Sounds Like Ashtray Electric

The sexy, sizzling rock songs of Ashtray Electric are smoking hot. COSMOPOLITAN invited vocalist and lyricist, Andre Gideon Montgomery Pienaar, and guitarist, Rudi Cronje, to an instant messaging threesome. And of course some awkward questions came up.

Rudi: You there?
Jezebel: Yup. Is it one already? Gosh.
Rudi: Yes
Rudi: Pienaar
Pienaar: Aweh, aweh, aweh
Jezebel: Hello, Andre
Pienaar: Hey

Jezebel: SO. AMONGST OTHER THINGS, ASHTRAY ELECTRIC IS FIVE GUYS IN A BAND. WHERE DO GIRLFRIENDS FIT INTO MUSIC?
Pienaar: Rudi, warming up his typing fingers...
Rudi: I don't think André [Pienaar] hammers on it too much. He has a good balance. I sometimes think he is singing about women – but then he isn't, he is singing about good friends.
Pienaar: Personally I don't think girlfriends influence me too much, more the girls that are nasty and got away or that worked you over, etc.

Jezebel: DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY TO THE WORLD?
Pienaar: I'm not Bono trying to get things across.
Jezebel: But you're on stage to express, to get feedback, and you write the lyrics.
Pienaar: But I'm not writing lyrics that just sound cool. To be honest, the lyrical side of things is still something I'm trying to grasp. I normally write lyrics and only figure out what I'm trying to say later – like a dream you try to decipher. I guess I'm still young and do struggle to express myself. So I think now I'm experimenting with images and notions and trying to learn through them. I tend to learn more from myself than anyone else

Jezebel: HOW MUCH OF INDIE MUSIC IS JUST COPY AND PASTE?
Rudi: I think pretty much everything is copy-paste these days. It's a post-modern time we live in.
Jezebel: That's a cop(y) out, rudeness. Elaborate.
Pienaar: Hate it when people say 'post-modern'.
Rudi: Tell the people to wiki Post modernism. Ok, I just think we've got a load to choose (Apple C) from.
Pienaar: Indie is not really a copy-paste when you take most rubbish on MK 89 into consideration. I think in this country it's not at all. There are so many new bands such as us and New Holland etc that could be called indie, but we don't sound the same at all.
Jezebel: Wait a minute. You guys and New Holland are the breakaways. Bands like 12th Avenue or Prime Circle sound utterly generic.
Rudi: It's a formula bands follow. I think the decent bands try and break all those moulds
Jezebel: Indie here is a sound, not a structure, it seems; not an independent approach?
Pienaar: I dont think anyone in this country who is completely indie structure-wise is really 'making' it. Personally I feel there is more of a movement than a focus on individuality, like we are all sort of trying to push SA as far as we can instead of ourselves.
Rudi: Yeah, but still, the movement has many different parts.

Jezebel: HOW COME YOU GUYS ARE SO TIGHT ON STAGE LATELY?
Rudi: Touring.
Pienaar: Think we all just stepped up to the plate; personally I'm very close with bassist Andrew Justin Davenport and our last gig at Assembly with Fire Through The Window was a special one in his regard (he's leaving the band). I felt very in tune with him and I think everyone was. With everyone following the bass you're bound to be tight.
Rudi: As well as not having played in town in a while. Maybe we had a point to prove to the 'difficult' Cape Town crowd.
Pienaar: It felt like I was playing to my best friends for the first time. I think people love to see a brotherhood of sorts on stage and I think we were oozing love and confidence. I can quote Andrew. 'Friendship is what forms a band, friendship is what drives a band, and is what keeps a band together.'
Jezebel: Music is about synergy, it seems; down here in SA, synergy is about human relationship.
Pienaar: It's the only glue. I mean what makes me want to go on tour again is that lazy afternoon being drunk with everyone and braaing.
Jezebel: 'Broederbond'?
Pienaar: I always ran from it.
Rudi: Yeah, I remember you being like that before tour, Pienaar.
Pienaar: But now I love it. I just always thought the whole brotherhood thing was corny and all, but now I've experienced it and it wouldn't be easy to give up 15 new family members. It IS what drives a band and keeps it going. I think I've gone from band hobby to study hobby. Put it that way.

Jezebel: Well, thanks for the chat guys. I hope to see you in pixels or in person sometime soon.
Rudi: Ok
Pienaar: Bye
Jezebel: Byebyebyebye. Buy ashtray electric's EP

Listen to (and look at) Rudi, Pienaar, Wouter, Rupert and Reg on their Facebook or MySpace page. You can buy their tracks here.

Author: Cosmopolitan