An Interview with Springbok Nude Girls

When I saw and heard that Springbok Nude Girls will be playing a set at next weekend’s Park Acoustics, the SA Music fan inside me went bonkers and the 90’s SA rock fan inside me was already tapping his shoes and mouthing the lyrics to their song “Supergirl” inside my head.

This rock band had it’s origins in Stellenbosch in 1994. The band introduced punk rock, ska, acid jazz and heavy metal into their songs and introduced a new world of music to the youth of South Africa. They built up a huge fan base over the years, built up a reputation for being one of the best live acts in SA, released multiple EPs and studio albums and picked up a Best Rock Album SAMA (in 2000 for their album Surpass The Powers) along the way.

During the band’s hiatus (between 2001 and 2006) Arno Carstens formed a new band, Nu Porn, and also launched a successful solo career. In 2006, he won a SAMA award for his solo album “The Hello Goodbye Boys”, which was named Best English Adult Contemporary Album. He will be releasing an Afrikaans album later this year entitled “Die Aandblom 13”.

Guitarist Theo Crous went on to form the Afrikaans alternative band KOBUS! with Francois Breytenbach Blom, ex-vocalist of South African heavy metal band Voice of Destruction. They have released three albums: “kobus!”, “100% Skuldgevoelvry” and “SwaarMetaal”.

Crous is also the music producer for Prime Circle, The Parlotones, aKING, Fokofpolisiekar, Dan Patlansky, Karen Zoid and others and has collaborated with many acts such as Mafikozolo, Malaika and Loyiso Bala. He also played live with Chris Cornell (of Audioslave and Soundgarden) at My Coke Fest in 2009 and joined Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters on stage during their tour of SA in 2014.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m extremely excited to watch one of the bands that I’ve been following since my Technikon Pretoria days live again and since I missed them the last time they played at Park Acoustics, the excitement is reaching extreme levels because Springbok Nude Girls are one of the reasons that I love and appreciate SA Music so much today.

I recently had a chat to Arno Carstens from Springbok Nude Girls about Park Acoustics and a few other things. This is what he had to say.

If my memory serves me correctly, this is the 2nd time that you’re playing at Park Acoustics. What are your expectations this time around?

Yes it is, it’s a great venue that harbors a great vibe emanating from a interactive audience. From our side because we don’t play a lot of shows we want to make each show count. So, we will be charging through some killer tracks the we can.

What have you been working on lately?

We are all busy with our own things so as a band we just finished Springbok Nude Girls documentary, but as far as doing more recordings there is talk of doing a album but it depends on commitments.

What are your thoughts on the current state of SA rock?

South African radio killed it, but it’s very much alive in the rest of the world. That said the rock live scene is cooking.

If one compares the SA Music scene in the late 1990s to now, what would you say has changed?

It’s broader in genre based music, but things has changed a lot more in favor towards the DJ game. It’s all good.

What can fans expect from your set at Park Acoustics?

The Nude Girls on heat.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Springbok Nude Girls for this interview. I’ll definitely putting on my party shoes for their set at next Sunday’s Park Acoustics! See you there!

Want to get yourself in the mood for next weekend’s show? Crank up their track, “Illuminate” below:

If you don’t have tickets yet, get them NOW! You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music and Interviews categories on Running Wolf’s Rant.