Conway Juene

Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your creative practice?

Yeah, for sure. Yes, so my name's Conway. As you said, I'm from Fat Freddy's Drop and I've a band called TOI as well and I play guitar and do some singing as well.

I understand you're now a full-time musician, having previously balanced music with a full-time job and family life. That's wonderful.

Yeah, I've got a fanua over here in Wellington I got a little boy and a lady too.

What journey did you take to become a full-time musician?

It was a long journey, a lot of playing, a lot of time, a lot of investment of just hours into music and I guess you get yourself to the space. First off, I mean, I found a love for music very early in my life. I had, my first guitar was bought for me when I was five, which was pretty awesome, but I mean, I just wanted to have a guitar lying around the house because I thought that guitars were awesome. But I didn't actually properly pick it up until a bit later on, but yeah, I mean, I was very inspired in primary school and high school and just continued music and playing and learning. I went on to the New Zealand school music in Wellington. And to do a jazz performance course. I was there for four and a half years where it was an amazing time to really cut my teeth and just spend, a good amount of time, jamming and practicing and meeting like minded individuals that wanted to do music. So a lot of time playing with other people. And then after, after Jazz School, I just continued to play around town. So as many gigs as I could, playing as many bands as I could, and just networking, meeting people and yeah, that's kind of how I guess, how I am where I am. Now, yeah.

Did you receive support from your parents in pursuing this path?

Definitely. I always had a lot of fun and support. I remember I would have been 11 or 12. And my mum used to always bring me out to to play my guitar to any mates that she had come around to the house or anything like that. And I remember one particular day she asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I said I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a rock star you know. And, my father and my friends, my, my partner, have always been incredibly supportive of me when it comes to music. And I do think that you need to have that internal work and that support system around you to help push you. And, and just, believe that you can do this really.

How do you balance touring and music commitments with family life?

Just, just the juggle. Really, I mean, it's like anything. It's like a sports person. It's like, even just holding down a, a normal job and juggling family and personal life and everything. It's just, it's just about time management and, we're, and also, where your priorities lie and it kind of ebbs and flows as well, like sometimes you won't be as, as busy with music because you've got a lot of fun or stuff happening or all vice versa, you might be really busy with music and, someone else has to pick up a little bit of the flak when you're, when you're busy in the studio or obviously when you're on the other side of the world. You can't do too much from home, you can't involve the washing at home. So, yeah, it changes. But it's all just a balancing act and, I mean, over, over the last, more since I left high school, it's just been, being there really, just managing to kick all of the, all of the plates spinning and just topping up certain areas when they need it.

You're now a full-time musician. When did you make that transition from working in real estate, and what factors influenced that decision?

I mean, for me, being a musician and wanted them to, have music as my main kind of lifestyle and also career. That's always been the goal. And, after leaving university and jazz school and stuff, and also having a little fella, having a son, obviously, music is a huge passion, but also music doesn't always pay the bills. And so, getting a day job to help support the final was, was definitely important at that time. And, yeah, I guess when, when the opportunity with, with Fredis came along, that allowed me to move out of that space in terms of having a day job and really focus on music 100 percent. And it's been amazing to be able to do that. And, yeah, yeah, just to, to be able to focus 100 percent on music has been believed in.

I saw on your Instagram the support your partner provides, particularly regarding touring with Fat Freddy's Drop. How important is a supportive partner in this career?

Oh, like, incredibly important. it takes a, it takes a certain type of individual to, I think, to stand by a musician or a creative, we, we do have a different way of life and a different kind of schedule and, it's not, it's not nine to five, it's unpredictable. And having someone that can support you through that and, and with those changes and everything is huge. And yeah, she's, she's been incredibly supportive of, of me, always. And, and my little fellow, too, obviously having a five almost six year old, he's, he, he got to come towards first, Freddy's show about a month ago. Wonderful. And, he was, he was just blown away and obviously, dad's not home sometimes and there's a lot of video calling for, a month at a time. But, the, the beauty is that I get, so when I am home, I get to spend a very quality time with those guys. So, yeah, incredibly important.

Do you have any time management strategies or tips?

I mean, everybody works differently, right? some people have, have certain things that will work for them and, things that, that maybe won't work for others, for, for myself, when, when you've got, like, the, when you've got a lot going on and you've got the crazy juggling act of maybe a very hectic, family life and maybe Mahi and whatever you're passionate about, whether that's musical or art or, or whatever that may be. for me, it's just the guy getting it all down on paper and writing everything out. And making sure that the, making sure that the juggling acts that's happening in your head is out of your head and it's all visible so you can see everything that's going on and you can work through, methodically and systematically, so that you get everything, , that, that's the best thing for me, but, that may not work for others.

How did you become involved with Fat Freddy's Drop?

So, I, we would have a band, would have been about seven, seven or eight years ago, I was working at, Weta digital, in Wellington. And, I was working there with my, with my partner and in-laws. And, and our wedded thing was, Dallas, the lead singer from Freddies, his, his partner was working in the same kind of department as myself and in-laws. And so, we became friends. and, she had heard that I was a guitar player and, one of their, one of their boys needs some guitar lessons. And so I went along to, to their house. So gone to teach their son,for a few months and, just a few tips and a few tricks and I got to know Dallas through that. And,yeah, they, there, there was a, a period of time where they needed a substitute guitar player, just in case they're, their man guitar player couldn't make the gig. And so I filled in for a couple of shows back in the summer of, was it 2019, 2020? And just had a, had a beautiful couple of shows with the guys and connected really well. And I mean, for, for me, the, the music, Freddie's music has, always been a, a huge part of my, musical DNA, I guess, as you part of my foundation in terms of, how I think about music and creativity and direction of, where something may go arrangement-wise and even just in the sound and, times and everything. So, to be able to, to join those guys on stage and that period was, was incredible for me, but, it also felt very, it elt very natural as well. it was, it was nerve-wracking, of course, being up on stage with, a bunch of your, I guess musical heroes. and yeah, yeah, but it felt very, very natural and, yeah, from, from that, Dallas was doing a, a few solo, songs and he was doing his solo project, he, he released, an album last year. and yeah, I, featured on a, a couple of those songs, plates and guitar and, yeah, I, guess the, transition for, for me to come into the band full-time when the opportunity arose. yeah, I guess I was just the person and, and their minds and, yeah, I mean, I, still find myself pinching myself. very often, to be honest, but, no, it's, it's been, a beautiful, transition and, those, those guys and that, that family are incredibly supportive and, no, it's been, it's been really cool.

Did you join them in the studio for SlowMo ?

Yeah, I did, yeah, so I, got a call, essentially about the, the gig and, I think after that call I was in the studio, maybe Freddies later and, I go into the studio and have a catch up with the guys and see what's up and, I think in the space of like 15 minutes after going to the studio, it was like, 'there's your lead, there's your amp, get up the pedals there and this is what we're working on get into it'. So it was very, very quick, it was, yeah, yep, you have just chucked into the deep end and let's go.

You were working at Weta Digital. What did you do there?

I was just part of the facility thing. All right, so just, as you can see, just keeping, keeping the wheels spinning.

How would you describe the difference between Fat Freddy's Drop and TOI, and how do you balance the two?

Yeah, I mean, for, TOI has been, my musical, baby and project, since jazz school really, so, it's been a, been a long time now. we started back in, we started back in 2011. So, yeah, 14 years this year, and I mean, for, for us back in jazz school, it was, it was kind of like our, musical, escape from, from jazz, because we're all learning all of jazz language and scales and theory and all sorts of history and stuff. And it allowed us to, I guess I'm going on some of the things that we were learning and just absorbing, but, in a way that we didn't need to think about, and that kind of came out and, a, a dub soul roots kind of, sometimes psychedelic rock space. and so, yeah, I mean, as I was saying before, like, being very, influenced by, the, the music and the sounds of, Freddies for years, I guess, TOI or, back in our early days. And our early days, we were called tunes of I, we were all influenced by the likes of Freddies and, the black seeds and seminala dub and trinity roots and all those kiwi acts. So we had, similar kind of sounds and approaches and, even lineups, we've got, obviously it's a little bit different with TOI, because we've got a drummer and we've got a, a bass player, so there's no NPC in there, like, Freddies, but, the horn section, the kind of dubby soul aspect. But it's very different for me as well, because with TOI, front that band and so, quite a different position in terms of how, a show works, with, with TOI, I've got to be out there in front facing and talking to the crowd and connecting and that way, vocally, which is, obviously a huge, connection for, for most people, the majority of people will listen to music and they'll connect to, the vocalists, first and foremost, right? so I guess, a bit more pressure with TOI and that respect, whereas with Freddies, I can, I can be up the back and, be more part of the, the heartbeat of the, of the music in terms of the rhythm section, and just focuson guitar and connecting, and, and that way. So it's, yeah, it's very different, but, it's, it's awesome too, like I get to juggle these two, different creative outlets, that I love, now and, yeah, it's, yeah, it's great.

With your busy schedule, how do you keep the creative spark alive?

And it's, I mean, that's a tricky one. It's a tricky one. So, I guess, it, it, it, it ebes and flows as well. sometimes, the creativity and, and the, the spark to, to write is very present and, and, and sometimes it's not. And I mean, for, for me personally, if it's, if it's not there at, at the moment, like, that you're trying to do something, don't force it, because it will feel forced. and, and sometimes that's, that's, that's a beautiful thing. You might be, going for a walk or, something, something going for a walk through the bush and then all of a sudden, you get help by a song idea or you get help by, a melody or, or a groove or something and, my, my phone is full of voice memories of ideas that come to me in weird situations and then I'll go home and, you're, you're stuck in that space for hours and you're, and you've got something, but you weren't expecting anything that day. yeah, it's, it's definitely something that I, I think needs to happen naturally, for sure.

You mentioned ideas come during walks. Are there other rituals or routines you use?

yeah, I mean, when, when you're writing with, in a, in a, in a group context, I find a, especially with TOI, if we're, if we're planning like a writing, writing session or, or anything we, we usually will just, on for a while and, and, and have, have a cup of tea and have a feed and have a catch up and generally speaking, our writing sessions for the first, couple to a few hours are actually just us having recorded or talking about what's been, what's been going on in life and, it might become a bit of, release in a, in a, in a little bit of a therapy session in, in some ways and then, usually the music turns into the thing that you've been, been talking about. So, it's kind of that, yeah, create about that, release all of the, all the things that you've been experiencing in life for maybe the last few months or whatever it may be.

You mentioned getting encouragement from your parents. Do you do the same with your son?

It's not really, yeah. And he's, oh, he's, he's very lucky in that recipe. It's like, we've got, we've got our studio space at home. that we've done, all of our, TOI stuff in for the last three years and, there's some session work in here as well, for various other bands and done a little bit of, a little bit of free stuff in here, but the majority of the free stuff is done at, at base. but, yeah, in a way, the, the studio at home, it's, it's full of guitars and amps and bass guitar and piano and drum kits and, various other percussion TOIs and all sorts of stuff for a little fella to play with. And, since, since he was born, he was, he was out touring with us when he was six months old, TOI, had a, actually supported Freddies on a summer tour. just after Jess was born and, so he came on the road with us. he's been to many gigs and around that kind of thing and we have rehearsals at home. So, when all the uncles come, he knows it, it's time for music to be played and he's grown up in that space. I think, it's, it's interesting because, it's, it's normal for him, where there's most kids that, will be probably quite surreal. So, yeah, I mean, we, we definitely support him, with whatever he wants to do. but also not, not really wanting to force anything upon him, because, Ifeel like he'll just naturally soak it up anyway because it's just part of his daily life. It's part of, where he loves him.

Having joined Fat Freddy's Drop, what are your long-term goals?

Hmm. I mean, it's just, just continuation of, of what, is currently happening and just, I would love to just continue to be creative and involved in music and whatever, whatever shape or capacity that, that may be, yeah, that's all really, and just being able to express myself, being able to play, being able to be creative, it's, it's a, it's a beautiful outlet and, and, and things to be able to do.

What advice would you give to musicians balancing a career with family life?

I guess just, just finding space for, and, being able to still give time when you can, life, life can get busy, and obviously sometimes you, you might go for, for a while without touching your instrument or, being creative or anything like that, but just actually being able to, to go back to it and give it, give it some loving, give it some effort, yeah.

What's been the most rewarding aspect of your journey?

We've, we've had some, we've had some pretty incredible shows with, with TOI and, with, with other, with other groups and stuff and, being able to, join, incredible acts on stage and performing in front of people is always amazing, but I think, I think one of the biggest things actually just being able to connect with, with your bandmates as well and just having fun, you know, like, if you're, if, if you're not having fun while you're doing it. and so, as, yeah, I always, always find myself, well not always, but, often find myself up on stage, doing a show and, you, you, you get caught up in the motion of like, just going through and, and, and playing the songs and the thing happens, but actually looking up and being grateful for, we were, so, I'll find myself occasion from going, man, holy heck, I like this is, the other weekend that, I looked up and wow man and I was like, man, we're in like a beautiful part of the country. There's, incredible crowd out here and we're playing good music with friends. Yeah. Isn't this amazing? Yeah, what a life.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Just keep going. Never give up.

Where can listeners find your work?

All over the usual streaming platforms and stuff. So, obviously, Freddies is everywhere. and so is TOI. there's, and, and there's new vinyls from, both, new albums and vinyls from both Freddies and TOIs are last year. yes. I mean, both, both bands have websites and, you can find it in all the, all the usual places.

Thank you for your time.