Kia ora Bunchy’s Big Score! First up, who are you and from whence do you hail?

Kia Ora! Thanks so much for chatting to us. We are Reef Brazendale (drums, vocals), Jack Ingram (guitars), Niki Knight (bass, vocals), and Max White (keyboards, vocals) (me). We come from rather disparate parts of the country, Niki from Tāmaki, Reef from Temuka, and then Jack and I from Ōtepoti. 

And if I can be so bold, who or what is Bunchy and what is his/her/their big score?

Bunchy’s is the ulterior identity of a strange astronaut who came to Dunedin and gave us some skin care products one day. We had to start a band after this mysterious encounter. 

How did you form and how long have you been a thing?

Bunchy’s Big Score has existed to some degree since 2023. It began as a home Lo-Fi recording project between me and former member Hamish Waddell. Our songwriting partnership resulted in our debut album Happy Birthday, Daniel Johnston!!! Don’t Be Afraid…<3 which was created in various flats around Ōtepoti. Eventually, we evolved into a real band and decided to begin playing some shows. Since then Hamish has left, but remains a committed ally to the band, having mixed and mastered this new record. 

What was the impetus for starting the band, any key influences etc. I’m picking Pavement and The Clean are in there somewhere? (PS you remind of this Belgian band I stumbled across in Amsterdam one night ▶︎ The Return Of Geronimo | FENCE )

Yes, we love both Pavement and The Clean!! I think the commonality between us and the bands you have mentioned is The Velvet Underground who were a huge inspiration for Bunchy’s Big Score starting out, particularly the White Light/White Heat album. All four of us love 60’s pop music which I think permeates through our songs too. Also, Fence rules!

Congrats on releasing an actual album! Wanda’s Bicycle has some super neat and intriguing tunes….how do they typically come to be? Are there lead songwriters and a set process or does everyone kinda chip in with ideas for new stuff and kick it around until it’s fully formed? 

Typically, I’ll have the initial idea for the song which will then be instrumentally scaffolded by the rest of the band. I’ve always liked this way of doing things as it can become easy to get stuck working on music by yourself. If you have someone to bounce ideas off, they can pull you out of a creative rut sometimes, keeping the momentum going. More songs tend to get finished faster as well if you can pick other people’s brains.

Characters seem to play a central point in quite a few of the songs, do you find it easier to write about other people? 

Yes, I think I tend to lean towards inventing characters more often. I write songs about people I know/have known a lot, and making up a name is an easy way to complete the song without directly calling someone out. Generally, I find people’s names make for more arresting song titles as well. It’s cool when you find a song that uses your name. That was a big thing in the 60’s like The Beatles and The Velvets did that all the time. 

How was the recording process? A dream? Utterly traumatic? A bit of both?

Recording at Southlink with Nick was a great and new experience for us. We rehearsed super intensely before recording so we wouldn’t waste any time in the flash studio. There were definitely moments of immense joy as well as frustrations and perhaps earlier than usual lunch breaks. I’m Still Your Itch was particularly difficult to record.

How is being a ‘Dunedin band’ in Ōtepoti 2026? Still a cool and supportive scene there ?

There has definitely been somewhat of a revival or at least some kind of adrenaline shot into the Dunedin scene over the past few years. Particularly within the all ages scene. So many extremely competent teenagers have emerged and put together shows and bands, (Sogg, Seek Help, Eris, Talking Furniture, Deaf Raccoon) to name a few. Venues like Yours and Pioneer Hall have also facilitated environments where these bands can lock in and play more and more. I’d say that these young rambunctious groups have encouraged/challenged the older groups to get back to writing great songs and putting more shows on. Having people like Natasha Griffiths (Dun Records) who was behind the recent exquisite 4EP’s release, and Jonathan Holloway (Pioneer Hall Sound Engineer) has changed the game too. They have gone to extreme lengths to give bands down here a leg up, considering there isn’t as much of a traditional “music industry” down here. I think there is something about Ōtepoti being quite out of the way and unassuming, that encourages people to just get stuff done. 

What’s next after the tour, any overseas hooning on the cards?

Well, we’ve been recording more music now, so hopefully we’ll have some more songs before the year is through. We’d love to get overseas in the very near future, so I think we will need to make that happen next. Quite a few Ōtepoti bands have toured China recently which I find to be quite an appealing prospect. 

Rando Qs if you’re keen –

Best and worst gigs ever played…

We love playing at darkroom in Ōtautahi, I think we have played a lot of our best shows there. There is never a bad show, even if we play bad, we remember to implement the R.I.F.F system (remember, it’s for fun.)

Which member of the band…

  • …is most likely to get arrested and for what?

Niki and Reef perhaps for fighting.

  • …is the best cook?

Probably Jack because his job is to make pizza.

  • …is the sportiest?

None but maybe Jack

  • …is the most organised?

No one but probably me (Max.)

Any secret song/band crushes you are prepared to share? 

We all have crushes on one another.

Fave format – record/tape/cd/streeeeaming/radio

Records are the prettiest music format, CD is the most practical. Streaming is bad because it melts your brain by algorithmically making decisions for you, you need to think about what you are listening to in order to form a meaningful connection with it. 

Dream gig – 3 band lineup and where would it be?

The Clean, Os Mutantes, and The Raincoats.

Cheers all, hoon to Hamilton one time eh 😊