Stefan Thompson Sommerset
Can you please introduce yourself, and tell us which bands you have been a part of?
Hi Folks, I'm Stefan. I'm old and have been playing in bands since the 1980's. I grew up in and around Tauranga where I first started listening to hard rock/metal/punk at the age of 12. Once I made it to high school I was mostly listening to punk, but also stuff like The Cure and Souxsie and the Banshees.
My first band was started when I was 15. We were called "Conditioned Response". We could barely play our instruments but as me and Marcus the guitarist put together a zine called DSFA, we had some connections to the punk scene in Auckland. So my first ever show in Auckland was at the First and Last Cafe on Symonds Street NYE 1988-89. The cops came and took the alcohol away as there were so many underage and a guy I knew broke his collar bone stage diving. A pretty wild introduction to the Auckland scene.
I ran away from home the next year and ended up at a huge former boarding house in Ponsonby that had "House of Hardcore" sprayed on the roof. There was around 20 people living in this place, my room was a giant cardboard box inside another room. I joined Migraine on bass but as I was so shit the guitarist Serean basically taught me to play. We played a house show at this place that was also pretty nuts. Woke up with writing all over my face and arms as you do. One of the toilets got blocked and no-one ever opened the door to it again.
The same time as I was playing in Migraine I met a couple of the more hardcore kids around. We started Balance out of these friendships. We were also pretty shit at playing and never really got it together to for a long time and with different members.
I still had roots in the punk scene and played with a joke thrash band called Heathen Filth. We used to dress up in stupid costumes and had a blast.
There was a heap of projects that never made it off the ground but eventually, I ended up playing with Pacecar. I loved what they did and offered to play second guitar. Luckily the bass player quit as my guitar skills aren't that great. We became Sommerset and I quit Balance soon after. The only other band I can think of in NZ I have played with is The Hollowmen. That's the last time I lived in NZ, on Waiheke. It was more of a bluesy garage punk band. I currently play with Flame On here in Denmark. It's the band that opened for Sommerset's first Danish show all those years ago. Now I'm in the band and married to a girl I met at the show!
Oh shit, just remembered I played in Logan's Run, a more straight up hardcore band with most of the members of Balance but Jay from Sommerset singing. And a pop punk kinda band called Scrumptious (and another called Milky) aaaand another hardcorish band called Prolapse. I think that's it.
Who were some of the bands that were around back when you started playing music?
In New Zealand? We used to listen to Flesh Device, Bygone Era, Compos Mentis, The Warner's, Sticky Filth, Nazgul. I caught the bus up from Tauranga to Auckland or Hamilton a few times to see shows and catch up with pen friends. (Back in the days before the internet it was all about writing letters. We used to put glue over the stamps so you could wipe off the postmark and send the same letter back and forth. The envelopes used to get pretty worn out).
Internationally I think The Clash and The Dead Kennedys were the biggest bands for me but I listened to really a lot of different stuff. Compilation LP's were the best way to find out about new bands or the big international zines like Maximum Rock'n'Roll. Sometimes someone would have a pen friend from overseas and we'd get a tape of new bands to share around. I once pushed record instead of play on the only tape copy in NZ of the Operarion Ivy album. Oops.
What were some of the obstacles you faced trying to make it as a band in little old New Zealand?
Starting a band in NZ is reasonably easy I think as people are down to earth and approachable. I saw a guy with a hardcore shirt on in Denmark, I asked him half joking half serious if he wanted start a band and he looked at me like I was crazy. People in Denmark don’t talk to strangers.
But I think it was always about being able to afford gear and practise space. Hire purchases are a terrible idea by the way, I always missed payments and have some dude banging on the door looking to take my gear back. Beg, borrow and steal! (Just not stealing from other people)
Can you talk a bit about some of your international tours?
I don't count Australia, as it's just a kind of extension of NZ. I was lucky to make contacts in Europe at the right time for Sommerset. It was also when we were all able to travel and got along. The states wasn't so easy. Europeans seemed so keen to help us whereas in the US it really did seem like a who you know way of doing things.
The first tour to Europe was 5 weeks long, lots of little self run clubs, squats and the occasional festival. Low key and DIY, it was awesome. After Europe we played a handful of shows in the US and Canada. One or two of the shows in Canada were ok but the promoter was a crack head freak. Talking a million miles an hour and calling in the middle of the night. He even borrowed my last $20 off me and after pressuring him he paid me back in small change after going out to sell crack. The later tours were much of the same, but we signed to a bigger label and lost a bit of the DIY connection which I regret.
What can you tell us about the Squeeze Music awards achievements?
Sorry man as I'm a bit old I forget shit all the time. Was this where we won best video something something? It might be that award we won once where Jay sat on it and broke it.
Making videos can be fun but those awards can also be a case of who knows who. Not sure how we won anything for Say What You Want.
The first press of the “More Songs’’ sold out in both New Zealand and Australia, can you tell us a little about this and some of your other achievements?
We did sell around 500 of the first press that we did with Amber on Kafuey. Well sort of, a few were given away and few even got stolen from someone's house. But yes we were really surprised. After that we were often paid in copies from other presses So it's hard to figure how many of everything got sold. Accounting wasn't my strong point. But there are a few different presses of our records floating around. The one I was especially proud of was the Japanese press of Fast Cars that had a cardboard spine on the CD explaining what it was in Japanese. Really cool! The US press of Fast Cars was a bit of a bummer. The guy doing it put zero effort in so it hardly sold. The remaining copies were even going to the dump so we got them for nothing.
Getting albums presses on 12" vinyl was always nice.
Which are your top 5 albums or bands that influenced you the most over the years?
Um a bit hard. Pretty much everything Fugazi did has been a huge deal for me. All the Dead Kennedy's records. As for the heavier side Amebix - Arise is something that I have been listening to what seems most of my life. Hot Water Music is something I thrash as are early Bad
Religion records. Crass would have to be one of the biggest bands that have made my life different. That band put different ways of thinking in my head that still affect me today.
Favorite New Zealand venues to playback in the day?
The first place that really stuck out was this room we could use on Bowen Ave in Auckland. Just a great room and lots of fun. It was back when I was shoplifting a lot. I would steal food and cook it and give it away at the shows. I was so cheeky that some falafel I stole was off so I returned it and got some new stuff! There were some really great and also really bad experiences at Ponsonby Community Center. You could never tell if the gang who had their headquarters below would come up and kick some of our asses. We used to look everywhere for places to play and would often only have one show there as we were too loud or people that came also climbed all over buildings or drank outside so we couldn't come back. That was part of the challenge and fun, finding somewhere to have a show.
Later on the Kings Arms in Auckland was a great place to play although I still feel guilty of having too many people in there.
In Wellington Valve was great little club and of course the Legendary Thistle Hall for all ages shows. A great vibe although loading up the stairs sucked!
If there was one NZ band you wish you could have seen live back in the day, who would it have been and why?
I really wish I could seen Armatrak. They were a great band but I got into them just a little too late, probably a year or two. It was a band who were starting something I became a part of, hardcore punk with a more "American" take, and I just wished I had seen them!
Any words of advice for the up and coming youth creating bands in New Zealand?
Wise words from me? Not sure I'm the best for advice but I would say only do it if you're having fun. Forget about making money. Bands are a big pit you pour money into and if you ever get any back, good for you, but it should never be a priority. Play anywhere you can. Get a vocal PA, get a van (drivers license is a good idea but not compulsory) and you are set!