When I first heard The Arrows would be performing tomorrow at the venue Live, I was stoked and extremely eager to watch them for the third time. As a huge fan of the talented duo, I have to say these princesses of alternative pop are brilliant artists who have the ability to mesmerise their audiences, leaving them wanting more.
The Arrows – Pam de Menezes on vocals and Christie Desfontaine on drums – chatted to Tonight about their gig at Live and their future plans.
“We’re very excited about playing at Live. Durban has certainly lacked a venue that’s so good and gives musicians that platform to perform, so we’re stoked about it. We haven’t done a show in Durban in a very long time so we’re glad to give our fans something very special,” said De Menezes.
Speaking of their music and the way in which it has changed over the years, De Menezes said: “It’s a little more aggressive with a lot more attitude, but still has a lot of pop to it.”
The Arrows are much more than just a two-piece girl band. In fact, they’re so close, they consider themselves family.
“We’re really close. We’ve known each other for more than 10 years and even though we’re both married now, we’re still very close. We still do life together, it’s just two boys are around now,” laughed Desfontaine.
Not only are these artists talented, but the girls are some of the most humble people I’ve met. With their success, it was surprising to hear they don’t really consider themselves famous.
“I guess we work too hard because it doesn’t feel like we’re famous. Our focus is on quality and feeding our fans the best material.
“Our merchandise is what’s most important to us, not the fame. In fact, I think if you feel that way, that you’re so popular, then your ego just inflates and it means you’re just not working that hard. People who have that high an opinion of themselves are not really working as hard as they should be.
“I mean, I remember when we opened for the Script in SA, they are such nice guys, so humble and down to earth and they’re major superstars. We always relate to humble people and steer away from all the people who think they are all that (famous)”, explained the duo.
With smash hits such as No Robots and Lovesick, The Arrows have proved to be authentic artists unafraid to take risks. And by the look of it, they have lot more in store for their fans.
According to Desfontaine, they’re working on their second album, set to be recorded in New York City in September.
Then there’s The Arrows’ Neutrics Tour in Cape Town next month. Also, they plan to do more US tours and have also embarked on a KZN school tour in association with Shout SA.
“We just want to give back to the community and we plan to perform in schools all across KZN, we would like to do local schools as well,” said De Menezes.
• The Arrows are at Live, Matthews Meyiwa (Stamford Hill) Road, at 8pm. They will perform on their Cape Town tour on July 13 at Zula Bar, at 7pm. Visit www.thearrowsband.com