Johnston from dance-rock four-piece, Cut Off Your Hands - he's easily the best dressed person at this Grey Lynn cafe. In his neatly buttoned-up shirt, old-school cardigan, suit coat, skinny black jeans and pointy boots, the singer is looking particularly dapper for so early on a Wednesday morning.
Johnston and bass player Philip Hadfield wanted to meet first thing because they've got a band practice later this morning to prepare for their support slot with Brit hot-shots Bloc Party on Wednesday night.
Not that the thousands at TelstraClear Pacific Stadium in Manukau are likely to be intimidating - with the experiences these guys have had in the past nine months they're a pretty savvy lot.
The band, formerly known as Shaky Hands, had to change their name after a US band threatened legal action (Cut Off Your Hands was the name of their first EP). They toured with Shihad and the Datsuns last summer; went to the influential music conference SXSW in Austin, Texas; and played a string of shows in Britain.
At that time Bloc Party also requested Cut Off Your Hands' support services for gigs in Scotland but they were recording their second EP, Blue On Blue, in London with Bernard Butler from Suede, and had to decline.
Energy, both on record and live, is something Cut Off Your Hands don't lack. They're fans of bands like Iggy and the Stooges and At the Drive In because of the powerful and berserk live shows they were renowned for.
"We aim it that way and that's what we love doing, because if I go to a show I love the band to be energetic and crazy on stage and to make me wanna move, and we try to make our live shows as exciting as that," says Hadfield.
However, they like to think of Blue On Blue as the Buzzcocks doing the Beach Boys and with Butler's "poppy" production it is a good contrast to their rough and ready debut release.
"The first one was raw energy with four guys in a living room, and the second one comes after touring and getting better at playing and seeing what makes a crowd move and putting that into songs," says Johnston.
In between playing live shows they are writing songs for their debut album, on which they are going for a more diverse sound. It will still have their trademark dance rock tunes but expect a more atmospheric approach too.
"I'm really keen to write something that's less instantaneous than what we've done because my favourite albums have always been ones that I've grown into months afterwards. So I'd prefer us to have a meld of the two - elements of the catchy and poppy but also bringing together some soundscapey tunes."
The band formed at the beginning of 2006 because they wanted to "play music a bit more seriously than just in our bedrooms". Now, they're doing music fulltime despite the sacrifices that come with it.
Hadfield says he hasn't had a house or a flat for eight months and is dossing with his sister in Grey Lynn while Johnston is back home at his mum's place where they also have band practice.
Money is tight and Blue On Blue came out on Levity, the first release on a new label put together by Levis to promote new artists in Australasia. "We wouldn't have been able to afford the EP or to stay in London for as long as we did without Levity," says Hadfield.
"It's the debt that's the worst," says Johnston. "But," continues Hadfield, "the whole thing with being in a band is that you might get some money some day, and the tours always pay for themselves, but any money you do make is poured back into the band account for the next one."
But hey, considering the majority of this year has included jaunts overseas and in the next few months they're touring Australia, they're not complaining.
Performance
* Who: Cut Off Your Hands
* Where & when: Supporting Bloc Party, Wednesday, TelstraClear Pacific Stadium.
* Out now: Cut Off Your Hands EP (2006); Blue On Blue EP (2007)
