Out of the Woods

Sheer Music Label Manager Melissa Conradie is also the lead singer of up and coming SA band Holly & the Woods.  I caught up with her online …

So the album is doing well, you must be stoked!
Yeah, the album has been doing really well, so stoked with the reaction!  We’ve put a lot of hard work into writing the songs and recording the album, so it’s great to see people love it.

What was it like supporting Eagle Eye Cherry? Did you meet him?
Supporting an international artist is always amazing. We did get to meet him and he’s the nicest guy! The one thing we always learn from the international artists, just like when we supported Shaun Morgan from Seether and Sarah Bettens from K’s Choice, is that no matter how much success you achieve, always stay humble and level-headed. Too many SA bands seem to get that “high and mighty” attitude when they achieve some level of success and it doesn’t leave a good impression with the fans who try to get an autograph or just say hi.

On a more queer note … what was it like playing Pride?
There’s nothing better than playing in front of over 8000 people who are waiting to start the march and are ready to have a big party! The vibe was awesome when we were on stage, especially being on just before the march started. It was also in a way special that we were the only band performing on the day.

In your opinion, should celebrities come out or are they entitled to their privacy?
I think that’s all personal preference. Some want to be private about their sexuality, while others are fine with having everyone know about it. I don’t think anyone should be pressured to make their sexuality known, just because they’re a public figure and are forced to now become a role model for the gay community. It’s a big responsibility to take on.

Shooting Queerly

Name, rank and serial killer … uh … number, please?
Samantha Davies, rank : tesseract.
Serial number THX-1138

You’ve been working with a film camera for a good while – apart from the obvious mechanical differences, what’s the impact on your art, as opposed to going digital?

There is a lot of sentimentality in film for me, I love emulsion and I love the feel of using 35mm film.  One of the biggest impacts of course is cost; never having alot of money often impacts how much work I can put out or print at any one time. It has become a lot easier since I started being able to scan work with a film scanner.

Another impact on my art is the ability to turn out prints quickly, as I lack my own darkroom facilities at home I either have to scan my negs or use somebody else’s darkroom. When I have some extra cash lying around, I’m planning to get an enlarger set-up in a dark corner of my bathroom, this should hopefully solve alot of my current problems.