House Of Shem
House Of Shem are a succcesful New Zealand Reggae band and they are finally touring Australia. So I thought it was the right time to interview them and find out more, so please read on.
1.
How did the band form?
After my Father finished his band Mana in 1994
we moved to Ratana Pa which is located 20km from Whanganui where we went
to school there. This is where he started training some young aspiring
musicians into song writing and performing which is where everything
started kicking of The band was first knowen as SHEM. After a break we
formed our own record label called SOUTHGATE ENTERTAINMENT which was a
base for up and coming hiphop, rnb, reggae artists and groups from New
Zealand and even branched out to The Us, Africa and Australia. Then in
2005 House of Shem reformed and started working on the Keep Rising album
and from then on have just climbed the ladder and never looked back.
2. How does it feel to have so much support from audiences in NZ?
Naturally
the support will be there because we are singing for the people and
giving them hope and understanding for a better future and to never give
up, it is a beautifull thing to be on stage and perform to our people
and see a smile on there faces and to hear them singing our songs its a
blessing!
3.
Who have you enjoyed playing with recently?
We enjoyed touring with
Julian Marley, Steel Pulse and Sly and Robbie in 2010 on the Nz and
Australia Raggamuffin Tour, recently we have enjoyed performing our new
collaberation with San Diego based band BIG MOUNTAIN who were know for
there hit "Baby i love your way" we had oppurtunity to write and record a
song with them in the studio here in Nz duing there stay here for the
Raggamuffin 2012 show where we Joined them on stage to perform it.
4.
How did the bands name came about?
Shem was one of the sons of Noah,
Noah had three sons Ham, Shem and Japeth. These three sons left the ark
in diffrent directions Ham went towards Africa, Japeth went towards
Europe and Shem towards the middle east, and it is said that the Maori
and Polynesian People came out of Israel to escape captivity. House Of
Shem also in the bible was known as the House of Learning.
5.
What inspires the band when writing music?
Bible, Our Family, Our
People, Our Fans, Our Prophets, Love, Peace and Harmony, Freedom, The
Struggle, The System,
6. Why come to Australia to tour?
Because
it is a beautifull country and is always nice and warm when we come
there!! NZ is freezing right now u dont beleive how much we cant wait to
get outta here!! Theres no inspiration at the moment here haha
7.
How has social media helped the band?
Social Media is awesome my
younger brother Sam was a computer wiz when he was 3rd form he used to
show us this thing called Bebo and Myspace back around 2002 we were like
whats this stuff and he said its the Future bro! Nek Minit we are all
relying on it now haha he put one of our first song/demo we recorded on
there back in 2002 and to this day it has been a big hit right through
Us and Hawaii.
8. Are you surprised how supportive the music industry is NZ?
Yes
creative Nz an nz on air are supportive of us we just hope more funding
is put into reggae music as it is becoming one of the biggest genres
down here in Nz, it is good to see the youth listening to reggae music
as it minimizers the Anger they get from Gangster music its truley a
blesssing!
9. What is next for the band?
New
album, new single and videos out soon and perform in different parts of
the world we cant wait to get to Europe, Europe has a big reggae
following and some of the biggest reggae festivals are there.
