Last Updated on 31/10/2020
On the first Monday back to school, I managed to chat to Mr Kaiza Kushington, music teacher by day, but fierce, bass thumping frontman by night. Over the phone, we talked about the past, present and future of Lend Me The Twelve and the musicians that have helped mould the band’s unique sound. Stick around to also read which Brazilian artists Kaiza thinks are especially worth a listen!
Noisefirst: Kaiza! How’s the teaching going?
Kaiza: Yeah really good man. I’m working currently at the sister school of the school I used to go to.
N: Oh sweet. How did you land that job?
K: Well I was working in a brewery and I hated it, so my mate Oscar who was doing some TA work at the time said that I should get into it myself, as I’d probably like it. I started in a primary and now I’m here.
N: Nice, good for you! So Kaiza, I was wondering if you could tell our readers a little bit about what Lend Me The Twelve are all about.
K: Sure. We’re a three-piece with a post-punk samba funk fusion stamp.
N: Well that’s definitely got a ring to it. Who’s in the band?
K: I’m on bass and vocals, we have the Hyde on guitar and St James on drums.
N: How did you three get together?
K: That’s quite a story. After I graduated from Uni in 2015, I began working on a solo EP under the name Kaisa Kushington. It was me playing every instrument and my friend helping me with the mixing, mastering and finalising of it. Throughout the process I managed to get through to people like Oscar, the one who I previously mentioned, and he showed it to a lot of people. My producer friend connected me with St James and we ended up forming a band off the back of that EP called Kaisa Kushington’s Backing Band. It was me just on vocals, James on drums, Oscar on guitar and another guy called Tom playing bass who’s now in a band called Familiar Action. After a while, Oscar and Tom had to leave, as they both had their own projects, leaving just me and James, who turned to me and said “well, you recorded all the bass parts, can’t you just do it?”.
N: Makes sense.
K: Haha sure. I really wanted to go for a James Brown type thing and dance on stage, but it all worked out. He convinced me in the end, and then when I got all the singing whilst playing bass bits down, we thought let’s just get a guitar player and become a three piece. The Hyde is an old friend from school who’s classically trained and he said that listening to us made him want to get back into rock music and so we called him in and that became Lend Me The Twelve.
N: Speaking of which, that’s an interesting name. Where’s it come from?
K: Yeah so, in Brazil, there is this movement called funk carioca, and I was translating the lyrics of this song to Saint James, which were “Ô Jorginho, me empresta a 12 / Pra mim fazer um barulho / Vou matar esse maconheiro”. It basically means George, lend me the twelve, as in like a twelve gauge, I’m gonna make some noise, I’m gonna kill this pothead. She’s talking about shooting a guy who cheated on her, basically.
N: Haha, what song is that?
K: “Jorginho me empresta a 12” by MC Carol. James said, oh, Lend Me The Twelve, that’s our band name. Funnily enough, he kind of ended up liking it the least, but it just became a thing. Having that twelve, you can really play into numerology and other stuff. It’s a good number, a bit mysterious.
N: Yeah I think I remember in “Always Flyin’” you make a mystical reference to the Cosmic Ghost. Great tune, by the way.
K: Haha thanks. The esoteric is always a theme within my lyrics, it’s always how I write. Paint a big picture and be a bit absurd. I love to take small topics and blow them up.
N: So, am I right in saying Oscar, the guy you’ve mentioned already, is the same guy running Full Power Records. What do they do?
K: Yeah that’s his label which we’re associated with. He’s also in a great band called BOSS. The label started because he’s a connections guy around South London, and is good at bringing gigs and audiences together to draw a lot more attention. FPR have actually got a compilation on Bandcamp, which is worth checking out.
N: Has that got some of your stuff on it too?
K: Yeah. We’ve got a song on it called “Space Brownie” on which we come across a bit seventies groove compared to everyone else, but all the bands on there are good. There’s some electronic stuff there too, so it’s worth checking out for sure.
N: Of course, you recently released a mint Covid 19 Live Session on Youtube earlier in the Spring this year. I’ve also seen you’ve posted some stuff of a gig you did at the Hope and Anchor. How did it feel playing at such a historical venue?
K: We absolutely felt that, but you know, it was a weekday gig and the promotion company we were with didn’t do anything to promote the show. Having said that, we’re still glad to have played there. The soundman was great.
N: In terms of live performances, I’m guessing you haven’t got anything lined up right now, given the situation we’re in currently, but are you planning for the future?
K: Absolutely, that’s why we’re in it. It’s why we did those live sessions on Youtube. Admittedly, we need to up our online presence, but it was mainly trying to fill that hole of playing whilst we were in lockdown.
N: Glad to hear it. Are there any new releases on the horizon too?
K: We’re still planning, but there will be some stuff out before December.
N: What kind of direction are you taking your sound?
K: The new releases are going to be very eclectic, but everything will still have that Lend Me The Twelve stamp. We’re experimenting a bit with an early 2000s Timberland-type rhythm for some tracks, but others are also going to be pretty heavy.
N: You made a reference earlier to your song writing process. Do all three of you get involved?
K: I still lead a lot of it during the demo stage. There’ll either be something I send to the others with drums, guitar, vocals and bass, or just bass and vocals. After that, it really becomes a joint effort. The sound is shaped out of all of our efforts, rather than me writing all the fills and the cues. When it comes to criticism, it feels very free and natural. All of us feel comfortable saying “let’s change this” or “this didn’t work, let’s make this more interesting”.
N: That’s interesting. Not many bands will flesh out a song from the bass parts.
K: Yeah absolutely, and I think it’s fun to see how that changes the song. I also like using it to my advantage, as you rarely have to worry about things getting muddied.
N: So, would you say that your influences all blend well?
K: I think we all share having eclectic tastes. It also tends to be pretty experimental. St James likes a lot more R&B, groovy music, but the Hyde will listen to anything. In terms of writing a guitar part, he will go and look at all sorts of different options. He’s just not bound by a sort of setting, which is great. One of the worst things a band can have is where everyone listens to the same kind of stuff.
N: I suppose it means that you’re in no rush of running out of inspiration.
K: Absolutely.
N: And what about your own influences? Which bass players have you found particularly rousing?
K: Well rock ’n roll has often limited what bass players are allowed to do, but you’ve got to mention people like John Paul Jones and Geezer Butler.
N: John Entwistle?
K: I never got into The Who that much, as much as I love his bass playing. Les Claypool is another big one for me as well, the bass player from Primus.
N: So what genre do you think birthed the best bass players?
K: Well, what really made me want to get into bass were the funk and jazz guys. Jaco Pastorious is a huge one for me. He played bass for Weather Report but he also did a lot as a solo artist as well. Songs like “Portrait of Tracy” first introduced to me how powerful an instrument the bass could be, being responsible for both the rhythm and the lead. You’ve also got other great bass players like Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham and Marcus Miller.
N: Did you ever listen much to the Stranglers.
K: My dad was a really keen Stranglers fan.
N: I only ask as Jean Jacques Burnel was another to bring the bass to the front of the band.
K: Absolutely, and Barry Adams from Magazine as well. Raven from Killing Joke. Post-punk really did connect my love for funk with rock. You could always hear the bass drive a song.
N: The two genres are quite dancey, so in many ways it represents a perfect marriage.
K: Absolutely.
N: We’ve recently done a Top 5 for Brazilian music icons, and so I want to ask whether you have any favourites?
K: I think a Top 5 for me would have to include Milton Nascimento. He’s a big one to put down, as he’s one of those people who put Brazilian music on the map. American artists hooked on samba have always referenced him as a big inspiration. Then you have Gilberto Gil, who’s admittedly more of a personal pick. He made sure to emphasize samba’s close relationship with Africa, which Brazil’s colourist culture has always been notorious for overlooking. He’s also such an incredible guitar player! Then I think Joao Gilberto.
N: From what I gather, he seems to be the father of it all.
K: Yeah, him and Tom Jobim. Joao was the first to translate the samba rhythm onto guitar, his thumb playing the bass and his fingers acting as a harmony. Elis Regina is definitely also worth mentioning.
N: Some great picks! Well, thank you very much for your time Kaiza.
K: No worries, it’s been a pleasure. Asking me to talk about what I do and about music is never going to be a chore!
Make sure to follow Lend Me The Twelve on instagram or facebook to find out more about what they’re all about!
