Interview with Stacked

Please introduce yourselves, and tell us about any bands you have been a part of.

We are Stacked, a Melodic Hardcore band from Tāmaki Makaurau. Our lineup is:
Vocals - Tyler
Guitar - Benji + Leaf
Bass - Connor
Drums - Alasdair

Tyler and Alasdair have been playing together as far back as 2015 when they were 11 years old in intermediate.

Benji and Connor were both in the band Munke Brain when it initially formed. Neither of them are still a part of the band, but Munke Brain has just broken out into the Auckland scene with their first gig a couple of weeks ago at the time of writing this.

Leaf was a close friend of the band and, having played a little bit of guitar in their childhood, picked up bass to join in 2019. They then switched to guitar in 2020 and took up a main writing role. As such this is the first band they've played in.

Tell us about your introduction to hardcore and how it has impacted your life so far?

Our vocalist Tyler and ex guitarist/bassist D'arcy went to a show called Auckland Will Be Laid To Waste in 2019 where the lineup was:

Take Hold, REI, Long Distance Runner, Severed Beliefs, Chasing South, Once Foretold, Parasitic infestation, Melanie, Strattera and Real Slam Poetry

This show sparked a keen interest for us and inspired us to continue going to, and eventually playing and organising local gigs. So you could say NZHC was our introduction to hardcore and really I couldn't think of any better way. Nowadays we play with Chasing South, Melanie and The First Child (REI at that time) very frequently and actively listen to and attend shows of the other bands on that lineup that are still around.

As well as taking the place as our home music genre it has brought us into a scene and a community that has been really welcoming and allowed us to play in different cities like Wellington and Hamilton, which we never imagined would happen when we started the band. It gave us a means to express ourselves and to share our creations with other people, setting up quite successful all-ages gigs has been really encouraging in pursuing this and sticking with it.

How did the band form and how did you choose the name 'Stacked'?

The band formed in late 2017 when Tyler and Alasdair started playing together downstairs in Alasdair's house with the original Hamish Long. At the time we really only ever expected to play shows in front of our parents and friends. It would be a long time until we took the name Stacked though. Not until late 2019 when Leaf had been in the band for a few months and we were playing live for our first time at a bar. Funnily enough, the bar was only able to supply us with gear to get us clean guitar tones and only had bongos as drums, which we did not know until we got there. It made for an... interesting sound. Stacked was a split-second decision during this show as we were in between working names and I was asked for a name when we got up to play. I saw glasses stacked on the bar and it just clicked in my mind, and the rest is history.

I see you took out the regional finals for the Smoke-free rock quest back in 2019, Has it opened any doors for the band and what are some of the future goals for the band?

The main opportunity that Rockquest got us was the recording of Remain we have out on Spotify at the moment. Despite the recording and mixing quality not being great, having a track out has been very beneficial as people being able to listen to us outside of a live situation has kept us in their minds. It really helped with interactivity at shows as many people learned the words. As a band, our future goals include releasing a lot more music, playing shows all around New Zealand, building up a solid fanbase and ultimately playing in Australia.

Top 10 albums or bands that have influenced you in life so far and why?

Honestly it's impossible to rank our favourite bands/albums, but here's 10 of our favs:

Counterparts - You're Not You Anymore

Invent Animate - Everchanger

Chris turner - Steezy

Animals as Leaders - Parrhesia

Belmont - Reflections

Strung Out - Exile in Oblivion

End - From the Unforgiving Arms of God

Parkway drive - Killing with a Smile

SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Correlation Between Entrance and Exit Wounds

Satyr - Totem

It's refreshing to see the next generation carrying the torch and bringing new energy to the culture. How would you describe the current scene in NZ and are there any other youth bands we should keep an eye on?

For us in Auckland, the all ages scene is popping off hard. When we play all ages shows we get anywhere from 100-300 people per show and there's a lot of bands forming. Some of the younger bands to keep your eyes on are This Machine Means Murder (skramz) and The Weather Here (alt metal). We're seeing more and more shows appearing in other areas of NZ as well and it seems that NZHC is currently making a comeback with new bands on the scene as well. We're all really excited to see where it goes from here and are so stoked to be a part of it.

Favourite show or festival you have played at so far and why?

Hometown Throwdown III has to be our favourite. It had an absolutely stacked lineup featuring ColdxWar, Stacked, Chasing South, The First Child, Mega Maw and Qualms. We love all of these bands but the ColdxWar pit went hard as fuck as was the highlight of the show for sure.

Another honourable mention is the 2020 Hamtown Smakdown as it was the first festival we ever played and our very first show outside of Auckland which was incredible. It really showed us that we were being noticed elsewhere, not just in our little Auckland scene and really inducted us into NZHC in a way.

If there was one New Zealand band you wish you could have seen live, who would it have been and why?

So... back at Hamtown Smackdown 2020 when we were still relatively new to the scene I (Leaf) got hungry and went to get a kebab not knowing Severed Beliefs was about to play and missed their entire set which I regret IMMENSELY. That kebab was not worth missing my only opportunity to see Severed Beliefs. I should have gone hungry.

With the release of your single 'Remain' in 2021 and the good response it had, can we count on future releases?

You absolutely can. In fact, we are just wrapping up the recording of our debut EP. This will include a new and improved recording of Remain alongside 6 songs those of you who have been seeing us live for the past year will recognise. We are really proud of and excited to share what we've made and are in the process of getting it mixed, so you'll likely be able to hear it sometime later this year. Going forth, we have a lot more to share with everyone in the future and are beyond excited to show everyone the next step for Stacked. We've really only just begun, so get ready ;)

Thanks for your time, would you like to give some final words and shout-outs to end the interview?

We are really grateful for NZHC past present's work, along with all of the bands who've come before us. We wanna give a massive shout-out to Lily and all the chaps in The First Child for holding down the Auckland All Ages scene for years. <3

We'd also like to shout out the bands Late to Chelsea and Head Lock Grave for being the bros and for playing with us as long as we've been playing shows. Our first 2 shows ever were each alongside one of these bands and we've played with them countless times since. Holy Trinity forever.