New Zealand four-piece The Beths channel their longtime friendship into high-energy guitar pop with a smart lyrical bite. Guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter Elizabeth Stokes and guitarist Jonathan Pearce attended high school together before meeting up with longtime mates bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Ivan Luketina-Johnston at the University of Auckland, where all four studied jazz. After gigging together in a variety of configurations, the quartet came together for a project exploring the pop and rock sounds of their youth. Everything clicked, and The Beths were born.

 

The Beths Dream Rider

 

Electric Kettle – This is something that, in the UK (and New Zealand), just comes with the four walls and ceiling. But it can be hard to find in the states/europe. If my voice is feeling a bit rough (read: every day of tour, where you pushed your voice the night before ’cause you couldn’t hear yourself onstage and then held shouty conversations with nice people in the bar after the show.) I inhale steam from the kettle and for some reason it makes my voice work again. I don’t know why, please don’t tell me though I don’t want to know.

 

Salted Corn Chips and Salsa – This is on the rider for our current drummer Adam. I feel like even on a dream rider where you could have whatever you want, top of the list for him might still be Corn Chips and Salsa. That and Read Dead Redemption 2.

 

Whittakers Chocolate – Our rider currently includes choccy of some kind, but our dream rider would include NZ’s best chocolate, Whittakers. It’s not even expensive, it’s just very very good and you can’t get it on tour overseas. And it haunts us. (They are not paying us to say this. I would totally be down for that though, if payment was unlimited Almond Gold blocks.)

 

Spicy Whole Pickles – We have considered putting this on the rider because we love pickles but were worried about the potential situation of doing 20 shows in a row where they all give you a big pickle jar and then your van is just inundated with pickles and what would you do then??

 

A quiet room – Quiet is something you are never able to guarantee on tour (at our level anyway). When you can get it, in between soundcheck noise and gig noise, it’s heaven. Sometimes you have a greenroom space, and having your own space that is not a van is so so lush. If it was further possible, with science, to make that room quiet too (difficult when it is in a music venue) it would just be the ultimate in luxury. Like, noise cancelling headphones for a room.

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